bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Abstinence from Alcohol on the Depression of Glutathione Peroxidase Activity and Selenium and Vitamin E Levels in Chronic Alcoholic Patients
Authors: Girre C. , Hispard E. , Therond P. , Guedj S. , Bourdon R. , Dally S. 
Published: April 2006

Glutathione peroxidase activity and selenium and vitamin E levels were measured in the plasma and erythrocytes of 25 chronic alcoholic patients without liver cirrhosis before and after 14 days of abstinence from alcohol, and compared with the levels in 25 sex‐and age‐matched healthy controls. Before abstinence, all three levels were shown significantly depressed in the alcoholic patients compared with the controls, in both plasma (80, 71, and 89% of control values) and erythrocytes (68, 70, and 83% of control values). After a 14‐day abstinence period with no dietary supplementation, a trend towards normalization was noted in erythrocyte (vitamin E and glutathione peroxidase 74 and 91% of control values respectively), in whole blood selenium (82%) and plasma in vitamin E (74%). However, plasma selenium and glutathione peroxidase values were lower than pre‐abstinence values (76% and 86% of control values respectively).Our results point to a deficiency in the antioxidant defense system of chronic alcoholics before the occurrence of severe liver disease. This lack of protection against lipoperoxides is all the more important in circumstances like chronic alcohol consumption, in which lipid peroxidation is known to increase. However, the present study also demonstrated that during 14 days of a normal diet free of ethanol, a rapid trend occurred towards the normalization of the factors.
Stress and Alcohol Interaction: An Update of Human Research
Authors: Pohorecky Larissa A. 
Published: April 2006

The literature on alcohol and stress in human subjects carried out since 1981 is reviewed. The review covers selected aspects of the interaction of alcohol and stress. (1) Most of the review focuses on the role of stress on alcohol ingestion. Retrospective research based on data from the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicated an increase in alcohol consumption with anxiety in certain groups of, as yet not well characterized, individuals. For example, although still insufficiently documented, stress does not appear to play a significant role in alcohol ingestion by women and the elderly. By contrast, stress does appear to play a role in the control of alcohol ingestion by adolescents. Prospective studies employing questionnaire‐interview formats generally support an effect of stress on alcohol ingestion. However, studies employing male college aged social drinkers did not find a correlation between levels of stress and ingestion of alcohol. Alcoholics also differ in the reasons for drinking alcohol, but generally ingest alcohol to lessen anxiety/stress. It is clear that the Tension Reduction Hypothesis as originally postulated is no longer adequate. Many new models based on an interaction of alcohol and stress have been proposed to explain the control of alcohol consumption. Considering the multidimensionality of factors that appear to contribute to the control of alcohol ingestion, it is unlikely that a single model could possibly be relevant to alcohol ingestion under all conditions. More likely different models may be relevant to alcohol consumption under specific conditions, or for specific populations. (2) Alcohol has been reported to decrease anxiety in agoraphobics. The self‐medication by agoraphobics may contribute significantly to their alcohol abuse. (3) Alcohol has also been reported to decrease tremor of the hands in stressed subjects as well as in patients with essential tremor. (4) Although a number of studies have employed electrodermal activity in studies aimed at the interaction of alcohol and stress, the results have been rather inconsistent. (5) The controversy on the purported beneficial effect of alcohol on the cardiovascular system persists. A number of studies have shown a J‐ or U‐shaped relationship between alcohol ingestion and incidence of coronary heart disease. Alcohol may also influence stress‐induced changes in blood pressure. Although a number of studies have demonstrated lower blood pressure in individuals ingesting less than two drinks per day compared with abstainers or heavy alcohol imbibers, the evidence is not conclusive. (6) It is not clear whether the interaction of alcohol and stress involves alterations in plasma catecholamines. Alcohol may lower elevated plasma catecholamines induced by some, but not all, stressors.The inconsistencies in data in the reviewed literature most likely reflect some of the many variables associated with alcohol and stress research. These are also briefly reviewed and include subject‐, drug‐ and stress‐related variables.
Alterations of ATP Levels and of Energy Parameters in the Blood of Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Patients with Liver Damage
Authors: Hernández‐Muñoz Rolando , Glender Walter , Díaz‐Muñoz Mauricio , Suárez Jorge , Lozano Jorge , de Sánchez Victoria Chagoya 
Published: April 2006

Blood adenine nucleotides were determined in patients with alcoholic and non‐alcoholic liver diseases. They included patients with alcoholic hepatitis (AH), alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC), non‐alcoholic liver cirrhosis (NALC), and amoebic liver abscess (ALA) (28 patients). A decrease of 28% to 39% in blood ATP levels was observed among the patients with AH and the cirrhotic groups, respectively (p < 0.05), whereas no significant changes in blood ATP levels were detected in the ALA group. Although total blood adenine nucleotides were significantly diminished in AH, ALC, and NALC groups, the AH patients retained their energy relationships within normal range. On the other hand, the cirrhotic groups, independently of their etiology, failed to maintain an adequate ATP/ADP ratio, energy charge, and phosphorylation potential in the blood, suggesting a decreased energy availability in their blood cells.Nevertheless, the mechanism involved in these effects remains to be elucidated, a failure of the damaged liver to supply purines to extra‐hepatic tissues might be a major event altering the blood energy parameters.
Disulfiram Implant: A Double‐Blind Placebo Controlled Follow‐Up on Treatment Outcome
Authors: Johnsen Jon , Mørland Jørg 
Published: April 2006

Seventy‐six alcohol‐dependent patients participated in a study of the clinical effect of implanted disulfiram (DS). The patients were randomized to a DS group (n = 40), receiving a subcutaneous abdominal implantation of 10 × 100 mg DS tablets and a placebo group (PL group) receiving an implantation of 9 × 100 mg calcium phosphate tablets together with one calcium phosphate tablet containing 1 mg DS. Both groups believed they were receiving DS.At admission there was no significant difference between the DS and PL groups with regard to demographic characteristics, psycho‐social adjustment, drinking variables, medical disorders, or laboratory results. After a study period of approximately 300 days, 63 patients (33 DS; 30 PL) were assessed using a battery of tests. There was no significant difference between the groups with regard to reduction in average alcohol consumption, number of days to the first alcohol intake after implantation, or level of psychosocial function. Nevertheless, both groups reduced their ethanol consumption significantly, probably due to the psychological deterrent effect. The DS implant did result in a significantly higher incidence of wound complications. This study does not support the idea that a 1‐g DS implant has any significant clinical effect different from the implant containing only 1 mg DS (placebo).
The Metabolism of Ethyl Esters of Fatty Acids in Adipose Tissue of Rats Chronically Exposed to Ethanol
Authors: DePergola Giovanni , Kjellström Christer , Holm Cecilia , Conradi Nils , Pettersson Per , Björntorp Per 
Published: April 2006

The concentration of ethyl esters of fatty acids as well as the activity of the enzyme synthesizing these esters (fatty acid ethyl ester synthase) were determined in adipose tissue of rats ingesting ethanol (9–16 g/kg body weight/day) for different periods of time. After 10 and 17 weeks of ethanol exposure about 300 nmol of ethyl esters of oleic, palmitic, stearic, and linoleic acids were found per gram adipose tissue. The ethyl esters disappeared after 1 week of abstinence. Closer analyses, using radioactive ethanol, revealed a half‐life of the esters of less than 24 hr. The bulk of the esters was found in a membrane preparation of isolated adipocytes. Hormone‐sensitive lipase hydrolyzed emulsified ethyl oleate as efficiently as that of trioleoylglycerol, but in mixed ethyl oleate/trioleoyl glycerol particles the hydrolysis of ethyl oleate was slower, suggesting a decreased accessibility. Synthase activity was found in adipose tissue from rats not exposed to ethanol. It doubled after 10 and 17 weeks of ethanol and decreased with a half‐life of at least a week after abstinence.It was concluded that ethyl esters of fatty acids are formed in rat adipose tissue as previously shown in other tissues. They seem to be stored mainly in membranous parts of the adipocytes. Synthase activity is induced by ethanol. The elevated activity has a longer half‐life, and may be useful as an indicator of alcohol abuse.
Human Placental Transfer of Zinc: Normal Characteristics and Role of Ethanol
Authors: Beer William H. , Johnson Raymond F. , Guentzel M. Neal , Lozano Joy , Henderson George I. , Schenker Steven 
Published: April 2006

The fetal alcohol syndrome is primarily an impairment of growth and development. Zinc deficiency also causes abnormal fetal growth. Moreover, alcohol has been shown in some rodent studies to impair placental transport of zinc. The purpose of this investigation was to define better normal human placental zinc transport and the effects of alcohol on this process.To do this we employed the isolated perfused single cotyledon human term placental model, as well as the cultured human cytotrophoblast. In the perfused placental studies, it was shown that zinc is transferred by the placenta very slowly, about 6% of the rate of transport of antipyrine, a freely diffusible marker. The transfer is comparable in both directions, maternal to fetal and the reverse. Zinc does not cross the placenta against a zinc concentration gradient, in either direction. Rather there is good evidence of significant uptake (storage) of the zinc by the placenta on the recirculating compartment side of gradient studies. Moreover, when the perfusion fluid was low (0.2 g/100 ml) in albumin, about twice as much zinc accumulated in the perfused cotyledon and there was less zinc in the maternal compartment, as compared to perfusion with ten‐fold higher (2.0 g/100 ml) albumin concentrations. Thus, ligand binding in the perfusate importantly influences placental zinc uptake. Interestingly, however, the increased placental binding of zinc did not translate into greater transfer of zinc to the fetal compartment.Thus, normal zinc transfer is slow, equal bidirectionally, and dependent on ligand binding in perfusate and placenta. Equal transport in both directions and absence of accumulation of zinc against a concentration gradient at “physiologic” zinc concentrations are not consistent with active (energy dependent) transfer. Alcohol (400 mg/100 ml) added to the perfusate did not impair placental zinc transfer from the maternal to fetal circuits over 4 h. Also, net uptake of zinc by human placental trophoblast exposed to 200 mg/100 ml alcohol concentration for 48 h was comparable to control values. Thus, alcohol exposure over this time in both experimental systems did not impair zinc transport by the term human placenta.
Abnormalities of Hematologic Parameters in Heavy Drinkers and Alcoholics
Authors: Seppä Kaija , Sillanaukee Pekka , Koivula Timo 
Published: April 2006

Hematologic parameters measured by a Technicon H‐1 analyzer and reticulocyte values were studied in three middle‐aged male groups; 184 social drinkers, 88 heavy drinkers, and 106 alcoholics. Erythrocyte mean cell volume (MCV) correlated positively (p < 0.001) with red cell distribution width (r= 0.388) and negatively with red blood cells (r= ‐0.594, p < 0.001), hemoglobin distribution width (r= ‐0.330, p < 0.001), cell by cell counted hemoglobin concentration (CHCM) (r= ‐0.434, p < 0.001), and the ratio between standard deviation of CHCM and CHCM (r= ‐0.375, p < 0.001). In spite of these correlations high red cell distribution width values were also found in alcoholic patients with normocytosis (MCV ≤ 96 fl).Alcohol induced abnormalities primarily in erythrocytes. The only significant abnormality in the heavy drinker group was a high value of erythrocyte MCV, which was found in 22.7%. In the alcoholic group the MCV value was high in 39.6%, and low erythrocyte values were detected in 16%. A high erythrocyte mean cell distribution width value indicating anisocytosis was found in 40.6% of the alcoholic group. In this material the specificities of these values were also good. The scatter cytogram for red blood cells did not give any valuable visual information in the abuser groups. Thus, certain abnormalities in the Technicon H‐1 system parameters, even other than MCV, can be explained by alcohol abuse.
Effects of Ethanol and Control Liquid Diets on the Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Thyroid Axis of Male Fischer‐344 Rats
Authors: Mason George A. , Noonan Linda R. , Garbutt James C. , Caldwell Jack D. , Shimoda Kazutaka , Walker Cheryl H. , Li Li , Prange Arthur J. 
Published: April 2006

The effects of a high dextrose liquid diet containing ethanol and two different control liquid diets on serum and brain thyroid axis hormones and liver and brain deiodinase activities were studied in groups of adult male Fischer‐344 (F‐344) rats. Rats received either lab chow, ad libitum; a nutritionally complete 10% (w/v) ethanol liquid diet, ad libitum; a volume of either a high carbohydrate (HC) or a high fat (HF) isocaloric control liquid diet equal to the volume of diet consumed by rats given the ethanol diet; or the HC control diet, ad libitum. Consumption of liquid diets was measured daily and body weights recorded every other day throughout the study. Hormones were measured after 2, 4, or 8 weeks and deiodinase activities after 4 or 8 weeks. Also, groups of rats were given the 10% ethanol diet, ad libitum, or pair‐fed the HC control diet intermittently for 8 weeks, and thyroid hormones and thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) response to thyrotropin‐releasing hormone (TRH) were determined.Within 2 weeks rats became accustomed to all diets and thereafter weight gain was comparable in all groups. Small differences between serum thyroid hormones of rats fed the ethanol diet and pair‐fed HC or HF controls may have been caused by lower T4 secretion in ethanol‐fed rats. Marked differences in free and total T4 and T3 between F‐344 rats fed liquid diets for 4 or 8 weeks and rats fed lab chow probably resulted from higher liver 5′‐deiodinase activity in rats fed liquid diets. Sprague‐Dawley rats showed similar but less marked dietary‐induced changes in thyroid hormone levels than did F‐344 rats. No differences in cerebral cortical levels of T4 or T3 were observed among F‐344 rats fed the ethanol liquid diet, rats pair‐fed HC control diet, or rats that received lab chow. No significant differences in basal thyroid axis hormones or TSH response to TRH were observed among F‐344 rats intermittently fed ethanol diet, control diet, or lab chow.
The Effects of Chronic Ethanol Consumption on the Mesolimbic and Nigrostriatal Dopamine Systems
Authors: Pellegrino Susan M. , Druse Mary J. 
Published: April 2006

Both the mesolimbic dopamine system, which is involved with the rewarding properties of several drugs of abuse, and the nigrostriatal dopamine system, which is involved with motor function, appear to be sensitive to the effects of ethanol. In order to determine which components of the mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine systems are adversely affected by chronic ethanol consumption, we assessed dopamine and DOPAC (3,4‐dihydroxyphenylacetic acid) concentration and D1 and D2 receptors in several dopaminergic brain areas.These studies demonstrated that consumption of a 6.6% (v/v) ethanol‐containing lipid diet for 1 month affected several components of the mesolimbic dopamine system in 3‐month‐old Fisher 344 rats and fewer components of the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Specifically, there was a 1.6‐ to 2.6‐fold increase in the concentration of DOPAC in the nucleus accumbens (NA), frontal cortex (FCX), ventral tegmental area (VTA), and substantia nigra (SN). While the increase in DOPAC in the FCX and VTA was paralleled by a similar increase in dopamine, there was a significant deficiency of dopamine in the SN. These results suggest that there is an increase in dopamine turnover in the FCX, VTA, NA, and SN, which is accompanied by increased dopamine synthesis in the former two regions.Studies of dopamine receptors in control and ethanol‐fed rats demonstrated a 25% loss of Di receptors in the NA. No significant differences were found in D1 receptors in the striatum or globus pallidus. In addition, there were no differences in the number of total D2 receptors or in the conversion of the high to low affinity state of D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens and striatum. The results of these studies emphasize the different sensitivities of dopaminergic brain areas to chronic ethanol exposure.
The Effect of Ethanol Metabolism on Ferritin Uptake by Freshly Isolated Rat Hepatocytes: Is Acetaldehyde Responsible for This Alteration?
Authors: Zhang Hui , Potter Barry J. 
Published: April 2006

Alcohol abuse is associated with disturbances to iron metabolism in man, ranging from anemia to siderosis. Also seen in these patients are increased serum ferritin levels. Since the liver not only stores iron in cytosolic ferritin, but has also been shown to take up this molecule from the plasma by an active transport mechanism, it has been suggested that the iron in this circulating ferritin may contribute to the increased incidence of siderosis seen in alcoholics. As part of an ongoing study of these disturbances, using a rat model, we have examined the uptake of ferritin by freshly isolated hepatocyte suspensions to test the hypothesis that increased hepatocyte uptake of ferritin iron contributes to the siderosis seen in some alcoholics.Incubation of hepatocytes in the presence of ethanol resulted in a progressive reduction in uptake with increasing alcohol concentration, from 1.23 ± 0.05 ng of ferritin/106 cells/min to 0.65 ± 0.02 ng/106 cells/min (mean ± SD) at an ethanol concentration of 100 mM. 4‐Methylpyrarole (0.1 mM) restored 70% of this activity, but higher concentrations also decreased ferritin uptake in the absence of ethanol. The addition of 5 μM cyanamide decreased ferritin uptake slightly in the presence of ethanol (0.82 ± 0.04 ng of ferritin/106 hepatocytes/min vs. 0.86 ± 0.03 ng/106 cells/min for ethanol alone), while having no effect in the absence of ethanol (1.01 ± 0.04 vs. 1.12 ± 0.05 ng/106 cells/min). Preincubation of the hepatocytes with acetaldehyde resulted in a dose‐dependent reduction to a maximum reduction of approximately 25% at 300 μM acetaldehyde.These data suggest that, contrary to our initial hypothesis, ethanol has an acute inhibitory effect on ferritin uptake by the hepatocyte. This effect appears to be mediated by acetaldehyde production, resulting from ethanol metabolism.
Alterations in EEG Amplitude, Personality Factors, and Brain Electrical Mapping after Alpha‐Theta Brainwave Training: A Controlled Case Study of an Alcoholic in Recovery
Authors: Fahrion Steven L. , Walters E. Dale , Coyne Lolafaye , Allen Thomas 
Published: April 2006

A controlled case study was conducted of effects of EEG alpha and theta brainwave training with a recovering alcoholic patient who experienced craving and fear of relapse after 18 months of abstinence. Training consisted of six sessions of thermal biofeedback to increase central nervous system (CNS) relaxation. Effects were documented with pretreatment and post‐treatment personality testing, 20‐channel digitized EEG evaluations both under relaxed conditions and under stress, minute‐by‐minute physiologic recordings of autonomic and EEG data during each training session, blood pressure, and heart rate indications taken both during relaxation and under stress, and by clinical observation.Results replicated those of a previous controlled study with chronic alcoholic patients not abstinent prior to treatment. New findings include post‐treatment indications of more relaxed CNS functioning under stress, and of reduced autonomic activation both during relaxation and under stress. Brain‐mapping indications of anxiety associated with painful cold‐pressor stimulation were seen only in the pretest readings; at post‐test the brain map indicated pain‐associated EEG activity in the contralateral somatosensory area, but no apparent anxiety‐associated EEG activity.At 4 months post‐treatment the patient's wife and colleagues report the patient appears to function in a more relaxed way under the impact of stress, and he reports no longer experiencing craving for alcohol.Overall, support is provided for the possibility that alpha and theta brainwave training may be a useful intervention for the abstinent alcoholic experiencing stress‐related craving and fear of relapse.
FTIR Evidence for Alcohol Binding and Dehydration in Phospholipid and Ganglioside Micelles
Authors: Yurttaş Lale , Dale Bruce E. , Klemm William R. 
Published: April 2006

We theorize that intoxicants and modern anesthetics bind at the membrane‐water interface and displace (dehydrate) bound water molecules by breaking the hydrogen bonds. We tested this hypothesis by examining the effect of butanol on the binding of water to the polar regions of lipids in reversed micelles. Understanding the mechanisms of intoxication requires studies in physiologically relevant systems such as systems containing sialoglycoconjugates, especially gangliosides, which concentrate in the synapses of neural tissue. Therefore, we compared butanol effects on phospholipid with effects on ganglioside.Hydrogen‐bond breaking activity of 1‐butanol was studied in reversed micelles made of dipalmitoylphosphotidylcholine (DPPC), ganglioside (GM1 and GT1b) or the lipid mixture in a D2O‐CCl4 medium. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) data indicated that 1‐butanol binds to DPPC and to gangliosides. Adding GM1 to the DPPC micelles introduces a new binding site for the alcohol. GTlb binds more butanol than GM1, because of more binding sites provided by extra sialic acid moieties. Spectral red shifts indicate that both water and butanol bind to the C = O group of sialic acid. Butanol partially releases the surface‐bound water by disrupting hydrogen bonds, as indicated by an appearance of a sharp new free OD stretching band of the released D2O molecules. However, control studies with lipid‐free systems in CCl4 revealed that a free OD peak could occur from a deuterium exchange reaction between D2O and 1‐butanol(ol‐h). Thus, in lipid systems involving D2O and 1‐butan(ol‐h), deuterium exchange and partial release of water take place at the same time, and it is not possible to distinguish one from the other. Nonetheless, we could demonstrate butanol‐induced displacement of bound water with H2O + 1‐butan(ol‐h) and D2O + 1‐butan(ol‐d) in lipid‐free/CCl4 and lipid/CCl4 systems. Here, the alcohol also produced a new and large free OH peak that was larger than the OH peak produced when the same amount of butanol was used in the absence of water. This “free” water probably forms dimers and trimers with unbound butanol.