PLASMA GABA--BIOLOGICAL MARKER FOR ALCOHOLISM

γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）是一种抑制性神经递质， 被认为与几种神经和精神疾病有关 疾病虽然大多数GABA发生在中枢神经系统，小 血液中发现大量GABA，血浆GABA水平可能反映 它在大脑中的活动。 在几项初步研究中（部分得到NIMH心理健康中心的支持）， 小格兰特），我们已经发现血浆GABA水平是非常低的， 与对照组相比， 患有其他精神疾病的患者。低浓度的GABA 水平与疾病严重程度的几个指标无关， 例如饮酒量、年龄或大量饮酒持续时间。 因此，血浆GABA可能代表了一个性状标记的疾病， 酒精中毒 我们将测试这个假设。首先，一个更大的非酒精性群体 将对对照进行研究以确定血浆GABA相对于 时间第二，一系列被诊断为酒精中毒的患者会 在入院时测定他们的血浆GABA水平 治疗单位，28天后出院时，以及6个月时 跟进。这些患者中的一组也会有脑脊液 测量GABA以确定其与血浆GABA的相关性。的 有待检验的假设将预测血浆GABA水平将保持在 低，即使在那些保持清醒的科目。 这项研究应该有助于我们了解GABA的作用 在酒精中毒的病理生理学中起着重要作用

Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter which is thought to be involved in several neurological and psychiatric diseases. Although most GABA occurs in the central nervous system, small amounts of GABA are found in blood, and levels of plasma GABA may reflect its activity in brain. In several preliminary studies (supported in part by a NIMH Mental Health Small Grant) we have found levels of plasma GABA to be very low in recently detoxified patients with alcoholism, compared to controls and to patients with several other psychiatric diseases. The low plasma GABA levels were not correlated with several indices of severity of illness, such as amount of alcohol consumed, age, or duration of heavy drinking. Therefore, plasma GABA may represent a trait marker for the illness of alcoholism. We will test this hypothesis. First, a larger group of non-alcoholic controls will be studied to determine the stability of plasma GABA over time. Second, a series of patients with the diagnosis of alcoholism will have their plasma GABA levels determined on admission to an inpatient treatment unit, 28 days later at time of discharge, and on six month followup. A group of these patients will also have cerebrospinal fluid GABA measured to determine its correlation with plasma GABA. The hypothesis to be tested would predict that plasma GABA levels will remain low, even in those subjects who maintain sobriety. This research should contribute to our understanding of the role GABA plays in the pathophysiology of alcoholism