Determinants genètics i bioquímics de la toxicitat i adicció a l'alcohol: paper dels isoenzims de l'alcohol-deshidrogenasa.

Study objective: The search in the European population for specific alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) isozyme patterns and activities which could represent higher susceptibility to alcoholism and to ethanol related diseases such as hepatic and digestive tract diseases. An additional objective is the characterization of the recently reported gastric sigma-ADH isozyme at the protein, cDNA and gene levels. Design: The study will focus on the liver enzyme, principal responsible for ethanol oxidation, and on sotmach ADH, which may play a role in the elimination of ingested ethanol (first-pass metabolism). Setting: Populations of Barcelona, Bordeaux, Heidelberg and Stockholm. Patients: Liver and stomach biopsies and blood samples from 200 patients with liver or gastrointestinal disease, and 50 blood samples from controls. Interventions and measurements: Biopsy samples will be analyzed for ADH activi