Alcohol
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The intestine is segmented into functionally discrete compartments (duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon). The present study examined whether alcohol combined with burn injury differently influences cytokine levels in different parts of the intestine. Male mice were gavaged with alcohol (∼2.9 g/kg) 4 h prior to receiving a ∼12.5% total body surface area full thickness burn. ⋯ There was a ∼7-fold increase in IL-6 levels in the colon as compared with the duodenum after the combined insult. Levels of IL-18 were increased by ∼1.5-fold in the colon as compared to the ileum following alcohol and burn injury. The data suggest that pro-inflammatory mediators are differentially expressed in the intestine following alcohol and burn injury.
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Neurodegenerative and inflammatory processes are involved separately in major depression (MD) and alcohol-use disorders (AUD). Little is known about the nature of this relationship in the context of comorbid AUD and depression disorders. In this study, we determined brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) serum levels in patients with AUD and tested whether BDNF levels were related to history of major depression, recent depressive symptoms, AUD severity, and TNF-α and IL-6 levels. ⋯ In particular, TNF-α levels were predictive of BDNF levels after controlling for confounders (B=0.3 [95% CI=0.2-0.5], p<0.001). These findings show that in alcohol-using populations, peripheral BDNF levels are related to severity of AUD as well as presence of depressive symptoms. The significant associations between inflammatory and neurotrophic factors may have implications for neuroadaptive changes during recovery from AUD.