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“The U.S.

has a grass-roots movement for detecting and preventing drunk driving, but there is not enough emphasis on more general detection of alcohol abuse.” R. Adron Harris, director of the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research Center at the University of Texas feels that the use of emerging biomarkers in conjunction with questionnaires and laboratory tests is vital for the early detection of alcohol use and abuse, as well as measuring compliance following treatment.
    Current methods miss alcohol abuse; medical screening of patients is not an efficient way to reduce dangerous drinking. Current methods consist mainly of screening for liver damage and self reporting, which don’t detect most cases of alcohol dependence. The fact is, most alcohol abusers will not admit they have a problem until it becomes painfully obvious.
    Mr. Harris states, “When there is finally an accurate biomarker for alcohol abuse, it will be interesting to see where society feels use of this test is warranted and where it is intrusive.” Early detection makes it that much easier to treat alcohol problems before they become dependence issues; biomarkers can help to make adherence to abstinence that much more likely. People need to remember that alcohol abuse harms an individual’s health, and harms the family and society. These new advances are designed to be used to help people who either aren’t aware that they are at risk or deny that their drinking is a problem.
Reference: http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pro/a/bluta050714.htm