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Neuropsychology Review Sep 2007Alcoholism results from an interplay between genetic and environmental factors, and is linked to brain defects and associated cognitive, emotional, and behavioral... (Review)
Review
Alcoholism results from an interplay between genetic and environmental factors, and is linked to brain defects and associated cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impairments. A confluence of findings from neuroimaging, physiological, neuropathological, and neuropsychological studies of alcoholics indicate that the frontal lobes, limbic system, and cerebellum are particularly vulnerable to damage and dysfunction. An integrative approach employing a variety of neuroscientific technologies is essential for recognizing the interconnectivity of the different functional systems affected by alcoholism. In that way, relevant experimental techniques can be applied to assist in determining the degree to which abstinence and treatment contribute to the reversal of atrophy and dysfunction.
Topics: Alcoholism; Brain; Cognition Disorders
PubMed: 17874302
DOI: 10.1007/s11065-007-9038-6 -
Alcohol Research & Health : the Journal... 2000Animal models on alcohol preference have a long-standing tradition in biomedical research on alcoholism. However, these models allow only limited conclusions regarding... (Review)
Review
Animal models on alcohol preference have a long-standing tradition in biomedical research on alcoholism. However, these models allow only limited conclusions regarding alcohol addiction. Therefore, during the past 15 years, researchers have developed new animal models that mimic different aspects of human alcohol addiction, such as craving, relapse, and loss of control over drinking. These models include the reinstatement model, the alcohol deprivation model, and the point-of-no-return model. Some of these models have been pharmacologically validated with anti-craving compounds that are used clinically for treating alcoholics. The detailed behavioral characterization of these new models and their pharmacological validation also allow researchers to study the neurochemical and molecular bases of addictive behavior.
Topics: Alcoholism; Animals; Brain Chemistry; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Humans; Mice; Rats; Recurrence; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 11199279
DOI: No ID Found -
Alcohol Research & Health : the Journal... 2003This article describes the various forms of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), with particular emphasis on cirrhosis, the form of liver disease that often is most associated... (Review)
Review
This article describes the various forms of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), with particular emphasis on cirrhosis, the form of liver disease that often is most associated with alcohol abuse and about which the most information is available. Epidemiological research has evaluated the prevalence of ALD and the factors that often contribute to the disease. Although the most potent factor in ALD is the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, gender and ethnic differences also account for some important variations in rates of liver disease. Mortality rates from cirrhosis have declined in the United States and some other countries since the 1970s. A number of factors may have contributed to this decline, including increased participation in treatment for alcohol problems and Alcoholics Anonymous membership, decreases in alcohol consumption, and changes in the consumption of certain types of alcoholic beverages.
Topics: Alcoholism; Humans; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic
PubMed: 15535449
DOI: No ID Found -
Liver Transplantation : Official... Jul 2011Although alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the most common indications for liver transplantation (LT), there are still unresolved controversies about the goals of... (Review)
Review
Although alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the most common indications for liver transplantation (LT), there are still unresolved controversies about the goals of treatment, the referral, evaluation, and selection of patients with ALD for LT, and their care after LT. It is uncertain whether there is a large unmet need for LT among patients with ALD because of the unmeasured effects of recent drinking, relapse, and recovery with abstinence in this population. A careful assessment of the extrahepatic effects of alcohol-related end-organ damage is needed for ALD patients who are referred for an LT evaluation. Although there clearly is a relationship between the length of sobriety and future abstinence, the present methods for predicting future drinking are inexact. The survival of ALD patients after LT is as good as the survival of non-ALD patients, although patients with coincident ALD and hepatitis C virus have higher mortality and morbidity rates. After LT, ALD patients have an increased risk of developing malignancies and cardiovascular disease. These risks appear to be linked to cigarette smoking. Covert drinking occurs both before and after transplantation, and approximately 20% of patients return to harmful drinking after LT. Harmful drinking after LT (instead of slips) causes liver damage and reduces survival. Better therapies for controlling addictions to alcohol and nicotine are needed for ALD patients both before and after LT.
Topics: Adult; Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholics; Alcoholism; Humans; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic; Liver Transplantation; Middle Aged; Prognosis; Quality of Life; Recurrence; Risk; Smoking; Time Factors
PubMed: 21567894
DOI: 10.1002/lt.22330 -
Alcohol Research & Health : the Journal... 2003Many alcoholics are malnourished, either because they ingest too little of essential nutrients (e.g., carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins) or because alcohol and its... (Review)
Review
Many alcoholics are malnourished, either because they ingest too little of essential nutrients (e.g., carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins) or because alcohol and its metabolism prevent the body from properly absorbing, digesting, and using those nutrients. As a result, alcoholics frequently experience deficiencies in proteins and vitamins, particularly vitamin A, which may contribute to liver disease and other serious alcohol-related disorders. Furthermore, alcohol breakdown in the liver, both by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase and by an enzyme system called the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system (MEOS), generates toxic products such as acetaldehyde and highly reactive, and potentially damaging, oxygen-containing molecules. These products can interfere with the normal metabolism of other nutrients, particularly lipids, and contribute to liver cell damage. Nutritional approaches can help prevent or ameliorate alcoholic liver disease. For example, a complete balanced diet can compensate for general malnutrition. Administration of antioxidants (e.g., precursors of the endogenous antioxidant glutathione) can help the body eliminate reactive oxygen molecules and other reactive molecules generated from abnormal lipid breakdown. New agents currently are being studied as promising nutritional supplements for alcoholics with liver disease.
Topics: Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholism; Ethanol; Humans; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic; Malnutrition; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
PubMed: 15535450
DOI: No ID Found -
The American Journal of Medicine Feb 2017Alcohol is a leading cause of liver disease worldwide. Although alcohol abstinence is the crucial therapeutic goal for patients with alcoholic liver disease, these... (Review)
Review
Alcohol is a leading cause of liver disease worldwide. Although alcohol abstinence is the crucial therapeutic goal for patients with alcoholic liver disease, these patients have less access to psychosocial, behavioral, and/or pharmacologic treatments for alcohol use disorder. Psychosocial and behavioral therapies include 12-step facilitation, brief interventions, cognitive behavioral therapy, and motivational enhancement therapy. In addition to medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for alcohol use disorder (disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate), recent efforts to identify potential new treatments have yielded promising candidate pharmacotherapies. Finally, more efforts are needed to integrate treatments across disciplines toward patient-centered approaches in the management of patients with alcohol use disorder and alcoholic liver disease.
Topics: Alcoholism; Behavior Therapy; Disease Progression; Humans; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic
PubMed: 27984008
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2016.10.004 -
Public Health Reports (Washington, D.C.... 1988Alcoholism is an often overlooked health problem because alcoholics usually do not seek treatment for their drinking problems. They do, however, seek general medical... (Review)
Review
Alcoholism is an often overlooked health problem because alcoholics usually do not seek treatment for their drinking problems. They do, however, seek general medical care for other health reasons, and a number of screening techniques have proven useful for identifying alcoholics. The advantages and disadvantages of self-report, as well as biochemical techniques that have been found effective in screening for alcoholism, are discussed. We recommend that future research be aimed at developing quick, accurate, and inexpensive screening devices that also can evaluate the severity of the alcohol problem. Ideally, screening procedures would discourage feigned responses, differentiate between drinking and consequences of drinking, and permit the identification of subtypes of alcoholics. Better understanding of the types of errors made by common screening instruments would enable researchers to construct an optimal sequencing strategy for screening for alcoholism.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Alcoholism; Biomarkers; Humans; MMPI; Psychological Tests; Research; Self-Assessment
PubMed: 3141951
DOI: No ID Found -
Alcohol Health and Research World 1997Alcohol has numerous adverse effects on the various types of blood cells and their functions. For example, heavy alcohol consumption can cause generalized suppression of... (Review)
Review
Alcohol has numerous adverse effects on the various types of blood cells and their functions. For example, heavy alcohol consumption can cause generalized suppression of blood cell production and the production of structurally abnormal blood cell precursors that cannot mature into functional cells. Alcoholics frequently have defective red blood cells that are destroyed prematurely, possibly resulting in anemia. Alcohol also interferes with the production and function of white blood cells, especially those that defend the body against invading bacteria. Consequently, alcoholics frequently suffer from bacterial infections. Finally, alcohol adversely affects the platelets and other components of the blood-clotting system. Heavy alcohol consumption thus may increase the drinker's risk of suffering a stroke.
Topics: Alcoholism; Animals; Ethanol; Hematologic Diseases; Humans
PubMed: 15706762
DOI: No ID Found -
Addiction Biology Mar 2018Chronic alcoholism is associated with widespread regional differences from controls in brain activity and connectivity dynamics measured by blood-oxygen-level-dependent...
Chronic alcoholism is associated with widespread regional differences from controls in brain activity and connectivity dynamics measured by blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals. Identification of alcoholism-related neurofunctional power dynamics using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that relate to cognition and behavior may serve as biomarkers of alcoholism. Previously, resting-state fMRI studies examined BOLD signals at a single low-frequency (LF) bandwidth. BOLD signals, however, oscillate systematically at different frequencies and are organized in a resting brain where LF oscillation facilitates long-distance communication between regions across cortical regions, whereas high-frequency (HF) oscillation occurs in closely localized, subcortical areas. Using a frequency power quantification approach, we investigated whether the organization of BOLD signal oscillations across all measured frequency bandwidths is altered in alcoholism and relates to cognitive performance. Frequency-dependent oscillation power differences between 56 sober alcoholics and 56 healthy controls occurred for all frequency bands. Alcoholics exhibited greater frequency oscillation power in the orbitofrontal cortex and less power in the posterior insula within the HF bandwidth than controls. Aberrant orbitofrontal HF power was associated with poorer memory performance and slower psychomotor speed in alcoholics. Middle-frequency and LF power proved sensitive in detecting altered frequency oscillation dynamics in parietal and postcentral cortical regions of alcoholics. This study is novel in identifying alcohol-related differences in BOLD oscillation power of the full fMRI frequency bandwidth. Specifically, HF power aberrations were associated with poorer cognitive functioning in alcoholism and may serve as a biomarker for identifying neural targets for repair.
Topics: Adult; Alcoholism; Brain; Case-Control Studies; Cerebral Cortex; Cognition; Female; Functional Neuroimaging; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Prefrontal Cortex
PubMed: 28699704
DOI: 10.1111/adb.12532 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2020Brief alcohol interventions are an effective strategy for reducing harmful and risky alcohol use and misuse. Many effective brief alcohol interventions include... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Review
Brief alcohol interventions are an effective strategy for reducing harmful and risky alcohol use and misuse. Many effective brief alcohol interventions include information and advice about an individual's alcohol use, changing their use, and assistance in developing strategies and goals to help reduce their use. Emerging research suggests that brief interventions can also be expanded to address multiple health outcomes; recognizing that the flexible nature of these approaches can be helpful in tailoring information to specific population groups. This scoping review synthesizes evidence on the inclusion of sex and gender in brief alcohol interventions on college campuses, highlighting available evidence on gender responsiveness in these interventions. Furthermore, this scoping review offers strategies on how brief alcohol interventions can be gender transformative, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions as harm reduction and prevention strategies, and in promoting gender equity.
Topics: Adult; Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholics; Counseling; Female; Harm Reduction; Humans; Male; Sex Factors; Students; United States; Universities; Young Adult
PubMed: 31936091
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17020396