In addition to the genetic studies, several post-mortem studies of brain tissue from chronic alcohol dependent patients have indicated CB1 expression is altered in the prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum (Vinod et al., 2005; Vinod et al., 2010). Notably, alcohol dependent patients who commit suicide display increased CB1 expression in the PFC and NAc compared to alcoholic patients who died of other causes. In addition, one study also reported that recently abstinent alcohol dependent patients do not display the increase in circulating AEA correlated with ethanol craving in control subjects (Mangieri et al., 2009). These studies raise the possibility that altered function of the EC system could be useful as a biomarker of alcohol dependence or a risk factor for suicide in alcoholic patients.
