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Performance of Asialotransferrin in Detecting Alcohol Abuse
Author(s) -
Schwan Raymund,
Loiseaux MarieNadia,
Albuisson Eliane,
Legros Franz J.,
Nuyens Vincent,
Malet Laurent,
ChéreauBoudet Isabelle,
Llorca PierreMichel
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1097/01.alc.0000150003.97917.17
Subject(s) - alcohol abuse , alcohol , psychology , criminology , psychiatry , chemistry , biochemistry
Background: The spectrum of alcohol use disorders covers hazardous use, alcohol abuse, and alcohol dependence. The present study evaluated the performance of asialotransferrin, a newly proposed biomarker for alcohol use disorders, in detecting alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. Method: A 4‐month trial was conducted in three groups of participants: alcohol abusers and alcohol‐dependent patients, as defined in DSM‐IV, and a control group. Asialotransferrin was assayed by capillary zone electrophoresis. Results: Asialotransferrin demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.34 and a specificity of 1.00 for alcohol abuse. The sensitivity of asialotransferrin increased to 0.57 in alcohol‐dependent patients. Conclusion: Despite the high specificity of asialotransferrin in alcohol use disorders, its sensitivity is too low to make it a useful marker of alcohol abuse.