Aims

To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Critique 107: Little effect on child’s mental functioning associated with mother’s light, occasional drinking in early pregnancy – 25 March 2013




Forum Comments

While any alcohol consumption during pregnancy is not encouraged, and heavy drinking is associated with an increase in risk of a number of adverse health outcomes in the fetus, there is controversy as to whether the occasional drink by the mother during pregnancy has any detectable effect on the child. The present study is based on cognitive and behavioral assessments in a large cohort of children at age 11 in relation to the mother’s reporting of alcohol intake during the first trimester.  > > > >  Read More
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Temporal associations between physical illnesses and mental disorders—Results from the Wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC)

 


Clinical and epidemiologic evidence has documented the significant associations between medical illnesses and psychiatric disorders. However, extensive research has focused on the comorbidity of medical conditions and depression, and most were cross sectional, focused on clinical samples, and grounded in DSM-III or DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria.

The current prospective investigation examined associations among medical conditions at baseline and incident psychiatric disorders over a 3-year follow-up, using data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).

Overall, the 3-year incidence rates of DSM-IV substance use, mood and anxiety disorders ranged from 0.65% (bipolar II) to 5.2% (alcohol abuse). Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the prospective physical–mental associations, while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, psychological stress and health-related risk factors, and comorbid physical and psychiatric disorders.

The present study represents, to our knowledge the largest population-based prospective study examining the physical–mental associations. Our results showed distinctly different patterns of comorbidity of medical illnesses with substance use, mood, and anxiety disorders. Stomach ulcer/gastritis, hypertension and arthritis emerged to be significant predictors of incident psychiatric disorders.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:    pchou@mail.nih.gov
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Alcohol Production as an Adaptive Livelihood Strategy for Women Farmers in Tanzania and Its Potential for Unintended Consequences on Women’s Reproductive Health


Although women occupy a central position in agriculture in many developing countries, they face numerous constraints to achieving their full potential including unequal access to assets and limited decision-making authority. We explore the intersection of agricultural livelihoods, food and economic security, and women’s sexual and reproductive health in Iringa Region, Tanzania. Our goal was to understand whether the benefits of supporting women in the agricultural sector might also extend to more distal outcomes, including sexual and reproductive health.

Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to guide data collection, we conducted 13 focus group discussions (FGD) with female (n = 11) and male farmers (n = 2) and 20 in-depth interviews with agricultural extension officers (n = 10) and village agro-dealers (n = 10).

Despite providing the majority of agricultural labor, women have limited control over land and earned income and have little bargaining power. In response to these constraints, women adopt adaptive livelihood strategies, such as alcohol production, that allow them to retain control over income and support their households. However, women’s central role in alcohol production, in concert with the ubiquitous nature of alcohol consumption, places them at risk by enhancing their vulnerability to unsafe or transactional sex. This represents a dangerous confluence of risk for female farmers, in which alcohol plays an important role in income generation and also facilitates high-risk sexual behavior.

Alcohol production and consumption has the potential to both directly and indirectly place women at risk for undesirable sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Group formation, better access to finance, and engaging with agricultural extension officers were identified as potential interventions for supporting women farmers and challenging harmful gender norms. In addition, joint, multi-sectoral approaches from health and agriculture and alternative income-generating strategies for women might better address the complexities of achieving safe and sustainable livelihoods for women in this context.


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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Alcohol News - 12/2013

 

 
The Nordic Page (Norway) - Women are Drinking More

Norwegian women drink more and more and they are about to take over the men’s drinking patterns, according to VG. Twenty years ago, men drank four times as much as women, but now men drink twice as much as women. General Secretary of Actis (Norwegian Policy Network on Alcohol and Drugs), Anne Karin Kolstad says there are many factors that can explain the growing trend among women.


MSN News (Norway) - Experts: Alcohol isn't a cure-all, so hold off

"People have several motives for drinking alcohol, but most evidence today indicates that health is not a valid argument," author Hans Olav Fekjaer, a psychiatrist in Oslo, Norway, told Reuters Health by email.


Felixdecat (Sweden) - Consumer Report 2010: The Swedish Alcohol Is Falling

Swedes drink less alcohol, while at the same time, the Swedish retail monopoly on alcohol sales are statistics and statistics show that Sweden, the consumption of alcohol is increasing.


The Copenhagen Post (Denmark/Sweden) - Cheaper beer – and more Swedes – on the horizon

As part of the negotiations over the government’s new growth plan, Vækstplan Danmark, opposition parties have demanded a cut in taxes on beer and soft drinks.


YLE.fi (Finland) - Rise in alcohol tax sharply divides opinion

The Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry (FBSDI) is wondering why they are being punished with the new tax hikes, while the Substance Abuse Prevention Association (EHYT ry) says that fears of “booze tourism” to neighbouring countries are overstated.


Bangkok Post (Thailand) - Alcohol consumption report released

A new study claims that the average Thai aged 15 and older consumes 7.1 litres of pure alcohol per year. The study by the Centre for Alcohol Studies says the number of retail shops selling alcohol has increased by 120,000 in the past 10 years.


Belfast Telegraph (Northern Ireland) - 300 deaths 'down to alcohol misuse'

More than 300 people died last year as a result of alcohol misuse, Northern Ireland's most senior doctor has revealed.


The Independent (UK) - David Cameron 'ignoring compelling evidence' that dearer alcohol would save lives

David Cameron will be guilty of ignoring compelling medical evidence if he decides to abandon plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol, the Government's own public health advisers warned today.


Interfax (Ukraine) - Ukraine from May 1 introduces new excise labels for alcohol, cigarettes, increases their price by 2.6 times

The Ukrainian government has decided from May 1, 2013 to introduce new excise labels on alcohol and tobacco and increase their price by 2.6 times.


Huffington Post - Brain-Alcohol Study Reveals How Drinking Disrupts Hand-Eye Coordination

Anyone who's failed a sobriety test will tell you that making coordinated movements while drunk is hard, and a new study explains why. Alcohol appears to disrupt connections between the brain's visual and muscle control regions.


Futurity: Research News - Freshman brains change with images of alcohol

Connections among brain regions involved in emotion processing and cognitive control may change with increased exposure to alcohol and alcohol-related cues during the first year of college.


AnaesthesiaUK (UK) - Increase in alcohol-related cancers despite well-established link

A new report from the Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA) has found that hospital admissions for alcohol-related cancer in England have jumped 28% in just 8 years.


Herald Scotland (Scotland) - Alcohol bracelet set to transform child protection

A SOBRIETY bracelet that has revolutionised child protection cases looks set to become part of Scotland's arsenal in its war against alcohol and crime problems.


The Daily Telegraph - Energy drinks make boozers more aggressive, as drinkers start boozing at home

MIXING energy drinks with alcohol and drugs may lead to increased levels of violence, a new study suggests. They become more intoxicated as the night progresses and fuel their partying with energy drinks.


NEWS.com.au (Australia) - Reduce pub trading hours, fix violence

TRADING hours at pubs and clubs should be reduced to curb alcohol-fuelled violence, a major national study has concluded.

 
 
 
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Locomotor Sensitization to Ethanol Impairs NMDA Receptor-Dependent Synaptic Plasticity in the Nucleus Accumbens and Increases Ethanol Self-Administration







 

Although alcoholism is a worldwide problem resulting in millions of deaths, only a small percentage of alcohol users become addicted. The specific neural substrates responsible for individual differences in vulnerability to alcohol addiction are not known.

In this study, we used rodent models to study behavioral and synaptic correlates related to individual differences in the development of ethanol locomotor sensitization, a form of drug-dependent behavioral plasticity associated with addiction vulnerability. Male Swiss Webster mice were treated daily with saline or 1.8 g/kg ethanol for 21 d. Locomotor activity tests were performed once a week for 15 min immediately after saline or ethanol injections. After at least 11 d of withdrawal, cohorts of saline- or ethanol-treated mice were used to characterize the relationships between locomotor sensitization, ethanol drinking, and glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the nucleus accumbens.

Ethanol-treated mice that expressed locomotor sensitization to ethanol drank significantly more ethanol than saline-treated subjects and ethanol-treated animals resilient to this form of behavioral plasticity. Moreover, ethanol-sensitized mice also had reduced accumbal NMDA receptor function and expression, as well as deficits in NMDA receptor-dependent long-term depression in the nucleus accumbens core after a protracted withdrawal.                       

These findings suggest that disruption of accumbal core NMDA receptor-dependent plasticity may represent a synaptic correlate associated with ethanol-induced locomotor sensitization and increased propensity to consume ethanol.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:  jweiner@wakehealth.edu
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Assessing the immediate impact of normative drinking information using an immediate post-test randomized controlled design: Implications for normative feedback interventions?

 
One alternative explanation for the observed impact of normative feedback interventions is that participants who receive normative information will just report reductions in their drinking rather than actually reducing the amount they drink. The current study tested the immediate impact of receiving normative information on self-reports of drinking.

A random half of participants (39 out of 80) were presented with normative information about college drinking and then asked information about their drinking. Participants in the control condition were not presented with the normative information before answering the questions about their drinking.

Risky drinking participants presented with the normative information reported significantly less drinking as compared to those in the control condition (p < .05).


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Request Reprint E-Mail:      John_Cunningham@camh.net
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Women's motivators for seeking treatment for alcohol use disorders




This study examined types of internal and external motivations for seeking treatment and the predictive utility of different types of motivation among 180 women with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) participating in a two-armed trial testing different individual and couple therapies for AUDs.   Reasons for seeking treatment were coded for type of internal or external motivation.

Most women (97%) cited internal reasons for seeking help, including: concern about progression of AUD (61.1%), health (43.3%), mental health (38.9%), and family (38.3%).

Occupational concerns, an internal motivator cited by 6% of women, were associated with better drinking outcomes; interpersonal-family concerns were associated with poorer outcomes.

Some motivators for seeking treatment may not be related to sustained changes in drinking, suggesting that understanding motivators for treatment may be inadequate to maintain change. Reasons for help-seeking may need to be addressed in treatment to produce long-lasting change.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:    Justine.Grosso@gmail.com
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Monday, March 25, 2013

Physiological and Endocrine Reactions to Psychosocial Stress in Alcohol Use Disorders: Duration of Abstinence Matters




Recent research findings suggest that heavy alcohol use is associated with alterations of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system function and that early abstinence is associated with blunted stress responsiveness.
 
This study investigated abstinent alcohol-dependent participants (AADs; n = 31), who had a drinking history of levels about 97 drinks per week (abstinence range: 2 weeks to 24 months), actively drinking problem drinkers (PRDs; n = 23), who reported drinking levels about 47 drinks per week and who were abstinent for at least 24 hours, and healthy control (HC) participants (n = 20). It was investigated how participants responded to a psychosocial stress task. All of them were exposed to a modified Trier Social Stress Test. Salivary cortisol, heart rate, skin conductance levels, and negative affect were assessed as stress indicators.
 
AADs showed stress reactions comparable to HC participants, whereas active PRDs showed increased heart rate and cortisol stress responses. In the AAD group, duration of abstinence was positively related to cortisol stress responses.
 
Active PRDs showed increased responses to psychosocial stress. Results indicate that duration of abstinence is a key factor when analyzing and interpreting stress responses in alcohol abuse and dependence.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:   katrin.starcke@uni-due.de
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Prenatal Ethanol Exposure Delays the Onset of Spermatogenesis in the Rat





 

During late prenatal and early postnatal life, the reproductive system in males undergoes an extensive series of physiological and morphological changes. Prenatal ethanol (EtOH) exposure has marked effects on the development of the reproductive system, with long-term effects on function in adulthood. The present study tested the hypothesis that prenatal EtOH exposure will delay the onset of spermatogenesis.
 
Development of the seminiferous tubules and the onset of spermatogenesis were examined utilizing a rat model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Male offspring from ad libitum-fed control (C), pair-fed (PF), and EtOH-fed (prenatal alcohol exposure [PAE]) dams were terminated on postnatal (PN) days 5, 15, 18, 20, 25, 35, 45, and 55, to investigate morphological changes through morphometric analysis of the testes from early neonatal life through young adulthood.
 
PAE males had lower relative (adjusted for body weight) testis weights compared with PF and/or C males from PN15 through puberty (PN45). In addition, fewer gonocytes (primordial germ cells) were located on the basal lamina on PN5, while more of those touching the basal lamina were dividing in PAE compared with PF and C males, suggesting delayed cell division and migration processes. As well, the percentage of tubules with open lumena was lower in PAE compared with PF and C males on PN18 and 20, and PAE males had fewer primary spermatocytes per tubule on PN18 and round spermatids per tubule on PN25 compared with C males. Finally, the percentage of tubules at stages VII and VIII, when mature spermatids move to the apex of the epithelium and are released, was lower in PAE compared with PF and/or C males in young adulthood (PN55).
 
Maternal EtOH consumption appears to delay both reproductive development and the onset of spermatogenesis in male offspring, with effects persisting at least until young adulthood.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:  lanni.lan@gmail.com
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Alcohol-Induced Epigenetic Alterations to Developmentally Crucial Genes Regulating Neural Stemness and Differentiation




From studies using a diverse range of model organisms, we now acknowledge that epigenetic changes to chromatin structure provide a plausible link between environmental teratogens and alterations in gene expression leading to disease. Observations from a number of independent laboratories indicate that ethanol (EtOH) has the capacity to act as a powerful epigenetic disruptor and potentially derail the coordinated processes of cellular differentiation. In this study, we sought to examine whether primary neurospheres cultured under conditions maintaining stemness were susceptible to alcohol-induced alterations in the histone code. We focused our studies on trimethylated histone 3 lysine 4 and trimethylated histone 3 lysine 27, as these are 2 of the most prominent posttranslational histone modifications regulating stem cell maintenance and neural differentiation.
 
Primary neurosphere cultures were maintained under conditions promoting the stem cell state and treated with EtOH for 5 days. Control and EtOH-treated cellular extracts were examined using a combination of quantitative RT-PCR and chromatin immunoprecipitation techniques.
 
We find that the regulatory regions of genes controlling both neural precursor cell identity and processes of differentiation exhibited significant declines in the enrichment of the chromatin marks examined. Despite these widespread changes in chromatin structure, only a small subset of genes including Dlx2, Fabp7, Nestin, Olig2, and Pax6 displayed EtOH-induced alterations in transcription. Unexpectedly, the majority of chromatin-modifying enzymes examined including members of the Polycomb Repressive Complex displayed minimal changes in expression and localization. Only transcripts encoding Dnmt1, Uhrf1, Ehmt1, Ash2 l, Wdr5, and Kdm1b exhibited significant differences.
 
Our results indicate that primary neurospheres maintained as stem cells in vitro are susceptible to alcohol-induced perturbation of the histone code and errors in the epigenetic program. These observations indicate that alterations to chromatin structure may represent a crucial component of alcohol teratogenesis and progress toward a better understanding of the developmental origins of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

 
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Request Reprint E-Mail:    mgolding@cvm.tamu.edu
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he Impact of Alcohol and Energy Drink Consumption on Intoxication and Risk-Taking Behavior






 

It has been argued that consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) causes a subjective underestimation of intoxication and an increased level of risk-taking behavior. To date, however, there is mixed support for AmED-induced reductions in perceived intoxication, and no objective assessment of risk-taking following AmED consumption. Consequently, the present study aimed to determine the effect of alcohol and energy drink (ED) consumption on subjective measures of intoxication and objective measures of risk-taking.
 
Using a placebo-controlled, single-blind, cross-over design, participants (n = 28) attended 4 sessions in which they were administered, in counterbalanced order: 0.5 g/kg alcohol, 3.57 ml/kg ED, AmED, and a placebo beverage. Participants completed the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale and a Subjective Effects Scale at baseline and 30 and 125 minutes postbeverage administration; risk-taking was measured using the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART).
 
Participants reported greater subjective intoxication, impairment, and sedation after active relative to placebo alcohol consumption, with no interactive AmED effects. However, a significant moderate magnitude increase in stimulation ratings was observed in the AmED relative to alcohol, ED, and placebo conditions. There was no independent effect of alcohol, or interactive effect with ED, on the BART. A significant, yet small magnitude, increase in risk-taking was evident in active relative to placebo ED conditions.
 
The interactive effect of AmED appears restricted to perceived stimulation, with alcohol-induced increases in subjective intoxication occurring regardless of presence or absence of ED. Engagement in risk-taking behavior was only increased by ED consumption; however, this effect was only of small magnitude; at these doses, alcohol consumption, with or without EDs, did not affect risk-taking. Further research assessing the dose-dependent effects of AmED on objectively measured risk-taking behavior could clarify whether the ED effect increases with higher doses and whether an interactive effect is observed with higher alcohol doses.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:     Amy.Peacock@utas.edu.au
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Blockade of Ethanol-Induced Behavioral Sensitization by Sodium Butyrate: Descriptive Analysis of Gene Regulations in the Striatum



Behavioral sensitization induced by repeated ethanol (EtOH) exposure may play a critical role in the development of alcohol dependence. Because recent data demonstrate that histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) may be of interest in the treatment of addiction, we explored the effect of the HDACi sodium butyrate (NaB) on EtOH-induced behavioral sensitization (EIBS) in DBA/2J mice. We also investigated gene regulations in the striatum of sensitized mice using epigenetic- and signal transduction-related PCR arrays.
 
Mice were injected with saline or EtOH (0.5 to 2.5 g/kg) once a day for 10 days. Mice received NaB (200 to 600 mg/kg) 30 minutes before each injection (prevention protocol) or once daily between days 11 and 16 (reversal protocol). At day 17, brains were removed 30 minutes after a saline or EtOH challenge to assess gene and proteins levels.
 
Only the intermediate EtOH doses (1.0 and 2.0 g/kg) were effective in inducing EIBS, and both doses were associated with specific gene regulations in the striatum. The induction of sensitization by 1.0 g/kg (but not 2.0 g/kg) EtOH was dose-dependently prevented or reversed by NaB. Among the 168 studied genes, EIBS blockade was associated with specific gene regulations (bcl-2, bdnf, hdac4, pak1, penk, tacr1, vip…) and changes in brain-derived neurotrophic factor in both striatum and prefrontal cortex.
 
These results indicate that EIBS is associated with specific gene regulations in the striatum depending on the EtOH dose and that NaB can be useful in blocking some long-lasting neuro-adaptations to repeated EtOH administrations.


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Request Rerprint E-Mail:    mickael.naassila@inserm.fr
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Ethanol Inhibition of a T-Type Ca2+ Channel Through Activity of Protein Kinase C


T-type calcium channels (T-channels) are widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous system, where they mediate calcium entry and regulate the intrinsic excitability of neurons. T-channels are dysregulated in response to alcohol administration and withdrawal. We therefore investigated acute ethanol (EtOH) effects and the underlying mechanism of action in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cell lines, as well as effects on native currents recorded from dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons cultured from Long-Evans rats.
 
Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were performed at 32 to 34°C in both HEK cell lines and DRG neurons. The recordings were taken after a 10-minute application of EtOH or protein kinase C (PKC) activator (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate [PMA]).
 
We recorded T-type Ca2+ currents (T-currents) from 3 channel isoforms (CaV3.1, CaV3.2, and CaV3.3) before and during administration of EtOH. We found that only 1 isoform, CaV3.2, was significantly affected by EtOH. EtOH reduced current density as well as producing a hyperpolarizing shift in steady-state inactivation of both CaV3.2 currents from HEK 293 cell lines and in native T-currents from DRG neurons that are known to be enriched in CaV3.2. A myristoylated PKC peptide inhibitor (MPI) blocked the major EtOH effects, in both the cell lines and the DRG neurons. However, PMA effects were more complex. Lower concentration PMA (100 nM) replicated the major effects of EtOH, while higher concentration PMA (1 ÎĽM) did not, suggesting that the EtOH effects operate through activation of PKC and were mimicked by lower concentration of PMA.
 
EtOH primarily affects the CaV3.2 isoform of T-type Ca2+ channels acting through PKC, highlighting a novel target and mechanism for EtOH effects on excitable membranes.



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Request Reprint E-Mail:    dgodwin@wakehealth.edu
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Dose- and Gender-dependent Interactions between Coffee Consumption and Serum GGT Activity in Alcohol Consumers



Coffee consumption has been recently linked with decreased blood gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activities and protection from alcoholic liver disease. To explore the relationship and dose response, we assessed the impacts of coffee and alcohol intake on serum GGT activity in apparently healthy men and women with varying levels of coffee and alcohol consumption.

Data on coffee, alcohol consumption and serum GGT activities were collected from 18,899 individuals (8807 men and 10,092 women), mean age 48 years, range 25–74 years, who participated in a large national cross-sectional health survey. Body mass index, smoking index and age were used as covariates in all analyses. 
               
Among the study population, 89.8% reported varying levels of coffee consumption; 6.9% were abstainers from alcohol, 86.1% moderate drinkers, 3.7% heavy drinkers and 3.3% former drinkers. In men, the elevation of GGT induced by heavy drinking (>280 g/week) was found to be significantly reduced by coffee consumption exceeding 4 cups per day. A similar trend was also observed among women, which however, did not reach statistical significance. 
                
Coffee modulates the effect of ethanol on serum GGT activities in a dose- and gender-dependent manner. These observations should be implicated in studies on the possible hepatoprotective effects of coffee in alcohol consumers.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:   onni.niemela@epshp.fi
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Maladaptive Social Self-Beliefs in Alcohol-Dependence: A Specific Bias towards Excessive High Standards


Emotional and interpersonal impairments associated with alcohol-dependence have been recently explored, but the distorted cognitive representations underlying these deficits remain poorly understood. The present study aims at exploring the presence of maladaptive social self-beliefs among alcohol-dependent individuals, as these biased self-beliefs have been recently shown to play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of other psychopathological states (social anxiety and depression).

Twenty-five recently detoxified alcohol-dependent participants and 25 matched controls filled in self-report questionnaires evaluating maladaptive social self-beliefs, interpersonal problems and several comorbid states (anxiety, social anxiety, depression). As compared to controls, alcohol-dependent individuals showed higher scores than controls for the three subcategories of maladaptive social self-beliefs (high standards, conditional beliefs and unconditional beliefs). Our key finding was that when comorbidities were controlled for, alcohol-dependence was associated with a specific bias towards exaggerated high standards in social contexts. Moreover, these high standards beliefs were strongly correlated with interpersonal problems.

These results provide the first insights into the influence of cognitive biases on interpersonal problems in addictive states, and suggest that maladaptive self-beliefs could have a central influence on the development and maintenance of alcohol-dependence.


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Regulation of cytochrome P450 2e1 expression by ethanol: role of oxidative stress-mediated pkc/jnk/sp1 pathway





 

CYP2E1 metabolizes ethanol leading to production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and acetaldehyde, which are known to cause not only liver damage but also toxicity to other organs. However, the signaling pathways involved in CYP2E1 regulation by ethanol are not clear, especially in extra-hepatic cells.

This study was designed to examine the role of CYP2E1 in ethanol-mediated oxidative stress and cytotoxicity, as well as signaling pathways by which ethanol regulates CYP2E1 in extra-hepatic cells. In this study, we used astrocytic and monocytic cell lines, because they are important cells in central nervous system .

Our results showed that 100 mM ethanol significantly induced oxidative stress, apoptosis, and cell death at 24 h in the SVGA astrocytic cell line, which was rescued by a CYP2E1 selective inhibitor, diallyl sulfide (DAS), CYP2E1 siRNA, and antioxidants (vitamins C and E).

Further, we showed that DAS and vitamin C abrogated ethanol-mediated (50 mM) induction of CYP2E1 at 6 h, as well as production of ROS at 2 h, suggesting the role of oxidative stress in ethanol-mediated induction of CYP2E1.

We then investigated the role of the protein kinase C/c-Jun N-terminal kinase/specificity protein1 (PKC/JNK/SP1) pathway in oxidative stress-mediated CYP2E1 induction.

Our results showed that staurosporine, a non-specific inhibitor of PKC, as well as specific PKCζ inhibitor and PKCζ siRNA, abolished ethanol-induced CYP2E1 expression. In addition, inhibitors of JNK (SP600125) and SP1 (mithramycin A) completely abrogated induction of CYP2E1 by ethanol in SVGA astrocytes.

Subsequently, we showed that CYP2E1 is also responsible for ethanol-mediated oxidative stress and apoptotic cell death in U937 monocytic cell lines. Finally, our results showed that PKC/JNK/SP1 pathway is also involved in regulation of CYP2E1 in U937 cells.

This study has clinical implications with respect to alcohol-associated neuroinflammatory toxicity among alcohol users.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:   kumarsa@umkc.edu
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NIAAA Advisory Council Meeting Minutes 2012




 







Minutes of the First Joint Meeting of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, and National Cancer Advisory Board


 
NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM September 19–20, 2012


 
NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM June 6–7, 2012


 
NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL ABUSE February 8–9, 2012
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Box 459 - Spring 2013 - More Questions About Anonymity








Box 4-5-9 - News and Notes from G.S.O.
Is a quarterly bulletin from the U.S./Canada General Service Office. This newsletter includes information about A.A. service, literature, events, sharing from groups, service committees and individual U.S./Canada A.A. members.
 
Contents:


More Questions About Anonymity

India’s ‘Jack Alexander Moment’
 
2013 General Service Conference

French Big Book Celebrates 50 Years
 
G.S.O. Welcomes New Publishing Director
 
Spanish P.S.A.Is a Labor of Love
 
Gayle S. R. to Retire After a Decade of Being a ‘Special Worker’
The Hurricane Heard ‘Round The World’

Who Does Prison Service Help?
 
 
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NIAAA Director's Reports 2012

 
 
 
 
 
September 20, 2012
 
June 07, 2012
 
February 09, 2012
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Sunday, March 24, 2013

Exploring the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and problem drinking as captured by Google searches in the US

 


There is considerable policy interest in the impact of macroeconomic conditions on health-related behaviours and outcomes. This paper sheds new light on this issue by exploring the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and an indicator of problem drinking derived from state-level data on alcoholism-related Google searches conducted in the US over the period 2004–2011.

We find the current recessionary period coincided with an almost 20% increase in alcoholism-related searches. Controlling for state and time-effects, a 5% rise in unemployment is followed in the next 12 months by an approximate 15% increase in searches.

The use of Internet searches to inform on health-related behaviours and outcomes is in its infancy; but we suggest that the data provides important real-time information for policy-makers and can help to overcome the under-reporting in surveys of sensitive information.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:   G.lordan@lse.ac.uk
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Alcohol Intake and Triglycerides/High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio in Men with Hypertension


The triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio has been proposed to be a good predictor of cardiovascular disease. The relationship between alcohol consumption and TG/HDL-C ratio in patients with hypertension is unknown. 
                   
Subjects were normotensive and hypertensive men aged 35–60 years who were divided by daily ethanol intake into non-light, heavy, and very heavy drinkers. 

The TG/HDL-C ratio was significantly higher in the hypertensive group than in the normotensive group. Both in the normotensive and hypertensive groups, TG/HDL-C ratio was significantly lower in light, heavy, and very heavy drinkers than in nondrinkers and was lowest in light drinkers. In the hypertensive group, odds ratios (ORs) for high TG/HDL-C ratio (≥3.75) in light, heavy, and very heavy drinkers vs. nondrinkers were significantly lower (P < 0.01) than a reference level of 1.00 (light drinkers: OR = 0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.40–0.59; heavy drinkers: OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.52–0.67; very heavy drinkers: OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.61–0.80) and were significantly lower than the corresponding ORs in the normotensive group. The ORs for hypertension in subjects with vs. subjects without high TG/HDL-C ratio were significantly higher than the reference level in all the alcohol groups and were significantly lower in light, heavy, and very heavy drinkers than in nondrinkers.
                                       
The results suggest that there is an inverted J-shaped relationship between alcohol and TG/HDL-C ratio in individuals with hypertension and that alcohol weakens the positive association between TG/HDL-C ratio and hypertension.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:   wakabaya@hyo-med.ac.jp
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Recent Trends in Adolescent Alcohol Use in Hawai‘i: 2005-2011


Monitoring trends in adolescent alcohol use over time is important for planning, allocation of resources, and evaluation of alcohol prevention and treatment programs.

This article is an update of previously reported trends in adolescent alcohol use in the State of Hawai‘i utilizing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Five alcohol use indicators were investigated between 2005 and 2011 including lifetime use, onset age, current use, binge drinking, and drinking on school property.

Youth in Hawai‘i generally reported worse alcohol behaviors in 2009 compared to 2007 but better alcohol use behaviors were observed in 2011 compared to 2009. This trend was not observed on the national level and thus may represent changes unique to Hawai‘i.

These apparent changes in alcohol use among adolescents highlight the need for resources and for continued surveillance.


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Approaches in Neuroscience: Researchers use fMRI and state-of-the-art brain mapping techniques to study alcohol's effects on first-year students


This article is the first of a series exploring the diversity of interests and variety of experimental approaches represented by neuroscientists at the Huck Institutes.

Investigating subjects ranging from neural response and habituation to alcohol, to mechanisms of motor control, to effects of neural injury, these researchers are devising unique methodologies employing a wide variety of technologies and techniques — applying statistical network analysis to data from functional MRI scans, using electromyography in tandem with neuronal tracers and fluorescence microscopy, and combining MRI and brain lesion analysis with virtual reality experiments — and they are making discoveries with the potential to change the way we experience our world: new understanding of how alcohol cues influence the brain, which could make college students think differently about social drinking; newfound parallels between our own neural processes and those of other organisms, which could help to unlock neural code to drive brain-computer interfaces; and new insights into the effects of specific neural injuries on sensorimotor processes, which could lead to developing more-effective post-stroke rehabilitation.  > > > >  Read More
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News Release - Alcohol charity launches DrinkHelp.ie

 

Alcohol Action Ireland launches new website to assist people find alcohol-related services and information


A new website to assist people seeking help and support in relation to alcohol-related issues has been launched today. The website, DrinkHelp.ie, also has general consumer information on alcohol, including a drinks calculator and calorie counter.

DrinkHelp.ie has been developed by Alcohol Action Ireland, the national charity for alcohol-related issues, in response to consistent demand from people contacting the charity seeking access to alcohol services, as well as information and advice. Last year, almost 6,000 people used Alcohol Action Ireland’s service finder to search for help.  > > > >  Read More
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