Correlation Between Plasma ProBDNF Level And Cognitive Function In Patients With Alcohol Dependence Syndrome

Objectives:To explore the relationship between the expression level of Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor Precursor(proBDNF)in peripheral blood and alcohol use,dependence,withdrawal,and cognitive function in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome.To investigate the changes in plasma proBDNF concentration and cognitive function in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome before and after 4weeks of abstinence treatment.The correlation between the change in plasma proBDNF expression level and cognitive function was analyzed.Methods:Patients with alcohol dependence syndrome hospitalized in the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence Treatment,Mental Health Center Affiliated to Kunming Medical University from January 2022 to December 2022 were included as the baseline group,and healthy physical examination subjects matching their age,sex,and education level were included as the control group.At the same time,4 weeks of abstinence treatment samples were collected as the treatment group.Meanwhile,samples collected after 4 weeks of treatment were included in the treatment group.Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay(ELISA)was used to detect proBDNF levels in the peripheral blood of all subjects.Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test(Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test,AUDIT),Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire,Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire,SADQ)and the Clinic Institute Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome Scale(CIWA-Ar)were used to assess alcohol use,alcohol dependence severity,and withdrawal symptoms in the baseline group.Mini-mental State Examination(MMSE)was used to evaluate cognitive function in the baseline group,treatment group,and control group.Assess a subject’s decision Sorting function using the Modified-Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(M-WCST);The Verbal executive function of the subjects was assessed using the Verbal Fluency Test(VFT).In addition,the modified Wechsler Memory Scale(WMS)was used to assess the changes in the level of memory of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome before and after treatment.The Trail Making Test-A(TMT-A)was used to assess the change in attention level in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome before and after treatment.Statistic Package for Social Science(SPSS)25.0 was used for the statistical analysis of all data.Results:1.The expression level of plasma proBDNF in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome in the baseline group was higher than that in the healthy control group(Z=-3.729,P<0.001).In the baseline group,compared to the control group,In MMSE score,response corrected(RC),response errors(RE),and noncontinuous response,M-WSCT test NRPE),category completed(CC),and VFT correct number were statistically different(P<0.05),which was more perseverative responses(RPE)than many perseverative responses(P>0.05).2.The plasma proBDNF concentration in the baseline group of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome was positively correlated with the average daily alcohol intake in the recent 1 month(r=0.329,P=0.003),AUDIT score(r=0.464,P<0.001)and SADQ score(r=0.262,P=0.019).Plasma proBDNF concentration in baseline group B was positively correlated with the CIWA-Ar scale score(r=0.299,P=0.025).3.The plasma proBDNF level in the baseline group of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome at admission was positively correlated with MMSE score,CC number in M-WSCT,and completion time of TMT-A(P<0.05),but had no significant correlation with other items of M-WSCT,the correct number of WMS and VFT(P>0.05).4.Age,drinking years,and average daily alcohol intake in the past 1 month were correlated with cognitive function in the baseline group of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome(P<0.05).5.After 4 weeks of abstinence treatment,plasma proBDNF concentration in the treatment group was significantly lower than that at baseline(Z=-2.987,P=0.003).After treatment,the MMSE,the M-WSCT items,the correct number of VFT,and the completion time of TMT-A were improved compared with before treatment,with statistical significance(P<0.05).6.The reduction of plasma proBDNF concentration in the treatment group of alcohol dependence syndrome was positively correlated with the reduction of RPE in the MWSCT test(r=0.332,P=0.039),and did not correlate with other neuropsychological tests(P>0.5).Conclusions:1.proBDNF may be involved in the pathophysiological mechanism of alcohol dependence syndrome.2.Recent alcohol intake may have a significant impact on the level of plasma proBDNF,which may be closely related to the risk of alcohol consumption and the degree of alcohol dependence of patients with alcohol dependence.proBDNF may be involved in the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms during the period when the withdrawal symptoms are relatively obvious.3.Patients with alcohol dependence syndrome have varying degrees of cognitive impairment,but part of this cognitive impairment can be gradually recovered through abstinence and time.4.proBDNF level may reflect the severity of cognitive impairment in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome to some extent.5.The cognitive impairment of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome is more severe with older age,longer drinking years,and higher recent alcohol intake.6.The cognitive function of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome was significantly improved after treatment,but the degree of change of proBDNF level after 4 weeks of alcohol abstinence treatment may not well reflect the degree of recovery of cognitive impairment in patients with alcohol dependence.