Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Nitric oxide is not increased in alcoholic brain

J Neiman¹, G Benthin

¹Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Alcohol and Alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)

|November 28, 1997

Summary

This study measured nitric oxide (NO) metabolites in alcohol-dependent individuals and found no significant differences compared to healthy controls. These findings suggest NO is not a primary cause of brain damage in alcoholism.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Senology in Gynaecology Specialist Training: a Baseline Survey from 2014.

Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde·2016

Same author

Reduced [¹¹C]flumazenil radioligand binding in the thalamus in alcoholics.

Addiction biology·2010

Same author

Neurological complications of drug abuse: pathophysiological mechanisms.

European journal of neurology·2001

Same author

Search for the influence of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TCAT)(n) repeat polymorphism on personality traits.

Psychiatry research·2000

Same author

The effect of acute ingestion of a large dose of alcohol on the hemostatic system and its circadian variation.

Stroke·2000

Same author

Alcohol as a risk factor for brain damage: neurologic aspects.

Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research·1998

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Biochemistry
Toxicology

Background:

Alcohol dependence is associated with neurological complications.
Nitric oxide (NO) plays various roles in the central nervous system.
The involvement of NO metabolites in alcohol-induced brain damage requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the levels of nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, specifically nitrite and nitrate, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of alcohol-dependent subjects.
To compare NO metabolite levels between alcohol-dependent individuals and healthy controls.
To assess the potential role of NO in the pathogenesis of brain damage associated with alcohol dependence.

Main Methods:

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected from 12 individuals with alcohol dependence and 16 healthy controls.
Nitrite and nitrate concentrations in CSF were quantified using spectrophotometric methods.
Statistical analysis was performed to compare metabolite levels between the two groups.

Main Results:

No statistically significant differences were observed in nitrite and nitrate levels in the CSF of alcohol-dependent subjects compared to healthy controls.
The concentrations of NO metabolites were comparable across both study groups.
This indicates that overall NO production, as reflected by its stable metabolites, is not altered in alcohol dependence.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that nitric oxide (NO) is unlikely to be a major contributing factor to the observed brain damage in alcohol-dependent patients.
Altered NO metabolism is not a primary mechanism underlying neurological deficits in this patient population.
Further research should explore other neurochemical pathways involved in alcohol-related brain injury.

Related Experiment Videos