Am J Psychiatry 1990; 147:1294-1296
Copyright © 1990 by American Psychiatric Association
CSF gamma-aminobutyric acid in alcoholics and control subjects
A Roy, J DeJong, T Ferraro, B Adinoff, B Ravitz and M Linnoila
Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, Md.
Alcohol has widespread effects on the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system
in the brain. This system in the brain is also postulated to have a role in
anxiety, and alcoholics have been reported to have more anxiety disorders.
Therefore, the authors undertook a study to compare CSF levels of GABA in
abstinent alcoholic patients and normal control subjects. There was no
significant difference between groups in CSF levels of GABA. Also, there
was no significant difference in GABA level between alcoholic patients with
histories of withdrawal seizures and those without such a history.
