Sex hormones and alcohol withdrawal: does a good supply of testosterone prevent serious symptoms during detoxification?

Owing to the clinical similarity between the male climacteric syndrome and the results of previous studies on the alcohol withdrawal syndrome in relation to sex hormones, we hypothesized that alcoholics with a poor supply of testosterone will develop more pronounced symptoms during alcohol withdrawal than alcoholics with high levels of testosterone. Fifty-two male alcoholics were studied. To test our hypothesis we entered the mean values of the hormones, the mean age, and the mean consumption of liquor (CL) the week before admittance as regressors in a multiple forward stepwise regression analysis with four subclass constructed from the CPRS as dependent variables. Our results indicate that patients with low levels of testosterone develop more neurotic-asthenic symptoms, such as indecision, worrying about trifles, fatigability, and lassitude during alcohol withdrawal. Further, high levels of SHBG were related to a history of seizures and younger alcoholics received higher ratings on the paranoid-aggressive subscale. It is concluded that there is a relation between levels of testosterone and symptoms during alcohol withdrawal. The question of a causal relationship remains to be answered, however. One way to illuminate this would be to add testosterone during detoxification, which may reduce the symptoms mentioned above analogous to the male climacteric syndrome, which could be prosperously treated by a supplement of testosterone. This treatment strategy would have obvious advantages compared to benzodiazepine detoxification as such drugs are potentially addictive.

Cohabiting relationships and sexual interest of male alcoholics.

This study comprises data from a consecutive series of 52 heterosexual male alcoholics. The purpose of the study was to describe sexual interest and cohabiting relationships and to analyse the influence of personality and biological factors on these phenomena. An increased sexual interest or activity and frequent changes of cohabiting partners are two common characteristics of male alcoholics but these two phenomena are not interrelated. A decreased sexual interest is reported by only a minority of male alcoholics. The alcoholics with several previous cohabiting relationships stand out as being aggressive and hard drinking. The alcoholic with an increased sexual interest makes an opposite impression. He is non-aggressive, socially adjustable and unafraid of close interpersonal relations. When decreased sexual interest or activity occurs in male alcoholics, it is mainly a result of hormonal changes. Low levels of male and high levels of female sex hormones are common in these men.

Sex hormones during alcohol withdrawal: a longitudinal study of 29 male alcoholics during detoxification.

It is a well-known fact that alcohol affects sex hormone levels in males. Even in the absence of liver dysfunction, there is still a direct toxic effect of ethanol on testosterone synthesis resulting in acutely decreased values. This study is based on 29 male alcoholics without severe signs of liver disease treated on the alcohol detoxification ward at Huddinge hospital in Stockholm, Sweden during 1995. The aim was to study levels of sex hormones in male alcoholics during detoxification with benzodiazepines and after 3 weeks of sobriety. Blood samples were taken three times: one day after admission (day 2) when the patient was sober, at discharge (day 5) and after 3 weeks of sobriety (day 21). Levels of testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) showed the same pattern during detoxification and follow-up. They were both low, but generally within normal limits, on days 2 and 5, but raised after 3 weeks of sobriety. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were initially high, but were substantially depressed during detoxification. Levels of FSH recovered after 3 weeks, whereas LH remained at the same level. Most patients exhibited generally low levels of both FSH and LH, however. Levels of oestrone decreased steadily. There were no correlations between levels of sex hormones and the number of milligrams of oxazepam administered to the patients during detoxification either at admission, at discharge or at follow-up. In summary, the endocrinological response to alcohol intake is complex. This study suggests that the duration of endocrinological recovery after drinking is a quite long-lasting process, that different hormones need different times to recover and that the normal glandular-pituitary feed-back processes may be partly put out of order.

Elemental analysis of histochemically defined cells in the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris.

A method for preparation of biological specimens for electron probe X-ray microanalysis is described, that aims at retaining the original elemental distribution within the tissue at the cellular level. The tissue is without any chemical fixation, quench-frozen, and 16-micron sections are prepared with a conventional cryomicrotome, transferred to a carbon specimen holder and freeze-dried. Adjacent serial sections, collected on glass slides and stained with various histological procedures, are used to correlate the data obtained by X-ray microanalysis with other histochemical information on the same cell or tissue. To demonstrate the possibilities of the method, sections of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris were analyzed. In the chloragogenous cells, high concentrations of Ca, Zn and P were found. The inner and outer muscle layer show slightly different properties, both with regard to elemental composition and to myofibrillar ATPase activity.