ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE - IS CARBOHYDRATE-DEFICIENT TRANSFERRIN A MARKER FOR ALCOHOL INTAKE

We investigated %CDT (carbohydrate-deficient transferrin) in 92 ethano l-intoxicated alcohol-dependent patients after consecutive admission t o hospital and followed them for 28 days under controlled conditions. At admission, 63% (58 patients) showed elevated CDT (>2.5%) and 34 pat ients (37%) had normal CDT levels (<2.5%). No correlation of the %CDT values to alcohol-related disabilities, severity of the withdrawal syn drome, alcohol-drinking pattern before admission, or several other fac tors was found. The sensitivity of GGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase) wa s 58% for the same group of patients. Levels of %CDT decreased during the 28 days following abstinence, whereby we could separate four stati stically different groups of 'CDT decrease'. In two of these groups, c omprising most of the cases studied, normal %CDT levels were reached a fter 14 days of abstinence. Those patients with %CDT levels exceeding the upper normal level after 14 days of sobriety, showed a decrease du ring the following 14 days to levels of 2.55-2.61%.