Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Research Article

Beta Endorphin and Alcohol Urge Responses in Alcoholic Patients Following an Acute Bout of Exercise

Athanasios Z Jamurtas^1,2*, Nikos Zourbanos¹, Kalliopi Georgakouli^1,2, Panagiotis Georgoulias³, Eirini Manthou³, Ioannis G Fatouros⁴, Marios Goudas¹, Yiannis Koutedakis^1,2,5 and Yannis Theodorakis¹

¹Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, Karies, Trikala 42100, Greece

²Department of Kinesiology, Institute for Research and Technology - Thessaly, Greece

³Department of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa 41110, Greece

⁴Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thrace, Komotini 69100, Greece

⁵School of Sports, Performing Arts and Leisure, University of Wolverhampton, UK

Corresponding Author:

Athanasios Z Jamurtas
Department of Physical Education & Sport Science
University of Thessaly, Karies, Trikala 42100, Greece
Phone: +30 24310 47054
Fax: +30 24310 47054
E-mail: ajamurt@pe.uth.gr

Received date: July 09, 2014; Accepted date: September 29, 2014; Published date: October 05, 2014

Citation: Jamurtas AZ, Zourbanos N, Georgakouli K, Georgoulias P, Manthou E, et al. (2014) Beta Endorphin and Alcohol Urge Responses in Alcoholic Patients Following an Acute Bout of Exercise. J Addict Res Ther 5:194. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000194

Copyright: © 2014 Jamurtas AZ, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Objective: To examine the effects of low intensity exercise on beta endorphin (β-Ε) levels and urge for alcohol in
alcoholic patients.
Methods: Nine alcoholic patients (M= 41.2 + 6.7 yrs) and 9 healthy controls (M=38.2 + 10.7 yrs) exercised for 30
minutes at a low intensity (61.1 + 4.9 % of their maximum heart rate). Blood was collected prior to and immediately
following exercise and was analyzed for a complete blood count (CBC), β-E and lactic acid. Furthermore, an alcohol
urge questionnaire was filled by the subjects prior to and immediately following exercise.
Results: Data analysis revealedthat β-E levels were significantly lower in alcoholic patients whereas exercise
resulted in significant (p< .001) increases in β-Ε (pre: 1.57 + 0.39 pmol/L, post: 4.8 + 1.6 pmol/L) only in alcoholic
patients. Lactic acid increased significantly in both groups. There was a 17% decrease in alcohol urge in alcoholic
patients without however this difference being significant. No differences in the parameters assessed through the
CBC were seen between the two groups whereas exercise resulted in significant increases in red blood cells,
hemoglobin and hematocrit in both groups.
Conclusion: These results indicate that a bout of low intensity exercise affects the endogenous opioids in
alcoholic patients.

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