Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42745461›Full record

Trial reportAddiction biology2026

Effects of Binge Drinking and Alcohol Withdrawal on Serum Neurofilament Levels.

Ann-Kathrin Stock, Maximilian Pilhatsch, Katja Akgün, Joris C Verster, Elisabeth Brückner, Mona Hofmann, Julian R Hinz, Dušan A Ladjević, Tjalf Ziemssen, Christian Beste

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Addiction biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Ann-Kathrin StockCognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7113-4020
Maximilian PilhatschDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Katja AkgünCenter of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Joris C VersterCognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6455-2096
Elisabeth BrücknerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, ELBLANDKLINIKUM, Radebeul, Germany.
Mona HofmannCognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Julian R HinzCognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2923-3954
Dušan A LadjevićCognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Tjalf ZiemssenCenter of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Christian BesteCenter of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2989-9561

Funding

Daimler and Benz FoundationGerman Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Chronic heavy alcohol use and alcohol withdrawal are known to diffusely damage white matter (WM), but it has remained rather unclear whether the damage sustained during a single withdrawal event is functionally relevant and whether WM damage also occurs during or after single episodes of heavy drinking. We therefore set out to investigate the effects of acute alcohol intoxication, alcohol hangover and (post)acute alcohol withdrawal on axonal injury (assessed via serum neurofilament light chain/NFL) and potentially associated cognitive-behavioural functioning (as assessed with the CANTAB test battery) in three separate studies. Acute intoxication and hangover effects were studied in healthy young men who underwent a standardized intoxication procedure aiming at an intoxication level of approx. 1.2‰ in two separate randomized experimental crossover studies. (Post)acute withdrawal effects were longitudinally observed in withdrawal patients during a 21-day inpatient qualified detoxification treatment. There was no significant effect of alcohol intoxication (n = 51) or alcohol hangover (n = 80) on NFL levels. In contrast, withdrawal patients (n = 31) revealed significant changes of NFL levels over the course of inpatient treatment; most prominently an increase from the first day of admission to the peak of withdrawal symptoms and a decrease from there to the day of hospital discharge. Higher NFL levels of withdrawal patients were associated with slower motor responses and lower risk taking/delay aversion in gambling, as assessed with the CANTAB test battery. In conclusion, the functionally relevant increase in axonal injury despite gold-standard inpatient treatment for alcohol withdrawal necessitates further investigation.

Indexed as

Alcoholic IntoxicationBinge DrinkingNeurofilament ProteinsSubstance Withdrawal SyndromeAdultAlcoholismCross-Over StudiesEthanolHumansMaleYoung AdultEthanolneurofilament protein LNeurofilament Proteinsalcoholbinge drinkingcognitionneurofilament light chainwhite matterwithdrawal

Identifiers

PMID42745461
PMCPMC13578919

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.