In addition, within individuals with AUD (only), lower levels of BDNF and amygdala-mPFC functional connectivity during anxiety were associated with more binge episodes within the past 60 days and a lower age of AUD onset.
For further investigation, a cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the association of cognitive impairment, by using frontal assessment battery, and memory loss, using memory failures everyday, with the circulating levels of the neurotrophinbrain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) in abstinent subjects with alcohol use disorders (AUDs, N = 58, average of 17.9 years of problematic use and 4.3 months of abstinence) compared with healthy control subjects (N = 22).
Upregulation of BDNF-AS is associated with a significant decrease in BDNF expression and increased recruitment of EZH2, which deposits repressive H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) at regulatory regions in the BDNF gene in the early onset AUD group.
Multiple baseline pretreatment predictors of response were identified, including clinical (i.e., Body Mass Index (BMI), history of suicide, family history of alcohol use disorder), peripheral biochemistry (i.e., adiponectin levels, vitamin B12 levels), polysomnography (abnormalities in delta sleep ratio), neurochemistry (i.e., glutamine/glutamate ratio), neuroimaging (i.e., anterior cingulate cortex activity), genetic variation (i.e., Val66MetBDNF allele), and cognitive functioning (i.e., processing speed).
Furthermore, a stepwise multiple regression analysis of serum BDNF levels as a dependent variable with related factors showed that in heroin users, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test score, anxiety and RT score were found as independent contributors to serum BDNF levels.
The neurotrophinBrain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) has been implicated in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders, including alcohol use disorder.
These results suggest that further research is necessary to elucidate the role of BDNF in alcohol-induced toxicity and the biological significance of the lack of correlation between age and plasma IGF-1 levels in abstinent AUD patients.
These results parallel findings in animal models and suggest that stress-related changes in serum BDNF are influenced by both heritable (qFH) and environmental (early alcohol consumption) factors.
This study examined how alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) differed from those without PTSD in terms of demography, drinking patterns and C-reactive protein, inflammatory cytokines, tryptophan metabolism parameters, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).
Low serum BDNF levels are associated with characteristics related to alcohol consumption and mood disorders, and variants of the BDNF gene in alcohol use disorder patients.