CSF diazepam-binding inhibitor in alcoholics and normal controls

Alec Roy, Judith DeJong, Bryon Adinoff, Maria Barbaccia, Erminio Costa, Alessandro Guidotti, Markku Linnoila

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Diazepan-binding-inhibitor (DBI) and y-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are colocalized in neurons in the brain. This system has been implicated in anxiety and in the regulation of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) secretion. Alcohol has direct and indirect effects on the functioning of GABAA receptors. Abstinent alcoholics are, on the average, more anxious than controls. In tests of animal behavior, DBI has anxiogenic, and alcohol has anxiolytic potency. Therefore, we compared alcoholic patients and healthy controls for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of DBI, and looked for a correlation between CSF levels of DBI and CRH. There was no significant difference in CSF concentrations of DBI between the two groups and no significant correlation between CSF DBI and our measure of anxiety. However, there was a significant positive correlation between CSF levels of DBI and CRH in both the alcoholic and control groups.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)261-266
Number of pages6
JournalPsychiatry research
Volume31
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1990

Keywords

  • Alcohol
  • anxiety
  • diazepam-binding inhibitor

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Biological Psychiatry

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