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Central Deficiency of β-Endorphin in Alcohol Addicts*

1982; Oxford University Press; Volume: 55; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1210/jcem-55-3-583

1945-7197

A. R. Genazzani, Giuseppe Nappi, Fabio Facchinetti, G. Mazzella, D. Parrini, Elena Sinforiani, Felice Petraglia, F Savoldi,

Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments

Alcohol addiction may induce its dependence through a mechanism involving opiate receptors and opioid peptides. For these reasons, we measured ACTH,β-lipotropin, and β-endorphin in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 29 alcohol addicts and compared these values with those found in 8 normal volunteers. Although no significant differences existed in peripheral concentrations of the 3 peptides, alcohol addicts had β-endorphin levels in CSF (mean±se, 29.4±4.5 fmol/ml) that were 3-fold lower than those of the controls (98.4±10.5 fmol/ml; P<0.001) and ACTH levels 4 times higher than control values (30.0±1.8 vs. 7.4±1.1 fmol/ml in controls; P<0.001), while no difference was found in β-lipotropin levels. These results suggest that alcohol addiction is associated with a marked alteration in the CSF content of proopiocortin-related peptides which may play a role in the alcohol-seeking behavior typical of the syndrome.