Jockers-Scherübl Maria C, Bauer Armin, Kuhn Silke, Reischies Friedel, Danker-Hopfe Heidi, Schmidt Lutz G, Rentzsch Johannes, Hellweg Rainer
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité-University Medicine Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Eschenallee 3, 14050 Berlin, Germany.
Neurosci Lett. 2007 May 23;419(1):78-82. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2007.03.051. Epub 2007 Mar 30.
Long-term alcohol abuse has deleterious effects on the peripheral and central nervous system. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a pleiotropic neurotrophic protein involved in development, maintenance of function and regeneration of nerve cells. We examined patients in different stages of alcohol disease and measured their NGF serum concentrations based on the hypothesis that these reflect the state of disease. We examined 57 patients suffering from alcohol-dependence for more than 2 years (DSM IV) on day 8 of a qualified withdrawal, 18 patients with Korsakoff's syndrome and 40 healthy controls. In addition to clinical examination, careful history taking and a standard neuropsychological test battery, serum NGF concentrations were measured by a highly sensitive enzyme-immunoassay. Of the 57 patients 9 had suffered from severe withdrawal delirium in the past, other clinical parameters were alike. Cognitive test performance did not differ from the control group. Mean NGF levels of controls amounted to 42.1pg/ml (S.D. 68.0); mean levels of patients with alcohol dependence were raised significantly to 401.5pg/ml (S.D. 932.6) without delirium in the past and even further to 3292.5pg/ml (S.D. 4879.6) with former withdrawal delirium. By contrast, patients with persistent amnestic disorder (Korsakoff's syndrome) showed values identical to the controls. NGF serum levels were significantly elevated in alcohol-dependent patients, more so in those with prior delirium. Their cognitive tests being normal, this possibly reflects the activity of NGF as an endogenous repair mechanism for damaged neurons. In accordance with this hypothesis, NGF values are "normal" in patients with persistent alcohol-related cognitive decline.
长期酗酒会对周围神经系统和中枢神经系统产生有害影响。神经生长因子（NGF）是一种具有多种功能的神经营养蛋白，参与神经细胞的发育、功能维持和再生。我们对处于酒精性疾病不同阶段的患者进行了检查，并基于这些浓度反映疾病状态的假设，测量了他们的NGF血清浓度。我们检查了57名酒精依赖超过2年（DSM-IV）的患者，在合格戒断的第8天进行检查，18名患有柯萨科夫综合征的患者以及40名健康对照者。除了临床检查、详细的病史采集和一套标准的神经心理测试外，还通过高灵敏度酶免疫测定法测量了血清NGF浓度。在这57名患者中，有9名过去曾患有严重的戒断谵妄，其他临床参数相似。认知测试表现与对照组没有差异。对照组的平均NGF水平为42.1pg/ml（标准差68.0）；无既往谵妄的酒精依赖患者的平均水平显著升高至401.5pg/ml（标准差932.6），而有既往戒断谵妄的患者甚至进一步升高至3292.5pg/ml（标准差4879.6）。相比之下，患有持续性遗忘障碍（柯萨科夫综合征）的患者的值与对照组相同。酒精依赖患者的NGF血清水平显著升高，既往有谵妄的患者升高更明显。他们的认知测试正常，这可能反映了NGF作为受损神经元内源性修复机制的活性。根据这一假设，在患有持续性酒精相关认知衰退的患者中，NGF值是“正常的”。
