Behaviour of gamma-glutamyltransferase in chronic consumers of alcohol.

Results obtained in three successive investigations involving various groups of population are presented. In a first study gamma-glutamyltransferase (gammaGT) activity was found to exceed the upper limit of the normal in 70% of the 36 subjects from a rural community in Northern Transylvania who were known by the local physician as being addicted to alcohol since at least five years. In a subsequent study gammaGT activity was determined in 86 patients seeking psychiatric help for a drinking problem.