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The contribution of impaired degradative processes to the cellular changes occurring in the brain as a consequence of chronic ethanol exposure was assessed. Male Wistar rats were fed nutritionally adequate liquid diets containing ethanol as 35% of total dietary calories. Controls were pair-fed identical amounts of the same diet in which ethanol was replaced by isocaloric glucose. The results showed...
In a recent study, the mismatch negativity (MMN) component of auditory event-related potential, elicited by occasional frequency changes in a repetitive tone, was strongly attenuated by a low dosage of alcohol. We investigated the phenomenon in nine subjects with two different dosages of ethanol (0.35 and 0.55 g/kg), and with two magnitudes of frequency changes (5% and 10%), in a single-blind, placebo-controlled...
In large-scale epidemiologic studies of drinking behavior there is a need for simple and reliable estimates of the body water compartment of subjects. This, in turn, provides an estimate of the volume of distribution of ingested ethanol and a better estimate of tissue exposure levels than the use of total body weight as the volume of distribution for alcohol. The volume of distribution for ethanol...
To investigate the androgen, weak androgen, estrogen, and gonadotrophin response to clomiphene in alcoholics, we determined in 63 male patients (25 with and 38 without liver cirrhosis) serum testosterone, sexual hormone binding protein (SHBG), dehidroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, LH, FSH, prolactin, and estradiol levels, on the first and the sixth day after admission, and after a course of 8 days...
Alcohol consumption as a cofactor in the progression of HIV infection was examined in 1446 homosexual and bisexual HIV + men enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study who had a minimum of three visits. Two measures of drinking were employed: initial level, and pattern during the study period. Outcome measures included AIDS-related symptoms and AIDS diagnosis. Level of drinking at entry to the...
The effects of diphenylhydantoin [phenytoin (PHT)] on both the acute withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and the asthenic-autonomic syndrome associated with chronic alcoholism were evaluated in a single-blind, controlled, clinical, and comprehensive multiparameter psychophysiological and neurophysiological study. Twenty-four patients were treated with PHT (100 mg, PO, tid) and our standard detoxification therapy...
The effect of prolonged (72 h) ethanol (200 mM) exposure on the labeling of L-type (using tritiated PN 200-110) and N-type (using iodinated ω-conotoxin) voltage-dependent calcium channels was investigated in cultured NG 108-15 cells. In undifferentiated cells ethanol produced an 80% increase in PN 200-110 B max and no changes in ω-conotoxin binding. Differentiation had a profound...
The ethanol-induced impairment of rotarod and accelerod performances has been investigated in rats. Ethanol (7.2%, v/v) was given orally ad lib to rats in a modified liquid diet for 15 days. Rotarod and accelerod performances were recorded before and at the 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 15th days of ethanol intake. The daily ethanol consumption of the rats ranged from 12.03 to 16.4 g/kg. Mean blood ethanol...
The acetaldehyde (AcH) oxidizing capacity of total brain homogenates from the genetically high-ethanol consumer (UChB) appeared to be greater than that of the low-ethanol consumer (UChA) rats. To gain further information about this strain difference, the activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH) in different subcellular fractions of whole brain homogenates from naive UChA and UChB rat strains of...
Selectively bred high- and low-alcohol-drinking (HAD/LAD) rats were trained to discriminate the interoceptive stimuli produced by IP-administered 600 mg/kg ethanol (10% w/v) in a two-lever, food-motivated operant task. Once criterion discrimination was attained, animals were tested with 3.0, 1.5, 1.0, and 0.5 mg/kg MDMA. Although no differences in alcohol discrimination were observed between the...
Recent findings suggest that a genetic deficit in opioids may be a biological marker of alcoholism. In other words, decreased plasma concentrations of opioids may be a predisposing factor, rather than a consequence, of alcohol consumption. We attempted to classify 88 randomly chosen individuals as alcoholics or nonalcoholics on the basis of plasma concentration of β- endorphins. This criterion...
The monosialoganglioside, GM1, protects the nervous system against a variety of insults. In this study, we evaluated the protective properties of GM1 on ethanol intoxication and development of dependence. GM1 (20-40 mg/kg, IP) reduced the extent and duration of ataxia produced by ethanol (2 g/kg, IP, 15-95 min), and delayed the onset of loss and reduced the duration of the righting reflex (LORR)...
The present studies examined the development of ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion in C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) mice with a history of ethanol preexposure. In Experiment 1, adult male B6 and D2 mice received four preexposure injections of either saline or 4 g/kg ethanol over an 8-day period. After preexposure, all mice were given five conditioning trials consisting of 1-h access to 0...
We investigated the possible relation between the endogenous opioid system and acute alcoholic intoxication in 21 subjects, of whom 13 were drinkers who came to the emergency service with evident symptoms of drunkenness, and 8 were nondrinkers who consumed 1 g alcohol per kg body weight over a short period. Different patterns of changes were found in the two groups for plasma concentrations of β-endorphin...
Alcohol abuse is associated with the loss of immunocompetence, which leads to decreasing resistance to infections. No single mechanism can be accountable for the detrimental effects of alcohol on the body's defense mechanism. We present data demonstrating that, in cultured lymphocytes, 10-40 mM alcohol in the media caused 18-90% decrease in cell mitosis (p < 0.001). There was a linear decrease...
Previous studies of the relationship between the endogenous opioid system and alcohol consumption have reported contradictory results. To shed light on this connection, we compared plasma concentrations of β-endorphin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and cortisol in 70 alcoholic persons after different periods of abstinence and a group of 80 control subjects. Plasma β-endorphin was decreased in alcoholics...
To examine the effects of dopamine (DA) on alcohol consumption, male Wistar rats were subjected either to 6-OHDA lesions of the frontal cortex (MPFC) or to a sham lesion/no lesion. Following surgery, rats were trained to drink alcohol on a sucrose-fading paradigm over the course of 6 weeks, at the completion of which they consumed a solution of 3% sucrose/10% alcohol. Daily consumption of alcohol...
A double blind cross-over design trial was carried out to investigate the effect of simultaneous administration of alcohol (0.5 g/kg) and ritanserin (10 mg) on biological and behavioral functioning. Twenty healthy volunteers were selected to participate in the study. To assess the effect of treatments the following evaluations were performed: psychomotor tests, vital signs, intoxication, euphoria,...
Male mice with free access to food, water, and alcohol for 44 weeks were deprived of alcohol for 3 days and then segregated into two groups having (HD) and lacking (LD) the alcohol deprivation-induced elevation in intake. On week 47, the HD and LD groups (divided into subgroups matched for drinking) received either vehicle or piracetam (400 mg/kg) for 10 days. On the last treatment day, alcohol was...
Animal studies suggest that the endogenous opioid systems in the brain play an important role in the initiation and maintenance of drug dependence. Opioids in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) may be involved in rewarded behaviors and, consequently, in the initiation of drug self-administration that may be associated with addiction proneness. Opioids in the limbic forebrain are particularly implicated...
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