Correlation between plasma homocysteine levels and craving in alcohol dependent stabilized patients

Clinical Nutrition : Official Journal of the European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
Maurizio Coppola, Raffaella Mondola

Abstract

Homocysteine is a sulfur amino acid strictly related with alcohol consumption. In alcoholics, hyperhomocysteinemia can increase the risk of various alcohol-related disorders such as: brain atrophy, epileptic seizures during withdrawal, and mood disorders. To evaluate the correlation among serum homocysteine concentrations, craving, hazardous and harmful patterns of alcohol consumption in patients stabilized for withdrawal symptoms. Participants were adult outpatients accessed at the Addiction Treatment Unit. Alcoholism was assessed using the following tools: Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus (MINI Plus), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification test (AUDIT), Visual Analogic Scale for craving (VAS). Furthermore, during the first visit a blood sample was taken from all patients to measure the plasma concentration of both homocysteine and Carboxy Deficient Transferrin (CDT). Differences between groups in socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were analyzed using the t-test and the Mann-Whitney's U test for normally and non-normally distributed data, respectively. Correlation between clinical scale scores and plasma concentration of homocysteine and CDT was evaluated using the Pearson's correlation coefficient a...Continue Reading

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