This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wand, G. S. Articles by Ali, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wand, G. S. Articles by Ali, M.

Adrenocorticotropin Responses to Naloxone in Sons of Alcohol-Dependent Men¹

Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Gary S. Wand, M.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Ross Research Building, Room 850, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21205. E-mail: gwand{at}welchlink.welch.jhu.edu

The endogenous opioid system is part of a neural circuitry functionally related to alcohol-seeking behaviors. A family history of alcoholism is the strongest predictor of future development of alcohol dependence. This study was designed to evaluate ACTH responses to opioid receptor blockade as a function of family history for alcohol dependence. The nonselective opioid antagonist naloxone stimulates ACTH secretion by blocking opioidergic input on paraventricular corticotropin-releasing factor neurons, thereby providing a methodology for comparing hypothalamic opioid tone between study groups. Sixty nonalcoholic subjects, aged 18–25 yr, were enrolled in a protocol to measure the ACTH response to naloxone. Thirty-two subjects were offspring from families with a high density of alcohol dependence and were designated as family history-positive subjects. Twenty-eight subjects were offspring of nonalcohol-dependent parents and were designated family history-negative subjects. Subjects received naloxone (125 µg/kg) or placebo (0.9% saline) in double blind, randomized order. Plasma ACTH was monitored. Family history-positive men had increased ACTH response to naloxone compared to 1) family history-positive women, 2) family history-negative men, and 3) family history-negative women. Despite differences in plasma ACTH levels after naloxone administration, plasma naloxone concentrations did not differ between study groups. This finding suggests that nonalcoholic male offspring of alcohol-dependent men have altered endogenous opioid activity directed at hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor neurons.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				W. M. Pratt and D. Davidson Role of the HPA Axis and the A118G Polymorphism of the {micro}-Opioid Receptor in Stress-Induced Drinking Behavior Alcohol Alcohol., July 1, 2009; 44(4): 358 - 365. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]