Alcohol and Alcoholism Vol. 37, No. 6, pp. 597-602, 2002
© 2002 Medical Council on Alcohol
PLATELET MONOAMINE OXIDASE ACTIVITY IN ALCOHOLISM SUBTYPES: RELATIONSHIP TO PERSONALITY TRAITS AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS
aran Demir*
rem Sevinç1
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and
1 Department of Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara 06100, Turkey
Received 11 February 2002; first review notified 19 April 2002; accepted 27 May 2002
Aims: The purpose of the present study was to compare alcoholic subtypes (type 1 versus type 2) with regard to platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity. A possible relationship between enzyme activity, personality traits and executive functions was also investigated. Methods: Seventeen type 1 and 16 type 2 in-patient male chronic alcoholic patients and 17 healthy male volunteers were included in the study. The personality traits were investigated by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Executive functions were assessed by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Results: When compared to the healthy subjects, platelet MAO activity was reduced in both alcoholic groups. The enzyme activity of the type 2 group was significantly lower than that of type 1 patients. Both groups of alcoholic patients also displayed impairment in executive functions. The comparison of the MMPI-2 scores of the study groups revealed that type 2 alcoholics had more severe psychopathology. Conclusions: The results support previous evidence suggesting that platelet MAO activity is a useful biochemical measure for the subtyping of alcoholics.