A new study reveals hormonal and biochemical factors that affect alcohol dependence (also known as Alcohol Use Disorder), suggesting that men and women with alcohol problems may benefit from different treatments. Scientists have known that men and women have different risks related to alcohol misuse and related problems and that alcohol treatments may need to be tailored differently to men and women. However, the biological mechanisms underlying those differences are not well understood.
"This is the first large study to confirm that some of the variability in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and related problems is associated with particular combinations of hormones and chemical biomarkers in men and in women. It may mean that sex-specific treatments can be tailored to improve responses for men and women with alcohol problems " said lead researcher Victor Karpyak, Professor of Psychiatry at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota (USA). This work is presented at the ECNP Congress in Milan, Italy.
As part of a research project researching the alcohol dependence medication acamprosate, the researchers looked at hormonal and protein markers of 268 men and 132 women with Alcohol Use Disorder. They correlated these markers with psychological markers, such as depressed mood, anxiety, craving, alcohol consumption and treatment outcomes during the first 3 months of treatment. At the beginning of the trial – before anyone had taken any medication – the researchers tested men and women for .