bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Victim Impact Panels: Who Is Sentenced To Attend? Does Attendance Affect Recidivism of First‐Time DWI Offenders?
Authors: Baca Janet C’de , Lapham Sandra C. , Paine Susan , Skipper Betty J. 
Published: April 2006

Background: Victim Impact Panels (VIPs) have been implemented widely in the United States by judges as a deterrent to drinking and driving, but there is little evidence of their utility in preventing recidivism.Objectives The objectives of this study were to examine judges’ referral patterns to the VIPs among a multiethnic population of convicted first‐time driving while impaired (DWI) offenders and to compare 5‐year recidivism rates of those mandated and not mandated to attend the VIP.Methods: Study participants included 5238 convicted first‐time DWI offenders who were referred to a screening program in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and who completed a personal interview with a master's‐level counselor between April 1989 and October 1995. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate judges’ preferences in mandating offenders to attend a VIP. The percent of subjects reoffending in the 5 years following their referral for screening was calculated by standard life‐table analyses. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to test the effects of known independent predictors for recidivism. Separate models were developed for the entire population, non‐Hispanic offenders, and Hispanic/Mexican national subgroups.Results: Female judges who regularly adjudicated DWI offenders were more likely to refer offenders to a VIP. Judges were less likely to refer men and offenders with less than 12 years of education and an unknown arrest blood alcohol concentration (BAC), and of Hispanic/Mexican national or other race/ethnicity. Judges were more likely to refer unmarried offenders to a VIP. After controlling for multiple risk factors, referral to VIP was not a strong predictor of recidivism in Hispanic and non‐Hispanic ethnic groups, with 95% confidence limits ranging from 0.8 to 1.0, compared to those not referred.Conclusions: Female judges were more likely than male judges to refer offenders to a VIP, and referral patterns varied by offender characteristics. The VIP referral did not increase rearrest rates but lowered them marginally to not at all. This study should be followed up with a randomized design to control for referral patterns and to further define the impact of mandating offenders to the VIP.
Chronic Ethanol Consumption Alters Recovery of Spontaneously Active Medial Septal/Diagonal Band of Broca Neurons From GABA‐Microiontophoresis
Authors: Matthews Douglas B. , Criswell Hugh E. , Grobin A. Chistina , Morrow A. Leslie 
Published: April 2006

Background: Acute ethanol administration increases GABA‐mediated inhibition in a variety of cerebral cortical preparations. Furthermore, chronic ethanol administration blunts ethanol‐induced increases in GABA‐mediated inhibition and alters GABAA receptor subunit mRNA and peptide expression in the cerebral cortex. The sedative hypnotic effects of ethanol are believed to be modulated by GABA‐induced inhibition in medial septum/diagonal band of Broca (MS/DB) neurons, a brain region where acute ethanol administration increases GABA‐mediated inhibition of spontaneously active neurons. Chronic ethanol administration produces tolerance to the sedative effects of ethanol. However, it is unknown if chronic ethanol consumption produces alterations in GABA‐mediated inhibition in the MS/DB in a manner similar to that found in the cerebral cortex.Methods: Animals either consumed ethanol chronically for 14 days via a liquid diet or were pair‐fed an equicaloric dextrose‐containing control diet. Spontaneously active MS/DB neurons were recorded using multibarrel glass micropipettes while the effect of GABA‐microiontophoresis was investigated. The total amount of GABA‐mediated inhibition at four ejection currents was analyzed, as was the recovery to spontaneous neural firing rates following GABA inhibition. In a separate group of animals, the medial septum was microdissected, and the relative expression of GABAA receptor α1 and α4 subunit peptide were analyzed via Western blot analysis.Results: Chronic ethanol consumption altered recovery of spontaneous neural activity of MS/DB neurons following GABA‐microiontophoresis compared to premicroiontophoresis levels. Specifically, the recovery of spontaneous neural activity of MS/DB neurons recorded from animals that chronically consumed ethanol was slower following GABA‐microiontophoresis compared to neurons recorded from control animals. This effect was temporary and reversible. Furthermore, the alteration in recovery of spontaneous neural activity was not due to changes in the total amount of inhibition produced by GABA. Finally, there was no significant change in GABAA receptor α1 and α4 subunit peptide levels in the MS/DB.Conclusions: Chronic ethanol consumption alters the frequency of spontaneous MS/DB neural activity following GABA microiontophoresis compared to premicroiontophoresis levels. These data suggest that the kinetics of GABAA receptors in the MS/DB are altered by chronic ethanol consumption independent of changes in the total amount of inhibition or alterations in GABAA receptor α1 and α4 subunit peptide expression.
Nursing Experiences With an Alcohol‐Intoxicated Rat Dam Counteract Appetitive Conditioned Responses Toward Alcohol
Authors: Pepino Marta Yanina , Spear Norman E. , Molina Juan Carlos 
Published: April 2006

Background: Infant rats detect small amounts of alcohol (175 mg%) that are present in maternal milk whenever the dam is moderately intoxicated with alcohol. Interaction with an alcohol‐intoxicated mother during the first 2 weeks of life facilitates the preweanling's subsequent discrimination of alcohol's orosensory attributes and produces conditioned aversion to alcohol. The present study further analyzed the hedonic content of infantile alcohol memories established in the nursing context by testing the interaction between experiences with an alcohol‐intoxicated dam and learning procedures aimed at establishing an appetitive conditioned response toward alcohol.Methods: Experiment 1 was to determine appropriate parameters to establish a reliable conditioned preference for alcohol in 16‐day‐old infants. For conditioning, intraorally infused sucrose solution (appetitive reinforcer) was paired with alcohol's orosensory cues derived from an acute state of alcohol intoxication (3 g/kg). Two control groups included an unpaired condition and a group given sucrose after water intubation. Infants then were evaluated in an alcohol intake test. Relative to control animals, a reliable conditioned preference for alcohol was registered in paired pups. In experiment 2, these conditioning procedures were applied to infant rats which, before conditioning, suckled from dams subjected to a 2.5 g/kg alcohol dose (intragastric) or from water‐treated females during postpartum days 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13.Results: Experiment 2 showed that maternal treatment significantly affected the establishment of conditioned preferences for alcohol. Whereas pups reared by control dams exhibited reliable appetitive conditioning to alcohol, infants raised by alcohol dams completely failed to develop appetitive conditioning.Conclusions: The present results suggest that alcohol‐related memories generated via infantile interactions with an intoxicated dam counteract subsequent conditioning of alcohol ingestion. In conjunction with prior studies, it is concluded that alcohol‐related nursing experiences are capable of promoting alcohol memories with a negative hedonic content.
Detection of Alcohol Abuse in Neurological Patients: Variables of Clinical Relevance to the Accuracy of the %CDT‐TIA and CDTect Methods
Authors: Bråthen Geir , Bjerve Kristian S. , Brodtkorb Eylert , Helde Grethe , Bovim Gunnar 
Published: April 2006

Objectives: Alcohol‐related neurological diseases are encountered frequently. Early diagnosis is essential, because minimal intervention effectively reduces hazardous alcohol consumption and may prevent permanent neurological damage. Carbohydrate‐deficient transferrin (CDT) is a valuable tool for the identification of alcohol abuse, but for unselected patient populations, reduced test accuracy has been reported. Recently, factors other than alcohol use have been shown to influence CDT levels. Our aim was to identify clinically relevant factors that might reduce test accuracy.Material and Methods : We included 397 neurological patients consecutively hospitalized for seizures, ischemic stroke, or sciatica and 87 patients who attended routine outpatient controls for epilepsy. Blood samples were analyzed for CDT by using two commercially available tests, %CDT‐TIA and CDTect. All patients underwent a semistructured clinical interview that included a record of the reported ethanol consumption during the last 8 days, and all completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Current medication, medical history, and demographic information also were obtained.Results: Both tests were elevated in female antiepileptic drug users, compared with others who reported no recent ethanol intake. A higher number of false‐positive cases was seen for CDTect than for %CDT. Various combinations of CDT and γ‐glutamyltransferase improved sensitivity, but at the cost of reduced specificity. Variables that predicted the variation of CDT included antiepileptic drug use, sex, body mass index, and smoking. Total transferrin levels were reduced significantly in postmenopausal women, whereas a falling trend was seen for CDTect. Transferrin alterations caused a higher number of false‐positive results for CDTect than for %CDT. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve for women was higher for CDTect than for %CDT, and for %CDT, the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was higher for men than for women.Conclusion: The accuracy of CDT for detection of alcohol abuse in neurological patients was generally low, particularly for women. Combination variables of CDT and γ‐glutamyltransferase did not increase test accuracy. Variables that were associated with higher CDT levels included female sex, antiepileptic drug use, transferrin alterations, and possibly low body mass index. When factors known to cause poor accuracy in particular patient groups are appreciated, CDT may be a good adjunct to the clinical examination.
Injury Risk Among Medically Identified Alcohol and Drug Abusers
Authors: Miller Ted R. , Lestina Diane C. , Smith Gordon S. 
Published: April 2006

Background: Although nonfatal injury prevalence is higher among substance abusers than in the general population, few studies have estimated the injury risk for clinically recognized substance abusers. The extant studies, moreover, analyze rates of visits for injury treatment rather than rates of injury events. This study estimates the excess risk of medically treated and hospitalized nonoccupational injury for people under age 65 with medically identified substance abuse problems and private health care coverage.Method: We conducted a retrospective cohort study by using medical claims data from Medstat Systems, Inc., with a longitudinal database of health care claims for 1.5 million people with health care coverage from 70 large corporations. Claims histories for anyone who had an alcohol‐related or drug‐related primary or secondary diagnosis during 1987 to 1989 were analyzed. A random sample was selected from the remaining people without a substance abuse diagnosis in their medical records. Injury rates were compared among groups. We used logistic regression to estimate odds of medically treated and hospitalized injury, controlling for demographics.Results: Medically identified substance abusers had an elevated risk of injury in a 3‐year period; alcohol and drug abusers had the highest risk (58%), followed by drug‐only abusers (49%), alcohol‐only abusers (46%), and controls (38%). Alcohol and drug abusers were almost four times as likely to be hospitalized for an injury in a 3‐year period when compared with controls. Injury risks were elevated substantially more for female then male substance abusers.Conclusions: This study greatly improves on available information about the risk of injury for drug and multiple‐substance abusers. Medically identified substance abusers, especially adult women, have a higher probability of injury, more hospitalized injuries, and more injury episodes per person injured than nonabusers. More aggressive identification and subsequent treatment of female substance abusers appear warranted.
Reduced Seizure Threshold and Hippocampal Cell Loss in Rats Exposed to Alcohol During the Brain Growth Spurt
Authors: Bonthius Daniel J. , Woodhouse Justin , Bonthius Nancy E. , Taggard Derek A. , Lothman Eric W. 
Published: April 2006

Background: Epilepsy is a prominent sign of neurologic dysfunction in some children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). However, it is unknown whether the epileptic disorders in these children are directly due to the neuroteratogenic effects of alcohol or to some other factor accompanying maternal alcoholism. The hippocampus is vulnerable to alcohol‐induced pathologic changes, and dysfunction of the hippocampus often manifests as epilepsy. We examined the effect of alcohol exposure during development on the seizure threshold and examined the relationship between alteration of seizure threshold and alcohol‐induced neuronal loss from the hippocampus.Methods: Rat pups received 0.85, 2.5, or 3.75 g/kg of alcohol via intragastric intubation daily over postnatal days (PD) 4–9. An intubated control and a suckle control group were also included. To assess the effect of a single day of alcohol exposure, an additional group received 3.75 g/kg of alcohol on PD 4 alone. Behavioral seizure thresholds were determined by intravenous infusion of the proconvulsant, pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), on PD 31 or on PD 90. In addition, electrographic seizure thresholds were determined by recording extracellular field potentials from the dentate gyrus. The number of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells, CA3 pyramidal cells, and granule cells of the dentate gyrus were determined by stereology.Results: Daily exposure to alcohol resulted in a dose‐dependent decrease in the seizure threshold and in the selective loss of CA1 pyramidal cells. Reduction in the seizure threshold was significantly correlated with loss of CA1 pyramidal cells. Recordings of extracellular field potentials confirmed the alcohol‐induced reduction in seizure threshold, demonstrated that PTZ‐induced seizures involve hippocampal‐parahippocampal circuitry, and provided evidence that the hippocampal formation is the generator of the PTZ‐induced seizures in alcohol‐exposed animals.Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that exposure of the developing brain to alcohol can permanently reduce the threshold for both behavioral and electrographic seizures and can selectively kill hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells. Both the pathologic findings and the physiologic recordings support the concept that the reduced seizure threshold in alcohol‐exposed animals is due to hippocampal pathology.
Increased Circulating Leptin Levels in Chronic Alcoholism
Authors: Nicolás J. M. , Fernández‐Solà J. , Fatjó F. , Casamitjana R. , Bataller R. , Sacanella E. , Tobías E. , Badía E. , Estruch R. 
Published: April 2006

Background: Malnutrition seen in chronic alcoholics is partly due to reduced energy intake. Leptin is a peptide hormone implicated in the regulation of appetite and expenditure of energy. The prevalence and significance of abnormal circulating leptin levels in alcoholics, as well as the relationship of these levels with nutritional status, liver disease, and ethanol consumption, remain uncertain.Methods: Serum leptin levels were measured in 60 active asymptomatic alcoholics, 20 active alcoholics with cirrhosis of the liver, 20 abstinent alcoholics, and 60 controls. Nutritional status and ethanol consumption also were assessed.Results: In the control group, circulating leptin levels (mean 4.7 ± 0.3 μg/liter) correlated with body fat stores. Despite showing a lower fat area of the arm, active alcoholics had significantly higher leptin levels than the controls (p < 0.001), regardless of the presence of cirrhosis. By contrast, none of the abstinent alcoholics showed hyperleptinemia. In the multivariate regression analysis, the fat area of the arm (p < 0.001), the lifetime ethanol consumption (p= 0.007), and the number of cigarettes smoked per day (p= 0.02) were found to be independent factors that influenced leptin levels in active alcoholics. After we adjusted for age, fat area of the arm, and tobacco consumption, a significant correlation was observed between lifetime consumption of ethanol and serum leptin concentrations (r= 0.36, p < 0.001).Conclusions: Circulating leptin levels are increased in a dose‐dependent manner in chronic alcoholism, regardless of nutritional status or the presence of compensated liver disease.
Effect of Repeated Exposure to Alcohol on the Response of the Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Adrenal Axis of the Rat: II. Role of the Length and Regimen of Alcohol Treatment
Authors: Rivier Catherine , Lee Soon 
Published: April 2006

Background: Prior exposure to alcohol alters the adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) response to a second drug challenge administered several days later. We used three models of alcohol treatment to investigate the mechanisms that may be involved in this phenomenon.Methods: Adult male rats were exposed to alcohol vapors daily for 3 days (4–4.5 hr/day) and then were exposed to shocks or an intragastric injection of alcohol 7 days later (group A); were injected daily with alcohol (4.5 g/kg intragastrically) for 3 days and then exposed to shocks or an intragastric injection of alcohol 7 days later (group B); or were exposed to alcohol vapors for 6 days and exposed to shocks or an intragastric injection 24 hr later (group C). Control animals were not exposed to the vapors or received the appropriate vehicle.Results: Compared with animals administered the vehicle, rats of groups A and B that had been exposed to alcohol all exhibited a significantly decreased ACTH response to a second drug challenge. In contrast, their ACTH response to footshocks was statistically comparable to that of vehicle‐pretreated animals. Rats of group C that had been exposed to alcohol for 6 days also showed decreased ACTH release when injected with alcohol 7 days later while responding normally to shocks. Measurement of anterior pituitary pro‐opiomelanocortin indicated that alcohol pretreatment had produced a 54% increase of these transcripts in group C and a 27% decrease in group A. There were no changes in pituitary receptors type 1 for corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRFR1) in any of the groups.Conclusion: Regardless of whether they are delivered shortly before an acute alcohol injection or several days earlier, alcohol vapors or injections interfere with the ACTH response to the drug but not to shocks. Our results also suggest that changes in ACTH responses may not be correlated directly with small changes in pituitary pro‐opiomelanocortin or CRFR1 mRNA levels.
Testing Genetic Susceptibility Loci for Alcoholic Heart Muscle Disease
Authors: Kajander Olli A. , Kupari Markku , Perola Markus , Pajarinen Jarkko , Savolainen Vesa , Penttilä Antti , Karhunen Pekka J. 
Published: April 2006

Background: Although many heavy alcohol users have subclinical alcoholic heart muscle disease, only a very few develop severe dilated cardiomyopathy. Therefore, and because cardiac abnormalities correlate only weakly with the duration or quantity of drinking, individual susceptibility differences may exist. In this work we examined whether common gene variants previously associated with cardiac hypertrophy or altered alcohol metabolism could modify the effects of alcohol on the heart.Methods: We studied 700 middle‐aged male victims of sudden death who underwent a medicolegal autopsy. In addition to routine postmortem examination, the weights and the cavity and wall dimensions of the left and right ventricle were measured. Coronary artery stenoses were determined from a silicone rubber cast of the arteries. Alcohol consumption and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed by a structured interview of the spouse. The following gene polymorphisms were determined by using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism and solid‐phase minisequencing techniques: angiotensin converting enzyme I/D, angiotensin II type 1 receptor 1166A/C, aldosterone synthase −344C/T, alcohol dehydrogenases 2 and 3, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2, and cytochrome P‐450 2E1 Dra I, Pst I, Rsa I, and Msp I.Results: The most consistent effects of alcohol (p < 0.05) were a higher total heart weight and a larger right ventricle size with increasing daily drinking. However, these and other effects of alcohol were statistically fully independent of the studied genotypes.Conclusions: The gene polymorphisms selected for and analyzed in our study are unlikely to modify the effects of alcohol on the heart. Other unknown factors determine the individual susceptibility to alcoholic heart muscle disease.
Do Ethanol and Deuterium Oxide Distribute Into the Same Water Space in Healthy Volunteers?
Authors: Norberg Åke , Sandhagen Bo , Bratteby Lars‐Eric , Gabrielsson Johan , Jones Alan Wayne , Fan Hu , Hahn Robert G. 
Published: April 2006

Background: The volume of distribution at steady state for ethanol (Vss) is thought to be identical to the total body water (TBW). We compared a two‐compartment pharmacokinetic model with parallel Michaelis‐Menten and first‐order renal elimination with the classical one‐compartment zero‐order elimination model. Ethanol concentration‐time profiles were established for breath, venous blood, and urine. The values of Vss obtained for ethanol were compared with TBW determined by deuterium oxide dilution.Methods: Sixteen healthy volunteers each received a 30‐min intravenous infusion of ethanol on two occasions. Ethanol was measured in breath by a quantitative infrared analyzer and in blood and urine by headspace gas chromatography. Deuterium oxide was given as an intravenous injection and measured in serum by isotope‐ratio mass spectrometry. Components of variation were calculated by ANOVA to determine the precision of the estimates of Vss and TBW.Results: Mean TBW, determined by deuterium oxide dilution, was 44.1 ± 3.9 liters (±SD) for men, corresponding to 0.61 liters/kg, and 37.4 ± 3.2 liters for women, or 0.54 liters/kg. Estimates of Vss from blood‐ethanol pharmacokinetics were 87.6% of TBW according to isotope dilution and 84.4% for breath analysis with the two‐compartment model. This compares with 95.1% and 95.4% for blood and breath alcohol, respectively, when the classical zero‐order kinetic analysis is used. The precision of the estimates of Vss and TBW was between ±1.56 and ±2.19 liters (95% confidence interval).Conclusions: Ethanol does not distribute uniformly into the TBW. The precision of measuring Vss by ethanol dilution was comparable to estimates of TBW by isotope dilution. Results of noninvasive breath ethanol analysis compared well with use of venous blood for estimating Vss. The sophisticated two‐compartment model was much superior to the classical one‐compartment model in explaining the total concentration‐time course of intravenously given ethanol.