Brain Aldehyde Dehydrogenase in Human Alcoholics and Controls

Abstract
Human postmortem brain samples from temporal lobe of 23 alcoholics and 19 controls (13 with cancer and six without cancer) were used for determination of low Km (micromolar) and high Km (millimolar) aldehyde dehydrogenase activity. Despite histories of severe alcoholism leading to death through multiple complications, the mean values for either low or high Km activity did not differ significantly from that of controls similarly studied.