Sialic Acid as a marker of alcohol dependency

Aim: The biochemical markers that show excessive alcohol use have important role in treatment, screening prevalance and determining other medical disorders releated to alcohol. In this study the serum TSA levels of patients with alcohol dependency which mentioned as a potential marker in literature is aimed to compare with controls.Methods: The sociodemographic and clinic information of patients (n=43) and control group (n=38) are registered, the CAGE test was applied and the diagnostical validity of AST, ALT, GGT, MCV, CDT and TSA levels in blood samples are observed. Also the relation between the type of alcohol dependency and the markers was investigated. For examining the diagnostical validity of markers, ROC statistical analysis method was used.Results: When these two groups (alcohol dependence and control group) were compared, the AST, ALT, GGT, MCV and TSA levels are found to be significantly different. But there is no statistically significant difference in CDT levels. When the Type I and Type II subgroups are compared with control group all the values of Type I subgruop is observed to be higher. In Type II subgroup ALT and CDT are found to be not different. The levels of TSA found to be correleated with CDT levels but not correleated with other markers. The sensitivity of GGT was measured as highest (%53,5) and the sensitivity of TSA was measured as second highest. The specifity of all markers were detected as equal (%97,4).Conclusion: In our study, the TSA levels in alcoholics found to be higher than control group. The TSA levels aren?t found to be different in subgroups of alcohol dependency. TSA levels are not correleated with AST, ALT, GGT and MCV but correleated with CDT. TSA is shown that it has the second highest sensitivity in measuring alcohol dependency following GGT. In this study it is determined that TSA can be useful as a marker in alcohol dependency and it is more sensitive than CDT.Key Words: alcohol, sialic acid, marker