Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
-
Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jan 2013
Meta AnalysisA meta-analysis on the impact of alcohol dependence on short-term resting-state heart rate variability: implications for cardiovascular risk.
Alcohol dependence is associated with an increased likelihood of cardiac events. Reductions in heart rate variability (HRV) may be one mechanism linking dependence with these events. HRV may also be related to poor social functioning and the lack of impulse control commonly observed in alcohol-dependent individuals. However, prior studies on the impact of alcohol dependence on HRV have reported contradictory findings highlighting the need for a meta-analysis. ⋯ Alcohol dependence is associated with reduced HRV, an effect associated with a medium effect size. Findings highlight the importance of monitoring alcohol-dependent patients for cardiac disease and emphasize the need for cardiovascular risk reduction strategies in these patients.
-
Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jan 2013
Subjective response to alcohol among alcohol-dependent individuals: effects of the μ-opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene and alcoholism severity.
Subjective response to alcohol has been examined as a marker of alcoholism risk. The A118G single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene has been previously associated with subjective response to alcohol in heavy drinkers. This study seeks to extend the literature by examining the effect of OPRM1 genotype on responses to alcohol in a sample of alcohol-dependent individuals. A secondary aim of this study is to examine alcoholism severity as a predictor of subjective responses to alcohol. ⋯ These results support the hypothesis that OPRM1 genotype moderates the hedonic effects of alcohol, but not the sedative and unpleasant effects of alcohol, in a sample of alcohol-dependent patients. Results are discussed in light of a clinical neuroscience framework to alcoholism.
-
Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jan 2013
Scientific publications and research groups on alcohol consumption and related problems worldwide: authorship analysis of papers indexed in PubMed and Scopus databases (2005 to 2009).
The research of alcohol consumption-related problems is a multidisciplinary field. The aim of this study is to analyze the worldwide scientific production in the area of alcohol-drinking and alcohol-related problems from 2005 to 2009. ⋯ Research on alcohol is a consolidated field, with an average of 4,820 documents published each year between 2005 and 2009 in MEDLINE and Scopus. Alcohol-related publications have a marked multidisciplinary nature. Collaboration was common among alcohol researchers. There is an underrepresentation of alcohol-related publications in languages other than English and from developing countries, in MEDLINE and Scopus databases.
-
Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Dec 2012
Association between alcohol screening scores and mortality in black, Hispanic, and white male veterans.
Scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test Consumption (AUDIT-C) questionnaire are associated with mortality, but whether or how associations vary across race/ethnicity is unknown. ⋯ Among male VA outpatients, associations between alcohol screening scores and mortality varied significantly depending on race/ethnicity. Findings could be integrated into systems with automated risk calculators to provide demographically tailored feedback regarding medical consequences of drinking.
-
Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Oct 2012
Comparative StudyComparison of the effect of the GABAΒ receptor agonist, baclofen, and the positive allosteric modulator of the GABAB receptor, GS39783, on alcohol self-administration in 3 different lines of alcohol-preferring rats.
Administration of the GABA(B) receptor agonist, baclofen, and positive allosteric modulator, GS39783, has been repeatedly reported to suppress multiple alcohol-related behaviors, including operant oral alcohol self-administration, in rats. This study was designed to compare the effect of baclofen and GS39783 on alcohol self-administration in 3 lines of selectively bred, alcohol-preferring rats: Indiana alcohol-preferring (P), Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP), and Alko Alcohol (AA). ⋯ These results suggest that: (i) the strength of the reinforcing and motivational properties of alcohol differ among P, sP, and AA rats; (ii) the reinforcing and motivational properties of alcohol in P, sP, and AA rats are differentially sensitive to treatment with baclofen and GS39783; (iii) the heterogeneity in sensitivity to baclofen and GS39783 of alcohol self-administration in P, sP, and AA rats may resemble the differential effectiveness of pharmacotherapies among the different typologies of human alcoholics; and (iv) the GABA(B) receptor is part of the neural substrate mediating the reinforcing and motivational properties of alcohol.