Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Sep 2013
Observational StudyImpact of lifetime alcohol use on liver fibrosis in a population of HIV-infected patients with and without hepatitis C coinfection.
The effect of alcohol on liver disease in HIV infection has not been well characterized. ⋯ In this cohort of HIV-infected patients with alcohol problems, we found no significant association between lifetime alcohol consumption and the absence of liver fibrosis or the presence of advanced liver fibrosis, suggesting that alcohol may be less important than other known factors that promote liver fibrosis in this population.
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Aug 2013
Activation of PPARγ by pioglitazone potentiates the effects of naltrexone on alcohol drinking and relapse in msP rats.
Pioglitazone is a selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) agonist used for the treatment of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Previous studies conducted in our laboratory showed that activation of PPARγ by pioglitazone reduces alcohol drinking, stress-induced relapse, and alcohol withdrawal syndrome in rats. Pioglitazone was not able to prevent relapse elicited by alcohol cues. Conversely, the nonselective opioid antagonist naltrexone has been shown to reduce alcohol drinking and cue- but not stress-induced relapse in rodents. ⋯ The drug combination was effective in reducing both relapse behaviors. These findings open new vistas in the use pioglitazone in combination with naltrexone for the treatment of alcoholism.
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Apr 2013
ReviewPrevention and therapy of alcohol withdrawal on intensive care units: systematic review of controlled trials.
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) occurs in 16 to 31% of intensive care unit (ICU) patients after cessation of sedation. There exist many preventive and therapeutic strategies, but no systematic review (SR) has been published on this topic so far. We aimed to perform a synopsis of all controlled trials of AWS prevention and therapy in ICU published between 1971 and 30 March 2011 following the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses" (PRISMA) statement. ⋯ Based on the evidence of this SR, EtOH or BZO can be advised for AWS prevention on ICU patients with alcohol dependence, but EtOH is not allowed for therapy of AWS. AWS therapy should be standardized and based on symptom-triggered BZO administration. Alpha2-agonists and haloperidol should be added for autonomic and productive psychotic symptoms.
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jan 2013
Adolescent rearing conditions influence the relationship between initial anxiety-like behavior and ethanol drinking in male Long Evans rats.
Rodent studies have demonstrated that adolescent social isolation results in many behavioral perturbations, including increases in anxiety-like behaviors. Socially isolated (SI) rats have also been shown to self-administer greater amounts ethanol (EtOH) in some, but not all, studies. Here, we tested whether juvenile social isolation increases EtOH drinking using an intermittent procedure that engenders relatively high intake in normally reared animals. We also compared the behavioral phenotype of rats reared under social isolation or group-housed conditions with adult rats housed under conditions commonly used in EtOH-drinking studies. ⋯ These data further support the validity of the rodent juvenile social isolation model for studies directed at elucidating behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms linking anxiety and EtOH drinking. These findings further suggest that housing conditions commonly employed in rodent drinking studies may recapitulate the anxiety-like and EtOH-drinking phenotype engendered by a juvenile social isolation procedure.
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jan 2013
Voluntary alcohol drinking enhances proopiomelanocortin gene expression in nucleus accumbens shell and hypothalamus of Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats.
Evidence obtained in humans and rodents indicates that beta-endorphin (encoded by the proopiomelanocortin [POMC] gene) is critical in the regulation of alcohol drinking behavior. However, the alcohol effect on POMC gene expression has not been studied in rodent mesolimbic regions, such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc). ⋯ Our results define the distribution of POMC-expressing neurons in the NAc of mice and rats. Higher POMC expression at basal levels in sP rats (genetically determined), along with increases after drinking (alcohol-induced) in the NAc shell and hypothalamus, suggests that the POMC systems play a role in high alcohol preference and consumption.