ASSESSMENT OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION BY TRANSDERMAL ETHANOL

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The reliable measurement of alcohol consumption over long time periods is important for research applications, monitoring treatment outcome and for forensic applications. A variety of methodologies have been developed to assess alcohol consumption, including verbal report, biochemical markers, and direct measurement of blood, urine and other body fluids such as sweat. Yet, no single method exists which can easily and reliably determine the amount and pattern of alcohol consumption over long periods. A prototype device, the Transdermal Alcohol Sensor (TAS) has been developed which uses electrochemical detection of transdermal ethanol, repeated sampling of ethanol concentration at short intervals, and solid- state storage of the data for periods of days to weeks to monitor ethanol consumption. Preliminary studies on alcohol consumption in controlled settings indicate that the TAS is capable of determining the pattern and relative amount of alcohol consumption in a semi-quantitative fashion. The TAS device shows good sensitivity with-threshold detection as low as 10 - 20 mg/dl. This proposal consists of three studies which will evaluate the use of the TAS as a research tool to better understand various aspects of alcohol consumption in humans. We will use the TAS: (l) to better understand the pharmacokinetics of transcutaneous ethanol across a range of individuals differing in race, gender and skin conditions and to pilot test the device in non-alcoholic drinkers, under conditions of known alcohol consumption in a home setting; (2) in field-trials with non-alcoholic drinkers under naturalistic drinking conditions; and 3) with alcoholics in outpatient treatment. We will evaluate utility and acceptance of the TAS device and compare its ability to assess alcohol consumption with traditional measures of assessment, such as self-report, collateral report and clinician assessment.