ABSTRACT
We investigated %CDT (carbohydrate-deficient transferrin) in 92 ethanol-intoxicated alcohol-dependent patients after consecutive admission to hospital and followed the for 28 days under controlled conditions. At admission, 63% (58 patients) showed elevated CDT (> 2.5%) and 34 patients (37%) had normal CDT levels (< 2.5%). No correlation of the %CDT values to alcohol-related disabilities, severity of the withdrawal syndrome, alcohol-drinking pattern before admission, or several other factors was found. The sensitivity of GGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase) was 58% for the same group of patients. Levels of %CDT decreased during the 28 days following abstinence, whereby we could separate four statistically different groups of "CDT decrease'. In two of these groups, comprising most of the cases studied, normal %CDT levels were reached after 14 days of abstinence. Those patients with %CDT levels exceeding the upper normal level after 14 days of sobriety, showed a decrease during the following 14 days to levels of 2.55-2.61%.
Subject(s)
Alcoholism/diagnosis , Transferrin/analogs & derivatives , Adult , Aged , Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium/diagnosis , Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium/enzymology , Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium/rehabilitation , Alcoholism/enzymology , Alcoholism/rehabilitation , Austria/epidemiology , Biomarkers/analysis , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Liver Diseases, Alcoholic/diagnosis , Liver Diseases, Alcoholic/enzymology , Liver Diseases, Alcoholic/rehabilitation , Liver Function Tests , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Admission , Transferrin/analysis , gamma-Glutamyltransferase/bloodABSTRACT
This paper reports the results of a 3-week drinking experiment in 51 healthy male subjects, examining the value of %CDT (carbohydrate-deficient transferrin) in the context of different levels of alcohol intake. All healthy persons were urine-tested drug-free and underwent daily breath alcohol tests for the 7 days preceding, and during the whole 3 weeks of, the experiment. Subjects were divided into five groups, consuming different amounts of alcohol daily over a 3-h period in the presence of the investigators. The five groups consisted of 10, 9, 10, 16 and 6 subjects respectively and consumed a daily dose of ethanol of 20, 40, 60, 80 and 80 g respectively for 3 weeks. No significant changes in %CDT were detected in most subjects, even in the 80 g alcohol-consuming groups. The results suggest that CDT is not sensitive for the detection of short-term heavy drinking by healthy subjects.
