BDNF and GDNF serum levels in alcohol-dependent patients during withdrawal

Preclinical study results suggest that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) modulate addictive behaviour. Therefore we investigated alterations in BDNF (81 male patients) and GDNF serum levels (52 male patients) in alcohol-dependent patients during alcohol withdrawal (day 1, 7 and 14) in comparison to healthy controls (41 male controls). BDNF serum levels were not significantly altered in alcohol-dependent patients compared to healthy controls (p=0.685). GDNF serum levels were significantly reduced in the alcohol-dependent patients (p<0.001). BDNF (p=0.265) and GDNF (p=0.255) serum levels did not change significantly during alcohol withdrawal. BDNF serum levels were significantly negatively associated with alcohol withdrawal severity on day 1 (CIWA-Ar score, p=0.004). GDNF serum levels were significantly negatively associated with individual estimation of alcohol tolerance (SESA-XT score, p=0.028). There was no further association with psychometric dimensions of alcohol withdrawal. In conclusion we found that GDNF serum levels are significantly reduced in alcohol-dependent patients. GDNF serum levels were negatively associated with alcohol tolerance. Moreover BDNF serum levels were found to be associated with withdrawal severity.