Pharmacopsychiatry 2003; 36 - 325
DOI: 10.1055/s-2003-825568

Leptin levels of alcohol abstainers and detoxification patients are not different

FM Wurst 1, G Bechtel 2, S Forster 2, M Wolfersdorf 2, P Huber 3, A Scholer 3, L Pridzun 4, A Alt 5, S Seidl 6, J Dierkes 7, G Dammann 1
  • 1Psychiatric University Clinic and
  • 3Department Central Laboratory, University of Basel, Switzerland
  • 2State Mental Hospital Bayreuth, Germany
  • 4Mediagnost Inc., Reutlingen, Germany; Departments of Legal Medicine, Universities of
  • 5Ulm and
  • 6Erlangen, Germany
  • 7Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of Magdeburg, Germany

AIMS: Recently the issue of leptin as putative state marker of alcohol use and its role in craving has been raised. Our goal is to evaluate the potential of leptin as state and trait marker and to rule out the role of current alcohol intoxication on leptin levels.

PATIENTS AND Methods: 18 alcohol withdrawal patients (16m, 2f), 43.5 years (median), were included. Leptin was determined in samples at day 1 and day 7 of withdrawal. Expected leptin levels were calculated with a formula. For comparison 27 blood samples of 18 abstinent persons, matched for gender, age and BMI were used. Results: Expected leptin levels (1.71 ng/mL (median)), leptin day one (2.65 ng/mL (median)) and 2.85 ng/mL day 7 for the alcohol withdrawal patients and 2.2 ng/mL (med) for the abstainers were not significantly different. CONCLUSION: Our preliminary data do not support the hypothesis of leptin as state or as a trait marker in alcohol detoxification patients.

Wurst FM, Dammann G, Dierkes J, Bechtel G, Forster S, Wolfersdorf M, Huber P, Scholer A, Pridzun L, Alt A, Seidl S (2003) Leptin levels in abstainers and alcohol detoxification patients are not different. Alcohol Alcohol 38: 364–368