CLINICAL-EVALUATION OF CARBOHYDRATE-DEFICIENT TRANSFERRIN AS AN INDICATOR OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE

Objective: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of carbohydrate deficie nt transferrin (CDT) as an indicator of alcohol dependence (DSM 111R). Method: Subjects included 18 patients with alcohol dependence and 36 controls (15 recovering alcohol dependents and 21 blood donors). Blood samples from the subjects were analysed for CDT, mean corpuscular vol ume (MCV) and gamma Glutamyltransferase (gammaGT). These indicators we re compared for their sensitivities and specificities to detect excess ive alcohol use. Results: Amongst patients with alcohol dependence, CD T was detected in all (100%), gammaGT was raised in 8 (44%) and MCV wa s raised in 4 (22%). CDT was detected in five of the 36 controls. Conc lusion: CDT was the most sensitive indicator of alcohol dependence. Ho wever, CDT showed a much higher false positive rate compared to previo us studies. More research is required to elicit at what level of alcoh ol consumption CDT becomes positive. CDT could prove to be a clinicall y useful indicator of excessive alcohol use in future.