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The incidence of alcohol abuse is increasing in most countries. Despite this a reliable biochemical test for detecting and assessing alcohol abuse and monitoring the success of treatment is not yet available. Alcohol oxidation in the liver has profound metabolic effects, eg enzyme induction, toxic damage, alteration of the redox state of the liver. These effects form the basis of the majority of currently employed biochemical tests. The relative merits of commonly available tests, eg serum GGT, AspT, and those employed less frequently, eg blood lactate/pyruvate, are surveyed. Biochemical tests also play a role in detecting and managing alcohol-related pathologies and thes are also briefly reviewed.
Clark et al. (Thu,) studied this question.