bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Unique Facial Features Distinguish Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Patients and Controls in Diverse Ethnic Populations
Authors: Moore Elizabeth S. , Ward Richard E. , Wetherill Leah Flury , Rogers Jeffrey L. , Autti‐Rämö Ilona , Fagerlund Åse , Jacobson Sandra W. , Robinson Luther K. , Hoyme H. Eugene , Mattson Sarah N. , Foroud Tatiana ,   the CIFASD
Published: September 2007

Background:  Effective management of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is dependent on the timely and reliable diagnosis of affected individuals. There are significant diagnostic difficulties because of the reduced prominence of facial features as children age to adulthood as well as potential population or ethnic differences in the most characteristic alcohol‐related facial features.Methods:  A total of 276 subjects were recruited from 4 sites (Cape Town, South Africa; Helsinki, Finland; Buffalo, New York; and San Diego, California) and completed a detailed dysmorphology evaluation to classify subjects as either fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS; 43%) or control (57%). Computerized anthropometry was employed to identify facial features that could distinguish FAS patients from controls across a wide age range and across ethnically disparate study populations.Results:  Subjects were placed into 1 of 4 populations based on their ancestry (Cape Coloured, Finnish Caucasian, African American, or North American Caucasian). Analyses performed in each of the 4 study populations were able to identify a unique set of variables which provided excellent discrimination between the 2 groups (FAS, control). In each study group, at least one ocular‐related measurement, shortened palpebral fissure, reduced outer canthal width, or reduced inner canthal width, was included in the final classification model.Conclusions:  We found measurements that reflected reduced size of the eye orbit to be a consistent feature discriminating FAS and controls across each study population. However, each population had a unique, though often overlapping, set of variables which discriminated the 2 groups, suggesting important ethnic differences in the presentation of FAS. It is possible that these differences were accentuated by the wide age distribution of the study subjects.
Binge Drinking in Madrid, Spain
Authors: Valencia‐Martín José Lorenzo , Galán Iñaki , Rodríguez‐Artalejo Fernando 
Published: September 2007

Background: In Mediterranean countries, the information on the prevalence of binge drinking and associated socio‐demographic variables is very scarce. Moreover, there are no reported data on the amount of alcohol ingested and the type of beverage consumed during drinking episodes. This study describes the prevalence and characteristics of binge drinking in the adult population of Madrid, Spain.Methods: Data were taken from a telephone survey conducted during the period 2000 to 2005 on 12,037 persons, representative of the population aged 18 to 64 years in the Madrid Region. Binge drinking was defined as the intake of ≥80 g of alcohol in men or ≥60 g in women, during any drinking session in the preceding 30 days. In this analysis, the threshold between moderate and heavy average weekly alcohol consumption was set at 40 g/d for men and 24 g/d for women.Results: Prevalence of binge drinking was 14.4% (95% confidence interval, CI: 13.5 to 15.3%) in men and 6.5% (95% CI: 5.8 to 7.1%) in women. Prevalence was higher among persons: in the youngest age group (30.8% among men and 18.2% among women aged 18 to 24 years); having the highest educational level (14.5% in male and 9.2% in female university graduates); and with a heavy average consumption of alcohol (55.3% in men and 50.0% in women). However, 3 of 4 binge drinkers of both sexes showed a moderate average consumption. Among binge‐drinkers, average monthly episodes of binge drinking were 3.2 in men and 2.6 in women, with 5.4 and 2 episodes/person/year, respectively. During each episode, a mean of 119 g of alcohol was ingested by men and 83 g by women, with spirits accounting for 72% of total alcohol intake.Conclusions: Prevalence of binge drinking is high in Madrid, particularly among younger men with higher education, and heavy average alcohol consumption. Binge drinking is characterized by frequent episodes, where large amounts of alcohol are ingested, mainly from spirits.
Intact Preference Conditioning in Acute Intoxication Despite Deficient Declarative Knowledge and Working Memory
Authors: Balodis Iris M. , Johnsrude Ingrid. S. , Olmstead Mary C. 
Published: September 2007

Background:  The impact of alcohol on implicit, emotional learning is not well understood, partly because family history, drug use, and task demands influence these processes. The conditioned pattern preference (CPP) task provides a more ecologically valid means to investigate implicit cognition in the lab because it has low demand awareness and relies on learning to associate nonverbal cues with reward.Methods:  This study examined the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on implicit learning using the CPP task in 83 intoxicated and 69 sober young adults. Information on individual drug use, family history, impulsivity, and alcohol expectancies was also collected.Results:  Alcohol intoxication affected explicit, but not implicit learning on the CPP task. In addition, participants who reported a positive family history of addiction (FH+) or individual recreational drug use did not exhibit a preference for cues previously paired with reward.Conclusions:  Preference formation on the CPP task recruits motivational neurocircuitry, an effect that is unaltered by alcohol. Group differences in implicit emotional learning on this task may represent neurocognitive differences in individuals at risk for addiction.
Lack of Association of Alcohol Dependence and Habitual Smoking With Catechol‐O‐methyltransferase
Authors: Foroud Tatiana , Wetherill Leah Flury , Dick Danielle M. , Hesselbrock Victor , Nurnberger, Jr John I. , Kramer John , Tischfield Jay , Schuckit Marc , Bierut Laura J. , Xuei Xiaoling , Edenberg Howard J. 
Published: September 2007

Objective:  To test whether variation in the gene encoding the enzyme catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT), which catalyzes the breakdown of dopamine and other catecholamine neurotransmitters, is associated with the risk for alcohol dependence and habitual smoking.Methods:  Single nucleotide polymophisms (SNPs) were genotyped in a sample of 219 multiplex alcohol‐dependent families of European American descent from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Family‐based tests of association were performed to evaluate the evidence of association between the 18 SNPs distributed throughout COMT, including the functional Val158Met polymorphism, and the phenotypes of alcohol dependence, early onset alcohol dependence, habitual smoking, and comorbid alcohol dependence and habitual smoking.Results:  No significant, consistent evidence of association was found with alcohol dependence, early onset alcohol dependence, habitual smoking or the comorbid phenotype. There was no evidence that the functional Val158Met polymorphism, previously reported to be associated with these phenotypes, was associated with any of them.Conclusion:  Despite the substantial size of this study, we did not find evidence to support an association between alcohol dependence or habitual smoking and variation in COMT.
Varieties of Impulsivity in Males With Alcohol Dependence: The Role of Cluster‐B Personality Disorder
Authors: Rubio Gabriel , Jiménez Mónica , Rodríguez‐Jiménez Roberto , Martínez Isabel , Iribarren Martin Miguel , Jiménez‐Arriero Miguel Angel , Ponce Guillermo , Ávila Cesar 
Published: September 2007

Background/Rationale:  Impulsivity has been associated with alcohol dependence, but impulsivity in alcohol‐dependent subjects with a Cluster‐B personality disorder (PD) has not been well characterized. Using a variety of laboratory measures of impulsivity, we assessed whether alcohol‐dependent patients (ADP) with borderline personality disorder (BPD) exhibited the same pattern of behavioral impulsivity than ADP with antisocial personality disorder (AntPD). Also, differences between ADP without PDs and healthy controls were assessed.Methods:  A cross‐sectional patient survey with a community comparison group. Diagnoses were made using the Structured Interview for DSM‐IV. Sustained attention and rapid‐response impulsivity were assessed using the continuous performance test. Inhibitory control was measured by the stop‐signal task. Ability to delay reward task was assessed using differential reinforcement for low‐rate responding (DRLR). A final sample of 247 males with alcohol‐dependence recruited from 2 alcoholism treatment centers was compared with a matched nonsubstance‐abusing comparison group (n = 96).Results:  Alcohol‐dependent patients with BPD made more omission errors than ADP with AntPD, but individuals with AntPD exhibited the poorest efficiency in DRLR. ADPs with a Cluster‐B PD displayed more impairment across all behavioral measures than ADP without PD and than controls. In contrast, with respect to controls ADP without a Cluster‐B PD showed more impairment only in DRLR.Conclusions:  Our findings support the suggestion of 2 paradigms in alcohol dependence. The first, based on inability to delay gratification, might be a vulnerability marker for alcohol dependence. The second was related to inhibitory control and might be specific for AntPD and BPDs.
Decreased Plasma Brain‐Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels in Patients With Alcohol Dependence
Authors: Joe Keun‐Ho , Kim Yong‐Ku , Kim Tae‐Suk , Roh Sung‐Won , Choi Sam‐Wook , Kim Young‐Bo , Lee Hee‐Jin , Kim Dai‐Jin 
Published: September 2007

Background: Many reports have suggested possible relationships between brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and alcohol dependence. A protective effect of BDNF against ethanol‐induced cell damage has been suggested, and this effect may contribute to the development or maintenance of alcohol dependence. This study was carried out in order to verify the significance of BDNF in alcohol dependence.Methods: Peripheral BDNF levels were measured in alcohol‐dependent patients and control subjects using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. A physician’s interview and standardized questionnaire were used to obtain information regarding each patient’s history of alcohol consumption.Results: The mean BDNF level was lower in the alcohol dependence group (389.5 ± 501.7 pg/ml) than in the normal controls (822.5 ± 420.7 pg/ml) by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (F = 25.79, p < 0.01). The mean BDNF level was lower in the alcohol‐dependent patients with a positive family history of alcohol dependence (247.6 ± 289.2 pg/ml) than in those with a negative family history of alcohol dependence (583.9 ± 652.8 pg/ml) by ANCOVA (F = 6.51, p = 0.01). The BDNF levels did not correlate significantly with any of the variables analyzed in this study, including Beck depression inventory, state and trait anxiety inventory (STAI‐S and T), and various drinking behaviors.Conclusions: Changes in the levels of BDNF might play a role in the pathophysiology and inheritance of alcohol dependence.
Mouse Lines Selected for Alcohol Consumption Differ on Certain Measures of Impulsivity
Authors: Wilhelm Clare J. , Reeves Jamie M. , Phillips Tamara J. , Mitchell Suzanne H. 
Published: September 2007

Background: Alcoholics and heavy drinkers score higher on measures of impulsivity than nonalcoholics and light drinkers. This may be due to factors that predate drug exposure (e.g. genetics) or to neuroadaptations associated with exposure to alcohol. The aim of this study was to examine the role of genetics by comparing impulsivity in short‐term selected lines of mice bred to voluntarily drink either high (STDRHI2) or low (STDRLO2) amounts of 10% ethanol.Methods: Independent sets of mice completed 2 experiments designed to measure impulsivity. Using the adjusting amount procedure, we examined preference for smaller, sooner rewards over larger but delayed rewards (delay discounting). This task determines the amount of immediate sucrose equivalent to the discounted value of a 20 μl sucrose reward given following a specific delay (0, 2, 4, 8, or 12 seconds). Using a Go/No‐go task, we examined the ability of mice to inhibit nose‐poking in response to specific cues. These tasks are commonly used to assess different aspects of impulsive behavior, and provide measures that are not highly correlated.Results: No significant differences were found between STDRHI2 and STDRLO2 mice in delay discounting. In the Go/No‐go task, STDRHI2 mice made more responses during the pre‐cue period without committing more false alarms, compared with STDRLO2 mice.Conclusions: The results suggest that short‐term selective breeding for high relative alcohol consumption may also select for animals that have impaired response inhibition.
The Impact of Gonadectomy and Adrenalectomy on Acute Withdrawal Severity in Male and Female C57BL/6J and DBA/2J Mice Following a Single High Dose of Ethanol
Authors: Gililland Katherine R. , Finn Deborah A. 
Published: September 2007

Background: Steroid hormones can influence neuronal excitability and subsequent seizure susceptibility through genomic and nongenomic mechanisms. For example, there are proconvulsant steroids such as estradiol and corticosterone and anticonvulsant steroids such as testosterone, progesterone, and their GABAergic metabolites. Recent findings indicated that a single, acute administration of ethanol increased levels of GABAergic steroids and that the source of this increase was peripheral organs such as the adrenals and gonads. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to determine the impact of removal of the adrenals and/or gonads on withdrawal severity following a single high dose of ethanol in 2 genotypes that differ in ethanol withdrawal severity.Method: Male and female C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) mice were either left intact (SHAM), adrenalectomized (ADX), gonadectomized (GDX), or underwent ADX/GDX surgery. Seven days following surgery, baseline handling‐induced convulsions (HICs) were measured prior to administration of a 4 g/kg dose of ethanol. HICs were assessed following the ethanol injection, then hourly for 12 hours and at 24 hours. A separate group of mice were used to measure the impact of surgical status on ethanol metabolism at 30, 60, 120, and 240 minutes after a single 4 g/kg dose of ethanol.Results: ADX and ADX/GDX treatments in male B6 and D2 mice increased ethanol withdrawal severity following a single dose of ethanol, measured by area under the withdrawal curve and peak HIC scores. Acute ethanol withdrawal also was increased in female D2 mice that had undergone ADX/GDX. In contrast, surgical status did not alter ethanol withdrawal severity in female B6 mice. Surgical status had only minor effects on ethanol metabolism.Conclusions: Removal of peripherally derived steroids with anticonvulsant properties significantly increased HIC scores during acute ethanol withdrawal following a single dose of ethanol in male and female D2 mice and in male B6 mice. These increases were not due to changes in ethanol metabolism.
Orexigenic Peptides and Alcohol Intake: Differential Effects of Orexin, Galanin, and Ghrelin
Authors: Schneider Eve R. , Rada Pedro , Darby Ryan D. , Leibowitz Sarah F. , Hoebel Bartley G. 
Published: September 2007

Background:  The question is which hypothalamic systems for food intake might play a role in ethanol intake and contribute to alcohol abuse. The peptide orexin was found to exhibit similar properties to galanin in its relation to dietary fat and may therefore be similar to galanin in having a stimulatory effect on alcohol intake.Methods:  Rats were trained to drink 10% ethanol, implanted with brain cannulas, and then injected in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), lateral hypothalamus (LH), or nucleus accumbens (NAc) with galanin, orexin‐A, and for comparison, ghrelin. Ethanol, food, and water intake were measured at 1, 2, and 4 hours postinjection.Results:  In the PVN, both orexin and galanin significantly increased ethanol intake, whereas ghrelin increased food intake. In the LH, orexin again induced ethanol intake, while ghrelin increased eating. In the NAc, orexin failed to influence ethanol intake but did stimulate food intake.Conclusions:  In ethanol‐drinking rats, injection of orexin or galanin into the appropriate locus in the hypothalamus induced significant ethanol intake instead of food intake. Ghrelin, as a positive control, failed to influence ethanol intake at the same hypothalamic sites. In the NAc, as an anatomical control, orexin augmented eating but not ethanol intake. Thus orexin and galanin in the hypothalamus selectively stimulated ethanol intake at sites where other studies have shown that both ethanol and fat increase expression of the endogenous peptides. Thus, a neural circuit that evolved with the capability to augment food intake is apparently co‐opted by ethanol and may serve as a potential positive feedback circuit for alcohol abuse.
S‐Adenosylmethionine Attenuates Oxidative Liver Injury in Micropigs Fed Ethanol With a Folate‐Deficient Diet
Authors: Villanueva Jesus A. , Esfandiari Farah , White Mollie E. , Devaraj Sridevi , French Samuel W. , Halsted Charles H. 
Published: September 2007

Background:  To demonstrate a causative role for abnormal methionine metabolism in the pathogenesis of alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH), we measured the preventive effects of supplementing folate deficient and ethanol containing diets in the micropig with S‐adenosylmethionine (SAM), a metabolite that regulates methionine metabolism.Methods:  Yucatan micropigs were fed folate‐deficient diets as control, with ethanol at 40% of kcal, or with ethanol supplemented with SAM at 0.4 g/1000 kcal for 14 weeks. Histopathology, markers of liver injury, and regulatory enzymes were measured in terminal liver samples.Results:  Among the ethanol group, livers showed hepatocellular necrosis together with increased levels of S‐adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and reduced levels of SAM and its ratio to SAH and glutathione (GSH), together with increased malondialdehyde plus hydroxynonenol (MDA + HNE) and nitrotyrosine (NT), transcripts and protein levels of cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1), activity of NADPH oxidase, and activity and protein levels of inducible nitric oxide (iNOS). These findings were attenuated partially or completely to control levels by SAM supplementation of the ethanol diet.Conclusions:  The present results indicate that SAM supplementation attenuates ethanol induced liver injury through its effects on the expressions and activities of oxidative stress pathways, and are consistent with the concept that the pathogenesis of oxidative liver injury is regulated in part through altered hepatic methionine metabolism.
Lysosomal Leakage and Lack of Adaptation of Hepatoprotective Enzyme Contribute to Enhanced Susceptibility to Ethanol‐Induced Liver Injury in Female Rats
Authors: Donohue Terrence M. , Curry‐McCoy Tiana V. , Nanji Amin A. , Kharbanda Kusum K. , Osna Natalia A. , Radio Stanley J. , Todero Sandra L. , White Ronda L. , Casey Carol A. 
Published: September 2007

Background:  Women exhibit greater liver damage than men after chronic alcohol consumption. Similar findings are reported in animal models. Here, we determined whether differential liver injury occurred in male and female rats after feeding these animals liquid diets containing either ethanol or isocaloric dextrose with fish oil as the sole source of lipid.Methods:  Control and ethanol liquid diets containing fish oil were pair‐fed to male and female rats for 8 weeks. Liver damage was evaluated by triglyceride accumulation, lipid peroxide formation, serum transaminases, histological evaluation, and the activities of selected lysosomal and hepatoprotective enzymes.Results:  Fatty liver was detected after ethanol feeding in both genders, but in female rats, triglyceride levels were 60% higher, lipid peroxides were 2‐fold higher, and inflammatory cells were more evident than in males. A 2‐fold elevation of cathepsin B in hepatic cytosol fractions, indicating lysosomal leakage, was detected in ethanol‐fed female rats but no such elevation was observed in males. The basal activity of the hepatoprotective enzyme, betaine‐homocysteine methyltransferase was 4‐fold higher in livers of control male rats than females, and the enzyme activity was further elevated in ethanol‐fed male rats but not in females.Conclusions:  Thus, female rats given ethanol in a diet containing fish oil exhibited more severe liver damage than males. We propose that this difference results, in part, from a greater tendency by females to accumulate hepatic fat, thereby enhancing the potential for oxidative stress, which in turn leads to hepatic inflammation. In addition, our findings indicate that female rats have a higher susceptibility to liver damage because of a reduced capacity for hepatoprotection.
Electrical Isolation of the Superior Vena Cava: An Adjunctive Strategy to Pulmonary Vein Antrum Isolation Improving the Outcome of AF Ablation
Authors: ARRUDA MAURICIO , MLCOCHOVA HANKA , PRASAD SUBRAMANYA K. , KILICASLAN FETHI , SALIBA WALID , PATEL DIMPI , FAHMY TAMER , MORALES LUIS SAENZ , SCHWEIKERT ROBERT , MARTIN DAVID , BURKHARDT DAVID , CUMMINGS JENNIFER , BHARGAVA MANDEEP , DRESING THOMAS , WAZNI OUSSAMA , KANJ MOHAMED , NATALE ANDREA 
Published: September 2007

PV isolation at the antrum (PVAI) has improved safety and efficacy of ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation (AF). AF triggers from the superior vena cava (SVC) may compromise the outcome of PVAI. Purpose: We evaluated the (1) incidence of SVC triggers, (2) feasibility of empiric SVC electrical isolation (SVCI) as an adjunct to PVAI, and (3) SVCI safety. Methods and Results: Of 190  patients (group I), 24 (12%) showed SVC triggers. Following PVAI, seven patients had AT originating from the SVC and three had AF. After SVCI, all 24  patients were arrhythmia‐free 450 ± 180  days post procedure. In the subsequent 217  patients (group II), empirical SVCI was performed following PVAI. Sixty‐six of all 407  patients (16%) experienced recurrence of AF.  A repeat procedure in 25 of the 66  patients showed that five (20%) had AF recurrence initiated by SVC triggers, of whom four were among group I patients (4/190; 2%) and one was from group II (1/217; 0.4%), (P < 0.05). Transient diaphragmatic paralysis can be avoided by pacing at the lateral aspect of the SVC using high output (30  mA). There was no SVC stenosis on CT scans before or 3 months after the procedure. There was no sinus node injury. Conclusions: The SVC harbors the majority of non‐PV triggers of AF. SVCI is feasible, safe, and may be considered as an adjunctive strategy to PVAI for ablation of AF. The long‐term favorable outcome of this hybrid approach remains to be evaluated in a larger series of patients.