AUTHOR=de Souza Rodrigo Stênio Moll , Rosa Marcos , Rodrigues Thaísa Malbar , Escobar Thayssa Dalla Costa , Gasparetto Emerson Leandro , Nakamura-Palacios Ester Miyuki 

TITLE=Lower Choline Rate in the Left Prefrontal Cortex Is Associated With Higher Amount of Alcohol Use in Alcohol Use Disorder

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00563

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00563

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p>Excessive and long-term alcohol consumption produce metabolic changes, such as of choline, in many brain regions in alcohol use disorder (AUD) and in non-AUD subjects as well. This study examined the association of choline proportion in the prefrontal cortex with pattern of alcohol use in AUD patients. The choline metabolite was acquired through a single voxel Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (<sup>1</sup>H MRS). Between-groups comparison corrected by age showed that the ratio of Choline/Creatine (Cho/Cr) was significantly smaller (<italic>p</italic> = 0.005) in the Left Prefrontal (LPF) of AUD patients when compared to paired non-AUD subjects. A multiple regression analysis corrected by age showed that decreasing ratios of Cho/Cr in the LPF was associated with increasing amount of alcohol consumption in drinks per day (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01) in AUD patients. Rates of Cho/Cr in the LPF was inversely related to amounts of alcohol consumption possibly indicating the severity of the AUD. Thus, low proportion of Cho/Cr in the LPF could indicate more severe AUD (higher alcohol intake).</p>