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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
Biological markers of alcoholism
1Department of Community Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria.
Abstract:
The roles of two categories of biological markers--those relating to alcohol consumption and those relating to the risk of developing alcohol related problems--are reviewed. Platelet Mono-amino oxidase levels are low in individuals with a strong inheritance of their drinking problem (Cloninger Type II alcoholics). Elevated gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels identify regular heavy drinkers with a sensitivity between 40-60%. Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) has a high specificity (95%) and is useful in detecting regular heavy drinkers in the ambulatory care population if other causes of an elevated MCV can be included.

