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Review: Dupuytren's disease in Asia and the migration theory of Dupuytren's disease.
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Review: Dupuytren's disease in Asia and the migration theory of Dupuytren's disease.
ANZ J Surg. 2010 Jul;80(7-8):495-9
Authors: Slattery D
Background: The presentation of a Chinese patient with unilateral Dupuytren's disease (DD) prompted a literature search and a review of the epidemiology of DD in the Asian population as it has never been cumulatively reported. The purpose of this paper is to review all the reported cases of DD in the literature and aetiological links to DD elsewhere. Methods: The literature was searched with a wide variety of terms, and subsequent references were analysed and further references investigated for other reported cases of DD in the Asian population. Results: This review found 595 cases and has shown that DD is present to a variable extent in China (96 cases), Thailand (19 cases), Vietnam (one case), India (15 cases) and Japan (474 cases). A total of 54% had bilateral disease. Risk factors (diabetes, trauma, epilepsy, alcoholism, manual labour) were reportedly present in 65% of the patients, and a positive family history was reported in 9%. The average patient age was 67 years. Conclusion: This review shows that there is a low but significant incidence of DD across Asia, which supports the hypothesis of a widespread genetic susceptibility to the disease. Therefore, the prevalence of DD in this community is not likely due to sporadic genetic mutation as previously presumed but rather individual genetic susceptibility and that risk factors play a major role in the expression of DD in this population.
PMID: 20795961 [PubMed - in process]
Hepatitis C and hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Hepatitis C and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Ann Hepatol. 2010;9 Suppl:119-22
Authors: Fassio E
Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is a well-recognized risk factor for occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In Europe, Oceania and America, chronic hepatitis C and alcoholic cirrhosis are the main risk factors for HCC. In Latin America, a few retrospective and one prospective study have also shown the predominant role played by hepatitis C in this setting. Furthermore, the incidence of HCC has been increasing in industrialized countries in the last decades; partially as a consequence of the increase in HCV-related cirrhosis (as the long-term sequel of the peak of infections occurring 2-4 decades ago). The main risk factor for HCC development in patients with hepatitis C is the presence of cirrhosis. Among patients with hepatitis C and cirrhosis, the annual incidence rate of HCC ranges between 1-8%, being higher in Japan (4-8%) intermediate in Italy (2-4%) and lower in USA (1.4%). Some studies have also found that HCC may be the first complication to develop and the more frequent cause of death in the compensated HCV-associated cirrhosis. Other risk factors for HCC occurrence are older age at infection, male gender, decreased platelet count, esophageal varices, presence of porphyria cutanea tarda, liver steatosis or diabetes, infection with genotype 1b, coinfection with hepatitis B virus or with HIV and chronic alcoholism. Many studies and also meta-analysis have reported that antiviral therapy based on interferon may reduce the incidence of HCC in chronic hepatitis C, especially in patients with sustained virologic response. Patients with HCV-related cirrhosis should undergo surveillance for HCC.
PMID: 20714008 [PubMed - in process]
Asymptomatic Strongyloides stercoralis Hyperinfection in an Alcoholic Patient with Intense Anemia.
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Asymptomatic Strongyloides stercoralis Hyperinfection in an Alcoholic Patient with Intense Anemia.
J Parasitol. 2010 Aug;96(4):833-5
Authors: Teixeira MC, Inês EJ, Pacheco FT, Silva RK, Mendes AV, Adorno EV, Lima FM, Soares NM
Abstract Strongyloides stercoralis infection is endemic in many tropical and subtropical areas. The parasite has the unusual ability to multiply inside the host due to the transformation of rhabditiform larvae into infective filariforms. Several studies have shown that chronic alcoholism is an important factor that predisposes to strongyloidiasis. The increased susceptibility to S. stercoralis infections seen in alcoholic individuals could be explained by their increased exposure to the parasite, malnutrition, breakdown of local immune responses, and/or alterations in intestinal barriers. Moreover, ethanol intoxication can elevate human endogenous corticosterone, which, in turn, suppresses T cell function and increases the fecundity and survival of the parasite, mimicking the effect of worm ecdysteroides. Although chronic alcoholism is a risk factor for nematode infection, most cases of hyperinfection or dissemination are associated with the presence of hepatic cirrhosis or strongyloidiasis-related symptoms. The present study describes a case of S. stercoralis hyperinfection in a 51-yr-old male patient without gastrointestinal or pulmonary symptoms and with previous anemia and chronic alcoholism. He was not receiving glucocorticoid therapy and tested negative for HTLV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but he had a history of alcohol addiction for more than 20 yr. Laboratory test results showed increased eosinophilia and a high immunoglobulin E (IgE) level, which may have temporarily protected the patient from dissemination of infection, but not prevented proliferation of the parasite, as shown by the large number of S. stercoralis larvae recovered using the Baermann method. Evaluation for strongyloidiasis should occur in alcoholics, especially in endemic areas, to prevent occult asymptomatic infections from progressing to life-threatening cases.
PMID: 20738204 [PubMed - in process]
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Mindfulness training modifies cognitive, affective, and physiological mechanisms implicated in alcohol dependence: results of a randomized controlled pilot trial.
J Psychoactive Drugs. 2010 Jun;42(2):177-92
Authors: Garland EL, Gaylord SA, Boettiger CA, Howard MO
Mindfulness training may disrupt the risk chain of stress-precipitated alcohol relapse. In 2008, 53 alcohol-dependent adults (mean age = 40.3) recruited from a therapeutic community located in the urban southeastern U.S. were randomized to mindfulness training or a support group. Most participants were male (79.2%), African American (60.4%), and earned less than $20,000 annually (52.8%). Self-report measures, psychophysiological cue-reactivity, and alcohol attentional bias were analyzed via repeated measures ANOVA. Thirty-seven participants completed the interventions. Mindfulness training significantly reduced stress and thought suppression, increased physiological recovery from alcohol cues, and modulated alcohol attentional bias. Hence, mindfulness training appears to target key mechanisms implicated in alcohol dependence, and therefore may hold promise as an alternative treatment for stress-precipitated relapse among vulnerable members of society.
PMID: 20648913 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Sweet preference, sugar addiction and the familial history of alcohol dependence: shared neural pathways and genes.
J Psychoactive Drugs. 2010 Jun;42(2):147-51
Authors: Fortuna JL
Contemporary research has shown that a high number of alcohol-dependent and other drug-dependent individuals have a sweet preference, specifically for foods with a high sucrose concentration. Moreover, both human and animal studies have demonstrated that in some brains the consumption of sugar-rich foods or drinks primes the release of euphoric endorphins and dopamine within the nucleus accumbens, in a manner similar to some drugs of abuse. The neurobiological pathways of drug and "sugar addiction" involve similar neural receptors, neurotransmitters, and hedonic regions in the brain. Craving, tolerance, withdrawal and sensitization have been documented in both human and animal studies. In addition, there appears to be cross sensitization between sugar addiction and narcotic dependence in some individuals. It has also been observed that the biological children of alcoholic parents, particularly alcoholic fathers, are at greater risk to have a strong sweet preference, and this may manifest in some with an eating disorder. In the last two decades research has noted that specific genes may underlie the sweet preference in alcohol- and drug-dependent individuals, as well as in biological children of paternal alcoholics. There also appears to be some common genetic markers between alcohol dependence, bulimia, and obesity, such as the A1 allele gene and the dopamine 2 receptor gene.
PMID: 20648910 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Religious moral beliefs as mental health protective factor of war veterans suffering from PTSD, depressiveness, anxiety, tobacco and alcohol abuse in comorbidity.
Psychiatr Danub. 2010 Jun;22(2):203-10
Authors: Hasanović M, Pajević I
INTRODUCTION: Our aim was to investigate is there association between level of religious moral beliefs and severity of PTSD symptoms, depressiion symptoms, anxiety and severity of alcohol abuse we tested 152 war veterans on presence of PTSD, depression symptoms, anxiety, alcohol misuse and level of religious moral beliefs. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We used Harvard trauma questionnaire (HTQ), Hopkins Check Scale SBCL 25, check list for alcohol misuse MAST. Subjects were assessed with regard to the level of belief in some basic ethical principles that arise from religious moral values. The score of religious moral belief index was used to correlate with severity of PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, anxiety and severity of alcohol misuse. RESULTS: Mean age of tested subjects was 40.8 (SD=6.6) years. The score of the moral belief index was negatively correlated to PTSD symptom severity and depressiveness (Pearson's r=-0.325, p<0.001; r=-0.247, p=0.005, respectively). Besides that the score of moral belief index negatively correlated with presented anxiety (Pearson's r=-0.199,p=0.026). Related to severity of tobacco and alcohol misuse we found negative association of these with the moral belief index (Pearson's r=-0.227, p=0.011; r=-0.371, p<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: A higher index of religious moral beliefs in war veterans enables better control distress, providing better mental health stability. It enables post traumatic conflicts typical for combatants' survivors to be more easily overcome. It also causes healthier reactions to external stimuli. A higher index of religious moral beliefs of war veterans provides a healthier and more efficient mechanism of tobacco and alcohol misuse control. In this way, it helps overcoming postwar psychosocial problems and socialization of the personality, leading to the improvement in mental health.
PMID: 20562748 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
A principal components analysis of the abbreviated Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire (DAQ).
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A principal components analysis of the abbreviated Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire (DAQ).
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010 Jan;71(1):150-5
Authors: Kramer JR, Chan G, Hesselbrock VM, Kuperman S, Bucholz KK, Edenberg HJ, Schuckit MA, Nurnberger JI, Foroud T, Dick DM, Bierut LJ, Porjesz B
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the abbreviated Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire (DAQ) with respect to component structure and concurrent validity. METHOD: The DAQ was administered to 2,960 adults participating in the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcohol. Rotated principal components analysis was conducted on 1,500 subjects with an alcohol-use disorder (AUD) and on 1,460 non-AUD subjects. Total DAQ scores were compared for these two subsamples. In addition, correlations were computed between DAQ scores and the following: (1) a sum of alcohol symptoms, and (2) endorsement of a single interview craving question. RESULTS: Similar solutions emerged in the AUD and non-AUD subsamples, with dimensions characterized by (1) strong desires/intentions to drink, (2) negative reinforcement, and (3) positive reinforcement + ability to control drinking. Each component was significantly correlated with the alcohol symptom scale in both subsamples (r(s) = .25-.64 and .31-.40, respectively, p < .0001) and with the interview craving item in the AUD subsample (r(s) = .22-.55, p < .0001). Total DAQ score was significantly higher for AUD subjects (40.5) than for non-AUD subjects (23.1, p < .0001) and exhibited significant correlations with the alcohol symptom scale in the AUD and non-AUD subsamples (r(s) = .61 and .39, respectively, p < .0001) and with the interview craving item in the AUD subsample (r(s) = .51, p < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: The DAQ is an appropriate measure of alcohol craving, as demonstrated by similar component structures across two samples as well as its concurrent validity.
PMID: 20105425 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Religiousness among at-risk drinkers: is it prospectively associated with the development or maintenance of an alcohol-use disorder?
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010 Jan;71(1):136-42
Authors: Borders TF, Curran GM, Mattox R, Booth BM
OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether particular dimensions of religiousness are prospectively associated with the development or maintenance of an alcohol-use disorder (AUD) among at-risk drinkers or persons with a history of problem drinking. METHOD: A prospective cohort study was conducted among at-risk drinkers identified through a population-based telephone survey of adults residing in the southeastern United States. The cohort was stratified by baseline AUD status to determine how several dimensions of religiousness (organized religious attendance, religious self-ranking, religious influence on one's life, coping through prayer, and talking with a religious leader) were associated with the development and, separately, the maintenance or remission of an AUD over 6 months. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the odds of developing versus not developing an AUD and maintaining versus remitting from an AUD while adjusting for measures of social support and other covariates. RESULTS: Among persons without an AUD at baseline, more frequent organized religious attendance, adjusted odds ratio (OR(adj)) = 0.73, 95% CI [0.55, 0.96], and coping through prayer, OR(adj) = 0.63, 95% CI [0.45, 0.87], were associated with lower adjusted odds of developing an AUD. In contrast, among persons with an AUD at baseline, no dimension of religiousness was associated with the maintenance or remission of an AUD. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that religious attendance and coping through prayer may protect against the development of an AUD among at-risk drinkers. Further research is warranted to ascertain whether these or other religious activities and practices should be promoted among at-risk drinkers.
PMID: 20105423 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Gender differences in mutual-help attendance one year after treatment: Swedish and U.S. samples.
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Gender differences in mutual-help attendance one year after treatment: Swedish and U.S. samples.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010 Jan;71(1):125-35
Authors: Witbrodt J, Romelsjo A
OBJECTIVE: In the United States, many people turn to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other mutual-help groups as a first source of help for an alcohol or drug problem, whereas others are introduced to AA while in treatment. Because AA and similar groups in the United States add to the treatment system and function without governmental funds, they represent an important element in ongoing care for individuals with substance-use disorders in the health care system. In countries with free (or more affordable) and more comprehensive systems of care, their role is less clearly defined. METHOD: In this study, we compared men and women from representative treatment samples from studies with parallel designs, one Swedish (n = 1,525) and the other American (n = 926), to explore whether rates and correlates of attendance at 1-year follow- up (63% and 78% followed) differ by gender. We explore individual characteristics (demographic, severity, motivational) and formal and informal influences (treatment, mutual help, coercive, social) as possible help-seeking correlates of attendance. RESULTS: In both countries, similar proportions of men and women attended mutual-help groups. However, twice as many U.S. clients reported attendance. Moreover, twice as many U.S. clients set abstinence as a treatment goal. In multivariate models, having an abstinence goal, a perceived need for treatment, suggestions from one's employment environment, and prior mutual-help attendance predicted posttreatment attendance for men and women in both countries. Gender differences were also found. CONCLUSIONS: Given the stages in which individuals seek care and the cyclical nature of relapse and recovery, mutual-help groups are an efficient resource in the continuum of services.
PMID: 20105422 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Do parents and best friends influence the normative increase in adolescents' alcohol use at home and outside the home?
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010 Jan;71(1):105-14
Authors: van der Vorst H, Engels RC, Burk WJ
OBJECTIVE: The present study explored the possible impact of parental supervision of adolescents' alcohol use and drinking with parents on concurrent and prospective associations between adolescents' drinking at home and drinking outside the home. The impact of drinking with their best friend, parental drinking behaviors, and sibling influence on adolescent alcohol use were also examined, as well as whether drinking at home and outside the home predicted problem drinking. METHOD: We used three waves of longitudinal full-family data (fathers, mothers, and two adolescent siblings; N = 428). RESULTS: Bi-directional effects between drinking at home and drinking outside the home were found for both adolescents, with drinking in one setting predicting drinking in another setting over time. Both drinking at home and drinking outside the home predicted subsequent problem drinking. These associations did not differ as a function of adolescents drinking with parents or their best friend or of parental supervision of adolescents' alcohol use. Only adolescents' gender seemed to moderate these effects but solely in midadolescence. For 15-year-old boys (but not for girls), at-home drinking predicted outside-the-home drinking 1 year later. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, adolescents' alcohol use increases over time, regardless of setting or with whom they drink. According to these results, prevention workers should focus on making parents more aware of their role in delaying the age at drinking onset.
PMID: 20105420 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Direct and mediational links between parental bonds and neglect, antisocial personality, reasons for drinking, alcohol use, and alcohol problems.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010 Jan;71(1):95-104
Authors: Patock-Peckham JA, Morgan-Lopez AA
OBJECTIVE: The self-medication model suggests that some individuals may use alcohol as a means to cope with their negative experiences. Antisocial personality reflects a lack of concern for others and is often linked to alcohol use disorders. The aim of this investigation was to examine potential parental influences to both pathological reasons for drinking and antisocial personality as pathways to alcohol use and problems. METHOD: Direct and indirect links between parental bond (care, rejection, overprotection, autonomy, and neglect) and antisocial personality, pathological reasons for drinking, alcohol use, and alcoholrelated problems were investigated. A two-group SEM path model with college students (164 female, 240 male) was examined. RESULTS: In general, the overall patterns among male and female respondents were distinct. Among women, perceptions of having a caring mother lowered the likelihood of having antisocial tendencies, and perceptions of being rejected by one's father were directly linked to pathological reasons for drinking. Feeling neglected by one's mother was also directly linked to alcohol-related problems among women. Conversely, feeling neglected by one's father was directly linked to alcohol-related problems among males, suggesting a parent-offspring gender match. For men, antisocial personality mediated the impact of mother rejection and father overprotection on alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that parental influences regarding vulnerabilities for alcohol use are very complex and that the genders of the respondent and the parent must be considered jointly.
PMID: 20105419 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Combining motivational interviewing with compliance enhancement therapy (MI-CET): development and preliminary evaluation of a new, manual-guided psychosocial adjunct to alcohol-dependence pharmacotherapy.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010 Jan;71(1):61-70
Authors: Heffner JL, Tran GQ, Johnson CS, Barrett SW, Blom TJ, Thompson RD, Anthenelli RM
OBJECTIVE: Psychosocial interventions that are practical, transportable, and effective in promoting treatment adherence and efficacy are greatly needed in both research and clinical settings involving alcohol-dependence pharmacotherapy. In this article, we describe the development and preliminary evaluation of an integrative treatment blending motivational interviewing and compliance enhancement therapy (MI-CET) as a means of enhancing adherence and retention in an ongoing clinical trial. METHOD: Medication adherence, session attendance, and study completion rates were examined for 121 treatment-seeking, alcohol-dependent adults participating in a randomized clinical trial of citalopram (n = 81) versus placebo (n = 40). All participants received the manual-guided MI-CET intervention as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy. Preliminary adherence and retention data for this trial were compared with data from prior studies involving treatment for alcohol dependence with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. RESULTS: High rates of medication adherence (79% of citalopram and 91% of placebo completers took > or = 80% of doses), session attendance (average of 90% for citalopram and 93% for placebo groups), and study completion (81% for citalopram and 88% for placebo groups) were obtained in the present study using MI-CET. These rates were at least comparable to or were, in some cases, 20%-30% higher than rates obtained in the comparison trials. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that MI-CET is feasible as a psychosocial adjunct to alcohol-dependence pharmacotherapy. Given its strengths as a clinical and research intervention (e.g., practicality, transportability), further evaluation of its efficacy is warranted.
PMID: 20105415 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking prevalence and predictors among national samples of American eighth- and tenth-grade students.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010 Jan;71(1):41-5
Authors: Patrick ME, Schulenberg JE
OBJECTIVE: Given the public health impact of adolescent alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking, we sought to identify the prevalence of types of alcohol use among national samples of 8th- and 10th grade American students. In addition, a range of known risk factors was used to predict the most problematic type: heavy episodic use. METHOD: Monitoring the Future data on lifetime, past-year, and past-30-day alcohol use and on past-2-week heavy episodic drinking were available for 505,668 students from 1991 to 2007 (weighted N = 505,853; 51.5% girls; 65.3% White, 12.3% Black, 11.1% Hispanic). Logistic regression was then used in a representative subsample of 110,130 students to predict heavy episodic drinking in the previous 2 weeks. RESULTS: In the most recent cohorts, about 1 in 10 8th graders and 1 in 5 10th graders had engaged in heavy episodic drinking in the past 2 weeks. Explanatory variables in logistic regression were largely invariant across cohort, grade level, gender, and race/ethnicity, accounting for 48% of the variance in heavy episodic drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Heavy episodic drinking continues to be a prevalent behavior among the nation's youth, with consistent risk factors over time, highlighting the continued necessity of effective screening and prevention efforts.
PMID: 20105412 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Changes in alcohol-related problems after alcohol policy changes in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.
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Changes in alcohol-related problems after alcohol policy changes in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010 Jan;71(1):32-40
Authors: Bloomfield K, Wicki M, Gustafsson NK, Mäkelä P, Room R
OBJECTIVE: European Union travelers' allowances for alcohol import to Denmark, Sweden, and Finland were abolished in 2004. In addition, excise taxes on alcohol were lowered in 2003 and 2005 in Denmark, and in 2004 in Finland. Using northern Sweden as a control site, this study examines whether levels of reported alcohol problems have changed in Denmark, Finland, and southern Sweden as a consequence of these policy changes. METHOD: Annual cross-sectional surveys were conducted in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden from 2003 to 2006. Five dependency items and seven extrinsic alcohol-related problems were examined. Changes were analyzed within each country/region with logistic regressions and tested for short- and long-term changes. Differential change was also tested between each country and the control site, northern Sweden. RESULTS: Prevalence of alcohol problems decreased over the study period. Only in selected subgroups did problems increase. This mainly occurred in the samples for northern Sweden and Finland, and mostly among older age groups and men. In relation to the control site, however, no increases in problem prevalence were found. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings on a decline in reported alcohol problems largely agree with published reports on alcohol consumption over the same period in the study countries. They do not agree, however, with findings on changes in health and social statistics in Finland and Denmark, where some significant increases in alcohol-related harm have been found.
PMID: 20105411 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Keeping firearms from drug and alcohol abusers.
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Keeping firearms from drug and alcohol abusers.
Inj Prev. 2009 Dec;15(6):425-7
Authors: Webster DW, Vernick JS
PMID: 19959738 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
A useful test for monitoring alcohol use.
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A useful test for monitoring alcohol use.
Behav Healthc. 2009 Jun;29(6):38, 40
Authors: Miller PM, Cluver J, Anton RF
PMID: 19655583 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
[Alcoholic patient with abdominal pain and vomits]
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[Alcoholic patient with abdominal pain and vomits]
Med Clin (Barc). 2010 Mar 6;134(6):285
Authors: Navarro i Mercadé J, Labirua Iturburu A, Solans Laqué R
PMID: 19576597 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
["First aid" for addictive diseases]
["First aid" for addictive diseases]
Cas Lek Cesk. 2009;148(11):557-9
Authors: Nespor K
All clinicians should perform routinely brief intervention for addictive problems. We prepared free online self-help manuals for the patients with alcohol, drugs and gambling related problems. The considerably more simplified version of these manuals is presented here.
PMID: 20662465 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
