Press Release - Big Alcohol Tearing Down California’s Alcohol Regulations

Alcohol Justice released a new report today illustrating the effectiveness of Big Alcohol lobbying on California state government at the end of the 2011-2012 legislative session.

“Our legislature continues to pander to the well-healed interests of Big Alcohol at the public’s expense,” stated Bruce Lee Livingston, Executive Director/CEO of Alcohol Justice. “What they conveniently failed to see in 2012 is that incremental alcohol deregulation increases alcohol-related harm and cost in the state.”

Alcohol Justice has estimated that $9 billion of the state’s $38.4 billion in annual alcohol-related harm is paid for by taxpayers. The incremental and systematic weakening of regulations that limit access, availability, and exposure to alcoholic beverages undermines public health and safety and drives up the social and government costs. California’s harmful alcohol legislation can be grouped into two general categories: (1) bills that erode the regulatory tiers, and (2) bills that expand access to alcoholic beverages and exposure to advertising and marketing.  > > > >  Read More


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Training program on evidence-based alcohol policies in developing countries

Blue Cross and FORUT have developed a training program on evidence-based alcohol policies. Training sessions have so far been held in seven countries in Africa.

The training program on evidence-based alcohol policies was developed in its first version in 2009. The program was first tested in three countries, then revised and further implemented in four more countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Norwegian NGOs FORUT and Blue Cross have been responsible for the project, with financial support from International Federation of Blue Cross (IFBC).  > > > >  Read More

Randomized Clinical Trial Examining the Incremental Efficacy of a 90-Minute Motivational Alcohol Intervention as an Adjunct to Standard Batterer Intervention for Men

The efficacy of batterer intervention programs to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) is questionable with individuals with alcohol problems particularly unlikely to benefit. We examined whether adding adjunctive alcohol intervention to batterer intervention reduced the likelihood of substance use and violence relative to batterer intervention alone.

Randomized clinical trial.

Batterer intervention programs in Rhode Island, USA.

252 hazardous drinking men in batterer intervention programs. Participants were randomized to receive 40 hours of standard batterer program (SBP), or the SBP plus a 90-minute alcohol intervention (SBP+BAI). None withdrew due to adverse effects. Data were collected at baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up, with follow-up rates of 95%, 89%, and 82%, respectively.

Substance use was measured with a well-validated calendar-assisted interview. Violence was measured with a validated questionnaire. Arrest records were obtained for all participants. The primary substance use outcome was drinks per drinking day (DPDD) and the primary violence outcome was frequency of any physical IPV.

Relative to SBP alone, men receiving SBP+BAI reported consuming fewer DPDD at 3-month follow-up (B=-1.36,95%CI=-2.65,-.04,p=.04) but not 6-month or 12-month follow-up. In secondary analyses, men receiving SBP+BAI reported significantly greater abstinence at 3- (B=.09,95%CI=.03,.14,p=.002) and 6-month (B=.06,95%CI=.01,.11,p=.01) follow-up but not 12-month follow-up. There were no significant differences in physical IPV between men receiving SBP and men receiving SBP+BAI. In secondary analyses, men receiving SBP+BAI reported less severe physical aggression at 3-month (IRR=.18,95%CI=.05,.65, p=.009) but not 6-month or 12-month follow-up. Men receiving SBP+BAI reported less severe psychological aggression (B=-1.24,95%CI=-2.47,-.02,p=.04) and fewer injuries to partners at 3- and 6-month follow-up (IRR=.33,95%CI=.12,.92,p=.03), with differences fading by 12 months. 

Men with a history of intimate partner violence and hazardous drinking who received a batterer intervention plus an alcohol intervention showed improved alcohol and violence outcomes initially, but improvements faded by 12 months.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:   gstuart@utk.edu

Critique 103: Alcohol intake just before bed-time may affect your sleep patterns — 18 February 2013

This review provides a qualitative assessment of all known scientific studies on the impact of alcohol ingestion on nocturnal sleep in healthy volunteers. At all dosages, alcohol causes a reduction in sleep onset latency, a more consolidated first half sleep and an increase in sleep disruption in the second half of sleep. The effects on rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in the first half of sleep appear to be dose related with low and moderate doses showing no clear trend on REM sleep in the first half of the night whereas at high doses, REM sleep reduction in the first part of sleep is significant. Total night REM sleep percentage is decreased in the majority of studies at moderate and high doses with no clear trend apparent at low doses. The onset of the first REM sleep period is significantly delayed at all doses and appears to be the most recognizable effect of alcohol on REM sleep followed by the reduction in total night REM sleep.

The majority of studies, across dose, age and gender, confirm an increase in slow wave sleep (SWS) in the first half of the night relative to baseline values. The impact of alcohol on SWS in the first half of night appears to be more robust than the effect on REM sleep and does not appear to be an epiphenomenon REM sleep reduction. Total night SWS is increased at high alcohol doses across gender and age groups. > > > >  Read More

Post-treatment stage of change predicts 12-month outcome of treatment for alcohol problems

To evaluate relationships between clients' self-reported ‘stage of change’ and outcomes after treatment for alcohol problems. 

Using data from the ‘United Kingdom Alcohol Treatment Trial’, clients who had received at least one session of treatment and who had complete data (n = 392) entered the analysis. Two continuous measures of drinking behaviour (% days abstinent (PDA) and drinks per drinking day (DDD)) and categorical outcomes at the 12-month follow-up were compared between clients in Pre-action and Action stages of change at either pre- or post-treatment assessment. Multiple and logistic regression analyses examined the relationships between stage of change and treatment outcomes, evaluating the strength of these relationships by controlling for likely confounders.


 Pre-treatment stage of change did not predict outcome but post-treatment stage of change predicted PDA and DDD at the 12-month follow-up. In unadjusted and adjusted analyses, clients in Action at post-treatment were two to three times more likely to show a favourable categorical outcome, variously defined, than those in Pre-action. There were no differences between clients who had received Motivational Enhancement Therapy and those who had received Social Behaviour and Network Therapy in proportions maintaining or moving towards Action from before to after treatment. 

These findings confirm previous reports that motivational variables predict outcome of treatment but add that such a relationship is seen for post-treatment stage of change. For therapists, it would seem important to monitor the client's stage of change—which in good clinical practice often occurs in informal ways—and have strategies to deal with low motivation to change whenever it occurs throughout treatment. The findings are also consistent with a ‘common factors’ perspective on effective treatment for alcohol problems.


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Alcohol Spills Over: alcohol and the family and other neglected issues

The 37th Annual International New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group Conference

Thursday 25th April 2013 – Sunday 28th April 2013

Copthorne Hotel, Birmingham, England.

This conference brings some of the foremost alcohol and family researchers to New Directions including Jim Orford along with Alex Copello & Richard Velleman. As well as the history of alcohol and families work and international (US, Ireland, Nigeria) comparisons it will include material for Jim Orford’s forthcoming publication: ‘Power, Powerlessness and Addiction’.

Contemporary issues the conference will also address include:

•  Older adults and alcohol
•  Sikh communities and alcohol
•  Twitter (introduction and throughout the conference)

> > > >  Read More

Binge-Pattern Ethanol Exposure During Adolescence, but Not Adulthood, Causes Persistent Changes in GABAA Receptor-Mediated Tonic Inhibition in Dentate Granule Cells

In recent years, it has become clear that acute ethanol (EtOH) affects various neurobiological and behavioral functions differently in adolescent animals than in adults. However, less is known about the long-term neural consequences of chronic EtOH exposure during adolescence, and most importantly whether adolescence represents a developmental period of enhanced vulnerability to such effects.

We made whole-cell recordings of GABA_A receptor-mediated tonic inhibitory currents from dentate gyrus granule cells (DGGCs) in hippocampal slices from adult rats that had been treated with chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) or saline during adolescence, young adulthood, or adulthood.

CIE reduced baseline tonic current amplitude in DGGCs from animals pretreated with EtOH during adolescence, but not in GCs from those pretreated with EtOH during young adulthood or adulthood. Similarly, the enhancement of tonic currents by acute EtOH exposure ex vivo was increased in GCs from animals pretreated with EtOH during adolescence, but not in those from animals pretreated during either of the other 2 developmental periods.

These findings underscore our recent report that CIE during adolescence results in enduring alterations in tonic current and its acute EtOH sensitivity and establish that adolescence is a developmental period during which the hippocampal formation is distinctively vulnerable to long-term alteration by chronic EtOH exposure.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:  rebekah.fleming@duke.edu

Effects of Varenicline on Ethanol- and Food-Maintained Responding in a Concurrent Access Procedure

Varenicline has been reported to reduce drinking in smokers and to selectively decrease responding for ethanol (EtOH) versus alternatives in preclinical studies. Such selectivity may reflect potential therapeutic effects and the involvement of nicotinic receptors in EtOH reinforcement. However, these studies have been conducted with EtOH and an alternative available in isolation or in separate groups, and selectivity can depend on the context in which reinforcement occurs. Whether varenicline selectivity is maintained when EtOH and an alternative are concurrently available has not been reported. To examine the effects of varenicline on EtOH self-administration when an alternative is concurrently available, male Lewis rats (n = 5) were trained to respond for EtOH and food under a concurrent FR5 FRX schedule where the fixed ratio (FR) for food was adjusted (FR = 25 or 35 for each subject) to provide similar numbers of EtOH and food deliveries during a 30-minute session.

Doses of varenicline (0.56 to 5.6 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle were administered 30 minutes before sessions. Effects of varenicline on responding across the session and during each tenth of the session were compared to responding following vehicle treatment.

Lower doses (0.56 to 1.0 mg/kg) of varenicline increased responding for EtOH without affecting responding for food. Higher doses disrupted responding for EtOH and food similarly.

Previous reports of varenicline selectivity on EtOH-maintained responding do not generalize to other experimental conditions such as a concurrent schedule. The increase in responding for EtOH following lower doses might be due to enhanced EtOH reinforcement, decreased food reinforcement, rate dependency, or greater perseverance on the initial, EtOH response.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:     ginsburg@uthscsa.edu

Does Binge Drinking During Early Pregnancy Increase the Risk of Psychomotor Deficits?

The potential effects of binge drinking during pregnancy on child motor function have only been assessed in a few, small studies. We aimed to examine the effects of binge alcohol consumption during early pregnancy, including number of binge episodes and timing of binge drinking, on child motor function at age 5.

We performed a prospective follow-up study of 678 women and their children sampled from the Danish National Birth Cohort based on maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy. At 5 years of age, the children were tested with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children. Parental education, maternal IQ, prenatal maternal smoking, the child's age at testing, sex of child, and tester were considered core confounders, while the full model also controlled for prenatal maternal average alcohol intake, maternal age and prepregnancy body mass index, parity, home environment, postnatal parental smoking, health status, participation in organized sport, and indicators for hearing and vision impairment.

There were no systematic or significant differences in motor function between children of mothers reporting isolated episodes of binge drinking and children of mothers with no binge episodes. No association was observed with respect to the number of binge episodes (maximum of 12) and timing of binge drinking.

In this study, we found no systematic association between isolated episodes of binge drinking during early pregnancy and child motor function at age 5.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:   ukes@soci.au.dk

Alcohol Dehydrogenase-1B Genotype (rs1229984) is a Strong Determinant of the Relationship Between Body Weight and Alcohol Intake in Japanese Alcoholic Men

The calories in alcoholic beverages consumed by alcoholics are a major energy source and a strong modifier of their body weight. Genetic polymorphisms of alcohol dehydrogenase-1B (ADH1B) and aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) affect susceptibility to alcoholism and may affect body weight via gene-associated differences in fuel utilization in alcoholics.

We evaluated associations between ADH1B/ALDH2 genotypes and the body weight and body mass index (BMI) of 1,301 Japanese alcoholic men at the time of their first visit to an addiction center.

Median (25th to 75th) caloric intake in the form of alcoholic beverages was 864 (588 to 1,176) kcal/d. Age-adjusted caloric intake did not differ according to ADH1B/ALDH2 genotypes. The body weight and BMI values showed that the ADH1B*2/*2 and *1/*2 carriers (n = 939) were significantly leaner than the ADH1B*1/*1 carriers (n = 362) irrespective of age, drinking, smoking, and dietary habits. The age-adjusted body weight values of the ADH1B*2/*2, ADH1B*1/*2, and ADH1B*1/*1 carriers were 58.4 ± 0.4, 58.7 ± 0.5, and 63.6 ± 0.5 kg, respectively (ADH1B*2 vs. ADH1B*1/*1 carriers, p < 0.0001), and the corresponding BMI values were 21.0 ± 0.1, 21.0 ± 0.1, and 22.9 ± 0.2 kg/m², respectively (ADH1B*2 vs. ADH1B*1/*1 carriers, p < 0.0001). No effects of inactive ALDH2 on body weight or BMI were observed. A multivariate analysis showed that BMI decreased by 0.35 per 10-year increase in age, by 1.73 in the presence of the ADH1B*2 allele, by 1.55 when the preferred beverage was whiskey, and by 0.19 per +10 cigarettes/d and that it increased by 0.10 per +22 g ethanol (EtOH)/d and by 0.41 per increase in category of frequency of milk intake (every day, occasionally, rarely, and never). The increase in BMI as alcohol consumption increased was significantly smaller in the ADH1B*2 group than in the ADH1B*1/*1 group (p = 0.002).

ADH1B genotype was a strong determinant of body weight in the alcoholics. The more rapid EtOH elimination associated with the ADH1B*2 allele may result in less efficient utilization of EtOH as an energy source in alcoholics.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:    a_yokoyama@kurihama1.hosp.go.jp

Ethanol Concentration-Dependent Alterations in Gene Expression During Acute Binge Drinking in the HIV-1 Transgenic Rat

Binge drinking of high ethanol (EtOH) concentration beverages is common among young adults and can be a risk factor for exposure to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-1. We used a novel noninfectious HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1Tg) rat model that mimics HIV-1 patients in terms of altered immune responses and deficits in cognitive learning and memory to investigate EtOH concentration-dependent effects on 48 alcohol-modulated genes during binge EtOH administration.

HIV-1Tg and control F344 rats were administered water, 8% EtOH, or 52% EtOH by gavage (i.g.) for 3 days (2.0 g/kg/d). Two hours after final treatment, blood, liver, and spleen were collected from each animal. Serum blood EtOH concentration (BEC) was measured, and gene expression in the liver and spleen was determined using a specifically designed PCR array.

The BEC was significantly higher in the 52% EtOH-treated HIV-1Tg rats compared with the 8% EtOH group; however, the BEC was higher in the 8% EtOH-treated control rats compared with the 52% EtOH group. There was no change in expression of the EtOH metabolism-related genes, Adh1, Adh4, and Cyp2e1, in either the 8 or 52% EtOH-treated HIV-1Tg rats, whereas expression of those genes was significantly higher in the liver of the 52% EtOH control rats, but not in the 8% EtOH group. In the HIV-1Tg rats, expression of the GABA_A, metabotropic glutamate, and dopamine neurotransmitter receptor genes was significantly increased in the spleen of the 52% EtOH group, but not in the 8% EtOH group, whereas no change was observed in those genes in either of the control groups.

Our data indicate that, in the presence of HIV-1 infection, EtOH concentration-dependent binge drinking can have significantly different molecular effects.

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Request Reprint E-Mail:   sulie.chang@shu.edu

Gestational Choline Supplementation Normalized Fetal Alcohol-Induced Alterations in Histone Modifications, DNA Methylation, and Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) Gene Expression in β-Endorphin-Producing POMC Neurons of the Hypothalamus

Prenatal exposure to ethanol (EtOH) reduces the expression of hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene, known to control various physiological functions including the organismal stress response. In this study, we determined whether the changes in POMC neuronal functions are associated with altered expressions of histone-modifying and DNA-methylating enzymes in POMC-producing neurons, because these enzymes are known to be involved in regulation of gene expression. In addition, we tested whether gestational choline supplementation prevents the adverse effects of EtOH on these neurons.

Pregnant rat dams were fed with alcohol-containing liquid diet or control diet during gestational days 7 and 21 with or without choline, and their male offspring rats were used during the adult period. Using double-immunohistochemistry, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and methylation-specific RT-PCR, we determined protein and mRNA levels of histone-modifying and DNA-methylating enzymes and the changes in POMC gene methylation and expression in the hypothalamus of adult male offspring rats. Additionally, we measured the basal- and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced corticosterone levels in plasma by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Prenatal EtOH treatment suppressed hypothalamic levels of protein and mRNA of histone activation marks (H3K4me3, Set7/9, acetylated H3K9, phosphorylated H3S10), and increased the repressive marks (H3K9me2, G9a, Setdb1), DNA-methylating enzyme (Dnmt1), and the methyl-CpG-binding protein (MeCP2). The treatment also elevated the level of POMC gene methylation, while it reduced levels of POMC mRNA and β-EP and elevated corticosterone response to LPS. Gestational choline normalized the EtOH-altered protein and the mRNA levels of H3K4me3, Set7/9, H3K9me2, G9a, Setdb1, Dnmt1, and MeCP2. It also normalizes the changes in POMC gene methylation and gene expression, β-EP production, and the corticosterone response to LPS.

These data suggest that prenatal EtOH modulates histone and DNA methylation in POMC neurons that may be resulting in hypermethylation of POMC gene and reduction in POMC gene expression. Gestational choline supplementation prevents the adverse effects of EtOH on these neurons.

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Request Reprint E-Mail:    sarkar@aesop.rutgers.edu

Effect of Bacterial Pneumonia on Lung Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) Replication in Alcohol Consuming SIV-Infected Rhesus Macaques

Opportunistic infections in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons have been shown to increase the rate of HIV replication. In populations where prophylaxis against Pneumocystis pneumonia is utilized, bacterial pneumonia is now the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection in HIV+ patients. Our prior studies have shown that chronic alcohol consumption in demarcated simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus macaques increases plasma viral load set point and accelerates progression to end-stage acquired immune deficiency syndrome. While chronic alcohol abuse is well known to increase the incidence and severity of bacterial pneumonia, the impact of alcohol consumption on local and systemic SIV/HIV burden during lung infection is unknown. Therefore, we utilized the macaque SIV infection model to examine the effect of chronic ethanol (EtOH) feeding on SIV burden during the course of pulmonary infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most commonly identified etiology of bacterial pneumonia in HIV+ and HIV− persons in developed countries.

Alcohol was administered starting 3 months before SIVmac251 inoculation to the end of the study via an indwelling intragastric catheter to achieve a plasma alcohol concentration of 50 to 60 mM. Control animals received isocaloric sucrose. Four months after SIV infection, the right lung was inoculated with 2 × 10⁶ CFU S. pneumoniae.

Leukocyte recruitment into the lung, pulmonary bacterial clearance, and clinical course were similar between EtOH and control groups. While plasma SIV viral load was similar between groups postpneumonia, chronic EtOH-fed macaques showed a prolonged increase in SIV RNA in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Alveolar macrophages isolated from EtOH-fed macaques 1 day post-pneumonia showed greater nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κB) activation.

This study indicates that chronic EtOH feeding results in enhanced local, but not systemic, SIV replication following pneumococcal pneumonia. Increased NF-κB activity in the setting of chronic EtOH ingestion may play a mechanistic role in this observation.

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Request Reprint E-Mail:   snelso1@lsuhsc.edu

Can Preoccupation With Alcohol Override the Protective Properties of Mindful Awareness on Problematic Drinking?

To assess the mediating role of drinking restraint—specifically preoccupation with drinking—on the associations between mindful awareness and alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems.

 

A total of 390 heavy-drinking, undergraduate, college students (52% male) were assessed on measures of mindfulness, drinking restraint, alcohol consumption (prior 90 d), and alcohol-related problems through self-report surveys.

Mindfulness was negatively associated with alcohol consumption, problems, and both factors of drinking restraint (emotional preoccupation and behavioral constraint). Emotional preoccupation, but not behavioral constraint, statistically mediated these relationships and demonstrated positive associations with both alcohol consumption and related problems.

 

Results replicate previous findings documenting a negative association between mindfulness and alcohol consumption and problems. Statistical mediation models suggest that preoccupation with drinking may be a risk factor that over-rides the health-promoting effects of mindfulness.

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Request Reprint E-Mail:  hagman@usf.edu

Biomimetic enzyme nanocomplexes and their use as antidotes and preventive measures for alcohol intoxication

Organisms have sophisticated subcellular compartments containing enzymes that function in tandem. These confined compartments ensure effective chemical transformation and transport of molecules, and the elimination of toxic metabolic wastes^{1, 2}. Creating functional enzyme complexes that are confined in a similar way remains challenging.

Here we show that two or more enzymes with complementary functions can be assembled and encapsulated within a thin polymer shell to form enzyme nanocomplexes. These nanocomplexes exhibit improved catalytic efficiency and enhanced stability when compared with free enzymes. Furthermore, the co-localized enzymes display complementary functions, whereby toxic intermediates generated by one enzyme can be promptly eliminated by another enzyme.

We show that nanocomplexes containing alcohol oxidase and catalase could reduce blood alcohol levels in intoxicated mice, offering an alternative antidote and prophylactic for alcohol intoxication.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:  luucla@ucla.edu

DO SOBER EYEWITNESSES OUTPERFORM ALCOHOL INTOXICATED EYEWITNESSES IN A LINEUP?

 

Although alcohol intoxicated eyewitnesses are common, there are only a few studies in the area. The aim of the current study is to investigate how different doses of alcohol affect eyewitness lineup identification performance.

The participants (N = 123) were randomly assigned to a 3 [Beverage: control (0.0 g/kg ethanol) vs. lower (0.4 g/kg ethanol) vs. higher alcohol dose (0.7 g/kg ethanol)] X 2 (Lineup: target-present vs. target-absent) between-subject design. Participants consumed two glasses of beverage at an even pace for 15 minutes. Five minutes after consumption the participants witnessed a film depicting a staged kidnapping. Seven days later, the participants returned to the laboratory and were asked to identify the culprit in a simultaneous lineup.

 

The result showed that overall, the participants performed better than chance; however, their lineup performance was poor. There were no significant effects of alcohol intoxication with respect to performance, neither in target-present nor target-absent lineups.

 

The study’s results suggest that eyewitnesses who have consumed a lower (0.4 g/kg ethanol) or a higher (0.7 g/kg ethanol) dose of alcohol perform at the same level as sober eyewitnesses in a lineup.

 

The results are discussed in relation to the alcohol myopia theory and suggestions for future research are made.

 

 

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Brain-derived neurotrophic factor mediates the suppression of alcohol self-administration by memantine

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) within the striatum is part of a homeostatic pathway regulating alcohol consumption. Memantine, a non-competitive antagonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, induces expression of BDNF in several brain regions including the striatum.

We hypothesized that memantine could decrease ethanol (EtOH) consumption via activation of the BNDF signalling pathway.

Effects of memantine were evaluated in Long-Evans rats self-administering moderate or high amounts of EtOH 6, 30 and 54 hours after an acute injection (12.5 and 25 mg/kg). Motivation to consume alcohol was investigated through a progressive ratio paradigm. The possible role for BDNF in the memantine effect was tested by blockade of the TrkB receptor using the pharmacological agent K252a and by the BDNF scavenger TrkB-Fc. Candidate genes expression was also assessed by polymerase chain reaction array 4 and 28 hours after memantine injection.

We found that memantine decreased EtOH self-administration and motivation to consume EtOH 6 and 30 hours post-injection. In addition, we found that inhibition or blockade of the BDNF signalling pathway prevented the early, but not the delayed decrease in EtOH consumption induced by memantine. Finally, Bdnf expression was differentially regulated between the early and delayed timepoints.

These results demonstrate that an acute injection of memantine specifically reduces EtOH self-administration and motivation to consume EtOH for at least 30 hours. Moreover, we showed that BDNF was responsible for the early effect, but that the delayed effect was BDNF-independent.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:    jerome.jeanblanc@u-ardie.fr

Selective breeding for ethanol-related traits alters circadian phenotype

Previous studies in mice and rats have shown that selective breeding for high and low ethanol preference results in divergence of circadian phenotype in the selected lines. These results indicate that some alleles influencing ethanol preference also contribute to circadian rhythm regulation. Selective breeding has also been used to produce lines of mice differing in a number of other ethanol-related traits, while studies of phenotypic and genetic correlation indicate that diverse ethanol-related traits are influenced by both shared and unshared genetics.

In the present study, we examined several features of circadian activity rhythms in a mouse line selected for binge-like drinking and in mouse lines selected for high and low severity of ethanol withdrawal convulsions.

Specifically, Experiment 1 compared High Drinking in the Dark (HDID-1) mice to their genetically heterogeneous progenitor line (HS/Npt), and Experiment 2 compared Withdrawal Seizure-Prone (WSP-2) and Withdrawal Seizure-Resistant (WSR-2) mice.

Both line pairs displayed differences in their daily activity patterns under light–dark conditions. In addition, HDID-1 mice showed shorter free-running periods in constant light and less coherent activity rhythms across lighting conditions relative to HS/Npt controls, while WSP-2 mice showed longer free-running periods in constant darkness relative to WSR-2 mice.

These results strengthen the evidence for genetic linkages between responsiveness to ethanol and circadian regulation, and extend this evidence to include ethanol-related phenotypes other than preference drinking. However, the present results also indicate that the nature of genetic correlations between and within phenotypic domains is highly complex.


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Request Reprint E-Mail:   alanr@maine.edu

The Current Situation of Treatment Systems for Alcoholism in Korea

Alcoholism is becoming one of the most serious issues in Korea. The purpose of this review article was to understand the present status of the treatment system for alcoholism in Korea compared to the United States and to suggest its developmental direction in Korea. 

Current modalities of alcoholism treatment in Korea including withdrawal treatment, pharmacotherapy, and psychosocial treatment are available according to Korean evidence-based treatment guidelines. Benzodiazepines and supportive care including vitamin and nutritional support are mainly used to treat alcohol withdrawal in Korea. Naltrexone and acamprosate are the drugs of first choice to treat chronic alcoholism. Psychosocial treatment methods such as individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, family therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, cue exposure therapy, 12-step facilitation therapy, self-help group therapy, and community-based treatment have been carried out to treat chronic alcoholism in Korea. 

However, current alcohol treatment system in Korea is not integrative compared to that in the United States. To establish the treatment system, it is important to set up an independent governmental administration on alcohol abuse, to secure experts on alcoholism, and to conduct outpatient alcoholism treatment programs and facilities in an open system including some form of continuing care.


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News Release - UTHealth researchers may help identify when smokers attempting cessation are at a higher risk of relapse

New findings by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health may help identify situations in which smokers who are trying to quit are at a higher risk of relapse.

More than 1,200 people die in the United States every day from smoking-related illnesses. This is equivalent to three airplanes loaded with passengers crashing everyday in America. Smoking-related illnesses are the No. 1 cause of preventable deaths in the country, killing more Americans than drugs, homicides, suicides, accidents, and fires combined.

Previous studies have indicated that alcohol use can increase smoking and smoking urges. However, no studies have examined the moment-to-moment relation between smoking urges and alcohol use during a smoking cessation attempt.  > > > >  Read More