1987 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Enzymological study on alcoholism
| Project/Area Number |
60480258
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Psychiatric science
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| Research Institution | Hokkaido University |
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Principal Investigator |
YAMASHITA Itaru Hokkaido University School of Medicine, 医学部, 教授 (60000923)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KOYAMA Tsukasa Hokkaido University School of Medicine (Yoshihara,Te), 医学部, 助教授 (10113557)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1985 – 1987
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| Keywords | Alcoholism / Aldehyde dehydrogenase / ALDH-I |
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| Research Abstract |
It has been empirically known that there is an ethnic difference in the sensitivity to alcohol between Asian and Europian peoples. Deficiency of aldehyde dehydrogenase type I isozyme (ALDH-I) odserved in about half of Asian people has been reported to account for the difference. In the present syudy, we investigated the rate of ALDH-I dificiency in different races and its correlation with alcohol sensitivity, drinking habits formation and the development of alcoholism in collaboration with 10 research institutes in various parts of the world. The following findings were obtained.
1) Isozyme analysis using isoelectric focusing of hair roots specimens revealed that 43% (50/117) of Japanese, 35% (14/40) of Taiwanese and 12% (4/34) of Phillipines were ALDH-I deficient. In contrast, not even one case of ALDH-I deficiency was detected in 146 samples collected from countries other than Asian nations.
2) Patients with alcoholism showed much smaller percentages of ALDH-I deficiency either in Japan (4% 5/113) or in Taiwan (10% 3/29) than those of respective control subjects.
3) ALDH-I deficient subjects showed flushing syndromes much more frequently than ALDH-I positive ones. This seemed to modify the drinking pattern. 18% (9/50) of ALDH-I deficient and 46% (31/67) of ALDH-I positive subjects were habitual drinkers.
These results suggest that the genetically derived ALDH-I deficiency is related to flushing syndromes in Asian people and exerts an inhibitory effects on the developments of drinking habits and alcoholism.
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