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Biomedical subjects

G F Borge

Publications and source records attributed to G F Borge.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

The dexamethasone suppression test and depressive symptoms in early and late withdrawal from alcohol.

Results of the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) in 30 alcoholic patients tested on day 5 and again on day 25 after their last drink are presented. Nineteen patients (63%) failed to suppress cortisol on day 5; three (11%) failed to suppress cortisol on day 25. Depressive symptoms, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory, were significantly correlated with DST results; the lifetime diagnosis of depressive illness was not. The authors conclude that the DST is not useful in detecting primary affective disorders during the early phase of withdrawal from alcohol.

Adult↗

Dopamine-related tetrahydroisoquinolines: significant urinary excretion by alcoholics after alcohol consumption.

Concentrations of dopamine-related tetrahydroisoquinolines (salsolinol and O-methylated salsolinol) were significantly higher in the daily urine samples of alcoholic subjects admitted for alcohol detoxification than in the daily urine samples of nonalcoholic control subjects. Salsolinol concentrations in alcoholic subjects appeared to drop to trace (control) values 2 to 3 days after admission, following the disappearance of ethanol and its reactive metabolite acetaldehyde from the blood. These results indicate that physiologically active tetrahydroisoquinolines increase in humans during long-term alcohol consumption, presumably because of acetaldehyde's direct condensation with catecholamines. The presence of these or similar condensation products in the urine could be useful as clinical indicators of prior blood acetaldehyde concentrations in chronic alcoholics.

Acetaldehyde↗

Lack of evidence for sustained blood acetaldehyde concentrations during alcohol detoxification.

Contrary to a published report, blood acetaldehyde concentrations become undetectable in patients 1--2 days following admission for alcohol detoxification. The persistently elevated blood acetaldehydes reported by others probably were due to artifactual formation during analysis. Nevertheless, our admission blood acetaldehyde concentrations are significant enough to support the contention that acetaldehyde has a cytotoxic role in alcoholic disease.

Acetaldehyde↗