Assessing the cumulative impact of alcohol marketing on young people's drinking: Cross-sectional data findings

As alcohol marketing remains a highly debated and politically charged issue, we examine the cumulative impact of alcohol marketing on alcohol initiation and drinking behaviour among youth (12–14 years).

Cross-sectional data come from a cohort of 920 second year school pupils from Scotland. Regression models, with multiple control variables, were employed to examine the relationship between awareness of, and involvement with, a range of alcohol marketing communications, and drinking behaviour and intentions. Marketing variables were constructed for 15 different types of alcohol marketing, including marketing in new media. Drinking behaviour measures included drinking status and future drinking intentions.

Significant associations were found between awareness of, and involvement with, alcohol marketing and drinking behaviour and intentions to drink alcohol in the next year.

Given these associations, our study suggests the need for a revision of alcohol policy: one limiting youth exposure to these seemingly ubiquitous marketing communications.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: r.gordon@open.ac.uk

Acamprosate for alcohol dependence

Alcohol dependence is an important health risk factor that can lead to disability and death for people in developed and developing countries. Alcohol consumption is potentially avoidable, which emphasizes the need for effective strategies to help people who are dependent on alcohol to reduce excessive drinking and maintain abstinence following detoxification. Psychosocial programs have limited success in preventing relapse after detoxification programs. The addition of a pharmacological agent could provide support in achieving or maintaining abstinence or to cut down alcohol consumption. The synthetic glutamate antagonist acamprosate and naltrexone, which is an opioid antagonist, are used for this purpose.

This systematic review shows that acamprosate appears to be an effective and safe treatment in alcohol dependent patients for supporting continuous abstinence after detoxification from alcohol. When added to psychosocial treatment strategies, acamprosate reduced the risk of returning to any drinking after detoxification compared with treatment with a placebo (number need to treat (NNT) for one person to benefit was nine). The cumulative abstinence time was also clearly increased. Return to heavy drinking did not change. Even though the size of the treatment effect was moderate, the benefit should be valued because of the relapsing nature of alcoholism and the limited treatment options that are currently available. Diarrhea was the most frequently reported side effect with acamprosate. Overall, side effects did not cause more participants to stop treatment when taking acamprosate compared with placebo.

These conclusions are based on 24 randomised controlled trials with 6915 participants who were treated as outpatients in all but one trial that involved adolescent inpatients. The majority of participants were men, median age 42 years. Most studies were conducted in Europe; two studies were conducted in the United States and one study in each of South Korea,Australia and Brazil. The effects of acamprosate did not differ in industry-sponsored and non-profit funded trials.

Three trials compared acamprosate and naltrexone and did not indicate a superiority of one or the other drug on return to any drinking, return to heavy drinking and cumulative abstinence duration.

Read Full Summary

Assessing Cost-Effectiveness in Prevention

ACE Prevention is a large, 5-year study that was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and jointly led by professor Theo Vos of the Centre for Burden of Disease and Cost-Effectiveness at the University of Queensland and professor Rob Carter of the Deakin Health Economics Unit at Deakin University.

The overall aim of this project was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the comparative cost-effectiveness of preventive intervention options addressing the non-communicable disease burden in Australia, with a specific focus on Indigenous Australians.

ACE Prevention is the most comprehensive evaluation of health prevention measures ever conducted world-wide, involving input from 130 top health experts. The research team assessed 123 illness prevention measures to identify those which will prevent the most illness and premature deaths and those that are best value for money. For comparison purposes 27 treatment interventions were included.


Read Full Report (PDF)

Effect of modest alcohol consumption over 1–2 weeks on the coronary microcirculation of normal subjects

It has been reported that imbibing red wine increases coronary blood flow reserve acutely. In the absence of changes in coronary driving pressure, any increases in coronary blood flow reserve should occur through a decrease in capillary resistance, which in turn is determined by capillary dimensions and whole-blood viscosity. Since alcohol intake is unlikely to acutely change capillary dimensions, we hypothesized that it must increase coronary blood flow reserve by reducing whole-blood viscosity.

Forty-five normal subjects were randomly assigned to water (n = 12), vodka (n = 11), white wine (n = 11), and red wine (n = 11). Myocardial blood flow reserve was measured at baseline and after up to 2 weeks of beverage consumption using myocardial contrast echocardiography. In addition, whole-blood viscosity and its principal determinants (haematocrit; erythrocyte deformability, mobility, and charge; plasma fibrinogen; and total serum protein, glucose, and lipids) were also measured. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate did not change between the two examinations either at rest or following dipyridamole infusion. Neither did myocardial blood flow reserve nor whole-blood viscosity or any of its determinants. Only high-density lipoprotein-2 increased for all alcohol consumers (12.4 ± 5.3 vs. 10.9 ± 4.7, P = 0.007).

It is concluded that modest alcohol consumption for up to 2 weeks does not increase myocardial blood flow reserve. It also does not alter whole-blood viscosity or any of its principal determinants. Therefore, the beneficial cardiovascular effects of modest alcohol consumption over 1–2 weeks cannot be attributed either to its effect on the coronary microcirculation or haemorheology.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: kauls@ohsu.edu

Call for papers - the economic efficiency of alcohol policy

The international peer-reviewed journal Applied Health Economics and Health Policy invites the submission of original manuscripts on the health economic implications of various alcohol policies, to be featured in a special issue on the economic efficiency of alcohol policy in 2011. > > > >

Read More

Linkage scan of alcohol dependence in the UCSF Family Alcoholism Study

Ample data suggest that alcohol dependence represents a heritable condition, and several research groups have performed linkage analysis to identify genomic regions influencing this disorder.

In the present study, a genome-wide linkage scan for alcohol dependence was conducted in a community sample of 565 probands and 1080 first-degree relatives recruited through the UCSF Family Alcoholism Study. The Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) was used to derive DSM-IV alcohol dependence diagnoses.

Although no loci achieved genome-wide significance (i.e., LOD score > 3.0), several linkage peaks of interest (i.e., LOD score > 1.0) were identified.

When the strict DSM-IV alcohol dependence diagnosis requiring the temporal clustering of symptoms served as the phenotype, linkage peaks were identified on chromosomes 1p36.31–p36.22, 2q37.3, 8q24.3, and 18p11.21–p11.2.

When the temporal clustering of symptoms was not required, linkage peaks were again identified on chromosomes 1p36.31–p36.22 and 8q24.3 as well as novel loci on chromosomes 1p22.3, 2p24.3–p24.1, 9p24.1–p23, and 22q12.3–q13.1.

Follow-up analyses were conducted by performing linkage analysis for the 12 alcohol dependence symptoms assessed by the SSAGA across the support intervals for the observed linkage peaks.

These analyses demonstrated that different collections of symptoms often assessing distinct aspects of alcohol dependence (e.g., uncontrollable drinking and withdrawal vs. tolerance and drinking despite health problems) contributed to each linkage peak and often yielded LOD scores exceeding that reported for the alcohol dependence diagnosis.

Such findings provide insight into how specific genomic regions may influence distinct aspects of alcohol dependence.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: kirk@med.unc.edu

Obstacles to 12-step group participation as seen by addiction professionals: Comparing Norway to the United States

Twelve-step groups (TSGs) are a valuable recovery resource for substance-dependent individuals. However, some aspects of these fellowships are controversial and may limit clinician referrals.

This study describes attitude- and knowledge-based barriers to TSG participation as seen by addiction professionals in Norway, a treatment culture in which less than 5% of programs use the 12-step philosophy, and compares the findings with those of a similar study in the United States.

Data were collected in Norway in mid-2008 using a self-administered questionnaire, and the U.S. sample was obtained from historical data. The Norwegian professionals (n = 291) considered the religious aspects of TSGs a considerable obstacle to participation, whereas the U.S. providers (n = 100) did not.

Treatment providers unfamiliar with the 12-step philosophy need to be better informed of TSGs' “higher power” concept to educate patients and maximize the utilization of TSGs.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: john-kare.vederhus@sshf.no

The effects of binge drinking and social capital on violent victimisation: findings from Moscow

Rates of violence in Russia are among the highest in the world, and violent victimisation represents a major public health threat in the country. As yet, however, little research has been undertaken on what factors are associated with non-lethal violent victimisation in this setting.

This study used data from the Moscow Health Survey 2004 to examine the effects of binge drinking and social capital on individuals' risk of non-fatal violent victimisation.

A stratified random sampling strategy was used across Moscow's 125 municipal districts to collect data from 1190 individuals aged 18+ years. Respondents reported if they had been a victim of physical violence in the previous 12 months. Data were also collected on binge drinking (defined for men as consuming ≥80 g of pure alcohol, and for women≥60 g of pure alcohol, at least once per month) and social capital (frequency of interaction with relatives, friends and acquaintances).

Overall, 8.7% of the respondents had been a victim of violence in the past 12 months. Men who binge drink were more than twice as likely to have been a victim of non-lethal violence (OR 2.19, CI 1.23 to 3.92), while greater levels of social capital acted as a protective factor against male victimisation (OR 0.82, CI 0.69 to 0.97). Neither binge drinking nor social capital was associated with violent victimisation among women.

Urgent public health measures are now needed to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and detrimental drinking patterns to bring down the high levels of violent victimisation in Russia.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: andrew.stickley@sh.se

Body Mass Index Is Associated With Brain Metabolite Levels in Alcohol Dependence—A Multimodal Magnetic Resonance Study

Recent studies demonstrated that alcohol dependence and excessive alcohol consumption are associated with increased rates of obesity. In healthy light-drinkers, we and others have observed associations between elevated body mass index (BMI) and reductions in brain volumes, lower concentrations of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA, marker of neuronal viability) and choline-containing compounds (Cho, involved in membrane turnover), and lower glucose utilization, particularly in frontal lobe—a brain region that is particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol dependence.

Here, we evaluated whether BMI in alcohol-dependent individuals was independently associated with regional measures of brain structure, metabolite concentrations, and neocortical blood flow.

As part of a study on the effects of alcohol dependence on neurobiology, we analyzed retrospectively data from 54 alcohol-dependent males, abstinent from alcohol for about 1 month and with BMI between 20 and 37 kg/m² by structural MRI, perfusion MRI (blood flow), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging.

After correction for age, smoking status, and various measures of alcohol consumption, higher BMI was associated with lower concentrations of NAA, Cho, creatine and phosphocreatine (Cr, involved in high energy metabolism), and myo-inositol (m-Ino, a putative marker of astrocytes) primarily in the frontal lobe, in subcortical nuclei, and cerebellar vermis

.The results suggest that BMI, independent of age, alcohol consumption, and common comorbidities, is related to regional NAA, Cho, Cr, and m-Ino concentrations in this cohort of alcohol-dependent individuals.

Additionally, as some common comorbid conditions in alcohol dependence such as cigarette smoking are associated with BMI, their associations with regional brain metabolite levels in alcohol-dependent individuals may also be influenced by BMI.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: Stefan.Gazdzinski@uj.edu.pl

Predictors of Transitions Across Stages of Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Use Disorders in South Africa

High rates of alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders have been noted in South Africa. Although a number of risk factors for alcohol use and abuse/dependence have been identified, there is a lack of information regarding risk factors for progression through the different stages of alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders.

Our aim was to examine sociodemographic predictors of transition across stages of alcohol use, abuse and dependence (according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition), and remission in the South African population.

A national probability sample of 4,315 adult South Africans was administered Version 3.0 of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

We found high rates of transition from regular alcohol use to abuse but low rates from alcohol abuse to dependence. All stages of alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders were more common in younger than in older respondents at comparable time points. Younger age (below 50), male gender, lower education, and having been a student were all associated with ever using alcohol, but only male gender was associated with the transition to regular use and abuse. Furthermore, younger age and late age at onset of alcohol abuse were associated with remission from abuse.

The importance of socio-demographic predictors appears to vary across stages of alcohol use and could be used to guide the precision of intervention strategies.


Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: sharain@sun.ac.za

Do Premorbid Predictors of Alcohol Dependence Also Predict the Failure to Recover From Alcoholism?

In a search for viable endophenotypes of alcoholism, this longitudinal study attempted to identify premorbid predictors of alcohol dependence that also predicted the course of alcoholism.

The 202 male subjects who completed a 40-year follow-up were originally selected from a Danish birth cohort (N = 9,182). Two thirds of the subjects were high-risk biological sons of treated alcoholics. A large number of measures (361) were obtained at different periods before any subject had developed an alcohol-use disorder. At age 40, a psychiatrist provided mutually exclusive lifetime diagnoses of alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence that were characterized as currently active or currently in remission according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised, course specifiers.

The majority of subjects with a diagnosis of alcohol abuse were in remission at age 40 compared with those with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence (88% vs. 58%). Treatment did not predict remission. Fourteen of the 18 predictors of remission that also predicted dependence were submitted to an exploratory factor analysis (varimax). Two premorbid dimensions were identified: cognitive efficiency and early behavioral dyscontrol in childhood. Both factors predicted the failure to remit (low cognitive efficiency and high behavioral dyscontrol) even when lifetime alcoholism severity was controlled.

This 4-decade study found a striking disconnect between measures that predicted alcohol dependence and measures that predicted remission from alcohol dependence. Reduced cognitive efficiency and increased behavioral dyscontrol may be basic to gaining a fuller understanding of the etiology of alcoholism.


Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: epenick@kumc.edu

Performance of a Craving Criterion in DSM Alcohol Use Disorders

Adding a craving criterion--presently in the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, diagnosis of alcohol dependence--has been under consideration as one possible improvement to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), and was recently proposed for inclusion by the DSM Substance-Related Disorders Work Group in the Fifth Revision of diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorders.

To inform cross-cultural applicability of this modification, performance of a craving criterion was examined in emergency departments in four countries manifesting distinctly different culturally based drinking patterns (Mexico, Poland, Argentina, United States).

Exploratory factor analysis and item response theory were used to examine psychometric properties and individual item characteristics of the 11 DSM-IV abuse and dependence criteria with and without craving for each country separately. Differential item functioning analysis was performed to examine differences in the difficulty of endorsement (severity) and discrimination of craving across countries.

Exploratory factor analysis found craving fit well within a one-dimensional solution, and factor loadings were high across all countries. Results from item-response theory analyses indicated that both discrimination and difficulty estimates for the craving item were located in the middle of the corresponding discrimination and difficulty ranges for the other 11 items for each country but did not substantially increase the efficiency (or information) of the overall diagnostic scheme. Across the four countries, no differential item functioning was found for difficulty, but significant differential item functioning was found for discrimination (similar to other DSM-IV criteria).

Findings suggest that, although craving performed similarly across emergency departments in the four countries, it does not add much in identification of individuals with alcohol use disorders.


Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: ccherpitel@arg.org

Effect of Paternal Alcohol and Drug Dependence on Offspring Conduct Disorder: Gene-Environment Interplay

Not only are substance-use disorders and externalizing disorders frequently comorbid, they often co-occur in families across generations. The current study examined the role of genetic and environmental influences in the relationship between paternal histories of drug dependence or alcohol dependence and offspring conduct disorder using an offspring-of-twins design.

Participants were male twins (n = 1,774) from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry, their offspring (n = 1,917), and mothers of the offspring (n = 1,202). Twins had a history of drug dependence, alcohol dependence, or neither. Based on the father's and his co-twin's drug-dependence or alcohol-dependence history and zygosity, risk groups were constructed to reflect different levels of genetic and environmental risk that were then used to predict offspring conduct disorder.

After controlling for potentially confounding variables, the offspring of men with a history of drug dependence or alcohol dependence had significantly higher rates of conduct disorder, compared with offspring of men without this history. Offspring at higher genetic risk had higher rates of conduct disorder. High-risk offspring at lower environmental risk had lower rates of conduct disorder but only in the case of paternal drug-dependence risk. Lower environmental risk did not influence rates of offspring conduct disorder when the father had an alcohol-dependence history.

Genetic risk associated with both paternal drug-dependence and paternal alcohol-dependence histories predicted offspring conduct-disorder risk, but only risk associated with paternal drug-dependence history was mitigated by having a low-risk environment. These results demonstrated a significant gene-environment interaction effect.


Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: rhaber@odd.stanford.edu

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Adolescent Substance Use: Mediation by Individual, Family, and School Factors

This study examined racial/ethnic differences in alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use among a diverse sample of approximately 5,500 seventh and eighth graders. We also evaluated the extent to which individual, family, and school factors mediated racial/ ethnic disparities in use.

Students (49% male) from 16 participating middle schools in southern California reported on lifetime and past-month substance use, individual factors (expectancies and resistance self-efficacy), family factors (familism, parental respect, and adult and older sibling use), and school factors (school-grade use and perceived peer use). We used generalized estimating equations to examine the odds of consumption for each racial/ethnic group adjusting for sex, grade, and family structure. Path analysis models tested mediation of racial/ethnic differences through individual, family, and school factors.

After adjusting for sex, grade, and family structure, Hispanics reported higher and Asians reported lower lifetime and past-month substance use, compared with non-Hispanic Caucasians. Rates of substance use did not differ between non-Hispanic African Americans and Caucasians. Several individual factors mediated the relationship between Hispanic ethnicity and substance use, including negative expectancies and resistance self-efficacy. Higher use among Hispanics was generally not explained by family or school factors. By contrast, several factors mediated the relationship between Asian race and lower alcohol use, including individual, family (parental respect, adult and older sibling use), and school (perceived peer use, school-grade use) factors.


Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: Regina_Shih@rand.org


Results highlight the importance of targeting specific individual, family, and school factors in tailored intervention efforts to reduce substance use among young minority adolescents.

Course of Alcohol Dependence Among Vietnam Combat Veterans and Nonveteran Controls

Identifying developmental trajectories of alcohol use is fundamental in building theories of alcoholism etiology and course. The purpose of this study was to replicate and generalize our previous finding that had been based on a twin sample drawn from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. In this study, we made use of a nontwin sample of Vietnam veterans drawn from the Vietnam Era Study--a 25-year follow-up of the Vietnam Drug User Returns project that assessed the long-term medical and psychiatric consequences of substance abuse or dependence in Vietnam.

Alcohol-related behaviors and psychiatric status were assessed in a sample of 839 individuals that comprised 323 veterans who tested positive for drugs (i.e., opiates, barbiturates, or amphetamines) on discharge from Vietnam, 319 veterans who tested negative for drugs at that time, and a nonveteran control sample (n = 197). Individuals with a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol dependence (n = 293) were selected for further analysis. Using detailed life history charts, in-person structured interviews were conducted, which entailed retrospective reports covering the 25 years since the 1972 survey. Measures of alcohol and drug use as well as psychiatric symptoms were obtained by assessing each year of the follow-up interval, beginning with 1972.

Using latent growth mixture modeling, a four-class model was identified with trajectories that were parallel to those identified in our previous studies based on the Vietnam Era Twin Registry: severe chronic alcoholics, severe nonchronic alcoholics, late-onset alcoholics, and young-adult alcoholics.

Present findings provide additional support for the replicability and generalizability of meaningful differences in the course of alcoholism from early adulthood to midlife.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: tjacob@odd.stanford.edu

Psychological distress among Plains Indian mothers with children referred to screening for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Psychological distress (PD) includes symptoms of depression and anxiety and is associated with considerable emotional suffering, social dysfunction and, often, with problematic alcohol use. The rate of current PD among American Indian women is approximately 2.5 times higher than that of U.S. women in general.

Our study aims to fill the current knowledge gap about the prevalence and characteristics of PD and its association with self-reported current drinking problems among American Indian mothers whose children were referred to screening for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data was conducted from maternal interviews of referred American Indian mothers (n=152) and a comparison group of mothers (n=33) from the same Plains culture tribes who participated in an NIAAA-funded epidemiology study of FASD. Referred women were from one of six Plains Indian reservation communities and one urban area who bore children suspected of having an FASD. A 6-item PD scale (PD-6, Cronbach's alpha=.86) was constructed with a summed score range of 0-12 and a cut-point of 7 indicating serious PD. Multiple statistical tests were used to examine the characteristics of PD and its association with self-reported current drinking problems.

Referred and comparison mothers had an average age of 31.3 years but differed (respectively) on: education, PD-6 mean scores, current prevalence of serious PD, and a current drinking problem. Among referred mothers, those with a current drinking problem had a significantly higher mean PD-6 score. Having PD, serious PD, and 2 specific scale items significantly increased the odds that a referred mother would have a current drinking problem.

Psychological distress among referred mothers is significantly associated with having a self-reported drinking problem. FASD prevention requires multi-level prevention efforts that provide real opportunities for educational attainment and screening and monitoring of PD and alcohol use during the childbearing years. Mixed methods studies are needed to illuminate the social and cultural determinants at the base of the experience of PD and to identify the strengths and protective factors of unaffected peers who reside within the same communities.

Read Full Article (PDF)

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Adolescent Substance Use: Mediation by Individual, Family, and School Factors

This study examined racial/ethnic differences in alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use among a diverse sample of approximately 5,500 seventh and eighth graders. We also evaluated the extent to which individual, family, and school factors mediated racial/ ethnic disparities in use.

Students (49% male) from 16 participating middle schools in southern California reported on lifetime and past-month substance use, individual factors (expectancies and resistance self-efficacy), family factors (familism, parental respect, and adult and older sibling use), and school factors (school-grade use and perceived peer use).

We used generalized estimating equations to examine the odds of consumption for each racial/ethnic group adjusting for sex, grade, and family structure. Path analysis models tested mediation of racial/ethnic differences through individual, family, and school factors.

After adjusting for sex, grade, and family structure, Hispanics reported higher and Asians reported lower lifetime and past-month substance use, compared with non-Hispanic Caucasians.

Rates of substance use did not differ between non-Hispanic African Americans and Caucasians.

Several individual factors mediated the relationship between Hispanic ethnicity and substance use, including negative expectancies and resistance self-efficacy.

Higher use among Hispanics was generally not explained by family or school factors.

By contrast, several factors mediated the relationship between Asian race and lower alcohol use, including individual, family (parental respect, adult and older sibling use), and school (perceived peer use, school-grade use) factors.

Results highlight the importance of targeting specific individual, family, and school factors in tailored intervention efforts to reduce substance use among young minority adolescents.


Download this article

Distribution of ADH1B, ALDH2, CYP2E16, and CYP2E17B genotypes in Turkish population

The most well-known metabolic pathways from ethanol to acetaldehyde include alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system that involves cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1). Acetaldehyde is further oxidized to acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH).

The genetic variation of ADH1B, ALDH2, and CYP2E1
is different among racial populations and cause difference in elimination rates of alcohol.

The aim of this study was to determine the polymorphisms of ADH1B (rs1229984; Arg47His), ALDH2 (rs671; Glu487Lys), CYP2E1*6 (rs6413432; T7632A), and CYP2E1*7B (rs6413420; G-71T) in unrelated healthy Turkish population and compare it with other populations.

ADH1B and ALDH2 polymorphisms were analyzed with an allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, and CYP2E1*6 and CYP2E1*7B polymorphisms were genotyped by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method.

ADH1B polymorphism analysis yielded the genotype distribution as 83.9% ADH1B*1/1 and 16.1% ADH1B*1/2, and no individuals with ALDH2*1/2 and ALDH2*2/2 genotypes were found in Turkish population.

The genotype frequencies for CYP2E1*6 polymorphism were found as 85.3% for homozygote common, 14.1% for heterozygote, and 0.6% for homozygote uncommon.

For CYP2E1*7B polymorphism, the genotype frequencies were determined to be 86.5% G/G, 13.5% for G/T; however, no individuals with homozygote uncommon genotype were detected.

According to our study results, the genotype distributions of ADH1B, ALDH2, CYP2E1*6, and CYP2E1*7B in Turkish population were similar compared with Caucasian and some European populations, whereas differed significantly from East Asian populations.

This study may be useful in epidemiological studies of the influence of ADH1B, ALDH2, CYP2E1*6, and CYP2E1*7B polymorphisms on diseases, including several types of cancer related to alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: kayaalti@medicine.ankara.edu.tr

Alcohol dependence and glutamate decarboxylase gene polymorphisms in an Italian male population

Knowledge of alcohol use disorder and of substance-related problems has recently found some initial support in genetic studies.

With a view to further understanding of this particular aspect, in the light of the “self-medication hypothesis,” we focused our attention on the gamma aminobutyric acid system and, in particular, on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the glutamate decarboxylase 67 or glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) gene region in association with alcohol dependence.

The research was structured as a case–control study. The patient cohort included 283 Caucasian males from the Veneto region, North-east Italy; 107 were alcohol dependent according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV TR) criteria, and 176 were controls recruited from blood donors.

We analyzed 26 SNPs located in the coding and untranslated regions of the GAD67 gene with the GenomeLab SNPStream Genotyping System (Beckman Coulter, Fullerton, CA). Fisher's Chi-square test for allele and genotype distributions and Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium analysis for cases and controls were performed. Ten SNPs at the GAD67 gene were valid for further statistics.

Preliminary results show a difference in genotype distribution (P=.003; χ2=11.6081) between alcoholic subjects and controls of SNP rs 11542313 located in exon 3 of the GAD67 gene, responsible for a silent mutation (His37His).

This is the first genetic study regarding the GAD67 gene in relation to the condition of alcohol dependence in an Italian population of subjects all coming from the same region (Veneto). The results highlight a statistical association between one SNP of GAD67 and the condition of alcohol dependence.

To clarify the possible meaning of this association, further genetic analyses are being undertaken. In particular, we are investigating other genetic polymorphisms, both upstream and downstream from rs 11542313, which may interfere with splicing and/or GAD67 mRNA stability.



Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: claudio.terranova@sanita.padova.it

Contributions of Studies on Alcohol Use Disorders to Understanding Cerebellar Function

Neuropathological, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging studies of human alcoholism provide evidence for degradation of frontal, pontine, thalamic, and cerebellar brain sites and disturbed associated functions.

Current studies using neuroimaging combined with examination of executive functions, traditionally considered the sole purview of the frontal lobes, have identified a role for the cerebellum serving as a compensatory processing adjunct to enable normal performance on challenging tasks tapping executive functions.

This overview proposes that disruption of an executive frontocerebellar network is a major contributor to characteristic behaviors of alcoholism that, on the one hand, enable alcohol use disorders, and on the other hand, lead to compensation for dysfunctions in alcoholism traditionally considered frontally-based.


Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: nzahr@stanford.edu