Premium
Serum β‐Hexosaminidase as a Marker of Heavy Drinking
Author(s) -
Kärkkäinen Päivi,
Poikolainen Kari,
Salaspuro Mikko
Publication year - 1990
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 - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1990.tb00469.x
Subject(s) - heavy drinking , hexosaminidase , ethanol , alcohol , medicine , alcohol intake , chemistry , gastroenterology , endocrinology , physiology , alcohol consumption , enzyme , biochemistry
β‐hexosaminidase, also called n ‐acetyl‐β‐ d ‐glucosaminidase, is a lysosomal glycosidase, which has been found to be increased in the sera of alcoholics admitted to acute detoxification treatment. To study serum β‐hexosaminidase (β‐HEX) as a marker of heavy drinking, it was compared with GGT, ASAT, and ALAT in three study groups: twentyfive drunken arrestees, 16 social drinkers, and 27 teetotallers. Mean serum β‐HEX levels were two times higher among drunken arrestees than among social drinkers or teetotallers. Average daily alcohol intake during the preceding 30 days in the pooled group of drunken arrestees and social drinkers correlated positively ( r = 0.69; p < 0.0001) with serum β‐HEX. The sensitivity of β‐HEX in the detection of heavy drinking, defined as over 60 g ethanol daily, was 85.7% compared to 47.6% for GGT. The specificity of β‐HEX was 97.6%. The positive correlations between β‐HEX and ASAT ( r = 0.74; p < 0.0001) and ALAT ( r = 0.41; p < 0.05) indicate that increased serum β‐HEX level may reflect early liver injury. Serum β‐HEX seems to be a sensitive biological marker of heavy drinking reflecting better the ingested amounts of alcohol than GGT.