freementalhealth Journal Browser
pubmed: alcoholism AND (free...
NCBI: db=pubmed; Term=alcoholism
Cannabinoids suppress inflammatory and neuropathic pain by targeting ?3 glycine receptors.
Cannabinoids suppress inflammatory and neuropathic pain by targeting ?3 glycine receptors.
J Exp Med. 2012 May 14;
Authors: Xiong W, Cui T, Cheng K, Yang F, Chen SR, Willenbring D, Guan Y, Pan HL, Ren K, Xu Y, Zhang L
Abstract
Certain types of nonpsychoactive cannabinoids can potentiate glycine receptors (GlyRs), an important target for nociceptive regulation at the spinal level. However, little is known about the potential and mechanism of glycinergic cannabinoids for chronic pain treatment. We report that systemic and intrathecal administration of cannabidiol (CBD), a major nonpsychoactive component of marijuana, and its modified derivatives significantly suppress chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain without causing apparent analgesic tolerance in rodents. The cannabinoids significantly potentiate glycine currents in dorsal horn neurons in rat spinal cord slices. The analgesic potency of 11 structurally similar cannabinoids is positively correlated with cannabinoid potentiation of the ?3 GlyRs. In contrast, the cannabinoid analgesia is neither correlated with their binding affinity for CB1 and CB2 receptors nor with their psychoactive side effects. NMR analysis reveals a direct interaction between CBD and S296 in the third transmembrane domain of purified ?3 GlyR. The cannabinoid-induced analgesic effect is absent in mice lacking the ?3 GlyRs. Our findings suggest that the ?3 GlyRs mediate glycinergic cannabinoid-induced suppression of chronic pain. These cannabinoids may represent a novel class of therapeutic agents for the treatment of chronic pain and other diseases involving GlyR dysfunction.
PMID: 22585736 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Modulation of limbic-cerebellar functional connectivity enables alcoholics to recognize who is who.
Modulation of limbic-cerebellar functional connectivity enables alcoholics to recognize who is who.
Brain Struct Funct. 2012 May 15;
Authors: Pitel AL, Chanraud S, Müller-Oehring EM, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV
Abstract
Chronic alcoholism is known to disrupt functions served by distributed brain systems, including limbic and frontocerebellar circuits involved in resting-state and task-activated networks subserving component processes of memory often affected in alcoholics. Using an fMRI paradigm, we investigated whether memory performance by alcoholics on a face-name association test previously observed to be problematic for alcoholics could be explained by desynchronous activity between nodes of these specific networks. While in the scanner, 18 alcoholics and 15 controls performed a face-name associative learning task with different levels of processing at encoding. This task was designed to activate the hippocampus, cerebellum, and frontal cortex. Alcoholics and controls were also scanned at rest. Twelve alcoholics and 12 controls were selected to be matched on face-name recognition performance. Task-related fMRI analysis indicated that alcoholics had preserved limbic activation but lower cerebellar activation (Crus II) than the controls in the face-name learning task. Crus II was, therefore, chosen as a seed for functional connectivity MRI analysis. At rest, the left hippocampus and left Crus II had positively synchronized activity in controls, while hippocampal and cerebellar activities were negatively synchronized in alcoholics. Task engagement resulted in hippocampal-cerebellar desynchronization in both groups. We speculate that atypical cerebello-hippocampal activity synchronization during rest in alcoholics was reset to the normal pattern of asynchrony by task engagement. Aberrations from the normal pattern of resting-state default mode synchrony could be interpreted as enabling preserved face-name associative memory in alcoholism.
PMID: 22585315 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
The Relationship Between Forgiveness, Spirituality, Traumatic Guilt and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Among People with Addiction.
Psychiatr Q. 2012 May 15;
Authors: Langman L, Chung MC
Abstract
Spirituality and forgiveness have been shown to be associated with psychological well-being, while guilt has been associated with poor health. Little is known, however, about the relationship between forgiveness, spirituality, guilt, posttraumatic stress (PTSD) and psychological co-morbidity among people in recovery from addiction. Eighty-one people (F = 36, M = 45) in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction were recruited from two residential units and two drop-in centres in a city in the United Kingdom. They completed the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS), the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS), the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), the Traumatic Guilt Inventory (TGI), the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST-22) and the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-20). The control group comprised of 83 (F = 34, M = 49) individuals who confirmed that they did not have addiction and completed the PDS & GHQ-28. 54 % of the addiction group met the criteria for full PTSD and reported anxiety, somatic problems and depression. They described themselves as spiritual, had strong feelings of guilt associated with their addiction, and had difficulty in forgiving themselves. Controlling for demographics, number of events and medication management, regression analyses showed that spirituality predicted psychological co-morbidity, whilst feelings of guilt predicted PTSD symptoms and psychological co-morbidity. Unexpectedly, forgiveness did not predict outcomes. This study supports existing literature, which shows that people with drug and alcohol addiction tend to have experienced significant past trauma and PTSD symptoms. Their posttraumatic stress reactions and associated psychological difficulties can be better understood in the light of guilt and spirituality. Meanwhile, their ability to forgive themselves or others did not seem to influence health outcomes.
PMID: 22585109 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Fatal hypothermia: an analysis from a sub-arctic region.
Fatal hypothermia: an analysis from a sub-arctic region.
Int J Circumpolar Health. 2012;71(0):1-7
Authors: Brändström H, Eriksson A, Giesbrecht G, Angquist KA, Haney M
Abstract
Objectives. To determine the incidence as well as contributing factors to fatal hypothermia.Study design. Retrospective, registry-based analysis.Methods. Cases of fatal hypothermia were identified in the database of the National Board of Forensic Medicine for the 4 northernmost counties of Sweden and for the study period 1992-2008. Police reports, medical records and autopsy protocols were studied.Results. A total of 207 cases of fatal hypothermia were noted during the study period, giving an annual incidence of 1.35 per 100,000 inhabitants. Seventy-two percent occurred in rural areas, and 93% outdoors. Many (40%) were found within approximately 100 meters of a building. The majority (75%) occurred during the colder season (October to March). Some degree of paradoxical undressing was documented in 30%. Ethanol was detected in femoral vein blood in 43% of the victims. Contributing co-morbidity was common and included heart disease, earlier stroke, dementia, psychiatric disease, alcoholism, and recent trauma.Conclusions. With the identification of groups at high risk for fatal hypothermia, it should be possible to reduce risk through thoughtful interventions, particularly related to the highest risk subjects (rural, living alone, alcohol-imbibing, and psychiatric diagnosis-carrying) citizens.
PMID: 22584518 [PubMed - in process]
Impairments of Prepulse Inhibition of the Startle Response in Abstinent Alcoholic Male Patients.
Impairments of Prepulse Inhibition of the Startle Response in Abstinent Alcoholic Male Patients.
Alcohol Alcohol. 2012 May 11;
Authors: Marín M, Ponce G, Martínez-Gras I, Koeneke A, Curivil P, Jiménez-Arriero MA, Rubio G
Abstract
AIMS: Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex, which refers to the ability of innocuous sensory events to reduce the startle reflex, has been described as an operational measure of sensorimotor gating that is reduced in several neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, but experience is lacking in addictions and alcoholism. The aim of this study was to examine the existence of impairments in the startle response and PPI in abstinent alcoholic men. METHODS: Testing for PPI was conducted on 60 abstinent alcoholic men aged 18-65 years (mean 46.37) who met DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence and had been abstinent for more than a month at the time of testing. The comparison group were compared with 37 sex- age- and education-matched controls without alcohol dependence. RESULTS: Magnitudes of the startle reflex were lower in patients than in controls. The differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05) in trials with prepulses presented 30 and 120 ms before the onset of the startle stimulus. There was also a statistically significant (P < 0.05) reduced percentage of PPI when the prepulse was presented 30 ms before the startle stimulus. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that sensory information processing mechanisms could be damaged in abstinent alcoholic patients. The fact that these findings are common to other psychiatric disorders could indicate the existence of a common vulnerability marker and explain the high degree of comorbidity between alcoholism and other mental illnesses.
PMID: 22582183 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Endogenous formation and repair of oxidatively induced G[8-5 m]T intrastrand cross-link lesion.
Endogenous formation and repair of oxidatively induced G[8-5 m]T intrastrand cross-link lesion.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2012 May 11;
Authors: Wang J, Cao H, You C, Yuan B, Bahde R, Gupta S, Nishigori C, Niedernhofer LJ, Brooks PJ, Wang Y
Abstract
Exposure to reactive oxygen species (ROS) can give rise to the formation of various DNA damage products. Among them, d(G[8-5?m]T) can be induced in isolated DNA treated with Fenton reagents and in cultured human cells exposed to ?-rays, d(G[8-5m]T) can be recognized and incised by purified Escherichia coli UvrABC nuclease. However, it remains unexplored whether d(G[8-5?m]T) accumulates in mammalian tissues and whether it is a substrate for nucleotide excision repair (NER) in vivo. Here, we found that d(G[8-5?m]T) could be detected in DNA isolated from tissues of healthy humans and animals, and elevated endogenous ROS generation enhanced the accumulation of this lesion in tissues of a rat model of Wilson's disease. Additionally, XPA-deficient human brain and mouse liver as well as various types of tissues of ERCC1-deficient mice contained higher levels of d(G[8-5?m]T) but not ROS-induced single-nucleobase lesions than the corresponding normal controls. Together, our studies established that d(G[8-5?m]T) can be induced endogenously in mammalian tissues and constitutes a substrate for NER in vivo.
PMID: 22581771 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Chronic ethanol tolerance as a result of free-choice drinking in alcohol-preferring rats of the WHP line.
Pharmacol Rep. 2012 Jan;64(1):78-83
Authors: Dyr W, Taracha E
Abstract
The development of tolerance to alcohol with chronic consumption is an important criterion for an animal model of alcoholism and may be an important component of the genetic predisposition to alcoholism. The aim of this study was to determine whether the selectively bred Warsaw High Preferring (WHP) line of alcohol-preferring rats would develop behavioral and metabolic tolerance during the free-choice drinking of ethanol. Chronic tolerance to ethanol-induced sedation was tested. The loss of righting reflex (LRR) paradigm was used to record sleep duration in WHP rats. Ethanol (EtOH)-naive WHP rats received a single intraperitoneal (ip) injection of 5.0 g ethanol/kg body weight (b.w.), and sleep duration was measured. Subsequently, rats had access to a 10% ethanol solution under a free-choice condition with water and food for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks of the free-choice intake of ethanol, the rats received another single ip injection of 5.0 g ethanol/kg b.w., and sleep duration was reassessed. The blood alcohol content (BAC) for each rat was determined after an ip injection of 5 g/kg of ethanol in naive rats and again after chronic alcohol drinking at the time of recovery of the righting reflex (RR). The results showed that the mean ethanol intake was 9.14 g/kg/24 h, and both sleep duration and BAC were decreased after chronic ethanol intake. In conclusion, WHP rats exposed to alcohol by free-choice drinking across 12 weeks exhibited increased alcohol elimination rates. Studies have demonstrated that WHP rats after chronic free-choice drinking (12 weeks) of alcohol develop metabolic tolerance. Behavioral tolerance to ethanol was demonstrated by reduced sleep duration, but this decrease in sleep duration was not significant.
PMID: 22580523 [PubMed - in process]
Episodic heavy drinking, problem drinking and injuries - Results of the WHO/NIAAA collaborative emergency room study in South Korea.
Alcohol. 2012 May 9;
Authors: Chou SP, Chun S, Smith S, Ruan J, Li TK, Grant BF
Abstract
Alcohol is the 5th leading risk factor to the global disease burden and disability and about half of the global alcohol burden was attributable to injuries. Despite a large body of evidence documenting the associations between alcohol and injuries, data from Asian countries including South Korea are sparse. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between episodic heavy past-year drinking, problem drinking symptomatic of alcohol dependence and alcohol-related and intentional injuries. Data from 1989 injured patients recruited for the WHO/NIAAA Collaborative Study on Alcohol and Injury in South Korea were analyzed with respect to the prevalence rates and associations between injuries and frequency of past-year episodic heavy drinking and problem drinking. In estimating the odds ratios (ORs) and the associated 95% confidence intervals between alcohol intake and injuries multivariable logistic models were employed to adjust for sociodemographic characteristics and selected drinking variables. All analyses were conducted using the SAS 9.2 software. Findings of this study were consistent with prior studies that the risk of alcohol-related or intentional injury was positively associated with the frequency of episodic heavy drinking. The magnitudes of the associations were larger with frequent consumption of 5+ drinks (OR = 4.0 approximately) than with frequent consumption of 12+ drinks (OR = 3.1). Strong associations were also noted between RAPS4-assessed alcohol dependence and alcohol-related and intentional injuries. Further, the prevalence of intentional injury and its association with alcohol increased sharply once the acute alcohol intake exceeded 90 ml. Our results were consistent with prior studies that episodic heavy consumption, acute intoxication and problem drinking are pervasive among emergency room patients. Results of our study also lent support for administering a single-item screener querying consumption of 5+ drinks at a sitting in the past 12 months as a triage tool in Korea.
PMID: 22579122 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Fighting for hearts and minds.
Fighting for hearts and minds.
Behav Healthc. 2012 Mar-Apr;32(2):10-3
Authors: Troiani JE
PMID: 22550784 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Hepatocellular carcinoma mimicking primary peritoneal carcinomatosis.
Hepatocellular carcinoma mimicking primary peritoneal carcinomatosis.
J La State Med Soc. 2012 Jan-Feb;164(1):14-5
Authors: Bollineni D, Singh T, Sawhney H, Minocha A
PMID: 22533107 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
 |
Assertive Community Treatment for alcohol dependence (ACTAD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
Trials. 2012;13:19
Authors: Gilburt H, Burns T, Copello A, Coulton S, Crawford M, Day E, Deluca P, Godfrey C, Parrott S, Rose AK, Sinclair JM, Wright C, Drummond C
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Alcohol dependence is a significant and costly problem in the UK yet only 6% of people a year receive treatment. Current service provision based on the treatment of acute episodes of illness and emphasising personal choice and motivation results in a small proportion of these patients engaging with alcohol treatment. There is a need for interventions targeted at the population of alcohol dependent patients who are hard to engage in conventional treatment. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), a model of care based on assertive outreach, has been used for treating patients with severe mental illnesses and presents a promising avenue for engaging patients with primary alcohol dependence. So far there has been little research on this.
METHODS/DESIGN: In this single blind exploratory randomised controlled trial, a total of 90 alcohol dependent participants will be recruited from community addiction services. After completing a baseline assessment, they will be assigned to one of two conditions: (1) ACT plus care as usual, or (2) care as usual. Those allocated to the ACT plus care as usual will receive the same treatment that is routinely provided by services, plus a trained key worker who will provide ACT. ACT comprises intensive and assertive contact at least once a week, over 50% of contacts in the participant's home or local community, and comprehensive case management across social and health care, for a period of one year. All participants will be followed up at 6 months and 12 months to assess outcome post randomisation. The primary outcome measures will be alcohol consumption: mean drinks per drinking day and percentage of days abstinent measured by the Time Line Follow Back interview. Secondary outcome measures will include severity of alcohol dependence, alcohol related problems, motivation to change, social network involvement, quality of life, therapeutic relationship and service use. Other outcome variables are treatment engagement including completion of assessment, detoxification and aftercare.
DISCUSSION: Results of this trial will help clarify the potential beneficial effects of ACT for people with alcohol dependence and provide information to design a definitive trial.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN: ISRCTN22775534.
PMID: 22348423 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Frontal white matter integrity predictors of adult alcohol treatment outcome.
Frontal white matter integrity predictors of adult alcohol treatment outcome.
Biol Psychiatry. 2012 Feb 1;71(3):262-8
Authors: Sorg SF, Taylor MJ, Alhassoon OM, Gongvatana A, Theilmann RJ, Frank LR, Grant I
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous research has associated abnormalities in frontal lobe functioning with alcohol relapse. In this study, we used diffusion tensor imaging to investigate whether frontal white matter integrity measured at the start of treatment differs between persons with alcohol use disorders (AUD) who sustain treatment gains and those who return to heavy use after treatment.
METHODS: Forty-five treatment-seeking AUD inpatients and 30 healthy control subjects were included in the study. Six months after completing treatment, 16 of the AUD participants had resumed heavy use (RHU) and 29 others remained abstinent or drank minimally (treatment sustainers [TS]). Voxel-wise group comparisons (TS vs. RHU) were performed on fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity maps generated from each subject's diffusion tensor imaging scan at the start of treatment.
RESULTS: We found significantly lower FA and significantly higher RD in the frontal lobes of the RHU group, relative to the TS group. The RHU group data are consistent with previous reports of abnormal frontal white matter tract abnormalities in persons with AUD.
CONCLUSIONS: It is possible that the lower FA and higher RD in the RHU group reflect microstructural injury to frontal circuitries, and these may underlie the reduced cognitive control amid heightened reward sensitivity associated with resumption of heavy drinking.
PMID: 22047719 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Genome-wide significant association between alcohol dependence and a variant in the ADH gene cluster.
Addict Biol. 2012 Jan;17(1):171-80
Authors: Frank J, Cichon S, Treutlein J, Ridinger M, Mattheisen M, Hoffmann P, Herms S, Wodarz N, Soyka M, Zill P, Maier W, Mössner R, Gaebel W, Dahmen N, Scherbaum N, Schmäl C, Steffens M, Lucae S, Ising M, Müller-Myhsok B, Nöthen MM, Mann K, Kiefer F, Rietschel M
Abstract
Alcohol dependence (AD) is an important contributory factor to the global burden of disease. The etiology of AD involves both environmental and genetic factors, and the disorder has a heritability of around 50%. The aim of the present study was to identify susceptibility genes for AD by performing a genome-wide association study (GWAS). The sample comprised 1333 male in-patients with severe AD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, and 2168 controls. These included 487 patients and 1358 controls from a previous GWAS study by our group. All individuals were of German descent. Single-marker tests and a polygenic score-based analysis to assess the combined contribution of multiple markers with small effects were performed. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1789891, which is located between the ADH1B and ADH1C genes, achieved genome-wide significance [P = 1.27E-8, odds ratio (OR) = 1.46]. Other markers from this region were also associated with AD, and conditional analyses indicated that these made a partially independent contribution. The SNP rs1789891 is in complete linkage disequilibrium with the functional Arg272Gln variant (P = 1.24E-7, OR = 1.31) of the ADH1C gene, which has been reported to modify the rate of ethanol oxidation to acetaldehyde in vitro. A polygenic score-based approach produced a significant result (P = 9.66E-9). This is the first GWAS of AD to provide genome-wide significant support for the role of the ADH gene cluster and to suggest a polygenic component to the etiology of AD. The latter result may indicate that many more AD susceptibility genes still await identification.
PMID: 22004471 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Dependence induced increases in intragastric alcohol consumption in mice.
Dependence induced increases in intragastric alcohol consumption in mice.
Addict Biol. 2012 Jan;17(1):13-32
Authors: Fidler TL, Powers MS, Ramirez JJ, Crane A, Mulgrew J, Smitasin P, Cunningham CL
Abstract
Three experiments used the intragastric alcohol consumption (IGAC) procedure to examine the effects of variations in passive ethanol exposure on withdrawal and voluntary ethanol intake in two inbred mouse strains, C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2). Experimental treatments were selected to induce quantitative differences in ethanol dependence and withdrawal severity by: (1) varying the periodicity of passive ethanol exposure (three, six or nine infusions/day); (2) varying the dose per infusion (low, medium or high); and (3) varying the duration of passive exposure (3, 5 or 10 days). All experiments included control groups passively exposed to water. B6 mice generally self-infused more ethanol than D2 mice, but passive ethanol exposure increased IGAC in both strains, with D2 mice showing larger relative increases during the first few days of ethanol access. Bout data supported the characterization of B6 mice as sippers and D2 mice as gulpers. Three larger infusions per day produced a stronger effect on IGAC than six or nine smaller infusions, especially in D2 mice. Increased IGAC was strongly predicted by cumulative ethanol dose and intoxication during passive exposure in both strains. Withdrawal during the passive exposure phase was also a strong predictor of increased IGAC in D2 mice. However, B6 mice showed little withdrawal, precluding analysis of its potential role. Overall, these data support the hypothesis that dependence-induced increases in IGAC are jointly determined by two processes that might vary across genotypes: (1) tolerance to aversive postabsorptive ethanol effects and (2) negative reinforcement (i.e. alleviation of withdrawal by self-administered ethanol).
PMID: 21955048 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Bone mineral density and osteoporosis risk in older patients with schizophrenia.
Bone mineral density and osteoporosis risk in older patients with schizophrenia.
J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2011 Aug;31(4):406-10
Authors: Jung DU, Kelly DL, Oh MK, Kong BG, Kang JW, Lee SJ, Shim JC
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: People with schizophrenia are at a higher risk for osteoporosis. The authors investigated the prevalence of low bone density and its risk factors in older Korean patients with schizophrenia.
METHOD: In cross-sectional study, 327 inpatients with schizophrenia were screened. Among them, 229 patients older than 50 years participated in this study. The control group consisted of healthy volunteers who were of similar ages (n = 125). Bone density was measured in the lumbar spine and the neck, trochanter, and ward regions of the right proximal femur by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Clinical variables such as alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and fracture history were obtained. The Student t test, Pearson ?2 test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and logistic regression analysis were used.
RESULTS: The prevalence of osteoporosis was significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls (34.9% vs 18.4%, P = 0.0043). Within the schizophrenia group, female subjects had a significantly higher prevalence of osteoporosis than male subjects (48.4% vs 25.7%, P = 0.0014); however, no sex differences were identified in the healthy control group. The actual bone density and t scores in patients with schizophrenia were significantly lower in all sites than in healthy controls. Among patients with schizophrenia, smokers and alcohol abuser showed lower bone density compared with those who did not smoke or drink. The lifetime prevalence of fracture was significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia (24.0%) compared with healthy controls (5.6%; P = 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Our results emphasize that older patients with schizophrenia are at risk for low bone density. Cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse are associated with low bone density in patients with schizophrenia.
PMID: 21694624 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Validation of the French version of the alcohol, smoking and substance involvement screening test (ASSIST).
Eur Addict Res. 2011;17(4):190-7
Authors: Khan R, Chatton A, Nallet A, Broers B, Thorens G, Achab-Arigo S, Poznyak V, Fleischmann A, Khazaal Y, Zullino D
Abstract
Background: The Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was developed to detect substance use disorders. Aims: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the French version of ASSIST in various clinical groups with different levels of substance use. Methods: 150 subjects were recruited from clients attending primary health care, psychiatric and addiction treatment facilities. Measures included ASSIST, Addiction Severity Index (ASI), Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-Plus), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Revised Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire-Smoking (RTQ). Results and Conclusion: Concurrent validity was demonstrated by significant correlations between ASSIST scores and scores from ASI, AUDIT and RTQ, as well as significantly greater ASSIST scores for patients with a MINI-Plus diagnosis of abuse or dependence. The ASSIST questionnaire was found to have high internal consistency for the total substance involvement as well as for specific substance involvement as assessed with Cronbach's ?, ranging from 0.74 to 0.93. When possibly computed, ASSIST cutoff scores have interesting sensitivity and specificity for discrimination between use and abuse and between abuse and dependence. The findings demonstrated that the French version of ASSIST is a valid screening test for identifying substance use disorders in various health care settings, including psychiatric settings.
PMID: 21494047 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
COMT and ALDH2 polymorphisms moderate associations of implicit drinking motives with alcohol use.
COMT and ALDH2 polymorphisms moderate associations of implicit drinking motives with alcohol use.
Addict Biol. 2012 Jan;17(1):192-201
Authors: Hendershot CS, Lindgren KP, Liang T, Hutchison KE
Abstract
Dual process models of addiction emphasize the importance of implicit (automatic) cognitive processes in the development and maintenance of substance use behavior. Although genetic influences are presumed to be relevant for dual process models, few studies have evaluated this possibility. The current study examined two polymorphisms with functional significance for alcohol use behavior (COMT Val158Met and ALDH2*2) in relation to automatic alcohol cognitions and tested additive and interactive effects of genotype and implicit cognitions on drinking behavior. Participants were college students (n = 69) who completed Implicit Association Tasks (IATs) designed to assess two classes of automatic drinking motives (enhancement motives and coping motives). Genetic factors did not show direct associations with IAT measures; however, COMT and ALDH2 moderated associations of implicit coping motives with drinking outcomes. Interaction effects indicated that associations of implicit motives with drinking outcomes were strongest in the context of genetic variants associated with relatively higher risk for alcohol use (COMT Met and ALDH2*1). Associations of genotype with drinking behavior were observed for ALDH2 but not COMT. These findings are consistent with the possibility that genetic risk or protective factors could potentiate or mitigate the influence of reflexive cognitive processes on drinking behavior, providing support for the evaluation of genetic influences in the context of dual process models of addiction.
PMID: 21309949 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) antagonism suppresses both operant alcohol self-administration and high alcohol consumption in rats.
Addict Biol. 2012 Jan;17(1):86-94
Authors: Landgren S, Simms JA, Hyytiä P, Engel JA, Bartlett SE, Jerlhag E
Abstract
The mechanisms involved in alcohol use disorders are complex. It has been shown that ghrelin is an important signal for the control of body weight homeostasis, preferably by interacting with hypothalamic circuits, as well as for drug reward by activating the mesolimbic dopamine system. The ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) has been shown to be required for alcohol-induced reward. Additionally, ghrelin increases and GHR-R1A antagonists reduce moderate alcohol consumption in mice, and a single nucleotide polymorphism in the GHS-R1A gene has been associated with high alcohol consumption in humans. However, the role of central ghrelin signaling in high alcohol consumption is not known. Therefore, the role of GHS-R1A in operant self-administration of alcohol in rats as well as for high alcohol consumption in Long-Evans rats and in alcohol preferring [Alko alcohol (AA)] rats was studied here. In the present study, the GHS-R1A antagonist, JMV2959, was found to reduce the operant self-administration of alcohol in rats and to decrease high alcohol intake in Long-Evans rats as well as in AA rats. These results suggest that the ghrelin receptor signaling system, specifically GHS-R1A, is required for operant self-administration of alcohol and for high alcohol intake in rats. Therefore, the GHS-R1A may be a therapeutic target for treatment of addictive behaviors, such as alcohol dependence.
PMID: 21309944 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
