Several lines of research have suggested that there is a genetic component to alcoholism and research is on-going to find a marker which could be used to predict which individuals are at risk for the development of alcoholism. Recent reports suggest that a metabolic product of acetoin, 2,3-butanediol is present in the blood of alcoholics, but not non-alcoholics when both groups have recently ingested ethanol. These metabolic products may be used as markers for alcoholism. However, it has not been demonstrated that these products precede the development of alcoholism or whether they are caused by years of heavy drinking. A Research design (the High Risk Paradigm) circumvents this problem by studying young people who have no current symptoms of alcoholism, but yet, by virtue of their family history for alcoholism, are at higher risk to eventually develop alcoholism. The experimental design involves selecting two groups of subjects, one at high and one at low risk for the subsequent development of alcoholism. Both groups will be challenged with ethanol in a controlled setting and their blood sampled for subsequent analysis of diol content. Attention will focus on 2,3-butanediol and 1,2-propanediol, the compounds which have been cited in the literature as potential indices or genetically-determined biochemical markers for risk for alcoholism. It is hypothesized that subjects from the high-risk group will have 2,3-butanediol detectable in their plasma and will have higher levels of 1,2-propanediol whereas low risk subjects will have an absence of 2,3-butanediol and lower levels of 1,2-propanediol. Development or markers for pre-disposition to subsequent alcoholism could have profound implications in terms of the prevention of health problems. Alcoholism is one of the primary disorders associated with a plethora of medical, psychiatric and social problems. The development of a reliable marker would enable the targeting of limited resources to those individuals in the population who are most vulnerable, with the aim of educating and counselling them regarding their use of alcohol, and hopefully, significantly reducing the number of individuals who subsequently become alcoholic.
