Alcohol and Alcoholism Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 364-368, 2003
© 2003 Medical Council on Alcohol
LEPTIN LEVELS OF ALCOHOL ABSTAINERS AND DETOXIFICATION PATIENTS ARE NOT DIFFERENT
Psychiatric University Clinic and
2 Department Central Laboratory, University of Basel, Switzerland,
1 State Mental Hospital Bayreuth,
3 Mediagnost Inc., Reutlingen, Departments of Legal Medicine, Universities of
4 Ulm and
5 Erlangen and
6 Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of Magdeburg, Germany
Received 2 January 2003; in revised form 25 February 2003; in revised form 19 March 2003; accepted 24 March 2003
Aims: Leptin is a cytokine-type peptide hormone, recently implicated as a putative state marker of alcohol use and in craving. Our goal was to evaluate the potential of leptin as a state and trait marker and to rule out the role of current alcohol intoxication on leptin levels. Methods: Eighteen alcohol withdrawal patients (16 males, 2 females) whose blood contained 202 mg/dl (median) of ethanol at hospitalization, who had a median age of 43.5 years and had consumed 1075 g of ethanol (median) in the last 7 days were included in the study. Leptin was determined in samples at day 1 (when still intoxicated) and day 7 of withdrawal. Expected leptin levels were calculated with a formula. For comparison, 27 blood samples of 18 abstinent persons, matched for gender, age and body mass index were used. Furthermore, mean cell volume, 
-glutamyl transferase (GGT), blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and body composition (bioimpedance device) were determined. For statistical analysis, SPSS 11 was used. Results: Expected leptin levels were 1.71 ng/ml (median), leptin measured at day 1 was 2.65 ng/ml (median) and 2.85 ng/ml on day 7 for the alcohol withdrawal patients and 2.2 ng/ml (median) for the abstainers. These concentrations were not significantly different. Significant correlations were found between leptin day 1 and expected leptin levels, percentage fat body mass, cigarettes smoked per day, GGT and blood alcohol concentration. Conclusions: Our preliminary data do not support the hypothesis of leptin as a state or trait marker and suggest only a minor influence of acute intoxication on leptin levels in alcohol detoxification patients.
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