© 1998 Medical Council on Alcohol
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TRYPTOPHAN METABOLISM IN ALCOHOLISM. TRYPTOPHAN BUT NOT EXCITATORY AMINO ACID AVAILABILITY TO THE BRAIN IS INCREASED BEFORE THE APPEARANCE OF THE ALCOHOL-WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME IN MEN
Cardiff Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Biomedical Research Laboratory, Whitchurch Hospital Cardiff CF4 7XB, UK
1Institute of Clinical Neurobiology, Benjamin Franklin Medical Centre, Free University of Berlin Hindenburgdamm 30, D-l2200 Berlin, Germany
2Institute of Medical Genetics, University of Wales College of Medicine Heath Park, Cardiff CF4 4XN, UK
3Addictive Behaviour Centre, Roehampton Institute London London SW15 3SN, UK
4Department of Anaesthesiology and Operative Intensive Medicine, Benjamin Franklin Medical Centre, Free University of Berlin Hindenburgdamm 30, D-l2200 Berlin, Germany
5Department of Neurology, Benjamin Franklin Medical Centre, Free University of Berlin Hindenburgdamm 30, D-l2200 Berlin, Germany
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed
Received 23 February 1998; first review notified 10 April 1998; accepted 19 April 1998
Tryptophan (Trp) metabolism and disposition and excitatory and other amino acid concentrations were determined in alcohol-dependent subjects in relation to the alcohol-withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Parameters were examined in 12 alcohol-dependent male subjects, undergoing elective upper digestive tract tumour resection, and 12 age-, gender-, and medication-matched controls on three occasions: pre-operatively, post-operatively, and immediately before (i.e. within 24 h of) the appearance of the AWS. No significant differences were observed between controls and alcoholic subjects on the first or second of these occasions. On the third occasion, within 24 h of the appearance of the AWS, alcoholics showed a dramatic elevation (117%) in free serum Tip concentration and a consequent increase (111%) in the ratio of [free Trp]/[competing amino acids], which is an accurate predictor of Trp entry into the brain. Increases were also observed on this third occasion in concentrations of total Trp (49%), cortisol (123%), and norharman (137%). Concentrations of glutamate, glycine, aspartate, serine, and taurine did not differ significantly within or between the control and alcohol-dependent groups of subjects on any of the three occasions. The possible significance of the Trp and related metabolic changes in relation to the behavioural features of the AWS is discussed.
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