bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enteric neurodegeneration in ageing
Authors: Camilleri M. , Cowen T. , Koch T. R.
Published: February 2008

Abstract  The objective of this article is to review the clinical presentation and neurobiology of degeneration of the enteric nervous system with emphasis on human data where available. Constipation, incontinence and evacuation disorders are frequently encountered in the ageing population. Healthy lower gastrointestinal function is essential for successful ageing as it is critical to maintaining independence and autonomy to pursue further activity. One clinical expression of enteric neurodegeneration is constipation. However, the aetiology may be multifactorial as disturbances of epithelial, muscle or neural function may all result from neurodegeneration. There is evidence of loss of excitatory (e.g. cholinergic) enteric neurons and interstitial cells of Cajal, whereas inhibitory (including nitrergic) neurons appear unaffected. Understanding neurodegeneration in the enteric nervous system is key to developing treatments to reverse it. Neurotrophins have been shown to accelerate colonic transit and relieve constipation in the medium term; they are also implicated in maintenance programmes in adult enteric neurons through a role in antioxidant defence. However, their effects in ageing colon require further study. There is evidence that 5‐HT2 and 5‐HT4 mechanisms are involved in development, maintenance and survival of enteric neurons. Further research is needed to understand and potentially reverse enteric neurodegeneration.
A high‐throughput chemical screen for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae in Arabidopsis
Authors: Schreiber Karl , Ckurshumova Wenzislava , Peek James , Desveaux Darrell
Published: February 2008

The study of plant pathogenesis and the development of effective treatments to protect plants from diseases could be greatly facilitated by a high‐throughput pathosystem to evaluate small‐molecule libraries for inhibitors of pathogen virulence. The interaction between the Gram‐negative bacterium Pseudomonas syringae and Arabidopsis thaliana is a model for plant pathogenesis. However, a robust high‐throughput assay to score the outcome of this interaction is currently lacking. We demonstrate that Arabidopsis seedlings incubated with P. syringae in liquid culture display a macroscopically visible ‘bleaching’ symptom within 5 days of infection. Bleaching is associated with a loss of chlorophyll from cotyledonary tissues, and is correlated with bacterial virulence. Gene‐for‐gene resistance is absent in the liquid environment, possibly because of the suppression of the hypersensitive response under these conditions. Importantly, bleaching can be prevented by treating seedlings with known inducers of plant defence, such as salicylic acid (SA) or a basal defence‐inducing peptide of bacterial flagellin (flg22) prior to inoculation. Based on these observations, we have devised a high‐throughput liquid assay using standard 96‐well plates to investigate the P. syringae–Arabidopsis interaction. An initial screen of small molecules active on Arabidopsis revealed a family of sulfanilamide compounds that afford protection against the bleaching symptom. The most active compound, sulfamethoxazole, also reduced in planta bacterial growth when applied to mature soil‐grown plants. The whole‐organism liquid assay provides a novel approach to probe chemical libraries in a high‐throughput manner for compounds that reduce bacterial virulence in plants.
Arabidopsis DMR6 encodes a putative 2OG‐Fe(II) oxygenase that is defense‐associated but required for susceptibility to downy mildew
Authors: Van Damme Mireille , Huibers Robin P. , Elberse Joyce , Van den Ackerveken Guido
Published: February 2008

The Arabidopsis mutant downy mildew resistant 6 (dmr6) carries a recessive mutation that results in the loss of susceptibility to Hyaloperonospora parasitica. Here we describe the map‐based cloning of DMR6 (At5g24530), which was found to encode a 2‐oxoglutarate (2OG)‐Fe(II) oxygenase of unknown function. DMR6 transcription is locally induced during infections with both compatible and incompatible H. parasitica isolates. High DMR6 transcript levels were also observed in constitutive defense mutants and after treatment with salicylic acid analog BTH, suggesting that DMR6 has a role during plant defense. Expression analysis of dmr6 mutants, using DNA microarrays and quantitative PCR, showed the enhanced expression of a subset of defense‐associated genes, including DMR6 itself, suggesting dmr6‐mediated resistance results from the activation of plant defense responses. Alternatively, resistance could be caused by the accumulation of a toxic DMR6 substrate, or by the absence of a DMR6 metabolic product that is required for H. parasitica infection.
Benazir Bhutto (1953‐2007)
Authors: Ahmed Akbar
Published: February 2008

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on 27 December 2007, two weeks prior to the date scheduled for the Pakistani general election, in which she would have been a leading opposition candidate. Here ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY asks Akbar S. Ahmed how anthropologists might interpret the events and Bhutto's legacy.
Insects as food among hunter‐gatherers
Authors: Morris Brian
Published: February 2008

Insects are the most abundant terrestrial life‐form, yet anthropologists on the whole have been little interested in insect life, although in recent decades with the emergence of ethnobiology and cultural entomology as sub‐disciplines, a growing interest has developed in insect‐human interactions. Thus scholars have been studying not only the practical uses of insects as food or medicine, but the role that insects have played in the cultural life of human societies ‐ with regard to literature, mythology, music, art, religion, folklore and recreation (Bodenheimer 1951, Clausen 1954, Hogue 1987, Van Huis 1996). Here I shall focus on the role of insects as food.
Post‐exercise heart rate recovery in HIV‐positive individuals on highly active antiretroviral therapy. Early indicator of cardiovascular disease?
Authors: Cade WT , Reeds DN , Lassa‐Claxton S , Davila‐Roman VG , Waggoner AD , Powderly WG , Yarasheski KE
Published: February 2008

Background

HIV infection and its treatment, specifically protease inhibitor (PI) therapy, have been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Heart rate recovery (HRR) following peak exercise is predictive of future cardiovascular events and mortality in the general population. Nothing is known regarding HRR in individuals infected with HIV on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Subjects and methods

HIV‐positive subjects on HAART that included a PI (HIV+PI, n=19), HIV‐positive subjects on HAART that did not include a PI (HIV+noPI, n=19) and HIV‐seronegative age, gender and body mass index (BMI) matched controls (Cntl, n=15) underwent a graded maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer to volitional exhaustion. A continuous electrocardiogram was recorded and HRR was monitored every 30 s for 2 min post exercise.

Results

HRR at 1.5 and 2 min was significantly delayed in HIV‐positive subjects both on and not on PI‐based HAART compared with controls (P<0.01).

Conclusion

HRR is impaired in HIV‐positive individuals on HAART, whether or not the HAART includes a PI, compared with age, gender, BMI, and activity level matched HIV‐seronegative controls. Abnormal HRR may reflect cardio‐autonomic dysfunction and may be an independent risk factor for future cardiac events in HIV‐positive individuals that receive HAART.
Isosporiasis in patients with HIV infection in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era in France
Authors: Lagrange‐Xélot M , Porcher R , Sarfati C , De Castro N , Carel O , Magnier J‐D , Delcey V , Molina J‐M
Published: February 2008

Background

Isosporiasis, a rare cause of diarrhoea among HIV‐infected patients in the pre‐highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, seems to be re‐emerging.

Methods

A retrospective study was carried out for the period 1995–2003 in two hospitals in Paris to describe the prevalence, clinical characteristics and therapeutic outcome of isosporiasis in HIV‐infected patients, and to compare the findings with those for cryptosporidiosis and microsporidiosis.

Results

The prevalence of isosporiasis increased from 0.4 per 1000 patients in the pre‐HAART era (1995–1996) to 4.4 per 1000 patients in the HAART era (2001–2003), whereas the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis and microsporidiosis decreased. Compared with patients with either cryptosporidiosis (n=91) or microsporidiosis (n=58), patients with isosporiasis (n=28) more frequently originated from sub‐Saharan Africa (72%), were more frequently female and heterosexual, and had a higher median CD4 count at diagnosis (142 cells/μL). All patients with isosporiasis presented with diarrhoea, which was severe enough to lead to hospital admission for 60% of them. Fever was uncommon (7%). All patients were treated for isosporiasis, 27 of them with cotrimoxazole. Relapse of isosporiasis occurred in six of 16 patients (38%) despite maintenance cotrimoxazole therapy and HAART.

Conclusion

Isosporiasis in France occurs mostly in patients emigrating from sub‐Saharan Africa and can induce severe diarrhoea. Relapse is common despite cotrimoxazole maintenance therapy.
European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines for the clinical management and treatment of HIV‐infected adults
Authors: Clumeck N , Pozniak A , Raffi F ,   the EACS Executive Committee
Published: February 2008

A working group of the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) have developed these guidelines for European clinicians to help them in the treatment of adults with HIV infection. This third version of the guidelines includes, as new topics, the assessment of patients at initial and subsequent clinic visits as well as post‐exposure prophylaxis. A revision of the 2005 guidelines based on current data includes changes in the sections on primary HIV infection, when to initiate therapy, which drug combinations are preferred as initial combination regimens for antiretroviral‐naïve patients, how to manage virological failure and the treatment of HIV during pregnancy.

In Europe, there is a wide range of clinical practices in antiretroviral therapy depending on various factors such as drug registration, national policies, local availability, reimbursement and access to treatment. These can vary greatly from one country to another, especially in Central and Eastern parts of Europe.

These guidelines are intended to help clinicians achieve the best care for their patients. In some countries, particularly where the quality of and access to care are not optimal, these guidelines should help AIDS societies and physicians or patient group organizations to negotiate with their national health authorities with a view to implementing what should be the standard of care for HIV‐infected patients all over Europe.
European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines on the prevention and management of metabolic diseases in HIV*
Authors: Lundgren JD , Battegay M , Behrens G , De Wit S , Guaraldi G , Katlama C , Martinez E , Nair D , Powderly WG , Reiss P , Sutinen J , Vigano A ,   the EACS Executive Committee
Published: February 2008

Background

Metabolic diseases are frequently observed in HIV‐infected persons and, as the risk of contracting these diseases is age‐related, their prevalence will increase in the future as a consequence of the benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Summary of guidelines

All HIV‐infected persons should be screened at regular intervals for a history of metabolic disease, dyslipidaemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and alteration of body composition; cardiovascular risk and renal function should also be assessed. Efforts to prevent cardiovascular disease will vary in intensity depending on an individual's absolute risk of ischaemic heart disease and should be comprehensive in nature. Lifestyle interventions should focus on counselling to stop smoking, modify diet and take regular exercise. A healthy diet, exercise and maintaining normal body weight tend to reduce dyslipidaemia; if not effective, a change of ART should be considered, followed by use of lipid‐lowering medication in high‐risk patients. A pre‐emptive switch from thymidine analogues is recommended to reduce the risk of development or progression of lipoatrophy. Intra‐abdominal fat accumulation is best managed by exercise and diet. Prevention and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension follow guidelines used in the general population. When using medical interventions to prevent and/or treat metabolic disease(s), impairment of the efficacy of ART should be avoided by considering the possibility of pharmacokinetic interactions and compromised adherence. Specialists in HIV and specialists in metabolic diseases should consult each other, in particular in difficult‐to‐treat cases.

Conclusion

Multiple and relatively simple approaches exist to prevent metabolic diseases in HIV‐infected persons; priority should be given to patients at high risk of contracting these diseases.
European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines for the clinical management and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C coinfection in HIV‐infected adults
Authors: Rockstroh JK , Bhagani S , Benhamou Y , Bruno R , Mauss S , Peters L , Puoti M , Soriano V , Tural C ,   the EACS Executive Committee
Published: February 2008

Objectives

With the decline in HIV‐associated morbidity and mortality following the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), liver disease has emerged as a major cause of death in HIV/hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected persons. Therefore, screening for underlying viral hepatitis coinfection and the provision of management and treatment recommendations for patients with chronic viral hepatitis are of great importance in preventing, as far as possible, the development of liver disease. With the introduction of new agents for the treatment of hepatitis B and increased knowledge of how best to manage hepatitis C, an update of current guidelines for management of HBV and HCV coinfection with HIV is warranted.

Clearly, all HIV‐infected patients should be screened for hepatitis A, B and C, taking into account shared pathways of transmission. Patients who are seronegative for hepatitis A and B should be considered for vaccination. In HIV‐infected patients with chronic hepatitis B, the first important differentiation is whether HAART is required or not. In the setting of stable HIV infection, with no need for HAART, several treatment options are available, namely treatment with interferon, early initiation of HAART, or selective non‐HIV active anti‐HBV nucleoside therapy, with the aim of achieving undetectable HBV DNA levels. In most cases, undetectable HBV DNA can only be achieved with combination therapy.

With regard to hepatitis C, individualized tailoring of the duration of HCV therapy is advisable, taking into account rapid or delayed virological response. In patients who do not achieve at least a 2 log drop in HCV RNA at week 12, treatment can be terminated because of the low probability of achieving sustained virological response. Overall, with the currently available treatment algorithms, HCV can be eradicated in over 50% of patients. Therefore, HCV therapy should be considered and discussed with the patient if an indication for HCV therapy (elevated liver enzymes, positive HCV RNA and >F1 fibrosis) is present.

Conclusions

Management of underlying hepatitis B and/or C in patients with HIV infection is of great importance in preventing liver disease‐associated morbidity and mortality.
Agglomeration Potential: The Spatial Scale of Industry Linkages in the Southern California Economy
Authors: FUNDERBURG RICHARD G. , BOARNET MARLON G.
Published: February 2008

ABSTRACT Targeting industry clusters for economic development has become popular despite the lack of empirical evidence about the spatial scales over which various clusters agglomerate. This paper identifies twenty manufacturing industry clusters from a principal components analysis of interindustry patterns of trade and measures the spatial employment concentration of each cluster's plants within a polycentric framework. Two to eight centers of employment concentration are detected within the Southern California region for each set of trade linkages. Our spatial half‐life measure reveals that half of a cluster's employment in associated establishments is located within a typical range of eight to twelve kilometers (about 5–7.5 miles) to the nearest employment center or subcenter for the particular cluster. Furthermore, employment in seventeen of the twenty clusters is found to be more spatially concentrated than manufacturing employment as a whole, suggesting that geographic proximity is important to interindustry linkages in the Southern California economy. More important, the spatial concentration across industry clusters varies considerably within the metropolitan area, implying that economic development practitioners should consider local context and adapt industry cluster theories to the specific advantages and disadvantages of their immediate locality.
Quality of Life and the Migration of the College‐Educated: A Life‐Course Approach
Authors: WHISLER RONALD L. , WALDORF BRIGITTE S. , MULLIGAN GORDON F. , PLANE DAVID A.
Published: February 2008

ABSTRACT This paper examines how the college‐educated population—segmented into selective demographic groups, from young adults to the elderly—differentially values quality‐of‐life (QOL) indicators of metropolitan areas in the United States. Using data from the 2000 Census and the 1997Places Rated Almanac, out‐migration patterns are shown to depend jointly upon stage in the life course, the spatial‐demographic setting, and QOL characteristics. An abundance of cultural and recreational amenities lowers out‐migration rates of young college‐educated. For the older college‐educated population, the revealed preferences shift toward concerns for safety and a strong preference for milder climates. The study also finds significantly lower out‐migration rates for metropolitan areas with growing human capital. In light of shifting age distributions and rising educational attainment levels, the results have important implications for the emergence of new migration patterns and the concentration of human capital.
Cultural Commodity Chains, Cultural Clusters, or Cultural Production Chains?
Authors: PRATT ANDY C.
Published: February 2008

ABSTRACT  The paper begins with a discussion of the definition of cultural industries. The paper's three main themes are concerned with, first: 1) a contestation of the generic application of the global commodity chain concept, 2) the need for a unique focus on cultural industries associated with the particular nature of its production process, and 3) the role of embedded judgments of quality is an integral part of this process. Second, the paper suggests that a restyled focus on production chains (involving the full cycle of production to use) might be more appropriate than “commodity chains” for this application. Finally, issues of spatiality and scale are discussed: it is argued that although global commodity chain debates explore linkages at a regional and national scale, they downplay linkages at the local level.
SUSANNA AND THE PRE‐CHRISTIAN BOOK OF DANIEL: STRUCTURE AND MEANING1
Authors: TKACZ CATHERINE BROWN
Published: February 2008

The structure of the pre‐Christian book of Daniel as newly edited in Palestine in the first century B.C. is coherent, often symmetrical, and meaningful and was the version used by Jesus and the early Christians. Origen's and Jerome's reordering of the fourteen‐chapter book in conformity with the extant Hebrew, however, vitiated that structure. Susanna's account opened the pre‐Christian Palestinian version. That account inaugurates the themes of wisdom and judgment and provides the restoration of right order within the community in exile, a restoration essential for what transpires thereafter. Her experience is the first of four holy ordeals placed symmetrically in the first half of the book and framing the book as a whole. Significantly, the two chapters of Daniel most quoted in the Gospels are the ones that open the two halves of the book: Susanna, and the first vision of Daniel. Those two chapters are linked thematically and by diction, including the pair of unique phrases ‘[one grown] ancient of evil days' and ‘Ancient of Days’. Susanna exemplifies the experiences of the saints – suffering and then vindicated – and also, for the writers of the synoptic Gospels – the experiences of Jesus in his passion.
Heather Honour
Authors: Holman Andrew
Published: February 2008

The Learning Disability Coalition was set up to fight the cuts being made to  services for people.

There are 10 organisations involved including People First and the National  Forum of people with learning difficulties.

I talked to the manager, Heather Honour, about the work of the organisation and  how they are asking for more money for services.

They are also finding out what it is like for people who have had their services cut.
Age‐related reduction in retinal deimination levels in the F344BN rat
Authors: Bhattacharya Sanjoy K. , Sinicrope Brent , Rayborn Mary E. , Hollyfield Joe G. , Bonilha Vera L.
Published: February 2008

Increased deimination and peptidyl arginine deiminase type 2 (PAD2) expression has been observed in age‐related neurodegenerative diseases without discrimination between their aging and disease component. Here, we describe reduced levels of deimination commensurate with reduced protein, mRNA and activity of peptidylarginine deiminase type 2 in the retina, optic nerve and plasma of aged rats when compared to young rats. The decrease was significant in the ganglion cell layer, inner plexiform layer and inner nuclear layer. Because our observations suggest reduced deimination is a consequence of aging, we conclude that increased deimination must be a consequence of disease. Our findings are important to understand late‐onset and progressive diseases such as glaucoma, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, age‐related macular degeneration and Oguchi's disease.
Factors Contributing to the Adaptive Increase in Ethanol Metabolism due to Chronic Consumption of Ethanol
Authors: Cederbaum Arthur I. , Dicker Elisa , Lieber Charles S. , Rubin Emanuel
Published: February 2008

Chronic ethanol consumption, in a diet which leads to a fatty liver, results in an increase in the rate of ethanol oxidation in isolated rat hepatocytes. The percent increase (30%‐40%) is similar to that previously found in vivo, in the same model system.1,11 This increase does not correlate with the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase, which was slightly decreased after chronic ethanol consumption.1,16 The increase in ethanol oxidation is not associated with a hypermetabolic state of the liver since oxygen consumption with a variety of substrates was not enhanced after chronic ethanol consumption. Approximately 40%‐50% of this increase persists in the presence of an inhibitor of alcohol dehydrogenase, inhibitors of mitochondrial oxygen consumption and inhibitors of the malate‐aspartate shuttle. The increase persists in the presence of ouabain, dinitrophenol and various shuttle metabolites (in the presence and absence of dinitrophenol). Chronic consumption of ethanol results in hypertrophy of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and an adaptive increase in the ability of microsomal preparations to oxidize ethanol to acetaldehyde.1,11 The fact that part of the increase in ethanol oxidation which occurs after chronic ethanol administration persists in the presence of the various additives discussed above, indicates that pathways that are independent of alcohol dehydrogenase contribute to this metabolic adaptation. These data extend the observation that the metabolic adaptation found after chronic ethanol consumption was not abolished by 2mM pyrazole.1,26
Summary of the Discussion
Authors: Lieber C. S.
Published: February 2008

There was general agreement that catalase cannot account for the activity of MEOS and that chronic ethanol feeding results in increased rates of ethanol metabolism. There was disagreement however on the mechanism of the latter effect, with some invoking the ADH pathway exclusively in association with a hypermetabolic state, whereas according to others MEOS plays a significant role in the adaptive increase of ethanol metabolism.
Impaired Visual Search in Alcoholics
Authors: Bertera James H. , Parsons Oscar A.
Published: February 2008

Visual search performance was studied in detoxified long‐term alcoholics, short‐term alcoholics, and nonalcoholic controls. Measures of search time and errors indicated that alcoholics had significantly longer search times than controls and that long‐term alcoholics had comparatively longer search times and more shape errors in the left visual hemispace than the other groups. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that alcoholism results in subtle frontal lobe and right hemisphere dysfunctions.
The Relationship of Alcohol to Aging and the Elderly
Authors: Blose Irvin L.
Published: February 2008

Alcohol may be related to diminution of function in tissues and organ systems as well as individuals. Aging cells, systems, and people may respond differently to alcohol. These concepts are explored.
The Elderly as a Unique Population: Alcoholism
Authors: Schuckit Marc A. , Pastor Paul A.
Published: February 2008

The clinician who is faced with the task of diagnosing alcoholism in the elderly should be aware of the limitations of the diagnostic criteria for this population and should regard these criteria merely as areas from which to begin a much more detailed inquiry into the role of alcohol in any problems the patient may report.
Characteristics of Alcoholics Who Drink Socially After Treatment
Authors: Smart Reginald G.
Published: February 2008

This study is concerned with the differences among groups of alcoholics who became social drinkers, abstinent, or remained nonsocial drinkers after treatment. A total of 1091 alcoholics were studied. It appears as if those who become social drinkers are those who are less serious alcoholics with more social and other supports.
An Assessment of Hospital Care for the Alcoholic Patient
Authors: Westermeyer Joseph , Doheny Steven , Stone Beth
Published: February 2008

Current medical practice, vis‐à‐vis chemical dependency, was assessed in a university hospital setting. Findings indicate that the majority of physicians and nurses at this facility (1) did not take adequate alcohol and drug use histories, (2) did not identify chemical dependency as a medical problem even when they knew dependency was present, and (3) did not involve themselves in treatment or treatment recommendations even when the problem was identified.
Racial Comparisons of Alcohol Metabolism: Background, Problems, and Results
Authors: Reed T. Edward
Published: February 2008

The background of and problems in making comparisons among different racial* groups in their rates of alcohol metabolism are reviewed. The results of five studies are discussed. It is concluded that the variation among races in rate of alcohol metabolism is not different in kind than variation among individuals within a given race. There are good reasons to expect the former variation to be smaller than the latter.
Metabolic Responses of Chinese, Japanese and Europeans to Alcohol
Authors: Hanna Joel M.
Published: February 2008

Thirty‐nine Chinese, 47 Japanese, and 68 Europeans were tested for rate of alcohol metabolism under standardized conditions. The Japanese and Chinese metabolized at a significantly higher rate. Possible sources of such differences are considered.
Status Inconsistency and Drinking Patterns among Working Men and Women
Authors: Parker Douglas A. , Parker Elizabeth S. , Harford Thomas C. , Brody Jacob A.
Published: February 2008

Previous research suggests that status inconsistents constitute a social category that is vulnerable to embarrassments and disappointments, since individuals who are of high status on one dimension and low status on another tend to respond to themselves in terms of the higher status, while other people tend to respond to them in terms of the lower one. This article extends this research to patterns of alcohol consumption and finds that status and status inconsistency are significantly associated with frequency of consumption and quantity consumed per occasion among certain groups of drinkers.
Tetrahydroisoquinolines in the Brain: The Basis of an Animal Model of Alcoholism
Authors: Myers R. D.
Published: February 2008

Quite surprisingly, the direct introduction of THP into the brain induces a remarkable shift in voluntary alcohol intake… Even as much as 6 mo later, with no further infusions of THP, the remarkable voluntary selection of alcohol did not abate.
Drinking during Pregnancy in Alcoholic Women
Authors: Little Ruth E. , Streissguth Ann Pytkowicz
Published: February 2008

Assessment of specific periods of binge drinking (including dates, duration, and amount consumed) would seem particularly important in research on the outcome of pregnancy. One study has already shown that brain malformations in stillborn and expired infants were more related to the pattern of drinking than to overall “AA score.”
Impact of Alcohol Misuse on Family Life
Authors: Arentzen Vice Admiral W. P.
Published: February 2008

The shame that surrounds problem drinking contributes to delay or failure of remedy; the family tries to hide the drinking of its member from neighbors and even from the doctors. All parties to the illness choose to ignore the al coholism and its implication for the patient.
Beginnings of the Navy Program
Authors: Zuska Joseph J.
Published: February 2008

Problems encountered in attempting to treat alcoholism in the United States Navy are discussed. The estimation of incidence, early results of treatment, and the Navy‐wide growth of the program are examined.
Physicians' Attitudinal Changes in Alcoholism
Authors: Pursch Joseph A.
Published: February 2008

A man is the sum of all the moments of his life, and his attitudes are the product of repeated experience. A physician's attitude toward alcoholics is a product of all of his alcohol‐related experiences, including family and societal feelings assimilated in childhood and lessons, impressions, and experiences acquired during medical training and practice.
Radioactive and Nonradioactive Methods for the In Vivo Determination of Disulfiram, Diethyldithiocarbamate, and Diethyldithiocarbamate‐Methyl Ester
Authors: Faiman Morris D. , Dodd Darol E. , Minor Stephen S. , Hanzlik Robert
Published: February 2008

Although disulfiram (tetraethylthiuram disulfide; DSF) has been used in the treatment of alcoholism for almost a quarter of a century, little is known about its in vivo metabolism. One reason for this is that few analytical methods are available that can determine DSF and its various metabolites in biologic fluids and tissues. This article describes two simple procedures for the determination of these substances.
The Minor Alcoholics and Their Treatment
Authors: Jacobsen Erik
Published: February 2008

The codiscoverer of disulfiram's usefulness for alcoholics reports on the development of Denmark's present system of alcoholism treatment and the treatment facilities.
Concentration Dependence of Ethanol Metabolism In Vivo in Rats and Man
Authors: Feinman Lawrence , Baraona Enrique , Matsuzaki Shohei , Korsten Mark , Lieber Charles S.
Published: February 2008

The metabolism of ethanol to acetaldehyde has been widely considered to be almost independent of concentration (i.e., “pseudolinear”) except when blood ethanol was near the Km (0.5–1.0 m/M) of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). On the contrary, we report the concentration dependency of ethanol metabolism, in rats and man, at blood ethanol levels several fold the Km of ADH. After intravenous loading, blood ethanol disappearance in 10 rats at blood levels between 38 and 17 m/M ethanol exceeded that between 17 and 4 m/M (14.09 ± 1.38 versus 8.80 ± 0.86 mmoles/liter blood water/hr ± SEM;p < 0.001). Similarly, in 12 men, blood ethanol disappeared faster at 30–17 m/M ethanol compared to 17–4 m/M (5.96 ± 0.33 versus 4.96 7plusmn; 0.28 mmole/liter blood water/hr ± SEM; p < 0.001). When ethanol was maintained at either the 30–60 m/M or 3–19 m/M ethanol range in the blood of 14 fasted rats by constant intravenous infusion, ethanol oxidation was 25% greater at the higher concentration (9.08 ± 0.50 versus 7.23 ± 0.41 mmole/liter blood water/hr ± SEM;p < 0.02). Faster ethanol oxidation at high ethanol concentration could be due to the presence of the microsomal ethanol‐oxidizing system (MEOS), which would only be fully engaged, because of its Km (8.5 m/M), at ethanol levels exceeding those necessary to saturate ADH. The concentration dependency of ethanol metabolism casts doubt on the validity of the common medicolegal practice of calculating prior blood ethanol levels by linear extrapolation of subsequent ones, on the false assumption that metabolism is unaffected by concentration.
Potentiation of Lithium Toxicity by Ethanol in Rats and Mice
Authors: Ho Andrew K. S. , Ho C. C.
Published: February 2008

The effects of ethanol treatments, both acute (single, intraperitoneal) and chronic (forced drinking of ethanol for 10 mo), on the distribution, excretion of lithium and urine output were studied in rats. Retention of lithium induced by ethanol appeared to be responsible for the potentiation of lithium toxicity. The potential hazard in the interaction between lithium and ethanol is discussed.
Quality Assurance for Alcoholism Treatment
Authors: Foster Willard O.
Published: February 2008

Mechanisms that seek assurance of quality care at reasonable cost include utilization review, accreditation, certification, licensure, and patient care audit. Within the social rehabilitative field, it is probably safe to say that only alcoholism has developed and implemented what might be considered the majority of the significant elements of a quality assurance program.
Legislation: Regulation and Strangulation or Option for Innovation?
Authors: Arnold Jeanne F.
Published: February 2008

Frequently, we in the health professions are reactive (or even reactionary) in response to the evolutions and revolutions in our system of health care. In fact, at times the best that can be said for us is that we are responsive (and we hope, responsible) to the need for change. I would suggest that we must be innovative in dealing with the plethora of health legislation.
PSRO—Impact and Implications for Alcoholism Treatment Programs
Authors: Griffin Richard W.
Published: February 2008

Since there has been recent congressional concern with claims of Medicare/Medicaid fraud and abuse and a renewed push for a national health insurance program, PSROs seem evermore closely tied to the mandate of quality health care at the lowest possible cost. Now is the time to acknowledge their being, assess their impact on health care delivery programs, and gear our efforts to supporting our common objective of quality medical services.
A Medical Audit of Acute Alcoholism and Chronic Alcoholism
Authors: West James W.
Published: February 2008

A medical audit for acute alcoholism was done in a large private general hospital where the cases are admitted to and treated on the general medical service. Another medical audit was done for chronic alcoholism for patients admitted to an alcoholism rehabilitation unit in a large general hospital in a teaching center.
The Role of Acetaldehyde in Mediating Reactivity to an Acute Dose of Ethanol among Different Racial Groups
Authors: Zeiner Arthur R. , Paredes Alfonso , Christensen H. Dix
Published: February 2008

Physiologic changes after ingestion of alcohol were monitored in Chinese and white volunteers, and absorption rate, acetaldehyde concentration, facial flushing, and heart rate increases were correlated.
Alcohol and Coronary Arteries
Authors: Barboriak Joseph J. , Anderson Alfred J. , Rimm Alfred A. , Tristani Felix E.
Published: February 2008

The relationship between alcohol intake and the extent of coronary artery occlusion was studied and indicated that the patients who abstained or consumed less than 1 oz of alcohol weekly had significantly higher occlusion scores than those imbibing moderate amounts.
Alcohol Use, Myocardial Infarction, Sudden Cardiac Death, and Hypertension
Authors: Klatsky Arthur L. , Friedman Gary D. , Siegelaub Abraham B.
Published: February 2008

Studying coronary risk factors, this article concludes that: regular use of alcohol may protect against major coronary events; regular use of three or more drinks daily is a probable risk factor for hypertension; the relations of alcohol use to coronary disease, hypertension, and cardiomyopathy are disparate.
Fluidity and Lipid Composition of Mouse Biomembranes during Adaptation to Ethanol
Authors: Chin Jane H. , Goldstein Dora B. , Parsons Linda M.
Published: February 2008

Showing that ethanol added in vitro increased the fluidity of mouse erythrocyte and synaptosomal membranes and that the same membranes Isolated from mice after chronic treatment with ethanol had increased cholesterol and were resistant to ethanol in vitro, the study suggests that the animals had adapted to the chronic presence of the drug by changing their membrane lipid composition to offset the fluidizing effects of ethanol.
Effect of Ethanol on Membranes: A Fluorescent Probe Study
Authors: Vanderkooi Jane M.
Published: February 2008

Using fluorescence techniques to study changes in membrane structure as a function of ethanol concentration and alcoholism, it was found that ethanol primarily affects probes located at the membrane‐water Interface. Changes in the lipid composition of membranes during alcoholism were detected by fluorescent probes that partition into the hydrophobic interior of the membrane.
Calcium and Glycoprotein Metabolism as Correlates for Ethanol Preference and Sensitivity
Authors: Ross David H. , Mutchler Theresa L. , Grady Melinda M.
Published: February 2008

Enzyme markers associated with calcium and glycoprotein metabolism may be correlated with the sensitivity and preference to alcohol in rodent strains.
Developmental Level and Prognosis in Alcoholics
Authors: Thornton Charles C. , Gellens Harvey K. , Alterman Arthur I. , Gottheil Edward
Published: February 2008

An index of developmental level of functioning, derived from the Rorschach, was compared with several other prognostic measures to predict treatment outcome.
Central Pontine Myelinolysis
Authors: Levitt Robert O. , Shenker David M.
Published: February 2008

With the acceptance of alcoholism as a disease, many previously obscure ailments are being recognized, among them, central pontine myelinolysis. This case report reviews the diagnostic criteria and methods used in reversing the usual morbid outcome.
Human Stomach Alcohol Dehydrogenase: Isoenzyme Composition and Catalytic Properties
Authors: Hempel John D. , Pietruszko Regina
Published: February 2008

Two isoenzymes of alcohol dehydrogenase have been purified from human stomach and characterized with regard to electrophoretic mobility and kinetic properties with ethanol, hexanol, and acetaldehyde. Both undergo a time‐dependent formation of multiple electrophoretic bands; the total amount ofalcohol dehydrogenase activity in an average human stomach is only about 0.2%of that of the liver.
The Effects of Chronic and Acute Alcohol Administration on Fetal Development in the Rat
Authors: Henderson George I. , Hoyumpa Anastacio M. , McClain Craig , Schenker Steven
Published: February 2008

The effects of chronic alcohol administration and acute maternal oral alcohol intake on fetal development in rats were investigated, both regimens causing substantial increase in fetal mortality. Decreased body, brain, heart, kidney, and liver weight did not appear to be due to zinc deficiency.
The Effects of Alcohol on Anxiety in Problem‐and Nonproblem‐Drinking Women
Authors: Eddy Cristen C.
Published: February 2008

Nonclinical samples of female problem and nonproblem drinkers were compared for their reactions to experimentally manipulated anxiety under alcohol‐free and alcohol‐dose conditions. The problem drinkers showed more subjective anxiety reduction, were higher in trait anxiety, and experienced more physical and psychosocial life problems.
Alcoholism and Nutrition: A Seminar
Authors: Lieber Charles S.
Published: February 2008

Malnutrition and alcoholism are commonly associated. Thirty years ago, researchers considered the possibility that malnutrition promotes alcoholism, yet more recently, this theory has been abandoned. Indeed, it is now generally accepted that vitamin therapy does not reduce addiction to alcohol in man. Malnutrition is now considered a result of chronic alcohol consumption. The pathogenesis of malnutrition, however, is complex and may be related to nutritional intake, digestion and absorption, tissue transport, organ injury, nutrient catabolism, direct effects of ethanol, and genetic predisposition. Many of these complex interactions are illustrated by the articles presented in this seminar.
Genetic Factors in Wernicke‐Korsakoff Syndrome
Authors: Blass John P. , Gibson Gary E.
Published: February 2008

The authors study the role of thiamine‐deficient diets in genetic variations contributing to Wernicke‐Korsakoff syndrome.
Effects of Ethanol on the Determinants of Intestinal Transport
Authors: Shanbour Linda L.
Published: February 2008

The interplay between the stomach, liver, pancreas, and the small intestine and their influence on the effects of ethanol on the determinants of intestinal transport are examined.
Ethanol, Calcium, and Naloxone in Mice
Authors: Boggan W. O. , Meyer J. S. , Middaugh L. D. , Sparks D. L.
Published: February 2008

Alcohol has been reported to produce a significant reduction in the brain calcium content of rats, which could be blocked by administration of naloxone. Ethanol pretreatment failed to decrease brain cortex calcium and, in fact, increased the calcium content at higher doses. The effects of naloxone were also studied.
The Photochemical Action Spectrum of the Microsomal Ethanol Oxidizing System
Authors: Fabry Thomas L. , Lieber Charles S.
Published: February 2008

The inhibition of the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system (MEOS) by carbon monoxide (CO) can be reversed by illumination with lights of differing wavelengths. The authors determined the efficiency of this reversal as a function of the illuminating light. Maximum efficiency was obtained in the wavelength band around440–450 nm, which is near the absorption of the reduced cytochrome‐P‐450‐carbon monoxide complex. When the experiment was repeated with microsomes prepared from ethanol‐fed rats, the wavelength for maximum efficiency shifted towards higher values
The Metabolism of Zinc and Selenium in Cirrhotic Patients During Six Weeks of Zinc Ingestion
Authors: Sullivan J. F. , Williams R. V. , Burch R. E.
Published: February 2008

Zinc metabolism in cirrhotic patients was studied, indicating some improvement that did not alter the abnormalities of zinc metabolism significantly and showed no evidence of correlation of abnormalities with the clinical improvement or lack thereof in the patients studied.
Similarity of Effects of Alcohol and Sensory Stimulation in Post‐Alcoholics and Controls
Authors: Ludwig Arnold M. , Wikler Abraham , Buchsbaum Monte , Cain Rolene B. , Vannier Michael W.
Published: February 2008

Derived from the hypothesis that many alcoholics would experience autonomic “arousal” and craving for alcohol under conditions of high sensory stimulation, this study does not support prior findings.
A Method for the Determination of “Free” Acetaldehyde in Plasma
Authors: Pikkarainen Pekka H. , Salaspuro Mikko P. , Lieber Charles S.
Published: February 2008

A new method for measuring “free” acetaldehyde in plasma, the authors' procedure avoids the precipitation of protein and almost completely eliminates the spontaneous formation of acetaldehyde from ethanol.
Detection of Alcoholism Relapse: Comparative Diagnostic Value of MCV, GGTP, and AANB
Authors: Shaw Spencer , Worner Theresa M. , Borysow Michael F. , Schmitz Robert E. , Lieber Charles S.
Published: February 2008

Mean red blood cell volume (MCV), plasma gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP), and plasma alpha amino‐n‐butyric acid (AANB) were measured in 245 patients undergoing treatment for alcoholism at the V.A. Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y. and Raleigh Hills Hospitals, Denver, Colo. AANB and GGTP, but not MCV, decreased following withdrawal from alcohol and during a period of abstinence. Among patients who relapsed, AANB and GGTP, but not MCV, increased in a majority of subjects. The combined use of AANB and GGTP identified 28/33 heavy drinkers, while 4/33 patients in remission had positive tests. In conclusion, measurement of AANB and GGTP are useful in documenting the success of treatment for alcoholism and in identifying patients who relapse following treatment for alcoholism.
Elevated Basal and Abnormal Thyrotropin‐Releasing Hormone‐Induced Thyroid‐Stimulating Hormone Secretion in Chronic Alcoholic Men with Liver Disease
Authors: Thiel David H. Van , Smith William I. , Wight Carl , Abuid Juan
Published: February 2008

Basal levels of serum thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH). T3, T4, free T3 and free T4 were measured in 40 chronic alcoholic men and in 31 normal volunteers. Their serum TSH responses to provocative thyrotropin‐releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation were then examined serially: in chronic alcoholics, every 5 days for a total of 3 studies; in 25 of the normal volunteers, before and 72 hr after daily ingestion of ethanol (2 cc/kg/day). Basal serum TSH levels were increased in the alcoholic men (3.5 ± 0.2 μU/ml) (mean ± SEM) compared to those of the normal controls (1.7 ± 0.1) (p < 0.01). Both basal serum T3 and T4 levels (T3, 0.89 ± 0.10 ng/ml; T4, 7.0 ± 0.4 μg/dl) were reduced in the alcoholic men when compared to those of the normal controls (T3,1.20 ± 0.03 ng/ml; T4, 8.6 ± 0.3 μg/dl) (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). Basal serum free T3 levels were reduced in the alcoholic men (169 ± 22 pg/dl) compared to the normal controls (380 ± 18) (p < 0.01). In contrast, basal serum free T4 levels were increased in the alcoholics (4.0 ± 0.2 ng/dl) compared to those of the normal controls (2.9 ± 0.1) (p < 0.01). In response to TRH, the serum TSH levels of the alcoholic men achieved a peak of 13.5 ± 0.9 μU/ml compared to 14.9 ± 0.9 for the normal controls (no significant difference). Despite better nutrition and alcohol abstinence associated with hospitalization for 10 days, no improvement in either the basal levels of TSH, T3, and T4 or the TSH responses to provocative TRH was observed in the alcoholic men studied. In normal volunteers, ethanol had no effect on the basal or TRH‐stimulated levels of serum TSH and thyroid hormones.
INTRODUCTION Evaluation of Treatment
Authors: Blume Sheila B.
Published: February 2008

The Eva difficulties involved in attempting to evaluate the effects of treatment for alcohol‐related problems are, in complexity and subtlety, second only to the process of treatment itself. Much of the research done in the past utilizes a simple input—output model of evaluation. People presumed to be “alcoholic” by some criteria are studied upon entry into a specific in‐or outpatient setting. This is defined as “day 1” of treatment, regardless of how little or how much care the subjects have had in the past. Treatment is categorized rather grossly by quantity or type. The people leaving treatment are followed and remeasured.