Ind. researcher to study long-term drinking test
Associated Press November 16, 2012 10:42AM
Updated: November 16, 2012 11:56PM
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana University researcher has received a $1 million grant to study whether a blood test could be used to determine whether people have been drinking heavily in recent weeks.
IU School of Medicine professor Dr. Suthat Liangpunsakul says such a test is needed when a patient is being considered for a liver transplant, when alcohol consumption is a concern.
Liangpunsakul says patients almost always under-report their drinking to their physicians.
The test would measure levels of certain phospholipids, molecules that function as components of cell membranes. A preliminary study found elevated levels of phospholipids in mice and humans who had consumed alcohol.
The grant came from the Department of Defense.
