F4+ enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) adhesion mediated by the major fimbrial subunit FaeG.

PubMed

Xia, Pengpeng; Song, Yujie; Zou, Yajie; Yang, Ying; Zhu, Guoqiang

2015-09-01

The FaeG subunit is the major constituent of F4(+) fimbriae, associated with glycoprotein and/or glycolipid receptor recognition and majorly contributes to the pathogen attachment to the host cells. To investigate the key factor involved in the fimbrial binding of F4(+) Escherichia coli, both the recombinant E. coli SE5000 strains carrying the fae operon gene clusters that express the different types of fimbriae in vitro, named as rF4ab, rF4ac, and rF4ad, respectively, corresponding to the fimbrial types F4ab, F4ac, and F4ad, and the three isogenic in-frame faeG gene deletion mutants were constructed. The adhesion assays and adhesion inhibition assays showed that ΔfaeG mutants had a significant reduction in the binding to porcine brush border as well as the intestinal epithelial cell lines, while the complemented strain ΔfaeG/pfaeG restored the adhesion function. The recombinant bacterial strains rF4ab, rF4ac, and rF4ad have the same binding property as wild-type F4(+) E. coli strains do and improvement in terms of binding to porcine brush border and the intestinal epithelial cells, and the adherence was blocked by the monoclonal antibody anti-F4 fimbriae. These data demonstrate that the fimbrial binding of F4(+) E. coli is directly mediated by the major FaeG subunit. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Evolutionary Pattern of the FAE1 Gene in Brassicaceae and Its Correlation with the Erucic Acid Trait

PubMed Central

Li, Mimi; Peng, Bin; Guo, Haisong; Yan, Qinqin; Hang, Yueyu

2013-01-01

The fatty acid elongase 1 (FAE1) gene catalyzes the initial condensation step in the elongation pathway of VLCFA (very long chain fatty acid) biosynthesis and is thus a key gene in erucic acid biosynthesis. Based on a worldwide collection of 62 accessions representing 14 tribes, 31 genera, 51 species, 4 subspecies and 7 varieties, we conducted a phylogenetic reconstruction and correlation analysis between genetic variations in the FAE1 gene and the erucic acid trait, attempting to gain insight into the evolutionary patterns and the correlations between genetic variations in FAE1 and trait variations. The five clear, deeply diverged clades detected in the phylogenetic reconstruction are largely congruent with a previous multiple gene-derived phylogeny. The Ka/Ks ratio (<1) and overall low level of nucleotide diversity in the FAE1 gene suggest that purifying selection is the major evolutionary force acting on this gene. Sequence variations in FAE1 show a strong correlation with the content of erucic acid in seeds, suggesting a causal link between the two. Furthermore, we detected 16 mutations that were fixed between the low and high phenotypes of the FAE1 gene, which constitute candidate active sites in this gene for altering the content of erucic acid in seeds. Our findings begin to shed light on the evolutionary pattern of this important gene and represent the first step in elucidating how the sequence variations impact the production of erucic acid in plants. PMID:24358289

Determination of fatty alcohol ethoxylates and alkylether sulfates by anionic exchange separation, derivatization with a cyclic anhydride and liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Beneito-Cambra, M; Ripoll-Seguer, L; Herrero-Martínez, J M; Simó-Alfonso, E F; Ramis-Ramos, G

2011-11-25

A method for the separation, characterization and determination of fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAE) and alkylether sulfates (AES) in industrial and environmental samples is described. Separation of the two surfactant classes was achieved in a 50:50 methanol-water medium by retaining AES on a strong anionic exchanger (SAX) whereas most FAE were eluted. After washing the SAX cartridges to remove cations, the residual hydrophobic FAE were eluted by increasing methanol to 80%. Finally, AES were eluted using 80:20 and 95:5 methanol-concentrated aqueous HCl mixtures. Methanol and water were removed from the FAE and AES fractions, and the residues were dissolved in 1,4-dioxane. In this medium, esterification of FAE and transesterification of AES with a cyclic anhydride was performed. Phthalic and diphenic anhydrides were used to derivatizate the surfactants in industrial samples and seawater extracts, respectively. Separation of the derivatized oligomers was achieved by gradient elution on a C8 column with acetonitrile/water in the presence of 0.1% acetic acid. Good resolution between both the hydrocarbon series and the successive oligomers within the series was achieved. Cross-contamination of FAE with AES and vice versa was not observed. Using dodecyl alcohol as calibration standard, and correction of the peak areas of the derivatized oligomers by their respective UV-vis response factors, both FAE and AES were evaluated. After solid-phase extraction on C18, the proposed method was successfully applied to the characterization and determination of the two surfactant classes in industrial samples and in seawater. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fimbrial subunit protein FaeG expressed in transgenic tobacco inhibits the binding of F4ac enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli to porcine enterocytes.

PubMed

Joensuu, Jussi J; Kotiaho, Mirkka; Riipi, Tero; Snoeck, Veerle; Palva, E Tapio; Teeri, Teemu H; Lång, Hannu; Cox, Eric; Goddeeris, Bruno M; Niklander-Teeri, Viola

2004-06-01

Plants offer a promising alternative for the production of foreign proteins for pharmaceutical purposes in tissues that are consumed as food and/or feed. Our long-term strategy is to develop edible vaccines against piglet diarrhoea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (F4 ETEC) in feed plants. In this work, we isolated a gene, faeG, encoding for a major F4ac fimbrial subunit protein. Our goal was to test whether the FaeG protein, when isolated from its fimbrial background and produced in a plant cell, would retain the key properties of an oral vaccine, that is, stability in gastrointestinal conditions, binding to intestinal receptors and inhibition of the F4 ETEC attachment. For this purpose, tobacco was first transformed with a faeG construct that included a transit peptide encoding sequence to target the FaeG protein to the chloroplast. The best transgenic lines produced FaeG protein in amounts of 1% total soluble protein. The stability of the plant-produced FaeG was tested in fluids simulating piglet gastric (SGF) and intestinal (SIF) conditions. Plant-produced FaeG proved to be stable up to 2 h under these conditions. The binding and inhibition properties were tested with isolated piglet villi. These results showed that the plant-produced FaeG could bind to the receptors on the villi and subsequently inhibit F4 ETEC binding in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, the first two prerequisites for the development of an oral vaccine have been met.

Assessment of FAE1 polymorphisms in three Brassica species using EcoTILLING and their association with differences in seed erucic acid contents

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background FAE1 (fatty acid elongase1) is the key gene in the control of erucic acid synthesis in seeds of Brassica species. Due to oil with low erucic acid (LEA) content is essential for human health and not enough LEA resource could be available, thus new LEA genetic resources are being sought for Brassica breeding. EcoTILLING, a powerful genotyping method, can readily be used to identify polymorphisms in Brassica. Results Seven B. rapa, nine B. oleracea and 101 B. napus accessions were collected for identification of FAE1 polymorphisms. Three polymorphisms were detected in the two FAE1 paralogues of B. napus using EcoTILLING and were found to be strongly associated with differences in the erucic acid contents of seeds. In genomic FAE1 sequences obtained from seven B. rapa accessions, one SNP in the coding region was deduced to cause loss of gene function. Molecular evolution analysis of FAE1 homologues showed that the relationship between the Brassica A and C genomes is closer than that between the A/C genomes and Arabidopsis genome. Alignment of the coding sequences of these FAE1 homologues indicated that 18 SNPs differed between the A and C genomes and could be used as genome-specific markers in Brassica. Conclusion This study showed the applicability of EcoTILLING for detecting gene polymorphisms in Brassica. The association between B. napus FAE1 polymorphisms and the erucic acid contents of seeds may provide useful guidance for LEA breeding. The discovery of the LEA resource in B. rapa can be exploited in Brasscia cultivation. PMID:20594317

Assessment of FAE1 polymorphisms in three Brassica species using EcoTILLING and their association with differences in seed erucic acid contents.

PubMed

Wang, Nian; Shi, Lei; Tian, Fang; Ning, Huicai; Wu, Xiaoming; Long, Yan; Meng, Jinling

2010-07-01

FAE1 (fatty acid elongase1) is the key gene in the control of erucic acid synthesis in seeds of Brassica species. Due to oil with low erucic acid (LEA) content is essential for human health and not enough LEA resource could be available, thus new LEA genetic resources are being sought for Brassica breeding. EcoTILLING, a powerful genotyping method, can readily be used to identify polymorphisms in Brassica. Seven B. rapa, nine B. oleracea and 101 B. napus accessions were collected for identification of FAE1 polymorphisms. Three polymorphisms were detected in the two FAE1 paralogues of B. napus using EcoTILLING and were found to be strongly associated with differences in the erucic acid contents of seeds. In genomic FAE1 sequences obtained from seven B. rapa accessions, one SNP in the coding region was deduced to cause loss of gene function. Molecular evolution analysis of FAE1 homologues showed that the relationship between the Brassica A and C genomes is closer than that between the A/C genomes and Arabidopsis genome. Alignment of the coding sequences of these FAE1 homologues indicated that 18 SNPs differed between the A and C genomes and could be used as genome-specific markers in Brassica. This study showed the applicability of EcoTILLING for detecting gene polymorphisms in Brassica. The association between B. napus FAE1 polymorphisms and the erucic acid contents of seeds may provide useful guidance for LEA breeding. The discovery of the LEA resource in B. rapa can be exploited in Brasscia cultivation.

Oral immunization of mice with plant-derived fimbrial adhesin FaeG induces systemic and mucosal K88ad enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-specific immune responses.

PubMed

Liang, Wanqi; Huang, Yahong; Yang, Xinghong; Zhou, Zhiai; Pan, Aihu; Qian, Bingjun; Huang, Cheng; Chen, Jianxiu; Zhang, Dabing

2006-04-01

The importance of adhesins in pathogenicity has resulted in them being useful targets in the defense against bacterial infections. To produce edible vaccines against piglet diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), plants were genetically engineered to produce recombinant fimbrial adhesin FaeG. To evaluate the efficacy of the edible vaccine FaeG in mice, the soluble protein extracts were examined by about 15 microg recombinant FaeG for each oral immunization dose per mouse. After four doses of vaccination, both IgG and IgA antibodies specific to K88ad fimbriae were elicited in serum, and specific IgA antibodies were also evoked in feces of the immunized mice. Moreover, visible K88ad ETEC agglutination by the specific serum from the immunized mice was observed, implying the antibody was highly specific and effective. Results from an in vitro villous-adhesion assay further confirmed that serum antibodies of the immunized mice could inhibit K88ad ETEC from adhering to pig intestinal receptors, further demonstrating the oral immune efficacy of the plant-derived FaeG. This study provides a promising, noninvasive method for vaccinating swine by feeding supplements of transgenic plant. Moreover, the low cost and ease of delivery of this edible ETEC vaccine will facilitate its application in economically disadvantaged regions.

Immunogenicity of recombinant Lactobacillus casei-expressing F4 (K88) fimbrial adhesin FaeG in conjunction with a heat-labile enterotoxin A (LTAK63) and heat-labile enterotoxin B (LTB) of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli as an oral adjuvant in mice.

PubMed

Yu, M; Qi, R; Chen, C; Yin, J; Ma, S; Shi, W; Wu, Y; Ge, J; Jiang, Y; Tang, L; Xu, Y; Li, Y

2017-02-01

The aims of this study were to develop an effective oral vaccine against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infection and to design new and more versatile mucosal adjuvants. Genetically engineered Lactobacillus casei strains expressing F4 (K88) fimbrial adhesin FaeG (rLpPG-2-FaeG) and either co-expressing heat-labile enterotoxin A (LTA) subunit with an amino acid mutation associated with reduced virulence (LTAK63) and a heat-labile enterotoxin B (LTB) subunit of E. coli (rLpPG-2-LTAK63-co-LTB) or fused-expressing LTAK63 and LTB (rLpPG-2-LTAK63-fu-LTB) were constructed. The immunogenicity of rLpPG-2-FaeG in conjunction with rLpPG-2-LTAK63-co-LTB or rLpPG-2-LTAK63-fu-LTB as an orally administered mucosal adjuvant in mice was evaluated. Results showed that the levels of FaeG-specific serum IgG and mucosal sIgA, as well as the proliferation of lymphocytes, were significantly higher in mice orally co-administered rLpPG-2-FaeG and rLpPG-2-LTAK63-fu-LTB compared with those administered rLpPG-2-FaeG alone, and were lower than those co-administered rLpPG-2-FaeG and rLpPG-2-LTAK63-co-LTB. Moreover, effective protection was observed after challenge with F4+ ETEC strain CVCC 230 in mice co-administered rLpPG-2-FaeG and rLpPG-2-LTAK63-co-LTB or rLpPG-2-FaeG and rLpPG-2-LTAK63-fu-LTB group compared with those that received rLpPG-2-FaeG alone. rLpPG-2-FaeG showed greater immunogenicity in combination with LTAK63 and LTB as molecular adjuvants. Recombinant Lactobacillus provides a promising platform for the development of vaccines against F4+ ETEC infection. © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Affects Progenitor Cell Numbers in Olfactory Bulbs and Dentate Gyrus of Vervet Monkeys.

PubMed

Burke, Mark W; Inyatkin, Alexey; Ptito, Maurice; Ervin, Frank R; Palmour, Roberta M

2016-10-27

Fetal alcohol exposure (FAE) alters hippocampal cell numbers in rodents and primates, and this may be due, in part, to a reduction in the number or migration of neuronal progenitor cells. The olfactory bulb exhibits substantial postnatal cellular proliferation and a rapid turnover of newly formed cells in the rostral migratory pathway, while production and migration of postnatal neurons into the dentate gyrus may be more complex. The relatively small size of the olfactory bulb, compared to the hippocampus, potentially makes this structure ideal for a rapid analysis. This study used the St. Kitts vervet monkey ( Chlorocebus sabeus ) to (1) investigate the normal developmental sequence of post-natal proliferation in the olfactory bulb and dentate gyrus and (2) determine the effects of naturalistic prenatal ethanol exposure on proliferation at three different ages (neonate, five months and two years). Using design-based stereology, we found an age-related decrease of actively proliferating cells in the olfactory bulb and dentate gyrus for both control and FAE groups. Furthermore, at the neonatal time point, the FAE group had fewer actively proliferating cells as compared to the control group. These data are unique with respect to fetal ethanol effects on progenitor proliferation in the primate brain and suggest that the olfactory bulb may be a useful structure for studies of cellular proliferation.

Evolution of the feruloyl esterase MtFae1a from Myceliophthora thermophila towards improved catalysts for antioxidants synthesis.

PubMed

Varriale, Simona; Cerullo, Gabriella; Antonopoulou, Io; Christakopoulos, Paul; Rova, Ulrika; Tron, Thierry; Fauré, Régis; Jütten, Peter; Piechot, Alexander; Brás, Joana L A; Fontes, Carlos M G A; Faraco, Vincenza

2018-06-01

The chemical syntheses currently employed for industrial purposes, including in the manufacture of cosmetics, present limitations such as unwanted side reactions and the need for harsh chemical reaction conditions. In order to overcome these drawbacks, novel enzymes are developed to catalyze the targeted bioconversions. In the present study, a methodology for the construction and the automated screening of evolved variants library of a Type B feruloyl esterase from Myceliophthora thermophila (MtFae1a) was developed and applied to generation of 30,000 mutants and their screening for selecting the variants with higher activity than the wild-type enzyme. The library was generated by error-prone PCR of mtfae1a cDNA and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Screening for extracellular enzymatic activity towards 4-nitrocatechol-1-yl ferulate, a new substrate developed ad hoc for high-throughput assays of feruloyl esterases, led to the selection of 30 improved enzyme variants. The best four variants and the wild-type MtFae1a were investigated in docking experiments with hydroxycinnamic acid esters using a model of 3D structure of MtFae1a. These variants were also used as biocatalysts in transesterification reactions leading to different target products in detergentless microemulsions and showed enhanced synthetic activities, although the screening strategy had been based on improved hydrolytic activity.

The Effectiveness of Peer-Led FAS/FAE Prevention Presentations in Middle and High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boulter, Lyn

2007-01-01

Pregnant women and women who might become pregnant, including middle school- and high school-age adolescents, continue to consume alcohol, placing themselves at risk of having a child with the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure. However, most prevention programs that attempt to increase public awareness and knowledge of FAS and related disorders…

The Aspergillus niger faeB gene encodes a second feruloyl esterase involved in pectin and xylan degradation and is specifically induced in the presence of aromatic compounds.

PubMed

de Vries, Ronald P; vanKuyk, Patricia A; Kester, Harry C M; Visser, Jaap

2002-04-15

The faeB gene encoding a second feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger has been cloned and characterized. It consists of an open reading frame of 1644 bp containing one intron. The gene encodes a protein of 521 amino acids that has sequence similarity to that of an Aspergillus oryzae tannase. However, the encoded enzyme, feruloyl esterase B (FAEB), does not have tannase activity. Comparison of the physical characteristics and substrate specificity of FAEB with those of a cinnamoyl esterase from A. niger [Kroon, Faulds and Williamson (1996) Biotechnol. Appl. Biochem. 23, 255-262] suggests that they are in fact the same enzyme. The expression of faeB is specifically induced in the presence of certain aromatic compounds, but not in the presence of other constituents present in plant-cell-wall polysaccharides such as arabinoxylan or pectin. The expression profile of faeB in the presence of aromatic compounds was compared with the expression of A. niger faeA, encoding feruloyl esterase A (FAEA), and A. niger bphA, the gene encoding a benzoate-p-hydroxylase. All three genes have different subsets of aromatic compounds that induce their expression, indicating the presence of different transcription activating systems in A. niger that respond to aromatic compounds. Comparison of the activity of FAEA and FAEB on sugar-beet pectin and wheat arabinoxylan demonstrated that they are both involved in the degradation of both polysaccharides, but have opposite preferences for these substrates. FAEA is more active than FAEB towards wheat arabinoxylan, whereas FAEB is more active than FAEA towards sugar-beet pectin.

The Aspergillus niger faeB gene encodes a second feruloyl esterase involved in pectin and xylan degradation and is specifically induced in the presence of aromatic compounds.

PubMed Central

de Vries, Ronald P; vanKuyk, Patricia A; Kester, Harry C M; Visser, Jaap

2002-01-01

The faeB gene encoding a second feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger has been cloned and characterized. It consists of an open reading frame of 1644 bp containing one intron. The gene encodes a protein of 521 amino acids that has sequence similarity to that of an Aspergillus oryzae tannase. However, the encoded enzyme, feruloyl esterase B (FAEB), does not have tannase activity. Comparison of the physical characteristics and substrate specificity of FAEB with those of a cinnamoyl esterase from A. niger [Kroon, Faulds and Williamson (1996) Biotechnol. Appl. Biochem. 23, 255-262] suggests that they are in fact the same enzyme. The expression of faeB is specifically induced in the presence of certain aromatic compounds, but not in the presence of other constituents present in plant-cell-wall polysaccharides such as arabinoxylan or pectin. The expression profile of faeB in the presence of aromatic compounds was compared with the expression of A. niger faeA, encoding feruloyl esterase A (FAEA), and A. niger bphA, the gene encoding a benzoate-p-hydroxylase. All three genes have different subsets of aromatic compounds that induce their expression, indicating the presence of different transcription activating systems in A. niger that respond to aromatic compounds. Comparison of the activity of FAEA and FAEB on sugar-beet pectin and wheat arabinoxylan demonstrated that they are both involved in the degradation of both polysaccharides, but have opposite preferences for these substrates. FAEA is more active than FAEB towards wheat arabinoxylan, whereas FAEB is more active than FAEA towards sugar-beet pectin. PMID:11931668

Alaska Native Education: Issues in the Nineties. Alaska Native Policy Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleinfeld, Judith

This booklet identifies several crucial problems in Alaska Native education, for example: (1) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) occur in Alaska Native populations at relatively high rates and can produce mental retardation, hyperactivity, attention deficits, and learning disabilities; (2) while many Native rural school…

Support for Native Americans with Developmental Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, Wylie; Rife, Christine

This report addresses the high incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effects (FAE) among Native Americans and suggests that there is a lack of comprehensive effort to provide outreach services to the Native American population in Illinois. The report begins with an overview of American Indian history and the migration of…

Intervention Strategies for School Age Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Entremont, Denise Morel

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a relatively new diagnostic label. As more physicians become familiar with the diagnosis of this syndrome, schools will begin to see children with the label FAS and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). Children with FAS often do not pick up skills from their environment as easily as some of their peers. They often need to…

Bax Translocation Mediated Mitochondrial Apoptosis and Caspase Dependent Photosensitizing Effect of Ficus religiosa on Cancer Cells

PubMed Central

Thankayyan R, Santhosh Kumar; Sithul, Hima; Sreeharshan, Sreeja

2012-01-01

The main aim of the present work was to investigate the potential effect of acetone extract of Ficus religosa leaf (FAE) in multiple apoptosis signalling in human breast cancer cells. FAE treatment significantly induced dose and time dependent, irreversible inhibition of breast cancer cell growth with moderate toxicity to normal breast epithelial cells. This observation was validated using Sulforhodamine B assay. Cell cycle analysis by Flow cytometry showed cell cycle arrest in G1 phase and induction of sub-G0 peak. FAE induced chromatin condensation and displayed an increase in apoptotic population in Annexin V-FITC/PI (Fluorescein isothiocyanate/Propidium iodide) double staining. FAE stimulated the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in multiple breast cancer cell lines when compared to normal diploid cells. To understand the role of Bax in FAE induced apoptosis, we employed a sensitive cell based platform of MCF-7 cells expressing Bax-EGFP. Bax translocation to mitochondria was accompanied by the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential and marked elevation in LEHDase activity (Caspase 9). Consistent with this data, FAE induced Caspase activation as evidenced by ratio change in FRET Caspase sensor expressing MCF-7 cell line and cleavage of prominent Caspases and PARP. Interestingly, FAE accelerated cell death in a mitochondrial dependent manner in continuous live cell imaging mode indicating its possible photosensitizing effect. Intracellular generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by FAE played a critical role in mediating apoptotic cell death and photosensitizing activity. FAE induced dose and time dependent inhibition of cancer cell growth which was associated with Bax translocation and mitochondria mediated apoptosis with the activation of Caspase 9 dependent Caspase cascade. FAE also possessed strong photosensitizing effect on cancer cell line that was mediated through rapid mitochondrial transmembrane potential loss and partial Caspase

HDL-associated dehydroepiandrosterone fatty acyl esters: enhancement of vasodilatory effect of HDL.

PubMed

Paatela, Hanna; Mervaala, Eero; Deb, Somdatta; Wähälä, Kristiina; Tikkanen, Matti J

2009-10-01

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) are both vascular relaxants. In the circulation, HDL transports DHEA fatty acyl esters (DHEA-FAEs), which are naturally occurring lipophilic derivatives of DHEA. We studied in isolated rat mesenteric arteries whether HDL-associated DHEA-FAE improves the vasodilatory effect of HDL. To prepare DHEA-FAE-enriched HDL, we incubated DHEA with human plasma. After incubation, HDL was isolated, purified, and added in cumulative doses (0.1-125 microg/ml) to noradrenaline-precontracted rat arterial rings. DHEA-FAE-enriched HDL caused a dose-dependent relaxation (maximal 43+/-4%), which was significantly stronger than the effect of HDL from the control incubation without addition of DHEA (25+/-2%, p<0.001). When plasma incubation of DHEA was carried out in the presence of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) inhibitor, the relaxation response to HDL (25+/-3%) did not differ from the control HDL (p=0.98). Pretreatment of the arterial rings with nitric oxide synthase (NOS) antagonist impaired the relaxation response to DHEA-FAE-enriched HDL (43+/-4% vs. 30+/-3%, p=0.008). Similar experiments were performed with 17beta-estradiol (E(2)). Compared to control HDL, E(2)-FAE-enriched HDL induced slightly but non-significantly stronger relaxation. DHEA-FAE-enriched HDL was a stronger vasodilator than native HDL, and vascular relaxation was in part mediated by NOS, suggesting that DHEA-FAE may improve HDL's antiatherogenic function.

Paradoxical effects of alcohol information on alcohol outcome expectancies.

PubMed

Krank, Marvin D; Ames, Susan L; Grenard, Jerry L; Schoenfeld, Tara; Stacy, Alan W

2010-07-01

Cognitive associations with alcohol predict both current and future use in youth and young adults. Much cognitive and social cognitive research suggests that exposure to information may have unconscious influences on thinking and behavior. The present study assessed the impact of information statements on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. The 2 studies reported here investigated the effects of exposure to alcohol statements typical of informational approaches to prevention on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. High school and university students were presented with information statements about the effects of alcohol and other commercial products. The alcohol statements were taken from expectancy questionnaires. Some of these statements were presented as facts and others as myths. The retention of detailed information about these statements was manipulated by (i) divided attention versus focused attention or (ii) immediate versus delayed testing. Accessibility of personal alcohol outcome expectancies was subsequently measured using an open-ended question about the expected effects of alcohol. Participants reported more alcohol outcomes seen during the information task as personal expectations about the effects of alcohol use than similar unseen items. Paradoxically, myth statements were also more likely to be reported as expectancies than unseen items in all conditions. Additionally, myth statements were generated less often than fact statements only under the condition of immediate testing with strong content processing instructions. These observations are consistent with findings from cognitive research where familiarity in the absence of explicit memory can have an unconscious influence on performance. In particular, the exposure to these items in an informational format increases accessibility of the seen items even when the participants were told that they were myths. The findings have implications for the development of

Paradoxical Effects of Alcohol Information on Alcohol Outcome Expectancies

PubMed Central

Krank, Marvin D.; Ames, Susan L.; Grenard, Jerry L.; Schoenfeld, Tara; Stacy, Alan W.

2014-01-01

Background Cognitive associations with alcohol predict both current and future use in youth and young adults. Much cognitive and social cognitive research suggests that exposure to information may have unconscious influences on thinking and behavior. The present study assessed the impact of information statements on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. Methods The 2 studies reported here investigated the effects of exposure to alcohol statements typical of informational approaches to prevention on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. High school and university students were presented with information statements about the effects of alcohol and other commercial products. The alcohol statements were taken from expectancy questionnaires. Some of these statements were presented as facts and others as myths. The retention of detailed information about these statements was manipulated by (i) divided attention versus focused attention or (ii) immediate versus delayed testing. Accessibility of personal alcohol outcome expectancies was subsequently measured using an open-ended question about the expected effects of alcohol. Results Participants reported more alcohol outcomes seen during the information task as personal expectations about the effects of alcohol use than similar unseen items. Paradoxically, myth statements were also more likely to be reported as expectancies than unseen items in all conditions. Additionally, myth statements were generated less often than fact statements only under the condition of immediate testing with strong content processing instructions. Conclusions These observations are consistent with findings from cognitive research where familiarity in the absence of explicit memory can have an unconscious influence on performance. In particular, the exposure to these items in an informational format increases accessibility of the seen items even when the participants were told that they were myths. The findings have

A tripartite fusion, FaeG-FedF-LT(192)A2:B, of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) elicits antibodies that neutralize cholera toxin, inhibit adherence of K88 (F4) and F18 fimbriae, and protect pigs against K88ac/heat-labile toxin infection.

PubMed

Ruan, Xiaosai; Liu, Mei; Casey, Thomas A; Zhang, Weiping

2011-10-01

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains expressing K88 (F4) or F18 fimbriae and heat-labile (LT) and/or heat-stable (ST) toxins are the major cause of diarrhea in young pigs. Effective vaccines inducing antiadhesin (anti-K88 and anti-F18) and antitoxin (anti-LT and anti-ST) immunity would provide broad protection to young pigs against ETEC. In this study, we genetically fused nucleotides coding for peptides from K88ac major subunit FaeG, F18 minor subunit FedF, and LT toxoid (LT(192)) A2 and B subunits for a tripartite adhesin-adhesin-toxoid fusion (FaeG-FedF-LT(192)A2:B). This fusion was used for immunizations in mice and pigs to assess the induction of antiadhesin and antitoxin antibodies. In addition, protection by the elicited antiadhesin and antitoxin antibodies against a porcine ETEC strain was evaluated in a gnotobiotic piglet challenge model. The data showed that this FaeG-FedF-LT(192)A2:B fusion elicited anti-K88, anti-F18, and anti-LT antibodies in immunized mice and pigs. In addition, the anti-porcine antibodies elicited neutralized cholera toxin and inhibited adherence against both K88 and F18 fimbriae. Moreover, immunized piglets were protected when challenged with ETEC strain 30302 (K88ac/LT/STb) and did not develop clinical disease. In contrast, all control nonvaccinated piglets developed severe diarrhea and dehydration after being challenged with the same ETEC strain. This study clearly demonstrated that this FaeG-FedF-LT(192)A2:B fusion antigen elicited antibodies that neutralized LT toxin and inhibited the adherence of K88 and F18 fimbrial E. coli strains and that this fusion could serve as an antigen for vaccines against porcine ETEC diarrhea. In addition, the adhesin-toxoid fusion approach used in this study may provide important information for developing effective vaccines against human ETEC diarrhea.

A standardised challenge model with an enterotoxigenic F4+ Escherichia coli strain in piglets assessing clinical traits and faecal shedding of fae and est-II toxin genes.

PubMed

Spitzer, Franz; Vahjen, Wilfried; Pieper, Robert; Martinez-Vallespin, Beatriz; Zentek, Jürgen

2014-12-01

This study evaluated the effect of five feed additives on post weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in piglets challenged 3 d after weaning with an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strain (ETEC). In three experimental runs, a total of 84 piglets was weaned at 21 days of age and randomly assigned to seven treatments. As dietary treatment, piglets were fed a basal diet or diets with addition of bovine colostrum (0.2%), pineapple stem extract containing bromelain (0.2%), an autolysed yeast preparation (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (0.1%), a combination of organic acids (0.7%) and a phytogenic product with thyme essential oil (0.015%). A porcine ETEC, serotype O149:K91:K88ac was given twice via oral infection on day 3 after weaning at 10(10) colony forming units/animal. One group of piglets was fed the basal diet without ETEC challenge. Traits included clinical sores, body temperature, faecal scoring and determination of faecal dry matter and the shedding of fae and est-II ETEC toxin genes. After weaning, non-challenged control piglets did not show signs of diarrhoea or impaired health, while the majority of infected piglets had a drop in body temperature, signs of diarrhoea and impaired general health. Mortality, the decrease of faecal dry matter and shedding of the toxin genes fae and est-II were not affected by the different additives. In conclusion, the ETEC challenge model induced distinct clinical signs of PWD in piglets, but the tested feed additives had no preventive effect under these conditions.

Flos Albiziae aqueous extract and its active constituent quercetin potentiate the hypnotic effect of pentobarbital via the serotonergic system

PubMed Central

YE, MENG-FEI; LIU, ZHENG; LOU, SHU-FANG; CHEN, ZHEN-YONG; YU, AI-YUE; LIU, CHUN-YAN; YU, CHAO-YANG; ZHANG, HUA-FANG; ZHANG, JIAN

2015-01-01

Flos albiziae (FA) is reportedly used for treatment of insomnia and anxiety in traditional medicine. The hypnotic effect of an extract of FA (FAE) and its constituent quercetin [2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,5,7-trihydroxy-4H-chromen-4-one, QR] was examined in mice. QR is a widely distributed natural flavonoid abundant in FA flowers and other tissues. The possible mechanisms underlying the hypnotic effects of FAE and QR were investigated using behavioral pharmacology. FAE and QR significantly potentiated pentobarbital-induced [50 mg/kg, intraperitoneal (ip)] sleep (prolonged sleeping time; shortened sleep latency) in a dose-dependent manner, and these effects were augmented by administration of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), a precursor of 5-hydroxytryptamine. With a sub-hypnotic dose of pentobarbital (28 mg/kg, ip), FAE and QR significantly increased the rate of sleep onset and were synergistic with 5-HTP (2.5 mg/kg, ip). Pretreatment with p-chlorophenylalanine, an inhibitor of tryptophan hydroxylase, significantly decreased sleeping time and prolonged sleep latency in pentobarbital-treated mice, whereas FAE and QR significantly reversed this effect. Data show that FAE and QR have hypnotic activity, possibly mediated by the serotonergic system. The present study offers a rationale for the use of FA in treating sleep disorders associated with serotonin system dysfunction. PMID:26623026

Alcohol's Effects on the Body

MedlinePlus

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Fetal alcohol effects in alcoholic veteran patients.

PubMed

Tishler, P V; Henschel, C E; Ngo, T A; Walters, E E; Worobec, T G

1998-11-01

Fetal alcohol syndrome is often associated with severe physical and neuropsychiatric maldevelopment. On the other hand, some offspring of women who drank during pregnancy appear to be affected in minimal ways and function relatively well within society. We questioned whether this effect of prenatal alcohol in the adult is generally minimal. To bear on this, we determined whether we could distinguish alcohol-exposed from nonexposed individuals in a population of male veterans, selected because of both their accepted level of function within society (e.g., honorable discharge from the military) and their admission to an alcohol treatment unit (thus, a greater likelihood of parental alcoholism, because of its familial aggregation). Consecutively admitted alcoholics (cases; n = 77) with likely maternal alcohol ingestion during their pregnancy or the first 10 years of life were matched with alcoholics with no maternal alcohol exposure during these periods (controls; n = 161). Each subject completed questionnaires regarding personal birthweight, alcohol, drug, educational and work histories, and family (including parental) alcohol and drug histories. We measured height, weight, and head circumference; checked for facial and hand anomalies; and took a frontal facial photograph, from which measurements of features were made. Data were analyzed by univariate statistics and stepwise logistic regression. No case had bona fide fetal alcohol syndrome. With univariate statistical analyses, the cases differed from the controls in 10 variables, including duration of drinking, width of alae nasae, being hyperactive or having a short attention span, and being small at birth. By stepwise logistic regression, the variables marital status, small size at birth, duration of drinking, and the presence of a smooth philtrum were marginally (the first two) or definitely (the last two) significant predictors of case status. Analysis of only the 37 cases in whom maternal prenatal drinking was

Alcohol's Effects on Lipid Bilayer Properties

PubMed Central

Ingólfsson, Helgi I.; Andersen, Olaf S.

2011-01-01

Alcohols are known modulators of lipid bilayer properties. Their biological effects have long been attributed to their bilayer-modifying effects, but alcohols can also alter protein function through direct protein interactions. This raises the question: Do alcohol's biological actions result predominantly from direct protein-alcohol interactions or from general changes in the membrane properties? The efficacy of alcohols of various chain lengths tends to exhibit a so-called cutoff effect (i.e., increasing potency with increased chain length, which that eventually levels off). The cutoff varies depending on the assay, and numerous mechanisms have been proposed such as: limited size of the alcohol-protein interaction site, limited alcohol solubility, and a chain-length-dependent lipid bilayer-alcohol interaction. To address these issues, we determined the bilayer-modifying potency of 27 aliphatic alcohols using a gramicidin-based fluorescence assay. All of the alcohols tested (with chain lengths of 1–16 carbons) alter the bilayer properties, as sensed by a bilayer-spanning channel. The bilayer-modifying potency of the short-chain alcohols scales linearly with their bilayer partitioning; the potency tapers off at higher chain lengths, and eventually changes sign for the longest-chain alcohols, demonstrating an alcohol cutoff effect in a system that has no alcohol-binding pocket. PMID:21843475

Role of HCA₂ (GPR109A) in nicotinic acid and fumaric acid ester-induced effects on the skin.

PubMed

Hanson, Julien; Gille, Andreas; Offermanns, Stefan

2012-10-01

Nicotinic acid (NA) and fumaric acid esters (FAE) such as monomethyl fumarate or dimethyl fumarate are drugs that elicit a cutaneous reaction called flushing as a side effect. NA is used to reduce progression of atherosclerosis through its anti-dyslipidemic activity and lipid-independent mechanisms involving immune cells, whereas FAE are used to treat psoriasis via largely unknown mechanisms. Both, NA and FAE, induce flushing by the activation of the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) Hydroxy-carboxylic acid receptor 2 (HCA₂, GPR109A) in cells of the epidermis. While the wanted effects of NA are at least in part also mediated by HCA₂, it is currently not clear whether this receptor is also involved in the anti-psoriatic effects of FAE. The HCA₂-mediated flushing response to these drugs involves the formation of prostaglandins D₂ and E₂ by Langerhans cells and keratinocytes via COX-1 in Langerhans cells and COX-2 in keratinocytes. This review summarizes recent progress in the understanding of the mechanisms underlying HCA₂-mediated flushing, describes strategies to mitigate it and discusses the potential link between flushing, HCA₂ and the anti-psoriatic effects of FAE. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Amplification of hofmeister effect by alcohols.

PubMed

Xu, Yun; Liu, Guangming

2014-07-03

We have demonstrated that Hofmeister effect can be amplified by adding alcohols to aqueous solutions. The lower critical solution temperature behavior of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) has been employed as the model system to study the amplification of Hofmeister effect. The alcohols can more effectively amplify the Hofmeister effect following the series methanol < ethanol < 1-propanol < 2-propanol for the monohydric alcohols and following the series d-sorbitol ≈ xylitol ≈ meso-erythritol < glycerol < ethylene glycol < methanol for the polyhydric alcohols. Our study reveals that the relative extent of amplification of Hofmeister effect is determined by the stability of the water/alcohol complex, which is strongly dependent on the chemical structure of alcohols. The more stable solvent complex formed via stronger hydrogen bonds can more effectively differentiate the anions through the anion-solvent complex interactions, resulting in a stronger amplification of Hofmeister effect. This study provides an alternative method to tune the relative strength of Hofmeister effect besides salt concentration.

The effects of cocaine, alcohol and cocaine/alcohol combinations in conditioned taste aversion learning.

PubMed

Busse, Gregory D; Verendeev, Andrey; Jones, Jermaine; Riley, Anthony L

2005-09-01

We have recently reported that alcohol attenuates cocaine place preferences. Although the basis for this effect is unknown, alcohol may attenuate cocaine reward by potentiating its aversive effects. To examine this possibility, these experiments assessed the effects of alcohol on cocaine-induced taste aversions under conditions similar to those that resulted in attenuated place preferences. Specifically, Experiments 1 and 2 assessed the effects of alcohol (0.5 g/kg) on taste aversions induced by 20, 30 and 40 mg/kg cocaine. Experiment 3 examined the role of intertrial interval in the effects of alcohol (0.5 g/kg) on cocaine (30 mg/kg) taste aversions. In Experiments 1 and 2, cocaine was effective at conditioning aversions. Alcohol produced no measurable effect. Combining cocaine and alcohol produced no greater aversion than cocaine alone (and, in fact, weakened aversions at the lowest dose of cocaine). In Experiment 3, varying the intertrial interval from 3 days (as in the case of Experiments 1 and 2) to 1 day (a procedure identical to that in which alcohol attenuated cocaine place preferences) resulted in significant alcohol- and cocaine-induced taste aversions. Nonetheless, alcohol remained ineffective in potentiating cocaine aversions. Thus, under these conditions alcohol does not potentiate cocaine's aversiveness. These results were discussed in terms of their implication for the effects of alcohol on cocaine-induced place preferences. Further, the effects of alcohol on place preferences conditioned by cocaine were discussed in relation to other assessments of the effects of alcohol on the affective properties of cocaine and the implications of these interactions for alcohol and cocaine co-use.

Engineering an Escherichia coli platform to synthesize designer biodiesels.

PubMed

Wierzbicki, Michael; Niraula, Narayan; Yarrabothula, Akshitha; Layton, Donovan S; Trinh, Cong T

2016-04-20

Biodiesels, fatty acid esters (FAEs), can be synthesized by condensation of fatty acid acyl CoAs and alcohols via a wax ester synthase in living cells. Biodiesels have advantageous characteristics over petrodiesels such as biodegradability, a higher flash point, and less emission. Controlling fatty acid and alcohol moieties are critical to produce designer biodiesels with desirable physiochemical properties (e.g., high cetane number, low kinematic viscosity, high oxidative stability, and low cloud point). Here, we developed a flexible framework to engineer Escherichia coli cell factories to synthesize designer biodiesels directly from fermentable sugars. In this framework, we designed each FAE pathway as a biodiesel exchangeable production module consisting of acyl CoA, alcohol, and wax ester synthase submodules. By inserting the FAE modules in an engineered E. coli modular chassis cell, we generated E. coli cell factories to produce targeted biodiesels (e.g., fatty acid ethyl (FAEE) and isobutyl (FAIbE) esters) with tunable and controllable short-chain alcohol moieties. The engineered E. coli chassis carrying the FAIbE production module produced 54mg/L FAIbEs with high specificity, accounting for>90% of the total synthesized FAEs and ∼4.7 fold increase in FAIbE production compared to the wildtype. Fed-batch cultures further improved FAIbE production up to 165mg/L. By mixing ethanol and isobutanol submodules, we demonstrated controllable production of mixed FAEEs and FAIbEs. We envision the developed framework offers a flexible, alternative route to engineer designer biodiesels with tunable and controllable properties using biomass-derived fermentable sugars. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alcohol's Effects on the Cardiovascular System.

PubMed

Piano, Mariann R

2017-01-01

Alcohol use has complex effects on cardiovascular (CV) health. The associations between drinking and CV diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and cardiomyopathy have been studied extensively and are outlined in this review. Although many behavioral, genetic, and biologic variants influence the interconnection between alcohol use and CV disease, dose and pattern of alcohol consumption seem to modulate this most. Low-to-moderate alcohol use may mitigate certain mechanisms such as risk and hemostatic factors affecting atherosclerosis and inflammation, pathophysiologic processes integral to most CV disease. But any positive aspects of drinking must be weighed against serious physiological effects, including mitochondrial dysfunction and changes in circulation, inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and programmed cell death, as well as anatomical damage to the CV system, especially the heart itself. Both the negative and positive effects of alcohol use on particular CV conditions are presented here. The review concludes by suggesting several promising avenues for future research related to alcohol use and CV disease. These include using direct biomarkers of alcohol to confirm self-report of alcohol consumption levels; studying potential mediation of various genetic, socioeconomic, and racial and ethnic factors that may affect alcohol use and CV disease; reviewing alcohol-medication interactions in cardiac patients; and examining CV effects of alcohol use in young adults and in older adults.

Effect of fetal alcohol exposure on adult symptoms of nicotine, alcohol, and drug dependence.

PubMed

Yates, W R; Cadoret, R J; Troughton, E P; Stewart, M; Giunta, T S

1998-06-01

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of fetal alcohol exposure on later substance dependence using an adoption study method. One hundred ninety-seven adoptees were interviewed for substance abuse disorders, including nicotine, alcohol, and drug dependence. Twenty-one adoptees had mothers who drank during pregnancy. Adoptees with fetal alcohol exposure were compared with those without fetal alcohol exposure for symptoms of adult nicotine, alcohol, and drug dependence. Adoptee symptom counts for alcohol, drug, and nicotine dependence were higher for those exposed to alcohol in utero. The effect of fetal alcohol exposure remained after controlling for gender, biological parent alcohol dependence diagnosis, birth weight, gestational age and other environmental variables. Fetal alcohol exposure may produce increased risk for later nicotine, alcohol, and drug dependence. Possible effects of fetal alcohol exposure on development of adult substance use patterns needs attention in genetic studies of substance abuse.

A food-grade fimbrial adhesin FaeG expression system in Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus casei.

PubMed

Lu, W W; Wang, T; Wang, Y; Xin, M; Kong, J

2016-03-01

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infection is the major cause of diarrhea in neonatal piglets. The fimbriae as colonizing factor in the pathogenesis of ETEC constitute a primary target for vaccination against ETEC. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are attractive tools to deliver antigens at the mucosal level. With the safety of genetically modified LAB in mind, a food-grade secretion vector (pALRc or pALRb) was constructed with DNA entirely from LAB, including the replicon, promoter, signal peptide, and selection marker alanine racemase gene (alr). To evaluate the feasibility of the system, the nuclease gene (nuc) from Staphylococcus aureus was used as a reporter to be expressed in both Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus casei. Subsequently, the extracellular secretion of the fimbrial adhesin FaeG of ETEC was confirmed by Western blot analysis. These results showed that this food-grade expression system has potential as the delivery vehicle for the safe use of genetically modified LAB for the development of vaccines against ETEC infection.

Effect of memantine on cue-induced alcohol craving in recovering alcohol-dependent patients.

PubMed

Krupitsky, Evgeny M; Neznanova, Olga; Masalov, Dimitry; Burakov, Andrey M; Didenko, Tatyana; Romanova, Tatyana; Tsoy, Marina; Bespalov, Anton; Slavina, Tatyana Y; Grinenko, Alexander A; Petrakis, Ismene L; Pittman, Brian; Gueorguieva, Ralitza; Zvartau, Edwin E; Krystal, John H

2007-03-01

Ethanol blocks N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) glutamate receptors. Increased NMDA receptor function may contribute to motivational disturbances that contribute to alcoholism. The authors assessed whether the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine reduces cue-induced alcohol craving and produces ethanol-like subjective effects. Thirty-eight alcohol-dependent inpatients participated in three daylong testing sessions in a randomized order under double-blind conditions. On each test day, subjects received 20 mg of memantine, 40 mg of memantine, or placebo, and subjective responses to treatment were assessed. The level of alcohol craving was assessed before and after exposure to an alcohol cue. Memantine did not stimulate alcohol craving before exposure to an alcohol cue, and it attenuated alcohol cue-induced craving in a dose-related fashion. It produced dose-related ethanol-like effects without adverse cognitive or behavioral effects. These data support further exploration of whether well-tolerated NMDA receptor antagonists might have a role in the treatment of alcoholism.

Effects of alcohol mixed with energy drink and alcohol alone on subjective intoxication.

PubMed

Ulbrich, Andrea; Hemberger, Sophie Helene; Loidl, Alexandra; Dufek, Stephanie; Pablik, Eleonore; Fodor, Sugarka; Herle, Marion; Aufricht, Christoph

2013-12-01

Recent studies suggest that the combination of caffeine-containing drinks together with alcohol might reduce the subjective feelings of alcohol intoxication-the so-called "masking effect". In this study, we aimed to review the effects of alcohol in combination with caffeine or energy drink with special focus on the "masking effect". Fifty-two healthy male volunteers were analysed concerning breath alcohol concentration and subjective sensations of intoxication using a 18 item Visual Analogue Scale in a randomised, double-blinded, controlled, four treatments cross-over trial after consumption of (A) placebo, (B) alcohol (vodka 37.5% at a dose of 46.5 g ethanol), (C) alcohol in combination with caffeine at a dose of 80 mg (equivalent to one 250 ml can of energy drink) and (D) alcohol in combination with energy drink at a dose of 250 ml (one can). Primary variables were headache, weakness, salivation and motor coordination. Out of four primary variables, weakness and motor coordination showed a statistically significant difference between alcohol and non-alcohol group, out of 14 secondary variables, five more variables (dizziness, alterations in sight, alterations in walking, agitation and alterations in speech) also showed significant differences due mainly to contrasts with the non-alcohol group. In none of these end points, could a statistically significant effect be found for the additional ingestion of energy drink or caffeine on the subjective feelings of alcohol intoxication. This within-subjects study does not confirm the presence of a "masking effect" when combining caffeine or energy drink with alcohol.

Effects of general and alcohol-specific media literacy training on children's decision making about alcohol.

PubMed

Austin, E W; Johnson, K K

1997-01-01

This article examines the immediate and delayed effects of media literacy training on third-grade children's perceptions of alcohol advertising, alcohol norms, expectancies for drinking, and behaviors toward alcohol. A Solomon four-group style experiment (N = 225) with two levels of the treatment factor assessed the effectiveness of in-school media literacy training for alcohol. The experiment compared a treatment that included the viewing of a videotape about television advertising along with the viewing of video clips of alcohol ads and discussion pertaining to alcohol advertising specifically versus one that included the viewing of the same general purpose media literacy videotape along with video clips of non-alcohol advertising and then discussion of advertising in general. The treatment had both immediate and delayed effects. Immediate effects included the children's increased understanding of persuasive intent, viewing of characters as less similar to people they knew in real life and less desirable, decreased desire to be like the characters, decreased expectation of positive consequences from drinking alcohol, and decreased likelihood to choose an alcohol-related product. Indirect effects also were found on their perceptions of television's realism and their views of social norms related to alcohol. Delayed effects were examined and confirmed on expectancies and behavior. The treatment was more effective when alcohol-specific, and it also was more effective among girls than boys.

Effects of alcohol on platelet functions.

PubMed

Renaud, S C; Ruf, J C

1996-03-15

Recent epidemiologic studies have consistently shown that moderate intake of alcoholic beverages protect against morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke. By contrast, alcohol drinking may also predispose to cerebral hemorrhage. These observations suggest an effect of alcohol similar to that of aspirin. Several studies in humans and animals have shown that the immediate effect of alcohol, either added in vitro to platelets or 10 to 20 min after ingestion, is to decrease platelet aggregation in response to most agonists (thrombin, ADP, epinephrine, collagen). Several hours later, as, in free-living populations deprived of drinking since the previous day it is mostly secondary aggregation to ADP and epinephrine and aggregation to collagen that are still inhibited in alcohol drinkers. By contrast, in binge drinkers or in alcoholics after alcohol withdrawal, response to aggregation, especially that induced by thrombin, is markedly increased. This rebound phenomenon, easily reproduced in rats, may explain ischemic strokes or sudden death known to occur after episodes of drunkenness. The platelet rebound effect of alcohol drinking was not observed with moderate red wine consumption in man. The protection afforded by wine has been recently duplicated in rats by grape tannins added to alcohol. This protection was associated with a decrease in the level of conjugated dienes, the first step in lipid peroxidation. In other words, wine drinking does not seem to be associated with the increased peroxidation usually observed with spirit drinking. Although further studies are required, the platelet rebound effect of alcohol drinking could be associated with an excess of lipid peroxides known to increase platelet reactivity, especially to thrombin.

Alcohol effects on motor vehicle crash injury.

PubMed

Waller, Patricia F; Hill, Elizabeth M; Maio, Ronald F; Blow, Frederic C

2003-04-01

Although alcohol is frequently present in injured patients, whether it exacerbates injury and whether tolerance to alcohol changes such a relationship is less clear. Most clinical studies do not consider other important predictors of injury, making interpretation of their findings problematic. To examine alcohol's role in injuries, taking into account other important factors, and to examine the effect of tolerance, if any. Prospective cohort study. University hospital and community hospital emergency departments and morgue. 1362 Motor Vehicle Crash patients age >/=18, treated and released, admitted, and deceased. Excess injury measured by Injury Severity Scale (ISS) 90, Weighted Revised Trauma Score (WRTS), and G-Score. Using regression analysis, the best predictors of injury severity were vehicle crush (TAD), safety belt use, and their interaction, and age. Alcohol use further predicted injury. Using the final regression model, the effect of alcohol was to increase ISS90, on average, by about 30% (from a predicted ISS90 of 5.1 to 6.8, all else being equal). The adjusted odds ratio for serious injury (ISS90>15), was 1.59 for a patient with a positive blood alcohol concentration (alc+) compared to a alc- patient. This potentiating effect is seen even for patients with low levels of alcohol (<22 mmol/liter; <0.100 BAC) but is not linear with increasing alcohol level. Tolerance to alcohol did not affect the potentiation of injury by alcohol. When other relevant variables are considered, alcohol increases injury, but the effects of alcohol level and alcohol tolerance are less clear. These findings have important implications for injury prevention, treatment, and research.

The effect of alcohol advertising on immediate alcohol consumption in college students: an experimental study.

PubMed

Koordeman, Renske; Anschutz, Doeschka J; Engels, Rutger C M E

2012-05-01

Survey studies have emphasized a positive association between exposure to alcohol advertising on television (TV) and the onset and continuation of drinking among young people. Alcohol advertising might also directly influence viewers' consumption of alcohol while watching TV. The present study therefore tested the immediate effects of alcohol advertisements on the alcohol consumption of young adults while watching a movie. Weekly drinking, problem drinking, positive and arousal expectancies of alcohol, ad recall, attitude, and skepticism toward the ads were tested as moderators. An experimental design comparing 2 advertisement conditions (alcohol ads vs. nonalcohol ads) was used. A total of 80 men, young adult friendly dyads (ages 18 to 29) participated. The study examined actual alcohol consumption while watching a 1-hour movie with 3 advertising breaks. A multivariate regression analysis was used to examine the effects of advertisement condition on alcohol consumption. Assignment to the alcohol advertisement condition did not increase alcohol consumption. In addition, no moderating effects between advertisement condition and the individual factors on alcohol consumption were found. Viewing alcohol advertising did not lead to higher alcohol consumption in young men while watching a movie. However, replications of this study using other samples (e.g., different countries and cultures), other settings (e.g., movie theater, home), and with other designs (e.g., different movies and alcohol ads, cumulative exposure, extended exposure effects) are warranted. Copyright © 2011 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Effect of dissolved oxygen in alcoholic beverages and drinking water on alcohol elimination in humans.

PubMed

Rhee, Su-jin; Chae, Jung-woo; Song, Byung-jeong; Lee, Eun-sil; Kwon, Kwang-il

2013-02-01

Oxygen plays an important role in the metabolism of alcohol. An increased dissolved oxygen level in alcoholic beverages reportedly accelerates the elimination of alcohol. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of dissolved oxygen in alcohol and the supportive effect of oxygenated water on alcohol pharmacokinetics after the excessive consumption of alcohol, i.e., 540 ml of 19.5% alcohol (v/v). Fifteen healthy males were included in this randomized, 3 × 3 crossover study. Three combinations were tested: X, normal alcoholic beverage and normal water; Y, oxygenated alcoholic beverage and normal water; Z, oxygenated alcoholic beverage and oxygenated water. Blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were determined by conversion of breath alcohol concentrations. Four pharmacokinetic parameters (C(max), T(max), K(el), and AUCall) were obtained using non-compartmental analysis and the times to reach 0.05% and 0.03% BAC (T(0.05%) and T(0.03%)) were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan's post hoc test. With combination Z, the BAC decreased to 0.05% significantly faster (p < 0.05) than with combination X. Analyzing the pharmacokinetic parameters, the mean K(el) was significantly higher for combination Z than for combinations X and Y (p < 0.05), whereas the mean values of C(max), T(max) and AUCall did not differ significantly among the combinations. Dissolved oxygen in drinks accelerates the decrease in BAC after consuming a large amount of alcohol. However, the oxygen dissolved in the alcoholic beverage alone did not have a sufficient effect in this case. We postulate that highly oxygenated water augments the effect of oxygen in the alcoholic beverage in alcohol elimination. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the supportive effect of ingesting additional oxygenated water after heavy drinking of normal alcoholic beverages. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Family History of Alcohol Dependence on the Subjective Response to Alcohol using the Intravenous Alcohol Clamp

PubMed Central

Kerfoot, Karin; Pittman, Brian; Ralevski, Elizabeth; Limoncelli, Diana; Koretski, Julia; Newcomb, Jenelle; Arias, Albert J.; Petrakis, Ismene L

2013-01-01

Background Alcohol use disorders are well recognized to be common, debilitating, and the risk of developing them is influenced by family history. The subjective response to alcohol may be determined familialy and related to the risk of developing alcoholism. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences between family history positive (FHP) and family history negative (FHN) individuals in their response to alcohol within the domains of subjective, coordination, and cognitive effects using an IV clamping method of alcohol administration. Methods Two groups of healthy subjects, those with a FHP (n=65) vs. those who were FHN (n=115), between the ages of 21-30, participated in three test days. Subjects were scheduled to receive placebo, low dose ethanol (target BrAC=40mg%), and high dose ethanol (target BrAC=100mg%) on three separate test days at least three days apart in a randomized order under double-blind conditions. Outcome measures included subjective effects, measures of coordination and cognitive function. Results Both low and high dose alcohol led to dose-related stimulant and sedative subjective effects as measured the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) and subjective measures of “high” and “drowsy” measured on a visual analog scale (VAS) However, there were no effects of family history. Similar dose-related effects were observed on cognitive and coordination related outcomes, but were not moderated family history. Conclusions Results from this study showed that healthy individuals responded to an IV alcohol challenge in a dose-related manner; however, there were no significant differences on subjective response, or on ethanol-induced impairment of coordination or cognition, between individuals with a positive family history for alcoholism and those with a negative family history. Results suggest that FH may not be a specific enough marker of risk, particularly in individuals who are beyond the age where alcohol use disorders often develop

Alcohol Expectancies as Potential Mediators of Parent Alcoholism Effects on the Development of Adolescent Heavy Drinking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colder, Craig R.; Chassin, Laurie; Stice, Eric M.; Curran, Patrick J.

1997-01-01

Used latent growth curve modeling to examine adolescent alcohol expectancies as mediators of effects of parent alcoholism on escalation in adolescent heavy drinking. Found that parent alcoholism directly affected adolescent heavy drinking. Alcohol expectancies did not mediate parent alcoholism effects. Cross-sectional evidence suggested that…

The effect of alcoholic beverage excise tax on alcohol-attributable injury mortalities.

PubMed

Son, Chong Hwan; Topyan, Kudret

2011-04-01

This study examines the effect of state excise taxes on different types of alcoholic beverages (spirits, wine, and beer) on alcohol-attributable injury mortalities--deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, suicides, homicides, and falls--in the United States between 1995 and 2004, using state-level panel data. There is evidence that injury deaths attributable to alcohol respond differently to changes in state excise taxes on alcohol-specific beverages. This study examines the direct relationship between injury deaths and excise taxes without testing the degree of the association between excise taxes and alcohol consumption. The study finds that beer taxes are negatively related to motor vehicle accident mortality, while wine taxes are negatively associated with suicides and falls. The positive coefficient of the spirit taxes on falls implies a substitution effect between spirits and wine, suggesting that an increase in spirit tax will cause spirit buyers to purchase more wine. This study finds no evidence of a relationship between homicides and state excise taxes on alcohol. Thus, the study concludes that injury deaths attributable to alcohol respond differently to the excise taxes on different types of alcoholic beverages.

There's alcohol in my soap: portrayal and effects of alcohol use in a popular television series.

PubMed

van Hoof, Joris J; de Jong, Menno D T; Fennis, Bob M; Gosselt, Jordy F

2009-06-01

Two studies are reported addressing the media influences on adolescents' alcohol-related attitudes and behaviours. A content analysis was conducted to investigate the prevalence of alcohol portrayal in a Dutch soap series. The coding scheme covered the alcohol consumption per soap character, drinking situations and drinking times. Inter-coder reliability was satisfactory. The results showed that alcohol portrayal was prominent and that many instances of alcohol use reflected undesirable behaviours. To assess the influence of such alcohol cues on adolescents, a 2x2 experiment was conducted focusing on the separate and combined effects of alcohol portrayal in the soap series and surrounding alcohol commercials. Whereas the alcohol commercials had the expected effects on adolescents' attitudes, the alcohol-related soap content only appeared to have unexpected effects. Adolescents who were exposed to the alcohol portrayal in the soap series had a less positive attitude towards alcohol and lower drinking intentions. Implications of these findings for health policy and future research are discussed.

Effectiveness of passive alcohol sensors

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

Author's abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of passive alcohol sensors for youth alcohol enforcement conducted as part of normal or typical police operations. Three municipal police departments of 100 or more sworn ...

Acute Immunomodulatory Effects of Binge Alcohol Ingestion

PubMed Central

Afshar, Majid; Richards, Stephanie; Mann, Dean; Cross, Alan; Smith, Gordon B.; Netzer, Giora; Kovacs, Elizabeth; Hasday, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND Blood alcohol is present in a third of trauma patients and has been associated with organ dysfunction. In both human studies and in animal models, it is clear that alcohol intoxication exerts immunomodulatory effects several hours to days after exposure, when blood alcohol is no longer detectable. The early immunomodulatory effects of alcohol while blood alcohol is still elevated are not well understood. METHODS Human volunteers achieved binge alcohol intoxication after high-dose alcohol consumption. Blood was collected for analysis prior to alcohol ingestion, and 20 min, 2 h, and 5 h after alcohol ingestion. Flow cytometry was performed on isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and cytokine generation in whole blood was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) after 24-h stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phytohemagglutinin-M (PHA) stimulation. RESULTS An early pro-inflammatory state was evident at 20 min when blood alcohol levels were ~130 mg/dL, which was characterized by an increase in total circulating leukocytes, monocytes, and natural killer cells. During this time, a transient increase in LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels and enhanced LPS sensitivity occurred. At 2 and 5 h post-alcohol binge, an anti-inflammatory state was shown with reduced numbers of circulating monocytes and natural killer cells, attenuated LPS-induced interleukin (IL)-1β levels, and a trend toward increased interleukin (IL)-10 levels. CONCLUSIONS A single episode of binge alcohol intoxication exerted effects on the immune system that caused an early and transient pro-inflammatory state followed by an anti-inflammatory state. PMID:25572859

Acute alcohol effects on explicit and implicit motivation to drink alcohol in socially drinking adolescents.

PubMed

Jünger, Elisabeth; Javadi, Amir-Homayoun; Wiers, Corinde E; Sommer, Christian; Garbusow, Maria; Bernhardt, Nadine; Kuitunen-Paul, Sören; Smolka, Michael N; Zimmermann, Ulrich S

2017-07-01

Alcohol-related cues can evoke explicit and implicit motivation to drink alcohol. Concerning the links between explicit and implicit motivation, there are mixed findings. Therefore, we investigated both concepts in 51 healthy 18- to 19-year-old males, who are less affected by neuropsychological deficits in decision-making that are attributed to previous alcohol exposure than older participants. In a randomized crossover design, adolescents were infused with either alcohol or placebo. Self-ratings of alcohol desire, thirst, well-being and alcohol effects comprised our explicit measures of motivation. To measure implicit motivation, we used money and drink stimuli in a Pavlovian conditioning (Pc) task and an Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT). Alcohol administration increased explicit motivation to drink alcohol, reduced Pc choices of alcoholic drink-conditioned stimuli, but had no effect on the AAT. This combination of results might be explained by differences between goal-directed and habitual behavior or a temporary reduction in rewarding outcome expectancies. Further, there was no association between our measures of motivation to drink alcohol, indicating that both self-reported motivation to drink and implicit approach tendencies may independently contribute to adolescents' actual alcohol intake. Correlations between Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores and our measures of motivation to drink alcohol suggest that interventions should target high-risk adolescents after alcohol intake. Clinical trials: Project 4: Acute Effects of Alcohol on Learning and Habitization in Healthy Young Adults (LeAD_P4); NCT01858818; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01858818.

Gabapentin potentiates sensitivity to the interoceptive effects of alcohol and increases alcohol self-administration in rats

PubMed Central

Besheer, Joyce; Frisbee, Suzanne; Randall, Patrick A.; Jaramillo, Anel A.; Masciello, Maria

2016-01-01

Gabapentin, a drug used in the treatment of epileptic seizures and neuropathic pain, has shown efficacy in the treatment of alcohol dependence. Moreover, given that gabapentin is used in the general population (e.g., non-dependent individuals, social drinkers), we sought to utilize preclinical assessments to examine the effects of gabapentin on sensitivity to moderate alcohol doses and alcohol self-administration in rats with a history of moderate drinking. To this end, we assessed whether gabapentin (0, 10, 30, 120 mg/kg, IG) pretreatment alters sensitivity to experimenter- and self-administered alcohol, and whether gabapentin alone has alcohol-like discriminative stimulus effects in rats trained to discriminate a moderate alcohol dose (1 g/kg, IG) vs. water. Second, we assessed whether gabapentin (0, 10, 30, 60 mg/kg, IG) would alter alcohol self-administration in rats with a history of moderate alcohol consumption. Gabapentin pretreatment potentiated the interoceptive effects of both experimenter-administered and self-administered alcohol in discrimination-trained rats. Additionally, the highest gabapentin doses tested (30 and 120 mg/kg) were found to have partial alcohol-like discriminative stimulus effects when administered alone (e.g., without alcohol). In the self-administration trained rats, gabapentin pretreatment (60 mg/kg) resulted in an escalation in alcohol self-administration. Given the importance of interoceptive drug cues in priming and maintaining self-administration, these data define a specific behavioral mechanism (i.e., potentiation of alcohol effects) by which gabapentin may increase alcohol self-administration in non-dependent populations. PMID:26415538

Effects of Treatment Type on Alcohol Consumption Partially Mediated by Alcoholics Anonymous Attendance.

PubMed

Karriker-Jaffe, Katherine J; Klinger, Jamie L; Witbrodt, Jane; Kaskutas, Lee Ann

2018-03-21

As insurance coverage, funding sources and venues for drug and alcohol treatment evolve in the United States, it is important to assess how the type of treatment received may impact long-term outcomes. The current study aims were to examine effects of treatment type on alcohol consumption in the year after treatment intake and to test mediators of effects of treatment type on later alcohol use. Longitudinal data from clients in inpatient and outpatient alcohol treatment programs in California (n = 560) were used in ordinary least squares path analysis adjusting for respondent characteristics typically associated with both treatment completion and alcohol use. The primary outcome was amount of alcohol consumed in the 12 months after treatment entry; hypothesized mediators were treatment duration and participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Despite higher baseline problem severity and a shorter treatment duration, inpatient clients consumed less alcohol after treatment than outpatient clients (B [95% CI] = -0.95 [-1.67, -0.23]). AA involvement was a significant mediator of the relationship between treatment type and alcohol consumption, with inpatient clients being more involved in AA and also drinking less after treatment than outpatient clients; the bias-corrected bootstrap 95% confidence interval for the indirect effect (B = -0.20) was entirely below zero (-0.43 to -0.05). Outpatient clients may benefit from customized posttreatment recommendations to identify additional resources to assist in the recovery process during the first year after treatment.

Effects of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related mortality in Florida: time-series analyses from 1969 to 2004.

PubMed

Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M; Wagenaar, Alexander C

2010-11-01

Over a hundred studies have established the effects of beverage alcohol taxes and prices on sales and drinking behaviors. Yet, relatively few studies have examined effects of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related mortality. We evaluated effects of multiple changes in alcohol tax rates in the state of Florida from 1969 to 2004 on disease (not injury) mortality. A time-series quasi-experimental research design was used, including non-alcohol deaths within Florida and other states' rates of alcohol-related mortality for comparison. A total of 432 monthly observations of mortality in Florida were examined over the 36-year period. Analyses included ARIMA, fixed-effects, and random-effects models, including a noise model, tax independent variables, and structural covariates. We found significant reductions in mortality related to chronic heavy alcohol consumption following legislatively induced increases in alcohol taxes in Florida. The frequency of deaths (t = -2.73, p = 0.007) and the rate per population (t = -2.06, p = 0.04) declined significantly. The elasticity effect estimate is -0.22 (t = -1.88, p = 0.06), indicating a 10% increase in tax is associated with a 2.2% decline in deaths. Increased alcohol taxes are associated with significant and sizable reductions in alcohol-attributable mortality in Florida. Results indicate that 600 to 800 lives per year could be saved if real tax rates were returned to 1983 levels (when the last tax increase occurred). Findings highlight the role of tax policy as an effective means for reducing deaths associated with chronic heavy alcohol use. Copyright © 2010 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Effects of AlcoholEdu for College on Alcohol-Related Problems Among Freshmen: A Randomized Multicampus Trial*

PubMed Central

Paschall, Mallie J.; Antin, Tamar; Ringwalt, Christopher L.; Saltz, Robert F.

2011-01-01

Objective: AlcoholEdu for College is a 2- to 3-hour online course for incoming college freshmen. This study was the first multicampus trial to examine effects of AlcoholEdu for College on alcohol-related problems among freshmen. Method: Thirty universi participated in the study. Fifteen were randomly assigned to receive AlcoholEdu, and the other 15 were assigned to the control condition. AlcoholEdu was implemented by intervention schools during the summer and/or fall semester. Cross-sectional surveys of freshmen were conducted at each university beginning before the intervention in spring 2008/2009; post-intervention surveys were administered in fall 2008/2009 and spring 2009/2010. The surveys included questions about the past-30-day frequency of 28 alcohol-related problems, from which we created indices for the total number of problems and problems in seven domains: physiological, academic, social, driving under the influence/riding with drinking drivers, aggression, sexual risk taking, and victimization. Multilevel Poisson regression analyses were conducted to examine intent-to-treat and dosage effects of AlcoholEdu for College on these outcomes. Results: Multilevel intent-to-treat analyses indicated significant reductions in the risk for past-30-day alcohol problems in general and problems in the physiological, social, and victimization domains during the fall semester immediately after completion of the course. However, these effects did not persist in the spring semester. Additional analyses suggested stronger AlcoholEdu effects on these outcomes at colleges with higher rates of student course completion. No AlcoholEdu effects were observed for alcohol-related problems in the other four domains. Conclusions: AlcoholEdu for College appears to have beneficial short-term effects on victimization and the most common types of alcohol-related problems among freshmen. Universities may benefit the most by mandating AlcoholEdu for College for all incoming freshmen and

"High" motivation for alcohol: what are the practical effects of energy drinks on alcohol priming?

PubMed

Peacock, Amy; Bruno, Raimondo

2013-02-01

While several researchers have proposed a causal relationship between alcohol mixed with energy drink (AmED) consumption and subsequent alcohol intake, there is a dearth of research exploring the potential mechanisms underpinning this association. Marczinski and colleagues (in press) report the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-groups study assessing whether an initial AmED dose primes an increased motivation to drink relative to alcohol alone. Participants (n = 80) received either alcohol (0.91 ml/kg vodka), energy drink (ED; 1.82 ml/kg Red Bull(®) ), AmED, or a placebo beverage and then self-reported their motivation to drink via the Desire-for-Drug scale. Subjective ratings of "desire more alcohol" were significantly higher than predrink in the placebo, alcohol, and AmED conditions, with this effect apparent at more time points in the AmED condition. While it was concluded that EDs may increase alcohol priming, between-condition analyses revealed that ratings did not differ significantly in AmED and alcohol conditions, with moderate magnitude treatment effects at most, and ratings of desire generally closer to 0 (absence of desire) than 100 (very much desire). While the study by Marczinski and colleagues fills an important gap in the literature, direct measurement of AmED priming's effect on subsequent alcohol consumption using a within-subjects design and appropriate statistical comparison is required to (i) establish the practical implications of these results for AmED consumers and (ii) discount any individual differences in such priming effects. Copyright © 2012 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Temporary effects of alcohol on color vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geniusz, Maciej K.; Geniusz, Malwina; Szmigiel, Marta; Przeździecka-Dołyk, Joanna

2017-09-01

The color vision has been described as one to be very sensitive to the intake of several chemicals. The present research reviews the published literature that is concerned with color vision impairment due to alcohol. Most of this research considers people under long-term effects of alcohol. However, there is little information about temporary effects of alcohol on color vision. A group of ten volunteers aged 18-40 was studied. During the study levels of alcohol in the body were tested with a standard breathalyzer while color vision were studied using Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Color Vision Tests. Keywords: Col

Effects of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related mortality in Florida: Time-series analyses from 1969–2004

PubMed Central

Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M.; Wagenaar, Alexander C.

2010-01-01

Background Over a hundred studies have established the effects of beverage alcohol taxes and prices on sales and drinking behaviors. Yet, relatively few studies have examined effects of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related mortality. We evaluated effects of multiple changes in alcohol tax rates in the State of Florida from 1969–2004 on disease (not injury) mortality. Methods A time-series quasi-experimental research design was used, including non-alcohol deaths within Florida and other states’ rates of alcohol-related mortality for comparison. A total of 432 monthly observations of mortality in Florida were examined over the 36-year period. Analyses included ARIMA, fixed-effects, and random effects models, including a noise model, tax independent variables, and structural covariates. Results We found significant reductions in mortality related to chronic heavy alcohol consumption following legislatively induced increases in alcohol taxes in Florida. The frequency of deaths (t=−2.73, p=.007) and the rate per population (t=−2.06, p=.04) declined significantly. The elasticity effect estimate is −0.22 (t=−1.88, p=.06), indicating a 10% increase in tax is associated with a 2.2% decline in deaths. Conclusions Increased alcohol taxes are associated with significant and sizable reductions in alcohol-attributable mortality in Florida. Results indicate that 600–800 lives per year could be saved if real tax rates were returned to 1983 levels (when the last tax increase occurred). Findings highlight the role of tax policy as an effective means for reducing deaths associated with chronic heavy alcohol use. PMID:20659073

Biphasic Effects of Alcohol on Delay and Probability Discounting

PubMed Central

Bidwell, L. Cinnamon; MacKillop, James; Murphy, James G.; Grenga, Andrea; Swift, Robert M.; McGeary, John E.

2014-01-01

Delay discounting and probability discounting are behavioral economic indices of impulsive and risky decision making that have been associated with addictive behavior, but the acute biphasic effects of alcohol on these decision-making processes are not well understood. This study sought to investigate the biphasic effects of alcohol on delay and probability discounting across the ascending and descending limbs of the breath alcohol concentration (BAC) curve, which are respectively characterized by the stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol. Delay and probability discounting were measured at four time points (Baseline, Ascending, Descending, and Endpoint) across the BAC curve at two target alcohol doses (40 mg/dl and 80 mg/dl) in healthy adults (N = 23 and 27, for both doses, respectively). There was no significant effect of alcohol on delay discounting at either dose. Alcohol significantly affected probability discounting, such that reduced discounting for uncertain rewards was evident during the descending limb of the BAC curve at the lower dose (p<.05) and during both the ascending and descending limb of the BAC curve at the higher dose (p<.05). Thus, alcohol resulted in increased risky decision making, particularly during the descending limb which is primarily characterized by the sedative effects of alcohol. These findings suggest that the biphasic effects of alcohol across the ascending and descending limbs of the BAC have differential effects on behavior related to decision-making for probabilistic, but not delayed, rewards. Parallels to and distinctions from previous findings are discussed. PMID:23750692

Effectiveness of Policies Maintaining or Restricting Days of Alcohol Sales on Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Harms

PubMed Central

Middleton, Jennifer Cook; Hahn, Robert A.; Kuzara, Jennifer L.; Elder, Randy; Brewer, Robert; Chattopadhyay, Sajal; Fielding, Jonathan; Naimi, Timothy S.; Toomey, Traci; Lawrence, Briana

2013-01-01

Local, state, and national laws and policies that limit the days of the week on which alcoholic beverages may be sold may be a means of reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. The methods of the Guide to Community Preventive Services were used to synthesize scientific evidence on the effectiveness for preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms of laws and policies maintaining or reducing the days when alcoholic beverages may be sold. Outcomes assessed in 14 studies that met qualifying criteria were excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms, including motor vehicle injuries and deaths, violence-related and other injuries, and health conditions. Qualifying studies assessed the effects of changes in days of sale in both on-premises settings (at which alcoholic beverages are consumed where purchased) and off-premises settings (at which alcoholic beverages may not be consumed where purchased). Eleven studies assessed the effects of adding days of sale, and three studies assessed the effects of imposing a ban on sales on a given weekend day. The evidence from these studies indicated that increasing days of sale leads to increases in excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms and that reducing the number of days that alcoholic beverages are sold generally decreases alcohol-related harms. Based on these findings, when the expansion of days of sale is being considered, laws and policies maintaining the number of days of the week that alcoholic beverages are sold at on- and off-premises outlets in local, state, and national jurisdictions are effective public health strategies for preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. PMID:21084079

Effectiveness of policies maintaining or restricting days of alcohol sales on excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.

PubMed

Middleton, Jennifer Cook; Hahn, Robert A; Kuzara, Jennifer L; Elder, Randy; Brewer, Robert; Chattopadhyay, Sajal; Fielding, Jonathan; Naimi, Timothy S; Toomey, Traci; Lawrence, Briana

2010-12-01

Local, state, and national laws and policies that limit the days of the week on which alcoholic beverages may be sold may be a means of reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. The methods of the Guide to Community Preventive Services were used to synthesize scientific evidence on the effectiveness for preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms of laws and policies maintaining or reducing the days when alcoholic beverages may be sold. Outcomes assessed in 14 studies that met qualifying criteria were excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms, including motor vehicle injuries and deaths, violence-related and other injuries, and health conditions. Qualifying studies assessed the effects of changes in days of sale in both on-premises settings (at which alcoholic beverages are consumed where purchased) and off-premises settings (at which alcoholic beverages may not be consumed where purchased). Eleven studies assessed the effects of adding days of sale, and three studies assessed the effects of imposing a ban on sales on a given weekend day. The evidence from these studies indicated that increasing days of sale leads to increases in excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms and that reducing the number of days that alcoholic beverages are sold generally decreases alcohol-related harms. Based on these findings, when the expansion of days of sale is being considered, laws and policies maintaining the number of days of the week that alcoholic beverages are sold at on- and off-premises outlets in local, state, and national jurisdictions are effective public health strategies for preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A meta-analysis of brief alcohol interventions for adolescents and young adults: Variability in effects across alcohol measures

PubMed Central

Tanner-Smith, Emily E.; Risser, Mark D.

2016-01-01

Background Brief alcohol interventions are one approach for reducing drinking among youth, but may vary in effectiveness depending on the type of alcohol assessments used to measure effects. Objectives To conduct a meta-analysis that examined the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions for adolescents and young adults, with particular emphasis on exploring variability in effects across outcome measurement characteristics. Method Eligible studies were those using an experimental or quasi-experimental design to examine the effects of a brief alcohol intervention on a post-intervention alcohol use measure for youth ages 11–30. A comprehensive literature review identified 190 unique samples that were included in the meta-analysis. Taking a Bayesian approach, we used random-effects multilevel models to estimate the average effect and model variability across outcome measurement types. Results Brief alcohol interventions led to significant reductions in self-reported alcohol use among adolescents ( g¯ = 0.25, 95% CrI [0.13, 0.37]) and young adults ( g¯ = 0.15, 95% CrI [0.12, 0.18]). These results were consistent across outcomes with varying reference periods, but varied across outcome construct type and assessment instruments. Among adolescents, effects were larger when measured using the Timeline Followback; among young adults, effects were smaller when measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Conclusion The strength of the beneficial effects of brief alcohol interventions on youth’s alcohol use may vary depending upon the outcome measure utilized. Nevertheless, significant effects were observed across measures. Although effects were modest in size, they were clinically significant and show promise for interrupting problematic alcohol use trajectories among youth. PMID:26905387

Context Effects of Alcohol Availability at Home: Implicit Alcohol Associations and the Prediction of Adolescents' Drinking Behavior.

PubMed

Peeters, Margot; Koning, Ina; Monshouwer, Karin; Vollebergh, Wilma A M; Wiers, Reinout W

2016-09-01

Recent studies suggest that the predictive effect of implicit alcohol associations is context dependent. Findings indicate that implicit associations are more easily retrieved in an alcohol-associated setting or context (e.g., bar) compared with a neutral setting. In line with this reasoning, we hypothesized that alcohol availability at home might moderate the relationship between implicit alcohol associations and future drinking behavior of adolescents. Participants were 262 at-risk adolescents (235 boys, 27 girls, adolescents with externalizing behavioral problems) with a mean age of 14.11 years (SD = 0.86, age range: 12-16 years) at baseline. Adolescents completed a questionnaire and a modified version of the Implicit Association Test (i.e., Single Category Implicit Association Test; SC-IAT). Stronger implicit alcohol associations predicted increase in frequency of alcohol use, only in adolescents who indicated that alcohol was available at home. No moderating effects were found for increase in quantity of alcohol use and problematic alcohol use, suggesting that implicit alcohol associations particularly influence the decision of whether to drink in adolescence. The findings illustrate that the availability of alcohol in the home setting influences adolescents' implicit alcohol associations and consequently affects the frequency of alcohol use. In this way, alcohol availability at home may be an important contextual factor to consider when examining the effect of implicit alcohol associations on the future drinking behavior of adolescents.

Effects of alcoholism severity and smoking on executive neurocognitive function.

PubMed

Glass, Jennifer M; Buu, Anne; Adams, Kenneth M; Nigg, Joel T; Puttler, Leon I; Jester, Jennifer M; Zucker, Robert A

2009-01-01

Neurocognitive deficits in chronic alcoholic men are well documented. Impairments include memory, visual-spatial processing, problem solving and executive function. The cause of impairment could include direct effects of alcohol toxicity, pre-existing cognitive deficits that predispose towards substance abuse, comorbid psychiatric disorders and abuse of substances other than alcohol. Cigarette smoking occurs at higher rates in alcoholism and has been linked to poor cognitive performance, yet the effects of smoking on cognitive function in alcoholism are often ignored. We examined whether chronic alcoholism and chronic smoking have effects on executive function. Alcoholism and smoking were examined in a community-recruited sample of alcoholic and non-alcoholic men (n = 240) using standard neuropsychological and reaction-time measures of executive function. Alcoholism was measured as the average level of alcoholism diagnoses across the study duration (12 years). Smoking was measured in pack-years. Both alcoholism and smoking were correlated negatively with a composite executive function score. For component measures, alcoholism was correlated negatively with a broad range of measures, whereas smoking was correlated negatively with measures that emphasize response speed. In regression analyses, both smoking and alcoholism were significant predictors of executive function composite. However, when IQ is included in the regression analyses, alcoholism severity is no longer significant. Both smoking and alcoholism were related to executive function. However, the effect of alcoholism was not independent of IQ, suggesting a generalized effect, perhaps affecting a wide range of cognitive abilities of which executive function is a component. On the other hand, the effect of smoking on measures relying on response speed were independent of IQ, suggesting a more specific processing speed deficit associated with chronic smoking.

[Alcohol and cardiovascular system: mechanisms of the protective effects].

PubMed

Schlienger, J L

2001-11-01

Moderate and regularly alcohol consumption reduces death rate from coronary heart disease and thrombotic stroke. This beneficial correlation observed with several alcoholic beverages seems to be mainly due to an ethanol effect. However the particular role of microconstituants contained in red wine must be considered. The mechanism of the putative protective effect of alcohol intake is mediated through the elevation of HDL cholesterol and through the aintioxydative effect of polyphenolic compounds. In addition, alcohol acts favourably on platelets agregation, fibrinolysis and several other coagulation parameters. Despite these explanations are yet speculative and there is no causal relation between alcohol and reduced coronary death, epidemiological data are consistent with the belief that daily consumption of one or two glasses of an alcoholic beverage has salutary effect on health.

Alcohol prevention on college campuses: the moderating effect of the alcohol environment on the effectiveness of social norms marketing campaigns.

PubMed

Scribner, Richard A; Theall, Katherine P; Mason, Karen; Simonsen, Neal; Schneider, Shari Kessel; Towvim, Laura Gomberg; DeJong, William

2011-03-01

Evaluations of social norms marketing campaigns to reduce college student drinking have produced conflicting results. This study examines whether the effectiveness of such campaigns may be moderated by on-premise alcohol outlet density in the surrounding community. Multilevel analyses were conducted of student survey responses (N= 19,838) from 32 U.S. colleges that took part in one of two 4-year randomized, controlled trials completed for the Social Norms Marketing Research Project (SNMRP). In the models, students by year were nested within treatment (n = 16) and control group (n = 16) campuses, which were characterized by the on-premise outlet density in their surrounding community. The moderating effect of outlet density was introduced into the models as an interaction between the treatment effect (i.e., the effect of the social norms marketing campaigns over time) and outlet density. The models were also stratified by campus alcohol outlet density (high vs. low) to examine the effect of the intervention in each type of setting. There was a significant interaction between the treatment effect and on-premise alcohol outlet density for one of the drinking outcomes targeted by the SNMRP intervention, the number of drinks when partying, and marginal evidence of interaction effects for two other outcomes, maximum recent consumption and a composite drinking scale. In stratified analyses, an intervention effect was observed for three of the four outcomes among students from campuses with lower on-premise alcohol outlet density, whereas no intervention effect was observed among students from campuses with higher on-premise alcohol outlet density. The findings suggest that the campus alcohol environment moderates the effect of social norms marketing interventions. Social norms marketing intervention may be less effective on campuses with higher densities of on-sale alcohol outlets.

Alcohol Prevention on College Campuses: The Moderating Effect of the Alcohol Environment on the Effectiveness of Social Norms Marketing Campaigns*

PubMed Central

Scribner, Richard A.; Theall, Katherine P.; Mason, Karen; Simonsen, Neal; Schneider, Shari Kessel; Towvim, Laura Gomberg; DeJong, William

2011-01-01

Objective: Evaluations of social norms marketing campaigns to reduce college student drinking have produced conflicting results. This study examines whether the effectiveness of such campaigns may be moderated by on-premise alcohol outlet density in the surrounding community. Method: Multilevel analyses were conducted of student survey responses (N = 19,838) from 32 U.S. colleges that took part in one of two 4-year randomized, controlled trials completed for the Social Norms Marketing Research Project (SNMRP). In the models, students by year were nested within treatment (n = 16) and control group (n = 16) campuses, which were characterized by the on-premise outlet density in their surrounding community. The moderating effect of outlet density was introduced into the models as an interaction between the treatment effect (i.e., the effect of the social norms marketing campaigns over time) and outlet density. The models were also stratified by campus alcohol outlet density (high vs. low) to examine the effect of the intervention in each type of setting. Results: There was a significant interaction between the treatment effect and on-premise alcohol outlet density for one of the drinking outcomes targeted by the SNMRP intervention, the number of drinks when partying, and marginal evidence of interaction effects for two other outcomes, maximum recent consumption and a composite drinking scale. In stratified analyses, an intervention effect was observed for three of the four outcomes among students from campuses with lower on-premise alcohol outlet density, whereas no intervention effect was observed among students from campuses with higher on-premise alcohol outlet density. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the campus alcohol environment moderates the effect of social norms marketing interventions. Social norms marketing intervention may be less effective on campuses with higher densities of on-sale alcohol outlets. PMID:21388596

Effects of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related disease mortality in New York State from 1969 to 2006.

PubMed

Delcher, Chris; Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M; Wagenaar, Alexander C

2012-07-01

The relationship of increased alcohol taxes to reductions in alcohol-related harm is well established. Few studies, however, have examined the effects of sudden decreases in alcohol tax rates or effects of narrow tax changes limited to specific beverage types. In the current study, we: (1) examine whether tax increases on spirits have similar effects in reducing alcohol-related disease mortality as increasing taxes on all types of alcoholic beverages simultaneously, and (2) evaluate effects of beer-specific tax decreases in New York State on mortality. We used a time-series, quasi-experimental research design, including non-alcohol deaths within New York State and other states' rates of alcohol-related disease mortality for comparison. The dataset included 456 monthly observations of mortality in New York State over a 38-year period (1969-2006). We used a random-effects approach and included several other important covariates. Alcohol-related disease mortality declined by 7.0% after a 1990 tax increase for spirits and beer. A spirits-only tax increase (in 1972) was not significantly associated with mortality but a data anomaly increased error in this effect estimate. Small tax decreases on beer between 1996 and 2006 had no measurable effect on mortality. Doubling the beer tax from $0.11 to $0.22 per gallon, a return to New York State's 1990 levels, would decrease deaths by an estimated 250 deaths per year. Excise tax increases on beer and spirits were associated with reductions in alcohol-related disease mortality. Modifying tax rates on a single beverage type does not appear to be as effective as doing so on multiple alcoholic beverages simultaneously. In New York, small decreases in beer taxes were not significantly associated with alcohol-related disease mortality. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related disease mortality in New York State from 1969 to 2006

PubMed Central

Delcher, Chris; Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M.; Wagenaar, Alexander C.

2013-01-01

Objective The relationship of increased alcohol taxes to reductions in alcohol-related harm is well established. Few studies, however, have examined the effects of sudden decreases in alcohol tax rates or effects of narrow tax changes limited to specific beverage types. In the current study, we: (1) examine whether tax increases on spirits have similar effects in reducing alcohol-related disease mortality as increasing taxes on all types of alcoholic beverages simultaneously, and (2) evaluate effects of beer-specific tax decreases in New York State on mortality. Method We used a time-series, quasi-experimental research design, including non-alcohol deaths within New York State and other states’ rates of alcohol-related disease mortality for comparison. The dataset included 456 monthly observations of mortality in New York State over a 38-year period (1969–2006). We used a random-effects approach and included several other important covariates. Results Alcohol-related disease mortality declined by 7.0% after a 1990 tax increase for spirits and beer. A spirits-only tax increase (in 1972) was not significantly associated with mortality but a data anomaly increased error in this effect estimate. Small tax decreases on beer between 1996 and 2006 had no measurable effect on mortality. Doubling the beer tax from $0.11 to $0.22 per gallon, a return to New York State’s 1990 levels, would decrease deaths by an estimated 250 deaths per year. Conclusions Excise tax increases on beer and spirits were associated with reductions in alcohol-related disease mortality. Modifying tax rates on a single beverage type does not appear to be as effective as doing so on multiple alcoholic beverages simultaneously. In New York, small decreases in beer taxes were not significantly associated with alcohol-related disease mortality. PMID:22436591

Effect of alcohol references in music on alcohol consumption in public drinking places.

PubMed

Engels, Rutger C M E; Slettenhaar, Gert; ter Bogt, Tom; Scholte, Ron H J

2011-01-01

People are exposed to many references to alcohol, which might influence their consumption of alcohol directly. In a field experiment, we tested whether textual references to alcohol in music played in bars lead to higher revenues of alcoholic beverages. We created two databases: one contained songs referring to alcohol, the parallel database contained songs with matching artists, tempo, and energetic content, but no references to alcohol. Customers of three bars were exposed to either music textually referring to alcohol or to the control condition, resulting in 23 evenings in both conditions. Bartenders were instructed to play songs with references to alcohol (or not) during a period of 2 hours each of the evenings of interest. They were not blind to the experimental condition. The results showed that customers who were exposed to music with textual references to alcohol spent significantly more on alcoholic drinks compared to customers in the control condition. This pilot study provides preliminary evidence that alcohol-related lyrics directly affect alcohol consumption in public drinking places. Since our study is one of the first testing direct effects of music lyrics on consumption, our small-scale, preliminary study needs replication before firm conclusions can be drawn. Copyright © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Effectiveness of policies restricting hours of alcohol sales in preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.

PubMed

Hahn, Robert A; Kuzara, Jennifer L; Elder, Randy; Brewer, Robert; Chattopadhyay, Sajal; Fielding, Jonathan; Naimi, Timothy S; Toomey, Traci; Middleton, Jennifer Cook; Lawrence, Briana

2010-12-01

Local, state, and national policies that limit the hours that alcoholic beverages may be available for sale might be a means of reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. The methods of the Guide to Community Preventive Services were used to synthesize scientific evidence on the effectiveness of such policies. All of the studies included in this review assessed the effects of increasing hours of sale in on-premises settings (in which alcoholic beverages are consumed where purchased) in high-income nations. None of the studies was conducted in the U.S. The review team's initial assessment of this evidence suggested that changes of less than 2 hours were unlikely to significantly affect excessive alcohol consumption and related harms; to explore this hypothesis, studies assessing the effects of changing hours of sale by less than 2 hours and by 2 or more hours were assessed separately. There was sufficient evidence in ten qualifying studies to conclude that increasing hours of sale by 2 or more hours increases alcohol-related harms. Thus, disallowing extensions of hours of alcohol sales by 2 or more should be expected to prevent alcohol-related harms, while policies decreasing hours of sale by 2 hours or more at on-premises alcohol outlets may be an effective strategy for preventing alcohol-related harms. The evidence from six qualifying studies was insufficient to determine whether increasing hours of sale by less than 2 hours increases excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects-- Support for Teachers and Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duckworth, Susanna V.; Norton, Terry L.

2000-01-01

Reviews genesis of fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects in children. Identifies physical characteristics and behavioral indicators found and provides three checklists of observable signs for both disorders. Recommends seven steps for educators to follow in seeking assistance with these conditions. (DLH)

The effect of acamprosate on alcohol and food craving in patients with alcohol dependence.

PubMed

Han, Doug Hyun; Lyool, In Kyoon; Sung, Young Hoon; Lee, Sang Hoon; Renshaw, Perry F

2008-03-01

The balance between inhibitory (gamma aminobutyric acid; GABAergic) and excitatory (glutamatergic) neurotransmission is thought to be associated with craving for alcohol and food. The anticraving effect of acamprosate is thought to be mediated through modifying the balance of GABA and glutamate. Recent studies in animals have suggested that acamprosate may have non-selective effects on craving for both alcohol and food. The influence of acamprosate for reducing craving for alcohol and food was assessed in 204 in-patients with alcohol dependence (96 patients treated with acamprosate, PWA; 108 patients were not treated PNA) was assessed at baseline and following 1, 2, and 4 weeks of treatment. There was a significant reduction in craving for alcohol over 4 weeks of treatment in both PWA and PNA groups, but without significant group differences. In contrast, a reduction in food craving was observed only in the PWA group. In addition, there was a significant increase of body mass index (BMI) in the PNA group but not the PWA group over the 4-week period. These results demonstrate acamprosate nonselective effects on craving for drinking and eating in alcoholic patients.

Effects of naltrexone on alcohol drinking patterns and extinction of alcohol seeking in baboons

PubMed Central

Kaminski, Barbara J.; Duke, Angela N.; Weerts, Elise M.

2012-01-01

Rationale Understanding naltrexone’s effect on motivation to drink and pattern of drinking is important for better treatment outcomes and for comparison with novel medications. Objectives Naltrexone’s effects on number and pattern of seeking, self-administration, and extinction responses were evaluated in two groups of baboons trained under a 3 component chained schedule of reinforcement (CSR). Methods Alcohol (4% w/v; n=4; Alcohol Group) or a preferred non-alcoholic beverage (n=4; Control Group) was available for self-administration only in Component 3 of the CSR. Responses in Component 2 provided indices of motivation to drink (seeking). Naltrexone (0.32 – 3.2 mg/kg) and saline were administered before drinking and Component 2 extinction sessions. Results Acute doses of naltrexone significantly decreased total self-administration responses (p<0.01), intake volume (p<0.001) and g/kg of alcohol (p<0.01) in the Alcohol Group only. Pattern of drinking did not change, but number of drinks during the initial drinking bout was decreased significantly by naltrexone for both groups (P<0.05). During within-session extinction tests, acute naltrexone significantly decreased time to reach extinction (p<0.01) and number of seeking responses (p<0.05), particularly early in the extinction period in the Alcohol Group only. When administered chronically, naltrexone did not decrease progressive-ratio breaking points to gain access to alcohol, but dose-dependently reduced alcohol self-administration (p<0.05) by decreasing the magnitude of the initial drinking bout. Conclusions The results support clinical observations that naltrexone may be most effective at reducing self-administration in the context of ongoing alcohol availability and may reduce motivation to drink in the presence of alcohol-related cues. PMID:22451093

Molecular simulation study of feruloyl esterase adsorption on charged surfaces: effects of surface charge density and ionic strength.

PubMed

Liu, Jie; Peng, Chunwang; Yu, Gaobo; Zhou, Jian

2015-10-06

The surrounding conditions, such as surface charge density and ionic strength, play an important role in enzyme adsorption. The adsorption of a nonmodular type-A feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger (AnFaeA) on charged surfaces was investigated by parallel tempering Monte Carlo (PTMC) and all-atom molecular dynamics (AAMD) simulations at different surface charge densities (±0.05 and ±0.16 C·m(-2)) and ionic strengths (0.007 and 0.154 M). The adsorption energy, orientation, and conformational changes were analyzed. Simulation results show that whether AnFaeA can adsorb onto a charged surface is mainly controlled by electrostatic interactions between AnFaeA and the charged surface. The electrostatic interactions between AnFaeA and charged surfaces are weakened when the ionic strength increases. The positively charged surface at low surface charge density and high ionic strength conditions can maximize the utilization of the immobilized AnFaeA. The counterion layer plays a key role in the adsorption of AnFaeA on the negatively charged COOH-SAM. The native conformation of AnFaeA is well preserved under all of these conditions. The results of this work can be used for the controlled immobilization of AnFaeA.

[Alcohol intake--a two-edged sword. Part 1: metabolism and pathogenic effects of alcohol].

PubMed

Ströhle, Alexander; Wolters, Maike; Hahn, Andreas

2012-08-01

From the biomedical point of view alcohol is a Janus-faced dietary component with a dose-dependent effect varying from cardiovascular protection to cytotoxicity. Alcohol is absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract by passive diffusion, is quickly distributed throughout body water and is mostly eliminated through oxidation. The enzymatically-catalyzed oxidative degradation to acetaldehyde and further to acetate is primarily localized in the liver. In case of a low blood alcohol concentration (<0.5 per thousand) alcohol is predominantely metabolized by the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase; higher blood concentrations (>0.5 per thousand) are increasingly oxidized by the microsomal ethanoloxidizing system (MEOS). Alcohol consumption induces several metabolic reactions as well as acute effects on the central nervous system. Chronic alcohol consumption to some extent irreparably damages nearly every organ with the liver being particularly concerned. There are three stages of alcohol-induced liver disease (fatty liver, alcohol hepatitis, liver cirrhosis) and the liver damages mainly result from reaction products of alcohol degradation (acetaldehyde, NADH and reactive oxygen species). An especially dreaded clinical complication of the alcohol-induced liver disease is the hepatic encephalopathy. Its pathogenesis is a multifactorial and self-perpetuating process with the swelling of astrocytes being a crucial point. Swollen astrocytes induce several reactions such as oxidative/nitrosative stress, impaired signal transduction, protein modifications and a modified gene expression profile. The swelling of astrocytes and the change in neuronal activity are attributed to several neurotoxins, especially ammonia and aromatic amino acids. In alcohol addicted subjects multiple micronutrient deficiencies are common. The status of folic acid, thiamine, pyridoxine and zinc is especially critical.

Self-Control and the Effects of Movie Alcohol Portrayals on Immediate Alcohol Consumption in Male College Students

PubMed Central

Koordeman, Renske; Anschutz, Doeschka J.; Engels, Rutger C. M. E.

2015-01-01

Background: In movies, alcohol-related cues are frequently depicted and there is evidence for a link between movie alcohol cues and immediate alcohol consumption. Less is known about factors influencing immediate effects movie alcohol exposure on drinking. The exertion of self-control is thought to be important in avoiding or resisting certain temptations. Aims: The aim of the present study was to assess the immediate effects of movie alcohol portrayals on drinking of male social drinkers and to assess the moderating role of self-control in this relation. It was hypothesized that participants would drink more when exposed to movie alcohol portrayals and that especially participants with low self-control would be affected by these portrayals. Methods: A between-subjects design comparing two movie conditions (alcohol or no portrayal of alcohol) was used, in which 154 pairs of male friends (ages 18–30) watched a 1-h movie in a semi-naturalistic living room setting. Their alcohol consumption while watching was examined. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing self-control as well as their self-reported weekly alcohol use. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted to test the effects of movie condition on alcohol comsumption. Results: Self-control moderated the relation between movie condition and alcohol consumption. Assignment to the alcohol movie condition increased alcohol consumption during the movie for males with high self-control but not for males with low self-control. Conclusion: Viewing a movie with alcohol portrayals can lead to higher alcohol consumption in a specific sample of young men while watching a movie. PMID:25691873

Self-control and the effects of movie alcohol portrayals on immediate alcohol consumption in male college students.

PubMed

Koordeman, Renske; Anschutz, Doeschka J; Engels, Rutger C M E

2014-01-01

In movies, alcohol-related cues are frequently depicted and there is evidence for a link between movie alcohol cues and immediate alcohol consumption. Less is known about factors influencing immediate effects movie alcohol exposure on drinking. The exertion of self-control is thought to be important in avoiding or resisting certain temptations. The aim of the present study was to assess the immediate effects of movie alcohol portrayals on drinking of male social drinkers and to assess the moderating role of self-control in this relation. It was hypothesized that participants would drink more when exposed to movie alcohol portrayals and that especially participants with low self-control would be affected by these portrayals. A between-subjects design comparing two movie conditions (alcohol or no portrayal of alcohol) was used, in which 154 pairs of male friends (ages 18-30) watched a 1-h movie in a semi-naturalistic living room setting. Their alcohol consumption while watching was examined. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing self-control as well as their self-reported weekly alcohol use. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted to test the effects of movie condition on alcohol comsumption. Self-control moderated the relation between movie condition and alcohol consumption. Assignment to the alcohol movie condition increased alcohol consumption during the movie for males with high self-control but not for males with low self-control. Viewing a movie with alcohol portrayals can lead to higher alcohol consumption in a specific sample of young men while watching a movie.

The Effect of Approach/Avoidance Training on Alcohol Consumption Is Mediated by Change in Alcohol Action Tendency

PubMed Central

Sharbanee, Jason M.; Hu, Litje; Stritzke, Werner G. K.; Wiers, Reinout W.; Rinck, Mike; MacLeod, Colin

2014-01-01

Training people to respond to alcohol images by making avoidance joystick movements can affect subsequent alcohol consumption, and has shown initial efficacy as a treatment adjunct. However, the mechanisms that underlie the training’s efficacy are unknown. The present study aimed to determine 1) whether the training’s effect is mediated by a change in action tendency or a change in selective attention, and 2) whether the training’s effect is moderated by individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC). Three groups of social drinkers (total N = 74) completed either approach-alcohol training, avoid-alcohol training or a sham-training on the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT). Participants’ WMC was assessed prior to training, while their alcohol-related action tendency and selective attention were assessed before and after the training on the recently developed Selective-Attention/Action Tendency Task (SA/ATT), before finally completing an alcohol taste-test. There was no significant main effect of approach/avoidance training on alcohol consumption during the taste-test. However, there was a significant indirect effect of training on alcohol consumption mediated by a change in action tendency, but no indirect effect mediated by a change in selective attention. There was inconsistent evidence of WMC moderating training efficacy, with moderation found only for the effect of approach-alcohol training on the AAT but not on the SA/ATT. Thus approach/avoidance training affects alcohol consumption specifically by changing the underlying action tendency. Multiple training sessions may be required in order to observe more substantive changes in drinking behaviour. PMID:24465750

Effects of Specific Alcohol Control Policy Measures on Alcohol-Related Mortality in Russia from 1998 to 2013.

PubMed

Khaltourina, Daria; Korotayev, Andrey

2015-09-01

To elucidate the possible effects of alcohol control policy measures on alcohol-related mortality in Russia between 1998 and 2013. Trends in mortality, alcohol production and sales were analyzed in conjunction with alcohol control legislative measures. Correlation analysis of health and alcohol market indicators was performed. Ethyl alcohol production was the strongest correlate of alcohol-related mortality, which is probably due to the fact that ethyl alcohol is used for both recorded and unrecorded alcohol production. Measures producing greatest mortality reduction effect included provisions which reduced ethyl alcohol production (introduction of minimum authorized capital for ethyl alcohol and liquor producers in 2006 and the requirement for distillery dreg processing), as well as measures to tax and denaturize ethanol-containing liquids in 2006. Liquor tax decrease in real terms was associated with rising mortality in 1998-1999, while excise tax increase was associated with mortality reduction in 2004 and since 2012. Conventional alcohol control measures may also have played a moderately positive role. Countries with high alcohol-related mortality should aim for a reduction in spirits consumption as a major health policy. Alcohol market centralization and reduction of the number of producers can have immediate strong effects on mortality. These measures should be combined with an increase in alcohol taxes and prices, as well as other established alcohol policy measures. In 2015 in Russia, this is not being implemented. In Russia, legislation enforcement including excise tax collection remains the major challenge. Another challenge will be the integration into the Eurasian Economic Union. © The Author 2015. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Alcohol's effect on triggered displaced aggression.

PubMed

Aviles, Fredy; Earleywine, Mitchell; Pollock, Vicki; Stratton, Joy; Miller, Norman

2005-03-01

The authors examined alcohol's effect on triggered displaced aggression, the hostile reaction to a second provoking person after provocation from a first. Participants consumed an alcoholic or a nonalcoholic beverage. Subsequently, one individual provoked all of them with moderate intensity. Then, 2 groups were studied: those who received or who failed to receive a second provocation of minimal intensity. Consistent with prior research, participants who received a second, minimal provocation displayed more aggression than those who did not. After participants drank alcohol, the magnitude of this difference was significantly greater, indicating that alcohol increases triggered displaced aggression. Copyright (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved.

Neurotoxic Effects of Alcohol in Adolescence

PubMed Central

Jacobus, Joanna; Tapert, Susan F.

2013-01-01

This review examines neuroimaging and neurocognitive findings on alcohol-related toxicity in adolescents. Teens who meet criteria for alcohol use disorders, as well as those who engage in subdiagnostic binge drinking behaviors, often show poorer neurocognitive performance, alterations in gray and white matter brain structure, and discrepant functional brain activation patterns when compared to nonusing and demographically matched controls. Abnormalities are also observed in teens with a family history of alcoholism, and such differences in neuromaturation may leave youths at increased risk for the development of an alcohol use disorder or increased substance use severity. More prospective investigations are needed, and future work should focus on disentangling preexisting differences from dose-dependent effects of alcohol on neurodevelopment. Intervention strategies that utilize neuroimag-ing findings (e.g., identified weaknesses in particular neural substrates and behavioral correlates) may be helpful in both prevention and intervention campaigns for teens both pre- and postinitiation of alcohol use. PMID:23245341

Religiousness and hazardous alcohol use: a conditional indirect effects model.

PubMed

Jankowski, Peter J; Hardy, Sam A; Zamboanga, Byron L; Ham, Lindsay S

2013-08-01

The current study examined a conditional indirect effects model of the association between religiousness and adolescents' hazardous alcohol use. In doing so, we responded to the need to include both mediators and moderators, and the need for theoretically informed models when examining religiousness and adolescents' alcohol use. The sample consisted of 383 adolescents, aged 15-18, who completed an online questionnaire. Results of structural equation modeling supported the proposed model. Religiousness was indirectly associated with hazardous alcohol use through both positive alcohol expectancy outcomes and negative alcohol expectancy valuations. Significant moderating effects for alcohol expectancy valuations on the association between alcohol expectancies and alcohol use were also found. The effects for alcohol expectancy valuations confirm valuations as a distinct construct to that of alcohol expectancy outcomes, and offer support for the protective role of internalized religiousness on adolescents' hazardous alcohol use as a function of expectancy valuations. Copyright © 2013 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does Moderate Level of Alcohol Consumption Produce a Relaxation Effect?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, William; Lockhart, Judy O.

Although many individuals use alcohol to cope with stress (their behavior being based on the belief that alcohol can produce a relaxation effect), research has reported conflicting results on the effects of alcohol on tension reduction. A study was conducted to examine the psychophysiological effects of moderate levels of alcohol consumption under…

Teaching Students with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Possible Prenatal Alcohol-Related Effects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Special Education Branch.

This guide provides a review of the characteristics of children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or possible prenatal alcohol-related effects (PPAE) and describes specific intervention strategies. Section 1 offers a general review of the diagnostic procedures, the prevalence of FAS and the physical, educational, and behavioral characteristics of…

Protective effect of pyruvate against ethanol-induced apoptotic neurodegeneration in the developing rat brain.

PubMed

Ullah, Najeeb; Naseer, Muhammad Imran; Ullah, Ikram; Lee, Hae Young; Koh, Phil Ok; Kim, Myeong Ok

2011-12-01

Exposure to alcohol during the early stages of brain development can lead to neurological disorders in the CNS. Apoptotic neurodegeneration due to ethanol exposure is a main feature of alcoholism. Exposure of developing animals to alcohol (during the growth spurt period in particular) elicits apoptotic neuronal death and causes fetal alcohol effects (FAE) or fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). A single episode of ethanol intoxication (at 5 g/kg) in a seven-day-old developing rat can activate the apoptotic cascade, leading to widespread neuronal death in the brain. In the present study, we investigated the potential protective effect of pyruvate against ethanol-induced neuroapoptosis. After 4h, a single dose of ethanol induced upregulation of Bax, release of mitochondrial cytochrome-c into the cytosol, activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1), all of which promote apoptosis. These effects were all reversed by co-treatment with pyruvate at a well-tolerated dosage (1000 mg/kg). Histopathology performed at 24 and 48 h with Fluoro-Jade-B and cresyl violet stains showed that pyruvate significantly reduced the number of dead cells in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and thalamus. Immunohistochemical analysis at 24h confirmed that ethanol-induced cell death is both apoptotic and inhibited by pyruvate. These findings suggest that pyruvate treatment attenuates ethanol-induced neuronal cell loss in the developing rat brain and holds promise as a safe therapeutic and neuroprotective agent in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders in newborns and infants. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of alcohol retail privatization on excessive alcohol consumption and related harms: a community guide systematic review.

PubMed

Hahn, Robert A; Middleton, Jennifer Cook; Elder, Randy; Brewer, Robert; Fielding, Jonathan; Naimi, Timothy S; Toomey, Traci L; Chattopadhyay, Sajal; Lawrence, Briana; Campbell, Carla Alexia

2012-04-01

Excessive alcohol consumption is the third-leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. This systematic review is one in a series exploring effectiveness of interventions to reduce alcohol-related harms. The focus of this review was on studies evaluating the effects of the privatization of alcohol retail sales on excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. Using Community Guide methods for conducting systematic reviews, a systematic search was conducted in multiple databases up to December 2010. Reference lists of acquired articles and review papers were also scanned for additional studies. A total of 17 studies assessed the impact of privatizing retail alcohol sales on the per capita alcohol consumption, a well-established proxy for excessive alcohol consumption; 9 of these studies also examined the effects of privatization on the per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages that were not privatized. One cohort study in Finland assessed the impact of privatizing the sales of medium-strength beer (MSB) on self-reported alcohol consumption. One study in Sweden assessed the impact of re-monopolizing the sale of MSB on alcohol-related harms. Across the 17 studies, there was a 44.4% median increase in the per capita sales of privatized beverages in locations that privatized retail alcohol sales (interquartile interval: 4.5% to 122.5%). During the same time period, sales of nonprivatized alcoholic beverages decreased by a median of 2.2% (interquartile interval: -6.6% to -0.1%). Privatizing the sale of MSB in Finland was associated with a mean increase in alcohol consumption of 1.7 liters of pure alcohol per person per year. Re-monopolization of the sale of MSB in Sweden was associated with a general reduction in alcohol-related harms. According to Community Guide rules of evidence, there is strong evidence that privatization of retail alcohol sales leads to increases in excessive alcohol consumption. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Alcohol effects on drug-nutrient interactions.

PubMed

Seitz, H K

1985-01-01

The interaction of ethanol with drugs and xenobiotics is complex because ethanol can affect any of the following steps; absorption, plasma protein binding, hepatic blood flow, distribution, hepatic uptake of drugs, and phase I and II hepatic metabolism. The ingestion of ethanol can lead to malabsorption of a variety of nutrients and can modify the absorption of various drugs. High concentrations of ethanol in conjunction with aspirin causes gastric mucosal damage. The principal effect of acute ethanol ingestion on drug metabolism is inhibition of microsomal drug metabolism. The synergistic effects of ethanol on central nervous system depressants can be explained by this mechanism. In contrast, chronic ethanol consumption increases mixed function oxidation and drug metabolism. The cross tolerance between ethanol and sedatives in chronic alcoholics may be due to this effect of alcohol. In addition, enhanced production of hepatotoxic products from certain drugs and xenobiotics and an increased activation of procarcinogens to carcinogens can result from this microsomal induction. The increased susceptibility to hepatotoxins and the enhanced carcinogenesis in the alcoholic may be explained by this fact. Other effects of the interaction between drugs and ethanol are the result of changes in organ susceptibility, best demonstrated for the central nervous system. Subsequently, the presence of liver disease has a great effect on drug metabolism in alcoholics.

Alcohol and bone: review of dose effects and mechanisms.

PubMed

Maurel, D B; Boisseau, N; Benhamou, C L; Jaffre, C

2012-01-01

Alcohol is widely consumed across the world. It is consumed in both social and cultural settings. Until recently, two types of alcohol consumption were recognized: heavy chronic alcohol consumption or light consumption. Today, there is a new pattern of consumption among teenagers and young adults namely: binge drinking. Heavy alcohol consumption is detrimental to many organs and tissues, including bones, and is known to induce secondary osteoporosis. Some studies, however, have reported benefits from light alcohol consumption on bone parameters. To date, little is known regarding the effects of binge drinking on bone health. Here, we review the effects of three different means of alcohol consumption: light, heavy, and binge drinking. We also review the detailed literature on the different mechanisms by which alcohol intake may decrease bone mass and strength. The effects of alcohol on bone are thought to be both direct and indirect. The decrease in bone mass and strength following alcohol consumption is mainly due to a bone remodeling imbalance, with a predominant decrease in bone formation. Recent studies, however, have reported new mechanisms by which alcohol may act on bone remodeling, including osteocyte apoptosis, oxidative stress, and Wnt signalling pathway modulation. The roles of reduced total fat mass, increased lipid content in bone marrow, and a hypoleptinemia are also discussed.

Effects of varenicline on alcohol cue reactivity in heavy drinkers.

PubMed

Roberts, Walter; Harrison, Emily L R; McKee, Sherry A

2017-09-01

Clinical trials and human laboratory studies have established that varenicline can reduce rates of alcohol use among heavy drinkers. Less is known about the mechanisms by which varenicline has this effect on drinking behavior. Reactivity to alcohol cues is often cited as the primary cause of relapse among those being treated for alcohol use disorder, and several front-line treatments for alcohol use disorder work, at least in part, by minimizing cue-induced alcohol craving. The current double-blind, placebo-controlled human laboratory study tested the effects of varenicline on alcohol cue reactivity in a group of heavy-drinking adult smokers and nonsmokers. As part of a larger series of sequential human laboratory experiments testing the effects of varenicline on drinking outcomes, participants were assigned (between-participant) to receive either active varenicline (2 mg/day) or placebo. Following a titration period, participants (n = 77) attended a laboratory session during which they were exposed to alcohol and neutral cues using a standard cue reactivity paradigm. Alcohol cue exposure increased craving for alcohol in both medication groups. However, participants receiving varenicline showed a smaller increase in alcohol craving compared to participants receiving placebo. The medication effect did not differ between smokers and nonsmokers. Among smokers, alcohol cue exposure also increased tobacco craving. Varenicline did not attenuate this effect. Results support the use of varenicline for reducing alcohol use in heavy drinkers and identify a potential mechanism by which varenicline reduces drinking. Varenicline continues to show promise as a pharmacological treatment for alcohol use disorder.

Effects of desloratadine and alcohol coadministration on psychomotor performance.

PubMed

Scharf, Martin; Berkowitz, David

2007-02-01

This study was set up to evaluate the effects of desloratadine 7.5 mg daily, with and without alcohol, on sedation and psychomotor performance. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, four-way crossover trial, 25 adult patients were randomized to desloratadine 7.5 mg, desloratadine 7.5 mg plus alcohol, placebo, or placebo plus alcohol. Alcohol was weight adjusted to an average blood alcohol concentration of 0.1%. Assessments included the modified Romberg test, Stanford Sleepiness Scale, Digit Symbol Substitution Test, Serial Add Subtract Reaction Time Test, and the Psychomotor Vigilance Test. The primary variable was the mean score of each of the five tests averaged over the treatment period, expressed as the mean percent change from baseline. Across these assessments, differences between desloratadine alone or with alcohol versus placebo alone or without alcohol, were not significant, whereas most differences between desloratadine and placebo alone versus desloratadine and placebo with alcohol were significant (p < 0.01). Thus, with or without alcohol, desloratadine 7.5 mg does not increase sedation or impair psychomotor performance. Most adverse events (AEs) were mild-to-moderate in severity, with the most frequently reported individual AEs being headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and dry mouth. The study does have potential limitations. The measures used are restricted to a particular profile of the known effects of alcohol only, and the relatively high doses of alcohol used alone demonstrate effects on psychomotor function and attention. A single dose of desloratadine does not potentiate alcohol-mediated CNS impairment. Desloratadine alone or in combination with alcohol was safe and well tolerated.

Effects of alcohol tax increases on alcohol-related disease mortality in Alaska: time-series analyses from 1976 to 2004.

PubMed

Wagenaar, Alexander C; Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M; Wagenaar, Bradley H

2009-08-01

We evaluated the effects of tax increases on alcoholic beverages in 1983 and 2002 on alcohol-related disease mortality in Alaska. We used a quasi-experimental design with quarterly measures of mortality from 1976 though 2004, and we included other states for comparison. Our statistical approach combined an autoregressive integrated moving average model with structural parameters in interrupted time-series models. We observed statistically significant reductions in the numbers and rates of deaths caused by alcohol-related disease beginning immediately after the 1983 and 2002 alcohol tax increases in Alaska. In terms of effect size, the reductions were -29% (Cohen's d = -0.57) and -11% (Cohen's d = -0.52) for the 2 tax increases. Statistical tests of temporary-effect models versus long-term-effect models showed little dissipation of the effect over time. Increases in alcohol excise tax rates were associated with immediate and sustained reductions in alcohol-related disease mortality in Alaska. Reductions in mortality occurred after 2 tax increases almost 20 years apart. Taxing alcoholic beverages is an effective public health strategy for reducing the burden of alcohol-related disease.

The effect of short-term alcohol restriction on risk of alcohol-related injury: A state wide population-based study.

PubMed

Liang, Wenbin; Gilmore, William; Chikritzhs, Tanya

2016-02-01

Alcohol consumption and related harms are largely determined by both demand and supply of alcohol. Across Western Australia, under state licensing laws, there are state-wide alcohol sales restrictions imposed on Good Friday and Christmas Day each year. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the Good Friday and Christmas Day state-wide alcohol restrictions on the risk of alcohol-related injuries presenting at emergency departments. This is a population-based cohort study using ED injury presentation data for the period 1st January 2002 to 1st January 2015. Risk of injury during the alcohol-related time of day affected by the alcohol restrictions (intervention periods, including Good Friday and Christmas Day) were compared to the same time of day over a number of control days. Multivariable Poisson regression model was used to perform the analysis. The crude injury risk was considerably lower during the alcohol restriction periods compared to control periods in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. The protective effect observed on the days of the alcohol restrictions remained significant, and largely unchanged, when potential confounding effects were controlled for. The significant reduction in alcohol-related injury presentations observed for public holiday periods with alcohol restrictions were likely caused by the alcohol restriction policy and its direct effect on alcohol supply. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neuropeptide Y Opposes Alcohol Effects on GABA Release in Amygdala and Blocks the Transition to Alcohol Dependence

PubMed Central

Gilpin, Nicholas W.; Misra, Kaushik; Herman, Melissa A.; Cruz, Maureen T.; Koob, George F.; Roberto, Marisa

2011-01-01

Background During the transition to alcohol and drug addiction, neuromodulator systems in the extended amygdala are recruited to mediate aspects of withdrawal and relapse via convergence on inhibitory GABA neurons in central amygdala (CeA). Methods This study investigated the role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in excessive alcohol drinking by making rats dependent on alcohol via alcohol vapor inhalation. This study also utilized intracellular and whole-cell recording techniques to determine the effects of NPY on GABAergic inhibitory transmission in CeA, synaptic mechanisms involved in these NPY effects, and NPY interactions with alcohol in the CeA of alcohol-naïve and alcohol-dependent rats. Results Chronic NPY treatment blocked excessive operant alcohol-reinforced responding associated with alcohol dependence, as well as gradual increases in alcohol responding by intermittently tested non-dependent controls. NPY decreased baseline GABAergic transmission and reversed alcohol-induced enhancement of inhibitory transmission in CeA by suppressing GABA release via actions at presynaptic Y2 receptors. Conclusions These results highlight NPY modulation of GABAergic signaling in central amygdala as a promising pharmacotheraputic target for the treatment of alcoholism. GABA neurons in the CeA likely constitute a major point of convergence for neuromodulator systems recruited during the transition to alcohol dependence. PMID:21459365

A Review of Existing Studies Reporting the Negative Effects of Alcohol Access and Positive Effects of Alcohol Control Policies on Interpersonal Violence

PubMed Central

Fitterer, Jessica L.; Nelson, Trisalyn A.; Stockwell, Timothy

2015-01-01

Alcohol consumption often leads to elevated rates of violence yet alcohol access policies continue to relax across the globe. Our review establishes the extent alcohol policy can moderate violent crime through alcohol availability restrictions. Results were informed from comprehensive selection of peer-reviewed journals from 1950 to October 2015. Our search identified 87 relevant studies on alcohol access and violence conducted across 12 countries. Seventeen studies included quasi-control design, and 23 conducted intervention analysis. Seventy-one (82%) reported a significant relationship between alcohol access and violent offenses. Alcohol outlet studies reported the greatest percentage of significant results (93%), with trading hours (63%), and alcohol price following (58%). Results from baseline studies indicated the effectiveness of increasing the price of commonly consumed alcohol, restricting the hours of alcohol trading, and limiting the number of alcohol outlets per region to prevent violent offenses. Unclear are the effects of tax reductions, restriction of on-premises re-entry, and different outlet types on violent crime. Further, the generalization of statistics over broad areas and the low number of control/intervention studies poses some concern for confounding or correlated effects on study results, and amount of information for local-level prevention of interpersonal violence. Future studies should focus on gathering longitudinal data, validating models, limiting crime data to peak drinking days and times, and wherever possible collecting the joint distribution between violent crime, intoxication, and place. A greater uptake of local-level analysis will benefit studies comparing the influence of multiple alcohol establishment types by relating the location of a crime to establishment proximity. Despite, some uncertainties particular studies showed that even modest policy changes, such as 1% increases in alcohol price, 1 h changes to closing times

The Effect of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Vapors on Evidential Breath Alcohol Test Results.

PubMed

Strawsine, Ellen; Lutmer, Brian

2017-11-16

This study was undertaken to determine if the application of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHSs) to the hands of a breath test operator will affect the results obtained on evidential breath alcohol instruments (EBTs). This study obtained breath samples on three different EBTs immediately after application of either gel or foam ABHS to the operator's hands. A small, but significant, number of initial analyses (13 of 130, 10%) resulted in positive breath alcohol concentrations, while 41 samples (31.5%) resulted in a status code. These status codes were caused by ethanol vapors either in the room air or their inhalation by the subject, thereby causing a mouth alcohol effect. Replicate subject samples did not yield any consecutive positive numeric results. As ABHS application can cause a transitory mouth alcohol effect via inhalation of ABHS vapors, EBT operators should forego the use of ABHS in the 15 min preceding subject testing. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Effects of Pregnancy and Nutritional Status on Alcohol Metabolism

PubMed Central

Shankar, Kartik; Ronis, Martin J.J.; Badger, Thomas M.

2007-01-01

Metabolism of alcohol (i.e., ethanol) is regulated by genetic and environmental factors as well as physiologic state. For a given alcohol intake, the rate of alcohol clearance, which ultimately determines tissue ethanol concentrations, may be the most significant risk factor for many of the detrimental effects of alcohol. Faster ethanol clearance would help minimize target tissue concentrations, and in pregnant women, mitigate fetal alcohol exposure. Much remains to be known about the effects of the altered endocrine milieu of pregnancy on alcohol metabolism and clearance in the mother. Research has shown that among pregnant rats allowed unrestricted access to alcohol and those fed alcohol containing liquid diets under experimental conditions via a feeding tube (total enteral nutrition [TEN]), urine ethanol concentrations (and thus blood and tissue ethanol concentrations) are lower in pregnant rats compared with non-pregnant females given the same dose of ethanol. Maternal nutritional status also is an important determinant of fetal alcohol toxicity. Research using the TEN system has demonstrated that alcohol-induced fetal growth retardation is potentiated by undernutrition in part via impaired alcohol metabolism and clearance. PMID:17718402

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol.

PubMed

Anderson, Peter; Chisholm, Dan; Fuhr, Daniela C

2009-06-27

This paper reviews the evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol, in the areas of education and information, the health sector, community action, driving while under the influence of alcohol (drink-driving), availability, marketing, pricing, harm reduction, and illegally and informally produced alcohol. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses show that policies regulating the environment in which alcohol is marketed (particularly its price and availability) are effective in reducing alcohol-related harm. Enforced legislative measures to reduce drink-driving and individually directed interventions to already at-risk drinkers are also effective. However, school-based education does not reduce alcohol-related harm, although public information and education-type programmes have a role in providing information and in increasing attention and acceptance of alcohol on political and public agendas. Making alcohol more expensive and less available, and banning alcohol advertising, are highly cost-effective strategies to reduce harm. In settings with high amounts of unrecorded production and consumption, increasing the proportion of alcohol that is taxed could be a more effective pricing policy than a simple increase in tax.

The effectiveness of current French health warnings displayed on alcohol advertisements and alcoholic beverages.

PubMed

Dossou, Gloria; Gallopel-Morvan, Karine; Diouf, Jacques-François

2017-08-01

Many countries use health warnings in an attempt to regulate alcohol consumption. However, there is a lack of conclusive evidence in the research on alcohol warnings to support decision-making on effective health policies. This study explores the effectiveness of two mandatory warnings introduced in France in 1991 and 2007: the first (Alcohol abuse is harmful) is displayed on alcohol advertisements; the second (a pictogram) on bottles. Given that advertising content regulations have been implemented in some countries to reduce the attractiveness of alcohol marketing (e.g. the Evin law in France), this research also aims to explore whether such regulations can improve the effectiveness of warnings. In-depth interviews were conducted with 26 French people aged 15-29 years. The effectiveness of health warnings was assessed in terms of recall, noticeability, credibility, comprehension, responsiveness, and ability to encourage moderate drinking and abstinence during pregnancy. Participants were shown alcohol advertisements and bottles that either followed or challenged content regulations. The data were analyzed using double manual coding and NVivo software. While both warnings suffered from a lack of visibility and noticeability due to their size, location, and outdatedness and because of competition from marketing design elements, the warning on the advertisement that followed content regulations was most visible. Both warnings were considered to be informationally vague, lacking in credibility and ineffective in terms of making participants feel concerned and influencing consumption habits. Current French warnings are ineffective and require modification. Improvements are suggested regarding the design and content of warnings to help increase their effectiveness. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Effects of Acute Alcohol Consumption on the Processing of Emotion in Faces: Implications for Understanding Alcohol-Related Aggression

PubMed Central

Attwood, Angela S.; Munafò, Marcus R.

2016-01-01

The negative consequences of chronic alcohol abuse are well known, but heavy episodic consumption ("binge drinking") is also associated with significant personal and societal harms. Aggressive tendencies are increased after alcohol but the mechanisms underlying these changes are not fully understood. While effects on behavioural control are likely to be important, other effects may be involved given the widespread action of alcohol. Altered processing of social signals is associated with changes in social behaviours, including aggression, but until recently there has been little research investigating the effects of acute alcohol consumption on these outcomes. Recent work investigating the effects of acute alcohol on emotional face processing has suggested reduced sensitivity to submissive signals (sad faces) and increased perceptual bias towards provocative signals (angry faces) after alcohol consumption, which may play a role in alcohol-related aggression. Here we discuss a putative mechanism that may explain how alcohol consumption influences emotional processing and subsequent aggressive responding, via disruption of OFC-amygdala connectivity. While the importance of emotional processing on social behaviours is well established, research into acute alcohol consumption and emotional processing is still in its infancy. Further research is needed and we outline a research agenda to address gaps in the literature. PMID:24920135

Effects of alcohol on motorcycle riding skills

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-12-01

Alcohol is known to disrupt the effect of neurotransmitters and impair various psychomotor skills. Indeed, alcohol intoxication is a significant risk factor for fatal traffic crashes, especially when riding a motorcycle. At present, there is sparse r...

Effects of dexamphetamine with and without alcohol on simulated driving.

PubMed

Simons, Ries; Martens, Marieke; Ramaekers, Jan; Krul, Arno; Klöpping-Ketelaars, Ineke; Skopp, Gisela

2012-08-01

In party circuits dexamphetamine is frequently used in combination with alcohol. It is hypothesized that co-administration of dexamphetamine to alcohol might reduce the sedative effects of alcohol, but may potentiate risk-taking behaviour. The study was aimed at assessing the effects of alcohol, dexamphetamine and the combination of both on simulated driving and cognitive performance. Eighteen subjects participated in a randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled study employing four conditions: 10 mg dexamphetamine, 0.8 g/kg alcohol, 10 mg dexamphetamine + 0.8 g/kg alcohol, and placebo. Fundamental driving skills and risk-taking behaviour were assessed in a driving simulator. Subjects also completed vigilance and divided attention tasks, and subjective ratings. Mean BAC levels during simulated driving were between 0.91‰ and 0.64‰. Subjects using alcohol showed a significantly larger mean standard deviation of lateral position and shorter accepted gap time and distance. Use of alcohol or dexamphetamine + alcohol was associated with a higher frequency of red light running and collisions than the dexamphetamine or placebo conditions. Performance of vigilance and divided attention tasks was significantly impaired in the alcohol condition and, to a lesser degree, in the dexamphetamine + alcohol condition. Single doses of 0.8 g/kg alcohol increased risk-taking behaviours and impaired tracking, attention and reaction time during a 3-h period after drinking when BACs declined from 0.9 to 0.2 mg/ml. The stimulatory effects of co-administration of dexamphetamine 10 mg were not sufficient to overcome the impairing effects of alcohol on skills related to driving.

Searching for an environmental effect of parental alcoholism on offspring alcohol use disorder: A genetically-informed study of children of alcoholics

PubMed Central

Slutske, Wendy S.; D’Onofrio, Brian M.; Turkheimer, Eric; Emery, Robert E.; Harden, K. Paige; Heath, Andrew C.; Martin, Nicholas G.

2009-01-01

The children-of-twins design was used to isolate a potentially causal environmental impact of having an alcoholic parent on offspring alcohol use disorder by examining whether the children of alcoholics were at a higher risk for alcohol use disorders than the children of non-alcoholic parents even after correlated familial factors were controlled. Participants were 1,224 male and female twins from 836 twin pairs selected from the Australian Twin Registry, 2,334 of their 18–39 year-old offspring, and 983 spouses of the twins. Lifetime histories of DSM-IV alcohol use disorders were obtained by structured psychiatric telephone interviews conducted individually with each of the family members. Comparisons of the offspring of twins discordant for alcoholism indicated that there was no longer a statistically significant difference between the children of alcoholics and the children of non-alcoholics after genetic and family environmental factors correlated with having an alcoholic parent were controlled. The results of this study suggest that the direct causal effect of being exposed to an alcoholic parent on offspring alcohol use disorder is modest at best. PMID:18729607

Alcohol and Group Formation: A Multimodal Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol on Emotion and Social Bonding

PubMed Central

Sayette, Michael A.; Creswell, Kasey G.; Dimoff, John D.; Fairbairn, Catharine E.; Cohn, Jeffrey F.; Heckman, Bryan W.; Kirchner, Thomas R.; Levine, John M.; Moreland, Richard L.

2017-01-01

We integrated research on emotion and on small groups to address a fundamental and enduring question facing alcohol researchers: What are the specific mechanisms that underlie the reinforcing effects of drinking? In one of the largest alcohol-administration studies yet conducted, we employed a novel group-formation paradigm to evaluate the socioemotional effects of alcohol. Seven hundred twenty social drinkers (360 male, 360 female) were assembled into groups of 3 unacquainted persons each and given a moderate dose of an alcoholic, placebo, or control beverage, which they consumed over 36 min. These groups’ social interactions were video recorded, and the duration and sequence of interaction partners’ facial and speech behaviors were systematically coded (e.g., using the Facial Action Coding System). Alcohol consumption enhanced individual- and group-level behaviors associated with positive affect, reduced individual-level behaviors associated with negative affect, and elevated self-reported bonding. Our results indicate that alcohol facilitates bonding during group formation. Assessing nonverbal responses in social contexts offers new directions for evaluating the effects of alcohol. PMID:22760882

Cost-effectiveness of volumetric alcohol taxation in Australia.

PubMed

Byrnes, Joshua M; Cobiac, Linda J; Doran, Christopher M; Vos, Theo; Shakeshaft, Anthony P

2010-04-19

To estimate the potential health benefits and cost savings of an alcohol tax rate that applies equally to all alcoholic beverages based on their alcohol content (volumetric tax) and to compare the cost savings with the cost of implementation. Mathematical modelling of three scenarios of volumetric alcohol taxation for the population of Australia: (i) no change in deadweight loss, (ii) no change in tax revenue, and (iii) all alcoholic beverages taxed at the same rate as spirits. Estimated change in alcohol consumption, tax revenue and health benefit. The estimated cost of changing to a volumetric tax rate is $18 million. A volumetric tax that is deadweight loss-neutral would increase the cost of beer and wine and reduce the cost of spirits, resulting in an estimated annual increase in taxation revenue of $492 million and a 2.77% reduction in annual consumption of pure alcohol. The estimated net health gain would be 21 000 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with potential cost offsets of $110 million per annum. A tax revenue-neutral scenario would result in an 0.05% decrease in consumption, and a tax on all alcohol at a spirits rate would reduce consumption by 23.85% and increase revenue by $3094 million [corrected]. All volumetric tax scenarios would provide greater health benefits and cost savings to the health sector than the existing taxation system, based on current understandings of alcohol-related health effects. An equalized volumetric tax that would reduce beer and wine consumption while increasing the consumption of spirits would need to be approached with caution. Further research is required to examine whether alcohol-related health effects vary by type of alcoholic beverage independent of the amount of alcohol consumed to provide a strong evidence platform for alcohol taxation policies.

Alcohol expectancies longitudinally predict drinking and the alcohol myopia effects of relief, self-inflation, and excess.

PubMed

Lac, Andrew; Brack, Nathaniel

2018-02-01

Alcohol myopia theory posits that alcohol consumption attenuates information processing capacity, and that expectancy beliefs together with intake level are responsible for experiences in myopic effects (relief, self-inflation, and excess). Adults (N=413) averaging 36.39 (SD=13.02) years of age completed the Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol questionnaire at baseline, followed by alcohol use measures (frequency and quantity) and the Alcohol Myopia Scale one month later. Three structural equation models based on differing construct manifestations of alcohol expectancies served to longitudinally forecast alcohol use and myopia. In Model 1, overall expectancy predicted greater alcohol use and higher levels of all three myopic effects. In Model 2, specifying separate positive and negative expectancy factors, positive but not negative expectancy predicted greater use. Furthermore, positive expectancy and use explained higher myopic relief and higher self-inflation, whereas positive expectancy, negative expectancy, and use explained higher myopic excess. In Model 3, the seven specific expectancy subscales (sociability, tension reduction, liquid courage, sexuality, cognitive and behavioral impairment, risk and aggression, and self-perception) were simultaneously specified as predictors. Tension reduction expectancy, sexuality expectancy, and use contributed to higher myopic relief; sexuality expectancy and use explained higher myopic self-inflation; and risk and aggression expectancy and use accounted for higher myopic excess. Across all three predictive models, the total variance explained ranged from 12 to 19% for alcohol use, 50 to 51% for relief, 29 to 34% for self-inflation, and 32 to 35% for excess. Findings support that the type of alcohol myopia experienced is a concurrent function of self-fulfilling alcohol prophecies and drinking levels. The interpreted measurement manifestation of expectancy yielded different prevention implications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier

Effects of different blood alcohol concentrations and post-alcohol impairment on driving behavior and task performance.

PubMed

Liu, Yung-Ching; Ho, Chin Heng

2010-08-01

A study using simulator methodology was conducted to investigate the effects of (1) different blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of 0, 0.05, 0.08, and 0.10 percent and (2) post-alcohol impairment (where BAC approximately 0%) on driving behavior and subsidiary cognitive task performance. Two driving sessions were investigated, that is, drunk driving and post-alcohol driving, with each requiring approximately 20 min of driving. In addition to driving safely, participants were instructed to perform the critical flicker fusion (CFF) test and completed the NASA-TLX mental workload questionnaire. Eight licensed drivers (6 males, 2 females) participated in this 2 (road complexities) x 2 (simulated driving sessions) x 4 (levels of BAC) within-subjects experiment. The study revealed that higher BAC levels were associated with lower performing driving behavior. The driver's mental workload reached the highest values in the post-alcohol session. In terms of tasks involving divided attention, the traffic sign distance estimation showed significant deterioration with increased BAC levels. The relationship between drunk-driving behavior and alcohol dosage was supported in this study. Noticeably, no significant difference was found between drunk driving and post-alcohol driving, indicating that even in the post-alcohol situation, the impairment still remained significant enough to jeopardize traffic safety as much as it does in the case of drunk driving. In real-life situations, adopting a rest-time strategy to avoid post-alcohol impairment effects may not be the most appropriate solution by drivers; rather, drivers should be given some tests to verify the probability of post-alcohol effects on driving.

The Effects of Prices on Alcohol Use and its Consequences

PubMed Central

Xu, Xin; Chaloupka, Frank J.

2011-01-01

Over the past three decades, economists and others have devoted considerable effort to assessing the impact of alcoholic-beverage taxes and prices on alcohol consumption and its related adverse consequences. Federal and State excise taxes have increased only rarely and, when adjusted for inflation, have declined significantly over the years, as have overall prices for alcoholic beverages. Yet studies examining the effects of increases of monetary prices (e.g., through raising taxes) on alcohol consumption and a wide range of related behavioral and health problems have demonstrated that price increases for alcoholic beverages lead to reduced alcohol consumption, both in the general population and in certain high-risk populations, such as heavier drinkers or adolescents and young adults. These effects seem to be more pronounced in the long run than in the short run. Likewise, price increases can help reduce the risk for adverse consequences of alcohol consumption and abuse, including drinking and driving, alcohol-involved crimes, liver cirrhosis and other alcohol-related mortality, risky sexual behavior and its consequences, and poor school performance among youth. All of these findings indicate that increases in alcoholic-beverage taxes could be a highly effective option for reducing alcohol abuse and its consequences. PMID:22330223

Drinking Songs: Alcohol Effects on Learned Song of Zebra Finches

PubMed Central

Olson, Christopher R.; Owen, Devin C.; Ryabinin, Andrey E.; Mello, Claudio V.

2014-01-01

Speech impairment is one of the most intriguing and least understood effects of alcohol on cognitive function, largely due to the lack of data on alcohol effects on vocalizations in the context of an appropriate experimental model organism. Zebra finches, a representative songbird and a premier model for understanding the neurobiology of vocal production and learning, learn song in a manner analogous to how humans learn speech. Here we show that when allowed access, finches readily drink alcohol, increase their blood ethanol concentrations (BEC) significantly, and sing a song with altered acoustic structure. The most pronounced effects were decreased amplitude and increased entropy, the latter likely reflecting a disruption in the birds’ ability to maintain the spectral structure of song under alcohol. Furthermore, specific syllables, which have distinct acoustic structures, were differentially influenced by alcohol, likely reflecting a diversity in the neural mechanisms required for their production. Remarkably, these effects on vocalizations occurred without overt effects on general behavioral measures, and importantly, they occurred within a range of BEC that can be considered risky for humans. Our results suggest that the variable effects of alcohol on finch song reflect differential alcohol sensitivity of the brain circuitry elements that control different aspects of song production. They also point to finches as an informative model for understanding how alcohol affects the neuronal circuits that control the production of learned motor behaviors. PMID:25536524

mTOR activation is required for the anti-alcohol effect of ketamine, but not memantine, in alcohol-preferring rats

PubMed Central

Sabino, Valentina; Narayan, Aditi R.; Zeric, Tamara; Steardo, Luca; Cottone, Pietro

2013-01-01

Glutamate NMDA receptors mediate many molecular and behavioral effects of alcohol, and they play a key role in the development of excessive drinking. Uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonists may, therefore, have therapeutic potential for alcoholism. The first aim was to compare the effects of the NMDA antagonists memantine and ketamine on ethanol and saccharin drinking in alcohol-preferring rats. The second aim was to determine whether the effects of the two NMDA receptor antagonists were mediated by the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). TSRI Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats were allowed to self-administer either 10% w/v ethanol or 0.08% w/v saccharin, and water. Operant responding and motor activity were assessed following administration of either memantine (0–10 mg/kg) or ketamine (0–20 mg/kg). Finally, ethanol self-administration was assessed in rats administered with either memantine or ketamine but pretreated with the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin (2.5 mg/kg). The uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonists memantine and ketamine dose-dependently reduced ethanol drinking in alcohol-preferring rats; while memantine had a preferential effect on alcohol over saccharin, ketamine reduced responding for both solutions. Neither antagonist induced malaise, as shown by the lack of effect on water intake and motor activity. The mTOR inhibitor rapamycin blocked the effects of ketamine, but not those of memantine. Memantine and ketamine both reduce alcohol drinking in alcohol-preferring rats, but only memantine is selective for alcohol. The effects of ketamine, but not memantine, are mediated by mTOR. The results support the therapeutic potential of uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonists, especially memantine, in alcohol addiction. PMID:23466691

Differences in reporting of perceived acute effects of alcohol use, marijuana use, and simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use.

PubMed

Lee, Christine M; Cadigan, Jennifer M; Patrick, Megan E

2017-11-01

Although there are serious negative harms associated with simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use, little is known about the self-reported acute effects of SAM use and how they may be similar to or different than effects experienced when using alcohol or marijuana only. The current study examines the perceived acute effects of SAM use, compared to using alcohol or marijuana only, as well as demographic and substance use predictors of overall SAM effects. Participants were a community sample of young adults ages 18-23 participating in a longitudinal study on social role transitions and substance use during young adulthood. Young adults who reported SAM use at least once in their lifetime were selected for the present analyses (N=315; mean age=21.42; 58% female) and reported the effects they experienced from typical alcohol use, marijuana use, and SAM use. There were significant differences in the extent to which young adults perceived the effects depending on the substances used. Most effects (i.e., clumsy, confused, dizzy, difficulty concentrating) were rated strongest when engaging in SAM use, compared to typical alcohol or marijuana use alone. Feeling high and feeling marijuana effects were rated strongest when engaging in marijuana use alone compared to SAM use, but feeling drunk was greater during SAM use compared to alcohol use alone. Greater alcohol use and increased time spent high during typical SAM use were associated with greater overall SAM effects. When young adults engage in SAM use they report experiencing greater negative physiological and cognitive effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of prior alcohol consumption on the ataxic response to alcohol in high-alcohol preferring mice

PubMed Central

Fritz, Brandon M.; Boehm, Stephen L.

2014-01-01

We have previously shown that ethanol-naïve high-alcohol preferring (HAP) mice, genetically predis-posed to consume large quantities of alcohol, exhibited heightened sensitivity and more rapid acute functional tolerance (AFT) to alcohol-induced ataxia compared to low-alcohol preferring mice. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effect of prior alcohol self-administration on these responses in HAP mice. Naïve male and female adult HAP mice from the second replicate of selection (HAP2) underwent 18 days of 24-h, 2-bottle choice drinking for 10% ethanol vs. water, or water only. After 18 days of fluid access, mice were tested for ataxic sensitivity and rapid AFT following a 1.75 g/kg injection of ethanol on a static dowel apparatus in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, a separate group of mice was tested for more protracted AFT development using a dual-injection approach where a second, larger (2.0 g/kg) injection of ethanol was given following the initial recovery of performance on the task. HAP2 mice that had prior access to alcohol exhibited a blunted ataxic response to the acute alcohol challenge, but this pre-exposure did not alter rapid within-session AFT capacity in Experiment 1 or more protracted AFT capacity in Experiment 2. These findings suggest that the typically observed increase in alcohol consumption in these mice may be influenced by ataxic functional tolerance development, but is not mediated by a greater capacity for ethanol exposure to positively influence within-session ataxic tolerance. PMID:25454537

Gender-Specific Effects of Mood on Alcohol-Seeking Behaviors: Preliminary Findings Using Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration.

PubMed

Cyders, Melissa A; VanderVeen, J Davis; Plawecki, Martin; Millward, James B; Hays, James; Kareken, David A; O'Connor, Sean

2016-02-01

Although negative mood has long been implicated in differences in alcohol seeking by men and women, little research has used precise, well-controlled laboratory experiments to examine how negative mood affects alcohol-seeking behaviors. A total of 34 (19 women) community-dwelling, alcohol-using adults aged 21 to 32 (mean age = 24.86, SD = 3.40, 74.3% Caucasian; Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT] = 10.1, SD = 3.4) completed 2 counterbalanced intravenous alcohol self-administration sessions: one under negative mood and one under neutral mood. Fourteen individuals (9 women; mean age = 25.00, SD = 2.77) participated in an alcohol "liking" experiment (i.e., free access [FA] drinking) and 20 individuals (10 women; mean age = 24.77, SD = 3.73) participated in an alcohol "wanting" experiment, in which gaining access to alcohol required progressively effortful work. There was no significant difference between men and women on the AUDIT, t(32) = -0.38, p = 0.71. Priming with negative mood induction caused a significant decrease in self-reported mood (mean change = -1.85, t(32) = -6.81, p < 0.001), as intended. In FA, negative mood was associated with a significantly increased peak breath alcohol concentration (BrAC; F = 9.41, p = 0.01), with a trend toward a greater effect in men than in women (F = 2.67, p = 0.13). Negative mood also had a significant effect on peak BrAC achieved in the progressive work paradigm (F = 5.28, p = 0.04), with a significantly stronger effect in men (F = 5.35, p = 0.03) than women; men also trended toward more consistent work for alcohol across both neutral and negative sessions. These preliminary findings demonstrate a gender-specific response on how mood affects alcohol seeking and suggest gender-specific interventions to prevent mood-based alcohol consumption. Copyright © 2016 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Acute effects of alcohol on the development of intrusive memories.

PubMed

Bisby, James A; Brewin, Chris R; Leitz, Julie R; Valerie Curran, H

2009-07-01

Post-traumatic stress disorder is characterised by repeated intrusive imagery of the traumatic event. Despite alcohol's impairing effect on memory and frequent involvement in real-life trauma, virtually nothing is known of the interaction between alcohol and trauma memory. We aimed to investigate the acute alcohol effects on spontaneous memories following a trauma film as well as explicit memory for the film. Utilising an independent-group double-blind design, 48 healthy volunteers were randomly allocated to receive alcohol of 0.4 or 0.8 g/kg or a matched placebo drink. A stressful film was viewed post-drink. Skin conductance was monitored throughout and mood and dissociative symptoms were indexed. Volunteers recorded their spontaneous memories of the film daily in an online diary over the following week. Their explicit memory for both gist and details of the film was tested on day 7. Intriguingly, an inverted 'U' alcohol dose-response was observed on intrusive memories with a low dose of alcohol increasing memory intrusions while a high dose decreased intrusions. In contrast, explicit memory performance after 7 days showed a linear dose-response effect of alcohol with both recall and recognition decreasing as dose increased. These findings highlight a striking differential pattern of alcohol's effects on spontaneous memories as compared with explicit memories. Alcohol's effect on spontaneous memories may reflect a dose-dependent impairment of two separate memory systems integral to the processing of different aspects of a traumatic event.

Mediators and moderators of parental alcoholism effects on offspring self-esteem.

PubMed

Rangarajan, Sripriya

2008-01-01

The goal of the proposed study was fourfold: (i) to examine the effects of parental alcoholism on adult offspring's self-esteem; (ii) to identify and test possible mediators and moderators of parental alcoholism effects on the self-esteem of adult offspring; (iii) to examine the utility and relevance of attachment theory (Bowlby J. (1969) Attachment and Loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books) in explaining parental alcoholism effects on self-esteem and (iv) to address some of the methodological limitations identified in past research on adult children of alcoholics (ACOA). Participants (N = 515) completed retrospective reports of parental alcoholism, family stressors, family communication patterns, parental attachment and a current measure of self-esteem. The results showed support for the detrimental effects of parental alcoholism on offspring self-esteem and offered partial support for family stressors as a mediator of parental alcoholism effects on parental attachment and parental attachment as a mediator of parental alcoholism effects on offspring self-esteem, respectively. Finally, support was found for family communication patterns as a moderator of the effects of family stressors on attachment. The study findings offer preliminary support for the utility of attachment theory in explicating parental alcoholism effects on the self-esteem of adult offspring. Findings from the present study make salient the need to consider factors beyond the identification of parental alcohol abuse when explicating individual differences in offspring self-esteem in adulthood. The identification of protective and risk factors can contribute to the development of optimal intervention strategies to help ACOAs better than simply the knowledge of family drinking patterns.

Effects of school, family and alcohol marketing communication on alcohol use and intentions to drink among Thai students.

PubMed

Kheokao, Jantima K; Kirkgulthorn, Tassanee; Yingrengreung, Siritorn; Singhprapai, Phuwasith

2013-07-04

This study explored effects of family, school, and marketing communications on alcohol use and intention to drink of Thai students. We conducted a survey in which 5,184 students participated. Respondents were selected randomly from school districts throughout Thailand. In this survey we measured the exposure to, reception of, and perceptions concerning alcohol marketing communication, school absenteeism and achievement, family alcohol use, students' alcohol use, and drinking intentions. Findings indicated students' low alcohol use, moderate intention to drink, and high prevalence of family drinking. The levels of exposure and also the information receptivity to alcohol media marketing of Thai students were low. The respondents had a high level of media literacy on alcohol marketing communication. Multiple regression and focus group discussions provided support for the contention that there were significant effects of school achievement, absenteeism and media marketing communication on alcohol use (R2 = 14%) and intention to drink (R2 = 11%). Therefore, consideration of relevant school and alcohol policies, including monitoring of media marketing communication, will be needed.

The effects of xenon and nitrous oxide gases on alcohol relapse.

PubMed

Vengeliene, Valentina; Bessiere, Baptiste; Pype, Jan; Spanagel, Rainer

2014-02-01

In recent years, the glutamate theory of alcoholism has emerged as a major theory in the addiction research field and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors have been shown to play a major role in alcohol craving and relapse. The NMDA receptors are considered as the primary side of action of the anesthetic gases xenon (Xe) and nitrous oxide (N2 O). Despite the rapid on/off kinetics of these gases on the NMDA receptor, a brief gas exposure can induce an analgesic or antireward effect lasting several days. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of both Xe and N2 O on alcohol-seeking and relapse-like drinking behavior (measured as the alcohol deprivation effect) in Wistar rats. We used 2 standard procedures-the alcohol deprivation model with repeated deprivation phases and the cue-induced reinstatement model of alcohol seeking-to study the effect of 2 brief gas exposures of either Xe, N2 O, or control gas on relapse-like drinking and alcohol-seeking behavior. Here, we show that exposure to Xe during the last 24 hours of abstinence produced a trend toward reduced ethanol intake during the first alcohol re-exposure days. In addition, Xe gas exposure significantly decreased the cue-induced reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behavior. N2 O had no effect on either behavior. Xe reduces alcohol-seeking behavior in rats and may therefore also interfere with craving in human alcoholics. Copyright © 2013 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Alcohol expectancies and alcohol outcomes: effects of the use of protective behavioral strategies.

PubMed

Grazioli, Véronique S; Lewis, Melissa A; Garberson, Lisa A; Fossos-Wong, Nicole; Lee, Christine M; Larimer, Mary E

2015-05-01

Alcohol expectancies (AEs) are positively associated with drinking behaviors, whereas the use of protective behavioural strategies (PBS) is negatively related to alcohol outcomes among young adults. PBS have been shown to weaken relationships between some alcohol risk factors and alcohol outcomes. This study aimed to examine longitudinally the moderating effect of PBS on the relationships between AEs and alcohol outcomes among young adults. Participants (N = 188; 61.7% female) were U.S. young adults participating in a larger longitudinal study. Measures of PBS, AEs, alcohol use, and related consequences were used from the baseline and 12-month follow-up assessments. Negative binomial hurdle models found that PBS (total score) significantly moderated the relationship between positive AEs and consequences, such that among high school seniors endorsing higher positive AEs, those using more PBS in high school reported fewer negative consequences 1 year later. PBS (Manner of Drinking) also moderated the relationship between negative AEs and alcohol use, revealing the use of PBS in high school as having a protective function against later drinking among participants with high positive AEs. Last, PBS (Serious Harm Reduction) significantly moderated the associations between positive AEs and alcohol use and between negative AEs and consequences, such that participants with higher AEs and higher PBS use in high school were at greatest risk for drinking and experiencing negative consequences later. Overall, these findings suggest that PBS use may be protective by weakening relationships between positive AEs and alcohol outcomes. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Stimulant and motivational effects of alcohol: lessons from rodent and primate models.

PubMed

Brabant, Christian; Guarnieri, Douglas J; Quertemont, Etienne

2014-07-01

In several animal species including humans, the acute administration of low doses of alcohol increases motor activity. Different theories have postulated that alcohol-induced hyperactivity is causally related to alcoholism. Moreover, a common biological mechanism in the mesolimbic dopamine system has been proposed to mediate the stimulant and motivational effects of alcohol. Numerous studies have examined whether alcohol-induced hyperactivity is related to alcoholism using a great variety of animal models and several animal species. However, there is no review that has summarized this extensive literature. In this article, we present the various experimental models that have been used to study the relationship between the stimulant and motivational effects of alcohol in rodents and primates. Furthermore, we discuss whether the theories hypothesizing a causal link between alcohol-induced hyperactivity and alcoholism are supported by published results. The reviewed findings indicate that animal species that are stimulated by alcohol also exhibit alcohol preference. Additionally, the role of dopamine in alcohol-induced hyperactivity is well established since blocking dopaminergic activity suppresses the stimulant effects of alcohol. However, dopamine transmission plays a much more complex function in the motivational properties of alcohol and the neuronal mechanisms involved in alcohol stimulation and reward are distinct. Overall, the current review provides mixed support for theories suggesting that the stimulant effects of alcohol are related to alcoholism and highlights the importance of animal models as a way to gain insight into alcoholism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Alcohol Availability, Access to Alcohol, and Naltrexone on Self-Reported Craving and Patterns of Drinking in Response to an Alcohol-Cue Availability Procedure

PubMed Central

Kruse, Marc I.; Radnovich, Alexander J.; Kalapatapu, Raj K.; Mehdiyoun, Nicole; Chambers, R. Andrew; Davidson, Dena

2012-01-01

Objective: Craving has long been cited by patients and providers as a principal construct in alcohol use disorders and an essential target for treatment. The goal of the current study was to examine the effects of alcohol availability (20% vs. 80% availability), access to alcohol (“open” vs. “locked” trials), and medication (oral naltrexone [Revia] vs. placebo) on self-reported craving and two behavioral measures of drinking (latency of attempt to access alcohol, amount of alcohol consumed when access permitted) in response to an alcohol-cue availability procedure. Method: Non-treatment-seeking, alcohol-dependent men and women (N = 58) self-referred for an alcohol administration study and were administered a modified alcohol-cue availability procedure under two medication conditions (naltrexone, placebo) using a within-subjects, repeated-measures design. Results: Analyses demonstrated that the experimental manipulations used in this study had differential effects on craving and patterns of drinking. Specifically, reduced availability of alcohol (i.e., when alcohol was available in only 20% as opposed to 80% of trials) resulted in greater amounts of alcohol consumed per open trial; the unanticipated blocking of access to alcohol (i.e., a “locked” trial during the 80% availability condition) triggered more rapid attempts to obtain alcohol on subsequent trials. Naltrexone, relative to placebo, was associated with significant reductions in cravings for alcohol. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings offer partial support for the cognitive processing model and reinforce the utility of evaluating both self-report and behavioral indicators of motivation to drink in studies designed to identify factors associated with the construct of craving. PMID:22333328

Disuse exaggerates the detrimental effects of alcohol on cortical bone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hefferan, Theresa E.; Kennedy, Angela M.; Evans, Glenda L.; Turner, Russell T.

2003-01-01

BACKGROUND: Alcohol abuse is associated with an increased risk for osteoporosis. However, comorbidity factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis of alcohol-related bone fractures. Suboptimal mechanical loading of the skeleton, an established risk factor for bone loss, may occur in some alcohol abusers due to reduced physical activity, muscle atrophy, or both. The effect of alcohol consumption and reduced physical activity on bone metabolism has not been well studied. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mechanical disuse alters bone metabolism in a rat model for chronic alcohol abuse. METHODS: Alcohol was administered in the diet (35% caloric intake) of 6-month-old male rats for 4 weeks. Rats were hindlimb-unloaded the final 2 weeks of the experiment to prevent dynamic weight bearing. Afterward, cortical bone histomorphometry was evaluated at the tibia-fibula synostosis. RESULTS: At the periosteal surface of the tibial diaphysis, alcohol and hindlimb unloading independently decreased the mineralizing perimeter, mineral apposition rate, and bone formation rate. In addition, alcohol, but not hindlimb unloading, increased endocortical bone resorption. The respective detrimental effects of alcohol and hindlimb unloading to inhibit bone formation were additive; there was no interaction between the two variables. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced weight bearing accentuates the detrimental effects of alcohol on cortical bone in adult male rats by further inhibiting bone formation. This finding suggests that reduced physical activity may be a comorbidity factor for osteoporosis in alcohol abusers.

The cost-effectiveness of therapies to treat alcohol use disorders.

PubMed

Rehm, J; Barbosa, C

2018-02-01

Alcohol use is a major risk factor for mortality and morbidity burden, and alcohol use disorders contribute markedly to this burden. Effective interventions for alcohol use disorders improve health, and are potentially cost-effective or even cost saving. Areas covered: We searched the literature for the cost-effectiveness of alcohol interventions. We included behavioral, pharmacological and combined interventions, and research from both a health care provider and a societal perspective. Overall, many economic research studies pointed towards existing cost-beneficial therapies from the perspective of a health care provider; i.e. the costs for interventions were smaller than the savings in services delivery in the years thereafter. Even if this was not the case, the interventions proved to be cost-effective with a threshold below $20,000 per quality-adjusted life year. Expert Commentary: While most of the economic research to date shows promising results, such research is relatively scarce and not always rigorous. More, and more rigorous economic research is needed to fully understand the potential impact of alcohol interventions. However, even with this research, something needs to be done to reduce stigmatization of alcohol use disorders in order to fully reap the benefits of alcohol interventions.

Cross-border health and productivity effects of alcohol policies.

PubMed

Johansson, Per; Pekkarinen, Tuomas; Verho, Jouko

2014-07-01

This paper studies the cross-border health and productivity effects of alcohol taxes. We estimate the effect of a large cut in the Finnish alcohol tax on mortality, alcohol-related illnesses and work absenteeism in Sweden. This tax cut led to large differences in the prices of alcoholic beverages between these two countries and to a considerable increase in cross-border shopping. The effect is identified using differences-in-differences strategy where changes in these outcomes in regions near the Finnish border are compared to changes in other parts of northern Sweden. We use register data where micro level data on deaths, hospitalisations and absenteeism is merged to population-wide micro data on demographics and labour market outcomes. Our results show that the Finnish tax cut did not have any clear effect on mortality or alcohol-related hospitalisations in Sweden. However, we find that workplace absenteeism increased by 9% for males and by 15% for females near the Finnish border as a result of the tax cut. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Motives for mixing alcohol with energy drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages and its effects on overall alcohol consumption among UK students.

PubMed

Johnson, Sean J; Alford, Chris; Verster, Joris C; Stewart, Karina

2016-01-01

A UK student survey examined the motivations for consuming energy drinks alone and mixed with alcohol, and aimed to determine whether the type of motive had a differential effect on overall alcohol consumption. The online survey (N = 1873) assessed alcohol consumption and motivations for consumption when mixed with energy drinks (AMED) and mixed with other non-alcoholic beverages (AMOB) using a within-subject design. The most frequent neutral motives reported for AMED consumption included "I like the taste" (66.5%), and "to celebrate a special occasion" (35.2%). 52.6% of AMED consumers reported consuming AMED for at least one of five negative motives, primarily "to get drunk" (45.6%). Despite these negative motives those students reported consuming significantly less alcohol and fewer negative alcohol-related consequences on AMED occasions compared to alcohol-only (AO) occasions. Although the motives for consuming AMED and AMOB were comparable, more participants reported consuming AMED "to celebrate a special occasion", "to get drunk", because they "received the drink from someone else" or "because others drink it as well". However, significantly more students reported consuming AMOB than AMED because "It feels like I can drink more alcohol". Alcohol consumption was significantly less on AMED occasions compared to AMOB occasions, and both occasions significantly less than AO occasions. The majority of reasons for consuming AMED relate to neutral motives. Although 52.6% of students reported one or more negative motives for AMED consumption (predominantly "to get drunk") this had no differential effect on total alcohol consumption. The differences in motives suggest AMED is consumed more to enjoy special occasions and as a group-bonding experience, however alcohol consumption is significantly lower on such occasions in comparison to when AMOB or AO are consumed. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Dose-Related Effects of Alcohol on Cognitive Functioning

PubMed Central

Dry, Matthew J.; Burns, Nicholas R.; Nettelbeck, Ted; Farquharson, Aaron L.; White, Jason M.

2012-01-01

We assessed the suitability of six applied tests of cognitive functioning to provide a single marker for dose-related alcohol intoxication. Numerous studies have demonstrated that alcohol has a deleterious effect on specific areas of cognitive processing but few have compared the effects of alcohol across a wide range of different cognitive processes. Adult participants (N = 56, 32 males, 24 females aged 18–45 years) were randomized to control or alcohol treatments within a mixed design experiment involving multiple-dosages at approximately one hour intervals (attained mean blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 0.00, 0.048, 0.082 and 0.10%), employing a battery of six psychometric tests; the Useful Field of View test (UFOV; processing speed together with directed attention); the Self-Ordered Pointing Task (SOPT; working memory); Inspection Time (IT; speed of processing independent from motor responding); the Traveling Salesperson Problem (TSP; strategic optimization); the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART; vigilance, response inhibition and psychomotor function); and the Trail-Making Test (TMT; cognitive flexibility and psychomotor function). Results demonstrated that impairment is not uniform across different domains of cognitive processing and that both the size of the alcohol effect and the magnitude of effect change across different dose levels are quantitatively different for different cognitive processes. Only IT met the criteria for a marker for wide-spread application: reliable dose-related decline in a basic process as a function of rising BAC level and easy to use non-invasive task properties. PMID:23209840

Effects of stress on alcohol drinking: a review of animal studies

PubMed Central

Lopez, Marcelo F.; Doremus-Fitzwater, Tamara L.

2011-01-01

Rationale While stress is often proposed to play a significant role in influencing alcohol consumption, the relationship between stress and alcohol is complex and poorly understood. Over several decades, stress effects on alcohol drinking have been studied using a variety of animal models and experimental procedures, yet this large body of literature has generally produced equivocal results. Objectives This paper reviews results from animal studies in which alcohol consumption is evaluated under conditions of acute/sub-chronic stress exposure or models of chronic stress exposure. Evidence also is presented indicating that chronic intermittent alcohol exposure serves as a stressor that consequently influences drinking. Results The effects of various acute/sub-chronic stress procedures on alcohol consumption have generally been mixed, but most study outcomes suggest either no effect or decreased alcohol consumption. In contrast, most studies indicate that chronic stress, especially when administered early in development, results in elevated drinking later in adulthood. Chronic alcohol exposure constitutes a potent stressor itself, and models of chronic intermittent alcohol exposure reliably produce escalation of voluntary alcohol consumption. Conclusions A complex and dynamic interplay among a wide array of genetic, biological, and environmental factors govern stress responses, regulation of alcohol drinking, and the circumstances in which stress modulates alcohol consumption. Suggestions for future directions and new approaches are presented that may aid in developing more sensitive and valid animal models that not only better mimic the clinical situation, but also provide greater understanding of mechanisms that underlie the complexity of stress effects on alcohol drinking. PMID:21850445

Concurrent Use of Cannabis and Alcohol: Neuropsychiatric Effect Consequences.

PubMed

Romaguera, Anna; Torrens, Marta; Papaseit, Esther; Arellano, Ana Lucia; Farré, Magi

2017-01-01

Concurrent use of cannabis and alcohol is frequent. According different studies, the prevalence is among 20-34% depending on different samples studied. In contrast with the wide evidence available about neuropsychiatric effects associated to the use of cannabis or alcohol separately, there are few studies of the neuropsychiatric effects of their combination. Our aim was to review the literature regarding this topic. We performed a search in MEDLINE and from 114 potentially eligible studies, 27 were selected. Most of them studied the relation between cannabis and alcohol, and with them combined to other substances of abuse, but only a few considered their concurrent effect among mental disorders (ADHD, bipolar disorder) and neuropsychological performance. More research in the neuropsychiatric effects of the concomitant use of cannabis and alcohol is needed. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Effects of Beverages on Alcohol Metabolism: Potential Health Benefits and Harmful Impacts

PubMed Central

Wang, Fang; Zhang, Yu-Jie; Zhou, Yue; Li, Ya; Zhou, Tong; Zheng, Jie; Zhang, Jiao-Jiao; Li, Sha; Xu, Dong-Ping; Li, Hua-Bin

2016-01-01

Nonalcoholic beverages are usually consumed accompanying alcoholic drinks, and their effects on alcohol metabolism are unclear in vivo. In this study, the effects of 20 nonalcoholic beverages on alcohol metabolism and liver injury caused by alcohol were evaluated in mice. Kunming mice were orally fed with alcohol (52%, v/v) and beverages. The concentrations of ethanol and acetaldehyde in blood as well as the activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) in liver were assessed to indicate alcohol metabolism. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) in serum as well as the levels of malonaldehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in liver were measured to reflect the alcohol-induced liver injury. The results showed that the treatment of soda water, green tea and honey chrysanthemum tea could accelerate ethanol metabolism and prevent liver injuries caused by alcohol when companied with excessive alcohol drinking. They might be potential dietary supplements for the alleviation of harmful effects from excessive alcohol consumption. On the contrary, some beverages such as fresh orange juice and red bull are not advised to drink when companied with alcohol consumption due to their adverse effects on ethanol induced liver injury. PMID:27005619

The Effects of Alcohol on Spiders: What Happens to Web Construction after Spiders Consume Alcohol?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cross, Victor E.

2006-01-01

In the high school experiment reported in this paper, spiders were provided with 40% ethanol (ETOH) in order to determine the effects of alcohol on the web-spinning ability of orb weaver spiders. It was hypothesized that alcohol would have a deleterious effect on the number of radii, number of cells, and area of cells in the webs of orb weaving…

Developing Effective and Legally Sound Alcohol Policies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gulland, Eugene D.

This booklet examines the risks that college and universities face due to student alcohol use and abuse, and outlines procedures that institutions can use to develop effective alcohol policies. Although legal precedents have recognized that colleges and universities do not have a duty to supervise student conduct under principles of in loco…

Alcohol and cannabis: Comparing their adverse health effects and regulatory regimes.

PubMed

Hall, Wayne

2017-04-01

The claim that the adverse health effects of cannabis are much less serious than those of alcohol has been central to the case for cannabis legalisation. Regulators in US states that have legalised cannabis have adopted regulatory models based on alcohol. This paper critically examines the claim about adverse health effects and the wisdom of regulating cannabis like alcohol. First, it compares what we know about the adverse health effects of alcohol and cannabis. Second, it discusses the uncertainties about the long term health effects of sustained daily cannabis use. Third, it speculates about how the adverse health effects of cannabis may change after legalisation. Fourth, it questions the assumption that alcohol provides the best regulatory model for a legal cannabis market. Fifth, it outlines the major challenges in regulating cannabis under the liberal alcohol-like regulatory regimes now being introduced. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of alcohol-based hand hygiene solutions on breath alcohol detection in the emergency department.

PubMed

Emerson, Beth L; Whitfill, Travis; Baum, Carl R; Garlin-Kane, Katherine; Santucci, Karen

2016-12-01

This study aimed to investigate the effects of alcohol-based hand hygiene solution (ABHS) use by care providers on point-of-care alcohol breath analyzer interpretation under different clinically relevant conditions. Among each test condition (foam vehicle with immediate testing, gel vehicle with immediate testing, allowing hands to dry after the use of ABHS, and donning gloves after the use of ABHS), alcohol was detected in breath at 1 minute after use of ABHS. Because the use of ABHS by individuals administering breath alcohol detection may result in false-positive detection of alcohol, staff using these devices should consider traditional hand hygiene with soap and water. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parenting skills and family support programs for drug-abusing mothers.

PubMed

Kumpfer, Karol L; Fowler, Melissa A

2007-04-01

Children born to drug-using mothers can suffer from fetal alcohol or drug syndrome (FAS/FDS) or fetal alcohol or drug effect (FAE/FDE). Such children have a greater likelihood of developing acute or chronic physical, cognitive and behavioral problems. In-utero exposure to tobacco, alcohol or drugs impact on the developing fetus and, after birth, the family environment and family system exert effects on the infants and children of substance-abusing parents. Evidence-based prevention and maternal drug treatment programs focus on enhancing parental childcaring abilities, supporting parent-child attachment and encouraging family support systems to improve children's health and cognitive outcomes. FAS/FDS prevention programs, as well as selective and indicated prenatal and postnatal interventions, can improve the support given both to mother and to child, and evidence-based, in-home parenting and family-skills-training approaches are particularly useful.

The Anticipated Effects of Alcohol Scale: Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Novel Assessment Tool for Measuring Alcohol Expectancies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morean, Meghan E.; Corbin, William R.; Treat, Teresa A.

2012-01-01

Alcohol expectancy (AEs) research has enhanced our understanding of how anticipated alcohol effects confer risk for heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. However, extant AE measures have limitations within 1 or more of the following areas: assessing a comprehensive range of effects, specifying the hypothetical number of drinks consumed,…

Cannabis effects on driving lateral control with and without alcohol.

PubMed

Hartman, Rebecca L; Brown, Timothy L; Milavetz, Gary; Spurgin, Andrew; Pierce, Russell S; Gorelick, David A; Gaffney, Gary; Huestis, Marilyn A

2015-09-01

Effects of cannabis, the most commonly encountered non-alcohol drug in driving under the influence cases, are heavily debated. We aim to determine how blood Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations relate to driving impairment, with and without alcohol. Current occasional (≥1×/last 3 months, ≤3days/week) cannabis smokers drank placebo or low-dose alcohol, and inhaled 500mg placebo, low (2.9%)-THC, or high (6.7%)-THC vaporized cannabis over 10min ad libitum in separate sessions (within-subject design, 6 conditions). Participants drove (National Advanced Driving Simulator, University of Iowa) simulated drives (∼0.8h duration). Blood, oral fluid (OF), and breath alcohol samples were collected before (0.17h, 0.42h) and after (1.4h, 2.3h) driving that occurred 0.5-1.3h after inhalation. We evaluated standard deviations of lateral position (lane weave, SDLP) and steering angle, lane departures/min, and maximum lateral acceleration. In N=18 completers (13 men, ages 21-37years), cannabis and alcohol increased SDLP. Blood THC concentrations of 8.2 and 13.1μg/L during driving increased SDLP similar to 0.05 and 0.08g/210L breath alcohol concentrations, the most common legal alcohol limits. Cannabis-alcohol SDLP effects were additive rather than synergistic, with 5μg/L THC+0.05g/210L alcohol showing similar SDLP to 0.08g/210L alcohol alone. Only alcohol increased lateral acceleration and the less-sensitive lane departures/min parameters. OF effectively documented cannabis exposure, although with greater THC concentration variability than paired blood samples. SDLP was a sensitive cannabis-related lateral control impairment measure. During drive blood THC ≥8.2μg/L increased SDLP similar to notably-impairing alcohol concentrations. Despite OF's screening value, OF variability poses challenges in concentration-based effects interpretation. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Warnings on alcohol containers and advertisements: international experience and evidence on effects.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Claire; Room, Robin

2009-07-01

In light of possible introduction of alcohol warning labels in Australia and New Zealand, this paper discusses the international experience with and evidence of effects of alcohol warning labels. The report describes international experience with providing information and warnings concerning the promotion or sale of alcoholic beverages, and considers the evidence on the effects of such information and warnings. The experience with and evaluations of the effects of tobacco warning labels are also considered. The most methodologically sound evaluations of alcohol warning labels are based on the US experience. Although these evaluations find little evidence that the introduction of the warning label in the USA had an impact on drinking behaviour, there is evidence that they led to an increase in awareness of the message they contained. In contrast, evaluations of tobacco warning labels find clear evidence of effects on behaviour. There is a need and opportunity for a rigorous evaluation of the impacts of introducing alcohol warning labels to add to the published work on their effectiveness. The experience with tobacco labels might guide the way for more effective alcohol warning labels. Alcohol warning labels are an increasingly popular alcohol policy initiative. It is clear that warning labels can be ineffective, but the tobacco experience suggests that effective warning labels are possible. Any introduction of alcohol warning labels should be evaluated in terms of effects on attitudes and behaviour.

Prenatal Exposure to Drugs/Alcohol: Characteristics and Educational Implications of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Cocaine/Polydrug Effects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soby, Jeanette M.

This book presents the characteristics of children affected by prenatal drug exposure, fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol effects, and fetal cocaine/polydrug effects. It outlines incidence, service needs, prevention, and identification. The medical literature on the physical, cognitive, and behavioral characteristics of this population is…

The Effect of Alcohol on Emotional Inertia: A Test of Alcohol Myopia

PubMed Central

Fairbairn, Catharine E.; Sayette, Michael A.

2017-01-01

Alcohol Myopia (AM) has emerged as one of the most widely-researched theories of alcohol’s effects on emotional experience. Given this theory’s popularity it is notable that a central tenet of AM has not been tested—namely, that alcohol creates a myopic focus on the present moment, limiting the extent to which the present is permeated by emotions derived from prior experience. We aimed to test the impact of alcohol on moment-to-moment fluctuations in affect, applying advances in emotion assessment and statistical analysis to test this aspect of AM without drawing the attention of participants to their own emotional experiences. We measured emotional fluctuations using autocorrelation, a statistic borrowed from time-series analysis measuring the correlation between successive observations in time. High emotion autocorrelation is termed “emotional inertia” and linked to negative mood outcomes. Seven-hundred-twenty social drinkers consumed alcohol, placebo, or control beverages in groups of three over a 36-min group formation task. We indexed affect using the Duchenne smile, recorded continuously during the interaction (34.9 million video frames) according to Paul Ekman’s Facial Action Coding System. Autocorrelation of Duchenne smiling emerged as the most consistent predictor of self-reported mood and social bonding when compared with Duchenne smiling mean, standard deviation, and linear trend. Alcohol reduced affective autocorrelation, and autocorrelation mediated the link between alcohol and self-reported mood and social outcomes. Findings suggest that alcohol enhances our ability to freely enjoy the present moment untethered by past experience and highlight the importance of emotion dynamics in research examining affective correlates of psychopathology. PMID:24016015

Joint Effect of Alcohol Consumption and Educational Level on Alcohol-related Medical Events: A Danish Register-based Cohort Study.

PubMed

Christensen, Helene Nordahl; Diderichsen, Finn; Hvidtfeldt, Ulla Arthur; Lange, Theis; Andersen, Per Kragh; Osler, Merete; Prescott, Eva; Tjønneland, Anne; Rod, Naja Hulvej; Andersen, Ingelise

2017-11-01

Alcohol-related mortality is more pronounced in lower than in higher socioeconomic groups in Western countries. Part of the explanation is differences in drinking patterns. However, differences in vulnerability to health consequences of alcohol consumption across socioeconomic groups may also play a role. We investigated the joint effect of alcohol consumption and educational level on the rate of alcohol-related medical events. We pooled seven prospective cohorts from Denmark that enrolled 74,278 men and women age 30-70 years (study period, 1981 to 2009). We measured alcohol consumption at baseline using self-administrated questionnaires. Information on highest attained education 1 year before study entry and hospital and mortality data on alcohol-related medical events were obtained through linkage to nationwide registries. We performed analyses using the Aalen additive hazards model. During follow-up (1,085,049 person-years), a total of 1718 alcohol-related events occurred. The joint effect of very high alcohol consumption (>21 [>28] drinks per week in women [men]) and low education on alcohol-related events exceeded the sum of their separate effects. Among men, we observed 289 (95% confidence interval = 123, 457) extra events per 100,000 person-years owing to education-alcohol interaction (P < 0.001). Similarly, among women, we observed 239 (95% confidence interval = 90, 388) extra events per 100,000 person-years owing to this interaction (P < 0.001). High alcohol consumption is associated with a higher risk of alcohol-related medical events among those with low compared with high education. This interaction may be explained by differences in vulnerability and drinking patterns across educational groups.See video abstract at, http://links.lww.com/EDE/B267.

A multimodal investigation of contextual effects on alcohol's emotional rewards.

PubMed

Fairbairn, Catharine E; Bresin, Konrad; Kang, Dahyeon; Rosen, I Gary; Ariss, Talia; Luczak, Susan E; Barnett, Nancy P; Eckland, Nathaniel S

2018-05-01

Regular alcohol consumption in unfamiliar social settings has been linked to problematic drinking. A large body of indirect evidence has accumulated to suggest that alcohol's rewarding emotional effects-both negative-mood relieving and positive-mood enhancing-will be magnified when alcohol is consumed within unfamiliar versus familiar social contexts. But empirical research has never directly examined links between contextual familiarity and alcohol reward. In the current study, we mobilized novel ambulatory technology to examine the effect of social familiarity on alcohol reward in everyday drinking contexts while also examining how alcohol reward observed in these field contexts corresponds to reward observed in the laboratory. Heavy social drinking participants (N = 48, 50% male) engaged in an intensive week of ambulatory assessment. Participants wore transdermal alcohol sensors while they reported on their mood and took photographs of their social contexts in response to random prompts. Participants also attended 2 laboratory beverage-administration sessions, during which their emotional responses were assessed and transdermal sensors were calibrated to estimate breathalyzer readings (eBrACs). Results indicated a significant interaction between social familiarity and alcohol episode in everyday drinking settings, with alcohol enhancing mood to a greater extent in relatively unfamiliar versus familiar social contexts. Findings also indicated that drinking in relatively unfamiliar social settings was associated with higher eBrACs. Finally, results indicated a correspondence between some mood effects of alcohol experienced inside and outside the laboratory. This study presents a novel methodology for examining alcohol reward and indicates social familiarity as a promising direction for research seeking to explain problematic drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of alcohol expectancy and intake on slot machine gambling behavior.

PubMed

Sagoe, Dominic; Mentzoni, Rune Aune; Leino, Tony; Molde, Helge; Haga, Sondre; Gjernes, Mikjel Fredericson; Hanss, Daniel; Pallesen, Ståle

2017-06-01

Background and aims Although alcohol intake and gambling often co-occur in related venues, there is conflicting evidence regarding the effects of alcohol expectancy and intake on gambling behavior. We therefore conducted an experimental investigation of the effects of alcohol expectancy and intake on slot machine gambling behavior. Methods Participants were 184 (females = 94) individuals [age range: 18-40 (mean = 21.9) years] randomized to four independent conditions differing in information/expectancy about beverage (told they received either alcohol or placebo) and beverage intake [actually ingesting low (target blood alcohol concentration [BAC] < 0.40 mg/L) vs. moderate (target BAC > 0.40 mg/L; ≈0.80 mg/L) amounts of alcohol]. All participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing demographic variables, subjective intoxication, alcohol effects (stimulant and sedative), and gambling factors (behavior and problems, evaluation, and beliefs). Participants also gambled on a simulated slot machine. Results A significant main effect of beverage intake on subjective intoxication and alcohol effects was detected as expected. No significant main or interaction effects were detected for number of gambling sessions, bet size and variation, remaining credits at termination, reaction time, and game evaluation. Conclusion Alcohol expectancy and intake do not affect gambling persistence, dissipation of funds, reaction time, or gambling enjoyment.

Effects of alcohol on the endocrine system.

PubMed

Rachdaoui, Nadia; Sarkar, Dipak K

2013-09-01

Chronic consumption of a large amount of alcohol disrupts the communication between nervous, endocrine, and immune system and causes hormonal disturbances that lead to profound and serious consequences at physiologic and behavioral levels. These alcohol-induced hormonal dysregulations affect the entire body and can result in various disorders such as stress abnormalities, reproductive deficits, body growth defect, thyroid problems, immune dysfunction, cancers, bone disease, and psychological and behavioral disorders. This review summarizes the findings from human and animal studies that provide consistent evidence on the various effects of alcohol abuse on the endocrine system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Direct and indirect effects of alcohol expectancies through drinking motives on alcohol outcomes among students in Vietnam.

PubMed

Diep, Pham Bich; Schelleman-Offermans, K; Kuntsche, E; De Vries, Nanne; Knibbe, Ronald A

2016-01-01

To investigate whether the links between alcohol expectancies (tension reduction; global positive change; improved cognitive and motor abilities; and change in social behavior) and alcohol outcomes (drinking volume, 6+ drinks, alcohol problems, and symptoms of alcohol dependence) are mediated by drinking motives (social, enhancement, conformity, and coping). A multi-stage sampling strategy was used in four Vietnamese provinces, resulting in a final sample of 4756 students (43.2% females) with mean age 20.6 (SD 1.8) years. Structural equation models, including indirect effects, were estimated for women and men separately. Overall, there were many cases of full mediation (indirect effects range from -0.006 to 0.083 and p-values from <0.05 to <0.001) and little indication of partial mediation (indirect effects range from -0.009 to 0.025 and p-values from <0.05 to <0.001). In both men and women, coping motives most frequently mediated the influence of expectancies on alcohol outcomes. Among men, enhancement motives and, to a lesser extent, social motives also played a role in mediating the effects of expectancies on alcohol outcomes. Among women, full mediation was found far less often and less consistently. By confirming that, in Vietnam, motives mediate the link between expectancies and drinking behavior, this study supports the cultural robustness of a key assumption of the motivational model (i.e. that drinking motives are more closely associated with alcohol use than expectancies). Enhancement, coping and social motives are most frequently found as mediators among male students whereas coping motive only is most frequently found as a mediator among female students. As most of the effects of expectancies were mediated by motives, drinking motives appear to be a promising factor for interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of caffeine on alcohol reinforcement: beverage choice, self-administration, and subjective ratings.

PubMed

Sweeney, Mary M; Meredith, Steven E; Evatt, Daniel P; Griffiths, Roland R

2017-03-01

Combining alcohol and caffeine is associated with increased alcohol consumption, but no prospective experimental studies have examined whether added caffeine increases alcohol consumption. This study examined how caffeine alters alcohol self-administration and subjective reinforcing effects in healthy adults. Thirty-one participants completed six double-blind alcohol self-administration sessions: three sessions with alcohol only (e.g., beverage A) and three sessions with alcohol and caffeine (e.g., beverage B). Participants chose which beverage to consume on a subsequent session (e.g., beverage A or B). The effects of caffeine on overall beverage choice, number of self-administered drinks, subjective ratings (e.g., Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale), and psychomotor performance were examined. A majority of participants (65%) chose to drink the alcohol beverage containing caffeine on their final self-administration session. Caffeine did not increase the number of self-administered drinks. Caffeine significantly increased stimulant effects, decreased sedative effects, and attenuated decreases in psychomotor performance attributable to alcohol. Relative to nonchoosers, caffeine choosers reported overall lower stimulant ratings and reported greater drinking behavior prior to the study. Although caffeine did not increase the number of self-administered drinks, most participants chose the alcohol beverage containing caffeine. Given the differences in subjective ratings and pre-existing differences in self-reported alcohol consumption for caffeine choosers and nonchoosers, these data suggest that decreased stimulant effects of alcohol and heavier self-reported drinking may predict subsequent choice of combined caffeine and alcohol beverages. These predictors may identify individuals who would benefit from efforts to reduce risk behaviors associated with combining alcohol and caffeine.

The Effects of Mothers' Protective Parenting and Alcohol Use on Emerging Adults' Alcohol Use: Testing Indirect Effects Through Prototype Favorability Among African American Youth.

PubMed

Cleveland, Michael J; Turrisi, Rob; Gibbons, Frederick X; Gerrard, Meg; Marzell, Miesha

2018-06-07

We examined how mothers' protective parenting and alcohol use influenced changes in offspring's heavy drinking among a sample of African American youth. The conceptual model also tested indirect effects of mothers' behaviors, through changes in the youths' social images (i.e., prototypes) of heavy drinkers, derived from the prototype willingness (PW) model. Participants were 686 emerging adults (55% female) from the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS), an ongoing prospective study of African American families. Three waves of FACHS data were used as follows: T3 during 10th grade (M age = 16.3 years), T4 shortly after high school (M age = 19.4 years), and T5 3 years later (M age = 22.1 years). Mothers' self-reports of protective parenting and alcohol use were assessed at T4. Two separate path models tested the study hypotheses. The first model specified direct and indirect effects of mothers' protective parenting and alcohol use. The second model added interaction terms between the protective parenting behaviors and mothers' alcohol use. The analyses were first conducted using the full sample and then repeated separately for female and male participants. Maternal alcohol use had a positive and direct effect on offspring's alcohol use. Mothers' endorsement of alcohol-related rules inhibited normative increases in the favorability of the offspring's social image of heavy drinkers (prototype) while her warmth was positively related to these increases. Maternal alcohol use amplified the positive association between mothers' warmth and the daughters' increased drinking. For sons, maternal alcohol use increased the positive association between alcohol-related rules and increased prototype favorability. Results indicated clear gender differences in how mothers' behaviors influence her offspring's alcohol use during the transition to emerging adulthood. Interventions that target culturally specific risk and protective factors within the family environment are

The effect of cannabis compared with alcohol on driving.

PubMed

Sewell, R Andrew; Poling, James; Sofuoglu, Mehmet

2009-01-01

The prevalence of both alcohol and cannabis use and the high morbidity associated with motor vehicle crashes has lead to a plethora of research on the link between the two. Drunk drivers are involved in 25% of motor vehicle fatalities, and many accidents involve drivers who test positive for cannabis. Cannabis and alcohol acutely impair several driving-related skills in a dose-related fashion, but the effects of cannabis vary more between individuals than they do with alcohol because of tolerance, differences in smoking technique, and different absorptions of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. Detrimental effects of cannabis use vary in a dose-related fashion, and are more pronounced with highly automatic driving functions than with more complex tasks that require conscious control, whereas alcohol produces an opposite pattern of impairment. Because of both this and an increased awareness that they are impaired, marijuana smokers tend to compensate effectively while driving by utilizing a variety of behavioral strategies. Combining marijuana with alcohol eliminates the ability to use such strategies effectively, however, and results in impairment even at doses which would be insignificant were they of either drug alone. Epidemiological studies have been inconclusive regarding whether cannabis use causes an increased risk of accidents; in contrast, unanimity exists that alcohol use increases crash risk. Furthermore, the risk from driving under the influence of both alcohol and cannabis is greater than the risk of driving under the influence of either alone. Future research should focus on resolving contradictions posed by previous studies, and patients who smoke cannabis should be counseled to wait several hours before driving, and avoid combining the two drugs.

Differential effects of alcohol on working memory: distinguishing multiple processes.

PubMed

Saults, J Scott; Cowan, Nelson; Sher, Kenneth J; Moreno, Matthew V

2007-12-01

The authors assessed effects of alcohol consumption on different types of working memory (WM) tasks in an attempt to characterize the nature of alcohol effects on cognition. The WM tasks varied in 2 properties of materials to be retained in a 2-stimulus comparison procedure. Conditions included (a) spatial arrays of colors, (b) temporal sequences of colors, (c) spatial arrays of spoken digits, and (d) temporal sequences of spoken digits. Alcohol consumption impaired memory for auditory and visual sequences but not memory for simultaneous arrays of auditory or visual stimuli. These results suggest that processes needed to encode and maintain stimulus sequences, such as rehearsal, are more sensitive to alcohol intoxication than other WM mechanisms needed to maintain multiple concurrent items, such as focusing attention on them. These findings help to resolve disparate findings from prior research on alcohol's effect on WM and on divided attention. The results suggest that moderate doses of alcohol impair WM by affecting certain mnemonic strategies and executive processes rather than by shrinking the basic holding capacity of WM. (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Effects of stress and alcohol cues in men with and without problem gambling and alcohol use disorder.

PubMed

Steinberg, Lindsay; Tremblay, Anne-Marie; Zack, Martin; Busto, Usoa E; Zawertailo, Laurie A

2011-12-01

Relapse is a serious challenge in problem gambling (PG), as it is in substance addiction. Stress and cues are implicated in relapse in both conditions. However, experimental research on motivational effects of stress in PG subjects is scant. This study examined subjective-motivational, cognitive and physiological effects of stress and alcohol cues in subjects with PG, alcohol use disorder (AD), co-occurring PG and AD (CO), and healthy controls (HC). Fifty-two (12/clinical group; 16 HC) physically healthy men received stress in the form of 10-min uncontrollable noise (U-Noise vs. controllable noise; C-Noise) and cues (355 ml non-alcoholic 'placebo' beer; P-Beer vs. soft drink) under Separate or Combined conditions on two test sessions. Visual analogue scales assessed subjective effects. Emotional Stroop and Go/No-Go 'Shift' tasks assessed inhibitory control. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) indexed physiological reactivity. U-Noise and C-Noise increased desire for alcohol in all groups. U-Noise selectively inhibited desire to gamble in PG subjects. Both U-Noise and C-Noise inhibited desire to gamble in CO subjects. Neither manipulation reliably altered cognitive performance. Compared to Neutral words, Alcohol words impaired Stroop color-naming in all groups except PG, which displayed relatively faster color-naming of Alcohol words (facilitation). U-Noise increased SBP relative to C-Noise in AD and HC groups. U-Noise plus P-Beer and U-Noise per se decreased SBP in PG and CO groups, respectively. Noise stress has opposite motivational and physiological effects in men with problem gambling vs. alcohol use disorder. A homeostatic process may explain the impact of stress in problem gamblers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Drinking Habits and Expectancies About Alcohol's Effects for Self versus Others.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rohsenow, Damaris J.

1983-01-01

Administered a questionnaire on expected effects of alcohol to 150 college students. Results showed that subjects expected alcohol to affect other people more than themselves for both positive and negative effects. Moderate and heavy drinkers expected as much pleasure from alcohol as they expected others to receive. (Author/LLL)

Effects of caffeine on alcohol reinforcement: Beverage choice, self-administration, and subjective ratings

PubMed Central

Sweeney, Mary M.; Meredith, Steven E.; Evatt, Daniel P.; Griffiths, Roland R.

2017-01-01

Rationale Combining alcohol and caffeine is associated with increased alcohol consumption, but no prospective experimental studies have examined whether added caffeine increases alcohol consumption. Objectives This study examined how caffeine alters alcohol self-administration and subjective reinforcing effects in healthy adults. Methods Thirty-one participants completed six double-blind alcohol self-administration sessions: three sessions with alcohol only (e.g., Beverage A) and three sessions with alcohol and caffeine (e.g., Beverage B). Participants chose which beverage to consume on a subsequent session (e.g., Beverage A or B). Effects of caffeine on overall beverage choice, number of self-administered drinks, subjective ratings (e.g., Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale), and psychomotor performance were examined. Results A majority of participants (65%) chose to drink the alcohol beverage containing caffeine on their final self-administration session. Caffeine did not increase the number of self-administered drinks. Caffeine significantly increased stimulant effects, decreased sedative effects, and attenuated decreases in psychomotor performance attributable to alcohol. Relative to nonchoosers, caffeine choosers reported overall lower stimulant ratings, and reported greater drinking behavior prior to the study. Conclusions Although caffeine did not increase the number of self-administered drinks, most participants chose the alcohol beverage containing caffeine. Given the differences in subjective ratings and pre-existing differences in self-reported alcohol consumption for caffeine choosers and nonchoosers, these data suggest decreased stimulant effects of alcohol and heavier self-reported drinking may predict subsequent choice of combined caffeine and alcohol beverages. These predictors may identify individuals who would benefit from efforts to reduce risk behaviors associated with combining alcohol and caffeine. PMID:28108773

Alcohol and HIV Effects on the Immune System.

PubMed

Bagby, Gregory J; Amedee, Angela M; Siggins, Robert W; Molina, Patricia E; Nelson, Steve; Veazey, Ronald S

2015-01-01

HIV disease and alcohol independently influence the human immune system, so it stands to reason that, together, their influence may be additive. Here, we review the evidence that alcohol can exacerbate HIV's influence on the immune system, thereby affecting disease progression and transmission. We focus particularly on alcohol's effect on the mucosal immune system in the tissues of the gastrointestinal tract, the genital tract and the lungs, all of which play a role in transmission and progression of HIV disease.

Acute Alcohol Effects on Attentional Bias in Heavy and Moderate Drinkers

PubMed Central

Weafer, Jessica; Fillmore, Mark T.

2012-01-01

Heavy drinkers show an increased attentional bias to alcohol-related stimuli compared to moderate drinkers, and this bias is thought to promote motivation for alcohol consumption (Field & Cox, 2008). Studies have begun to examine acute alcohol effects on attentional bias, however little is known regarding how these effects might differ based on drinker type. Further, the degree to which attentional bias in response to alcohol is associated with excessive alcohol consumption remains unexplored. For the current study, 20 heavy drinkers and 20 moderate drinkers completed a visual probe task in response to placebo and two active doses of alcohol (0.45 g/kg and 0.65 g/kg). Participants’ eye-movements were monitored and attentional bias was calculated as the difference in time spent focused on alcohol compared to neutral images. Participants’ alcohol consumption was assessed by a timeline follow-back calendar and a laboratory ad lib consumption task. Results showed that heavy drinkers displayed significantly greater attentional bias than did moderate drinkers following placebo. However, heavy drinkers displayed a dose-dependent decrease in attentional bias following alcohol, whereas the drug had no effect in moderate drinkers. Individual differences in attentional bias under placebo were strongly associated with both self-reported and laboratory alcohol consumption, yet bias following alcohol administration did not predict either measure of consumption. These findings suggest that attentional bias is strongest before a drinking episode begins. As such, an attentional bias might be most influential in terms of initiation of alcohol consumption, and less of a factor in promoting continued consumption within the drinking episode. PMID:22732051

Combining Varenicline (Chantix) with Naltrexone Decreases Alcohol Drinking More Effectively Than Does Either Drug Alone in a Rodent Model of Alcoholism.

PubMed

Froehlich, Janice C; Fischer, Stephen M; Dilley, Julian E; Nicholson, Emily R; Smith, Teal N; Filosa, Nick J; Rademacher, Logan C

2016-09-01

This study examined whether varenicline (VAR), or naltrexone (NTX), alone or in combination, reduces alcohol drinking in alcohol-preferring (P) rats with a genetic predisposition toward high voluntary alcohol intake. Alcohol-experienced P rats that had been drinking alcohol (15% v/v) for 2 h/d for 4 weeks were fed either vehicle (VEH), VAR alone (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg/kg body weight [BW]), NTX alone (10.0, 15.0, or 20.0 mg/kg BW), or VAR + NTX in 1 of 4 dose combinations (0.5 VAR + 10.0 NTX, 0.5 VAR + 15.0 NTX, 1.0 VAR + 10.0 NTX, or 1.0 VAR + 15.0 NTX) at 1 hour prior to alcohol access for 10 consecutive days, and the effects on alcohol intake were assessed. When administered alone, VAR in doses of 0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg BW did not alter alcohol intake but a dose of 2.0 mg/kg BW decreased alcohol intake. This effect disappeared when drug treatment was terminated. NTX in doses of 10.0 and 15.0 mg/kg BW did not alter alcohol intake but a dose of 20.0 mg/kg BW decreased alcohol intake. Combining low doses of VAR and NTX into a single medication reduced alcohol intake as well as did high doses of each drug alone. Reduced alcohol intake occurred immediately after onset of treatment with the combined medication and continued throughout prolonged treatment. Low doses of VAR and NTX, when combined in a single medication, reduce alcohol intake in a rodent model of alcoholism. This approach has the advantage of reducing potential side effects associated with each drug. Lowering the dose of NTX and VAR in a combined treatment approach that maintains efficacy while reducing the incidence of negative side effects may increase patient compliance and improve clinical outcomes for alcoholics and heavy drinkers who want to reduce their alcohol intake. Copyright © 2016 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Energy drink enhances the behavioral effects of alcohol in adolescent mice.

PubMed

Krahe, Thomas E; Filgueiras, Cláudio C; da Silva Quaresma, Renata; Schibuola, Helen Gomes; Abreu-Villaça, Yael; Manhães, Alex C; Ribeiro-Carvalho, Anderson

2017-06-09

Mixing alcohol with energy drinks has become increasingly popular among teenagers and young adults due to the prevailing view that the stimulant properties of energy drinks decrease the depressant effects of alcohol. Surprisingly, in spite of energy drinks being heavily marketed to and consumed by adolescents, there is scarcely available preclinical data on the neurobehavioral effects of energy drinks mixed with alcohol during adolescence. Thus, here we examine the effects of the combined exposure to alcohol and energy drink on adolescent mice using a variety of behavioral tasks to assess locomotor activity, righting reflex and motor coordination. At postnatal day 40, male and female Swiss mice were assigned to the following experimental groups: alcohol diluted in energy drink (Ed+Etoh), alcohol diluted in water (Etoh) or controls (Ctrl: energy drink or water). Alcohol and energy drink (Red Bull) concentrations were 4g/kg and 8ml/kg, respectively, and all solutions were administered via oral gavage. When compared to Etoh mice, Ed+Etoh animals displayed greater locomotor activity and increased anxiety-like behaviors in the open-field, lost their righting reflexes sooner and displayed poorer motor coordination in the rotarod. Collectively, our findings indicate that alcohol-induced deficits in adolescent mice are worsened by energy drink and go against the view that the stimulant properties of energy drinks can antagonize the adverse effects of alcohol. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neurobiological and neurocognitive effects of chronic cigarette smoking and alcoholism.

PubMed

Durazzo, Timothy C; Meyerhoff, Dieter J

2007-05-01

Chronic cigarette smoking is associated with adverse effects on cardiac, pulmonary, and vascular function as well as the increased risk for various forms of cancer. However, little is known about the effects of chronic smoking on human brain function. Although smoking rates have decreased in the developed world, they remain high in individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUD) and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Despite the high prevalence of chronic smoking in AUD, few studies have addressed the potential neurobiological or neurocognitive consequences of chronic smoking in alcohol use disorders. Here, we review the the neurobiological and neurocognitive findings in both AUD and chronic cigarette smoking, followed by a review of the effects of comorbid cigarette smoking on neurobiology and neurocognition in AUD. Recent research suggests that comorbid chronic cigarette smoking modulates magnetic resonance-detectable brain injury and neurocognition in alcohol use disorders and adversely affects neurobiological and neurocognitive recovery in abstinent alcoholics.. Consideration of the potential separate and interactive effects of chronic smoking and alcohol use disorders may have significant implications for pharmacological and behavioral treatment interventions.

Alcohol effects on the epigenome in the germline: role in the inheritance of alcohol-related pathology

PubMed Central

Chastain, Lucy G.; Sarkar, Dipak K.

2017-01-01

Excessive alcohol exposure has severe health consequences, and clinical and animal studies have demonstrated that disruptions in the epigenome of somatic cells, such as those in brain, are an important factor in the development of alcohol-related pathologies, such as alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). It is also well known that alcohol-related health problems are passed down across generations in human populations, but the complete mechanisms for this phenomenon are currently unknown. Recent studies in animal models have suggested that epigenetic factors are also responsible for the transmission of alcohol-related pathologies across generations. Alcohol exposure has been shown to induce changes in the epigenome of sperm of exposed male animals, and these epimutations are inherited in the offspring. This paper reviews evidence for multigenerational and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of alcohol-related pathology through the germline. We also review the literature on the epigenetic effects of alcohol exposure on somatic cells in brain, and its contribution to AUDs and FASDs. We note gaps in knowledge in this field, such as the lack of clinical studies in human populations and the lack of data on epigenetic inheritance via the female germline, and we suggest future research directions. PMID:28431793

The Effects of Learned Helplessness on Alcohol Consumption.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noel, Nora E.; Lisman, Stephen A.

Widely held cultural beliefs assert that alcohol can offer both an ameliorative and preventive solution to the problem of depression. This study attempted to assess the effects of learned helplessness--a possible laboratory analog to reactive depression--on alcohol consumption. Thirty-eight female undergraduates were randomly assigned (within…

The effects of alcohol expectancy priming on group bonding.

PubMed

Moltisanti, Allison J; Below, Maureen C; Brandon, Karen O; Goldman, Mark S

2013-12-01

According to alcohol expectancy theory, drinking-related information is stored in memory and, when cue activated, influences alcohol-related behavior. Priming of alcohol cues and expectancies has been shown to elicit both drinking and nonconsumptive behavior associated with alcohol consumption, such as willingness to meet with a stranger and aggression. These social influence effects have been shown to be moderated by individual differences in alcohol expectancies. In the present study, we tested whether an alcohol prime would facilitate social group bonding even in the absence of consumption, and whether such group bonding would be moderated by individually held social expectancies. One hundred twenty undergraduates (75% female) completed an alcohol expectancy measure prior to participation. Participants were primed with either alcohol or neutral beverage words and completed a collaborative group activity followed by questionnaires measuring perceived group cohesion. Several interactions were found between condition and expectancy reflecting that those in the alcohol prime condition with higher social alcohol expectancies reported greater cohesion on task-related, but not emotion-related, group measures. These findings underscore the complexity of the impact of expectancy and social behavior on drinking: the priming of alcohol expectancies may activate aspects of pro-social behavior, which may influence drinking, which in turn may feedback to positively reinforce social expectancies.

Combination of Xylanase and Debranching Enzymes Specific to Wheat Arabinoxylan Improve the Growth Performance and Gut Health of Broilers.

PubMed

Lei, Zhao; Shao, Yuxin; Yin, Xiaonan; Yin, Dafei; Guo, Yuming; Yuan, Jianmin

2016-06-22

Arabinoxylan (AX) is the major antinutritional factor of wheat. This study evaluated the synergistic effects of xylanase and debranching enzymes (arabinofuranosidase [ABF] and feruloyl esterase [FAE]) on AX. During in vitro tests, the addition of ABF or FAE accelerated the hydrolysis of water-soluble AX (WE-AX) and water-insoluble AX (WU-AX) and produced more xylan oligosaccharides (XOS) than xylanase alone. XOS obtained from WE-AX stimulated greater proliferation of Lactobacillus brevis and Bacillus subtilis than did fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and glucose. During in vivo trials, xylanase increased the average daily growth (ADG), decreased the feed-conversion ratio (FCR), and reduced the digesta viscosity of jejunum and intestinal lesions of broilers fed a wheat-based diet on day 36. ABF or FAE additions further improved these effects. Broilers fed a combination of xylanase, ABF, and FAE exhibited the best growth. In conclusion, the synergistic effects among xylanase, ABF, and FAE increased AX degradation, which improve the growth performance and gut health of broilers.

Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on testosterone and pubertal development

PubMed Central

Carter, R.C.; Jacobson, J.L.; Dodge, N.C.; Granger, D.A.; Jacobson, S.W.

2014-01-01

Background Animal models have demonstrated fetal alcohol-related disruptions in neuroendocrine function in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and downstream effects on pubertal development and sexual behavior in males and females, but little is known about these effects in humans. This study examined whether prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with alterations in testosterone during adolescence and whether it affects timing of pubertal development. Methods The sample consisted of 265 African American adolescents from the Detroit Longitudinal Cohort Study for whom testosterone and/or pubertal development data were available. Subjects were offspring of women recruited at their first prenatal clinic visit to over-represent moderate-to-heavy alcohol use, including a 5% random sample of low-level drinkers/abstainers. Mothers were interviewed at every prenatal visit about their alcohol consumption using a timeline follow-back approach and about their smoking and drug use and sociodemographic factors. At age 14 years, adolescents provided salivary samples, which were analyzed for testosterone (pg/mL), self-reported Tanner stages for pubertal development, and age at menarche (females). Results Prenatal alcohol exposure was related to elevated testosterone concentrations for males and females but not to changes in Tanner stages or age at menarche, after controlling for confounders. In regression models stratified by alcohol exposure, the expected relation between testosterone and pubic hair development was seen among males with light-to-no prenatal alcohol exposure but not among those with moderate-to-heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. This interaction between testosterone and prenatal alcohol exposure was confirmed in multivariable models including an alcohol exposure group X testosterone interaction term and potential confounders. Conclusions This study was the first to show a relation between prenatal alcohol exposure and increased testosterone during

The influence of alcohol-specific communication on adolescent alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences.

PubMed

Reimuller, Alison; Hussong, Andrea; Ennett, Susan T

2011-12-01

Alcohol-specific communication, a direct conversation between an adult and an adolescent regarding alcohol use, contains messages about alcohol relayed from the adult to the child. The current study examined the construct of alcohol-specific communication and the effect of messages on adolescent alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. Parent-adolescent dyads were assessed biannually for 3 years (grades 9-11 at wave 6) to examine these relations in a large longitudinal study of adolescents initially in grades 6 through 8. An exploratory factor analysis identified two factors among alcohol-specific communication items, permissive messages and negative alcohol messages. Results showed previous level of adolescent alcohol use moderated the relation between permissive messages and alcohol use outcomes. Plotting of these interactions showed greater alcohol use and consequences with increasing permissive messages in adolescents with higher versus lower levels of previous alcohol use. Results suggest that parental messages regarding alcohol use may impact adolescent alcohol use beyond the effect of general parenting style and parental alcohol use.

Alcohol effects on family relations: a case study.

PubMed

Reinaldo, Amanda Márcia Dos Santos; Pillon, Sandra Cristina

2008-01-01

Problems related to alcohol abuse have been associated to different factors, regardless of the causes attributed to this phenomenon. Alcohol consumption and dependence is considered a public health problem and deserve attention because of the social, work, family, physical, legal and violence-related risks it represents. This study aimed to identify the effects of alcoholism on family relations and, by means of case management, to encourage the recovery of these relationships. The results show that the problems caused by alcohol abuse impose profound suffering to family members, which contributes to high levels of interpersonal conflict, domestic violence, parental inadequacy, child abuse and negligence, financial and legal difficulties, in addition to clinical problems associated to it.

49 CFR 40.273 - What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test? 40... TRANSPORTATION WORKPLACE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAMS Problems in Alcohol Testing § 40.273 What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test? (a) A cancelled alcohol test is neither positive nor negative. (1) As...

49 CFR 40.273 - What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test? 40... TRANSPORTATION WORKPLACE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAMS Problems in Alcohol Testing § 40.273 What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test? (a) A cancelled alcohol test is neither positive nor negative. (1) As...

49 CFR 40.273 - What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test? 40... TRANSPORTATION WORKPLACE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAMS Problems in Alcohol Testing § 40.273 What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test? (a) A cancelled alcohol test is neither positive nor negative. (1) As...

49 CFR 40.273 - What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test? 40... TRANSPORTATION WORKPLACE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAMS Problems in Alcohol Testing § 40.273 What is the effect of a cancelled alcohol test? (a) A cancelled alcohol test is neither positive nor negative. (1) As...

Mortality risks in alcoholism and effects of abstinence and addiction treatment.

PubMed

Miller, N S

1999-06-01

The mortality rate from alcoholism and related comorbidities is high. Studies show multiple causes of premature death from alcoholism. Several studies showed that abstinence had a positive effective on the overall survival of alcoholics. Alcoholics who abstained from alcohol, particularly continuously, showed reduced mortality rates and increased years of longevity than alcoholics who relapsed to alcohol consumption. The sources of the findings tend to be derived from treatment populations, in which abstinence is expected to occur in higher rates than in the general population.

Coffee and Cigarette Consumption and Perceived Effects in Recovering Alcoholics Participating in Alcoholics Anonymous in Nashville, TN

PubMed Central

Reich, Michael S.; Dietrich, Mary S.; Finlayson, A.J. Reid; Fischer, Edward F.; Martin, Peter R.

2008-01-01

Background Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members represent an important and relatively understudied population for improving our understanding of alcohol dependence recovery since over one million Americans participate in the program. Further insight into coffee and cigarette use by these individuals is necessary given AA members’ apparent widespread consumption and the recognized health consequences and psychopharmacological actions of these substances. Methods Volunteers were sought from all open-AA meetings in Nashville, TN during the summer of 2007 to complete a questionnaire (n=289, completion rate=94.1%) including timeline followback for coffee, cigarette, and alcohol consumption; the Alcoholics Anonymous Affiliation Scale; coffee consumption and effects questions; the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND); and the Smoking Effects Questionnaire. Results Mean (±SD) age of onset of alcohol consumption was 15.4±4.2 years and mean lifetime alcohol consumption was 1026.0±772.8 kg ethanol. Median declared alcohol abstinence was 2.1 years (range: 0 days–41.1 years) and median lifetime AA attendance was 1000.0 meetings (range: 4–44209 meetings); average AA affiliation score was 7.6±1.5. Most (88.5%) individuals consumed coffee and approximately 33% of coffee consumers drank more than four cups per day (M=3.9±3.9). The most common self-reported reasons for coffee consumption and coffee-associated behavioral changes were related to stimulatory effects. More than half (56.9%) of individuals in AA smoked cigarettes. Of those who smoked, 78.7% consumed at least half a pack of cigarettes per day (M=21.8±12.3). Smokers’ FTND scores were 5.8±2.4; over 60% of smokers were highly or very highly dependent. Reduced negative affect was the most important subjective effect of smoking. Conclusions A greater proportion of AA participants drink coffee and smoke cigarettes in larger per capita amounts than observed in general US populations. The effects of these

Biphasic Effects of Alcohol as a Function of Circadian Phase

PubMed Central

Van Reen, Eliza; Rupp, Tracy L.; Acebo, Christine; Seifer, Ronald; Carskadon, Mary A.

2013-01-01

Study Objectives: To assess how alcohol affects multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT) and subjective measures of stimulation/sedation when alcohol is given at different circadian phases. Participants: Twenty-seven healthy young adults (age 21-26 yr) were studied. Design: Double-blind placebo and alcohol (vodka tonic targeting 0.05 g% concentration) beverages were each administered three times during the 20-h forced desynchrony protocol. Sleep latency tests and Biphasic Effects of Alcohol Scale (BAES) were administered on each forced desynchrony day. The outcome variables for this study include sleep onset latency (SOL) and stimulation and sedation value (from the BAES). Each outcome variable was associated with the ascending or descending limb of the breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) curve and assigned a circadian phase within a 90° bin. Measurements and Results: BrAC confirmed targeted maximal levels. Only outcome variables associated with the ascending and descending limb of the alcohol curve were analyzed for this article. Alcohol administered at a circadian time associated with greatest sleepiness showed longer SOL compared with placebo when measured on the ascending limb of the BrAC curve. We also found longer SOL with alcohol on the ascending limb of the BrAC curve in a circadian bin that favors greatest alertness. We observed shorter SOLs on the descending limb of the BrAC curve, but with no circadian phase interaction. The subjective data were partially consistent with the objective data. Conclusions: The physiologic findings in this study support the biphasic stimulating and sedating properties of alcohol, but limit the effect to specific circadian times. Citation: Van Reen E; Rupp TL; Acebo C; Seifer R; Carskadon MA. Biphasic effects of alcohol as a function of circadian phase. SLEEP 2013;36(1):137-145. PMID:23288980

The moderating effect of stimulus attractiveness on the effect of alcohol consumption on attractiveness ratings.

PubMed

Chen, Xiong; Wang, Xiaoyu; Yang, Dong; Chen, Youguo

2014-01-01

To explore the enhancing effect of alcohol consumption on attractiveness ratings, in that few studies on the Beer Goggles effect control the stimuli attractiveness level and researchers have seldom considered extending the effect to stimuli other than faces. Male and female participants (n = 103) were randomly assigned to alcohol consumption or placebo groups. Both groups were asked to assess the attractiveness of two types of pictures (faces and landscapes) with three levels of attractiveness for each stimulus category (high, moderate and low). We found significant interactions between beverage type and attractiveness level. Attractiveness ratings for moderate- and low-attractiveness faces were significantly higher in the alcohol compared with placebo condition, while there was no significant difference for high-attractiveness stimuli between these two conditions. As for landscapes, only low-attractiveness stimuli were rated significantly higher in the alcohol condition. Whether or not alcohol consumption leads to an increase in attractiveness ratings depends on the initial attractiveness of the stimulus materials. Alcohol consumption tends to affect ratings for stimuli with relatively low attractiveness. Furthermore, this effect is not limited to faces; it extends to other types of stimuli like landscapes. © The Author 2014. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of Alcohol Media Literacy Programmes: A Systematic Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hindmarsh, Chloe S.; Jones, Sandra C.; Kervin, Lisa

2015-01-01

Alcohol media literacy is an emerging field that aims to address the link between exposure to alcohol advertising and subsequent expectancies and behaviours for children and adolescents. The design, rigour and results of alcohol media literacy programmes vary considerably, resulting in a number of unanswered questions about effectiveness. To…

A Naturalistic Alcohol Availability Experiment: Effects on Crime.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraushaar, Kevin; Alsop, Brent

Previous investigators have looked at many types of criminal offenses in order to determine alcohol involvement in crime. This longitudinal (4-year) naturalistic experimental and control designed study examined the effects of change in alcohol availability on rates of offending in a small provincial region of New Zealand following the closure of…

The effect of alcohol price on dependent drinkers' alcohol consumption.

PubMed

Falkner, Carolyn; Christie, Grant; Zhou, Lifeng; King, Julian

2015-12-18

To investigate the current purchasing behaviours of a group of dependent drinkers and their potential response to future increases in the price of alcohol. 115 clients undergoing medical detoxification completed an anonymous survey about their daily alcohol consumption, its cost, their response to potential price increases and strategies previously used when unable to afford alcohol. Mean and median number of standard drinks consumed per day was 24, at a median cost of $25 NZD (95%CI $22, $30). Thirty-six per cent (95%CI 26%, 46%) of the group bought alcohol at $1 or less per standard drink, and the median number of drinks consumed per day (30) by this group was significantly higher (p=0.0028) than the rest of the sample (22.5). The most common strategy used if no money was available to purchase alcohol was to forgo essentials. If facing a potential price rise, 77% (95%CI 69%, 85%) would switch wholly or partially to a cheaper product and 13% (95%CI 8%, 21%) would cut down their drinking. Although the majority of our group would be financially impacted by an increase in the minimum price per standard drink, any potential impacts would be most significant in those buying the cheapest alcohol (who also drink the most), suggesting that minimum pricing may be an important harm minimisation strategy in this group. A minimum price per standard drink would limit the possibility of switching to an alternate cheaper product and likely result in an overall reduction in alcohol consumption in this group. Stealing alcohol, or the use of non-beverage alcohol, were seldom reported as previous strategies used in response to unaffordable alcohol and fears of such are not valid reasons for rejecting minimum pricing to reduce general population consumption.

Does alcohol have any effect on male reproductive function? A review of literature.

PubMed

La Vignera, Sandro; Condorelli, Rosita A; Balercia, Giancarlo; Vicari, Enzo; Calogero, Aldo E

2013-03-01

Although alcohol is widely used, its impact on the male reproductive function is still controversial. Over the years, many studies have investigated the effects of alcohol consumption on sperm parameters and male infertility. This article reviews the main preclinical and clinical evidences. Studies conducted on the experimental animal have shown that a diet enriched with ethanol causes sperm parameter abnormalities, a number of alterations involving the reproductive tract inhibition, and reduced mouse oocyte in vitro fertilization rate. These effects were partly reversible upon discontinuation of alcohol consumption. Most of the studies evaluating the effects of alcohol in men have shown a negative impact on the sperm parameters. This has been reported to be associated with hypotestosteronemia and low-normal or elevated gonadotropin levels suggesting a combined central and testicular detrimental effect of alcohol. Nevertheless, alcohol consumption does not seem to have much effect on fertility either in in vitro fertilization programs or population-based studies. Finally, the genetic background and other concomitant, alcohol consumption-related conditions influence the degree of the testicular damage. In conclusion, alcohol consumption is associated with a deterioration of sperm parameters which may be partially reversible upon alcohol consumption discontinuation.

The Influence of Alcohol-specific Communication on Adolescent Alcohol Use and Alcohol-related Consequences

PubMed Central

Reimuller, Alison; Hussong, Andrea; Ennett, Susan T.

2013-01-01

Alcohol-specific communication, a direct conversation between an adult and an adolescent regarding alcohol use, contains messages about alcohol relayed from the adult to the child. The current study examined the construct of alcohol-specific communication and the effect of messages on adolescent alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. Parent-adolescent dyads were assessed biannually for 3 years (grades 9-11 at wave 6) to examine these relations in a large longitudinal study of adolescents initially in grades 6 through 8. An exploratory factor analysis identified two factors among alcohol-specific communication items, permissive messages and negative alcohol messages. Results showed previous level of adolescent alcohol use moderated the relation between permissive messages and alcohol use outcomes. Plotting of these interactions showed greater alcohol use and consequences with increasing permissive messages in adolescents with higher versus lower levels of previous alcohol use. Results suggest that parental messages regarding alcohol use may impact adolescent alcohol use beyond the effect of general parenting style and parental alcohol use. PMID:21667141

The Effect of Cancer Warning Statements on Alcohol Consumption Intentions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pettigrew, Simone; Jongenelis, Michelle I.; Glance, David; Chikritzhs, Tanya; Pratt, Iain S.; Slevin, Terry; Liang, Wenbin; Wakefield, Melanie

2016-01-01

In response to increasing calls to introduce warning labels on alcoholic beverages, this study investigated the potential effectiveness of alcohol warning statements designed to increase awareness of the alcohol-cancer link. A national online survey was administered to a diverse sample of Australian adult drinkers (n = 1,680). Along with…

Gender and Impulsivity: Effects on Cue-Induced Alcohol Craving.

PubMed

Yarmush, Devorah E; Manchery, Linda; Luehring-Jones, Peter; Erblich, Joel

2016-05-01

Numerous studies have demonstrated that trait impulsivity is linked to increased risk of developing alcohol-use disorders and other substance abuse. Impulsivity has also been shown in some studies to potentiate cue-induced drug cravings. Despite considerable evidence of gender differences in impulsivity and drug craving among individuals suffering from alcohol dependence and other drug use, little research has focused on these processes in healthy young men and women who may be at risk for developing alcohol-use disorders. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between impulsivity and cue-induced craving, as well as possible gender differences in these effects among healthy young adults. To that end, female (n = 22) and male (n = 14) social drinkers aged 18 to 25, recruited from an urban university campus, completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and reported their alcohol cravings immediately before and after laboratory exposure to alcohol cues. Findings indicated that exposure to cues elicited increased alcohol cravings, but these effects did not differ by gender. Interestingly, a significant interaction of impulsivity and gender revealed that impulsivity predicted significantly higher cue-induced cravings in women, but not men. Findings underscore the importance of better understanding the interaction of situational factors (e.g., exposure to alcohol cues) and dispositional factors (e.g., impulsivity) as potential contributors to drinking motivation. Future prospective research is needed to identify gender-specific risk factors for the development of problem drinking. Copyright © 2016 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Alcohol's acute effect on food intake is mediated by inhibitory control impairments.

PubMed

Christiansen, Paul; Rose, Abigail; Randall-Smith, Laura; Hardman, Charlotte A

2016-05-01

There is a strong association between alcohol misuse and excess weight. Although alcohol is highly calorific and may directly contribute to weight gain, it is also likely to have indirect effects on weight. Indeed, alcohol primes have been found to stimulate appetite and increase energy intake in experimental taste tests. The current study investigated whether the effects of alcohol on energy intake are the result of inhibitory control impairments and whether this effect is moderated by individual differences in dietary restraint. Sixty undergraduate females completed measures of dietary restraint and the Food Craving Questionnaire-State (FCQS). Following this, they were given an alcohol prime (0.6 g of alcohol per kg of body weight) or a placebo drink manipulated to smell and taste alcoholic. Participants then completed another FCQS and a color conflict Stroop to measure inhibitory control. Finally, participants were asked to taste cookies for 15 minutes. Participants in the alcohol condition performed worse on the Stroop (d = .61) and consumed more cookie calories (d = .61) than participants in the placebo condition. Notably, the effect of the experimental condition on the amount of cookies consumed was mediated by Stroop performance (Κ2 = .08), although this effect was not evident under high levels of restraint. There was no effect of experimental condition on any subscale of craving. The current study suggests that increased energy intake after alcohol administration may be the product of inhibitory control impairments. However, the most restrained eaters are able to maintain control over their eating behavior. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The Gastrointestinal Microbiome: Alcohol Effects on the Composition of Intestinal Microbiota.

PubMed

Engen, Phillip A; Green, Stefan J; Voigt, Robin M; Forsyth, Christopher B; Keshavarzian, Ali

2015-01-01

The excessive use of alcohol is a global problem causing many adverse pathological health effects and a significant financial health care burden. This review addresses the effect of alcohol consumption on the microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Although data are limited in humans, studies highlight the importance of changes in the intestinal microbiota in alcohol-related disorders. Alcohol-induced changes in the GIT microbiota composition and metabolic function may contribute to the well-established link between alcohol-induced oxidative stress, intestinal hyperpermeability to luminal bacterial products, and the subsequent development of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), as well as other diseases. In addition, clinical and preclinical data suggest that alcohol-related disorders are associated with quantitative and qualitative dysbiotic changes in the intestinal microbiota and may be associated with increased GIT inflammation, intestinal hyperpermeability resulting in endotoxemia, systemic inflammation, and tissue damage/organ pathologies including ALD. Thus, gut-directed interventions, such as probiotic and synbiotic modulation of the intestinal microbiota, should be considered and evaluated for prevention and treatment of alcohol-associated pathologies.

The effects of alcohol on emotion in social drinkers

PubMed Central

Sayette, Michael A.

2017-01-01

Understanding why people drink alcohol and in some cases develop drinking problems has long puzzled researchers, clinicians, and patients alike. In the mid-1940s and early 1950s, experimental research began to systematically investigate alcohol’s hedonic properties. Presumably, alcohol consumption would prove reinforcing as a consequence of its capacity either to relieve stress or to brighten positive emotional experiences. This article reviews experimental research through the years examining the impact of alcohol on both the relief of negative affect and the enhancement of positive affect. It covers initial accounts that emphasized direct pharmacological effects of ethanol on the central nervous system. These early studies offered surprisingly tepid support for the premise that alcohol improved emotional states. Next, studies conducted in the 1970s are considered. Informed by social learning theory and employing advances derived from experimental psychology, this research sought to better understand the complex effects of alcohol on emotion. Coverage of this work is followed by discussion of current formulations, which integrate biological and behavioral approaches with the study of cognitive, affective, and social processes. These current perspectives provide insight into the particular conditions under which alcohol can boost emotional experiences. Finally, future research directions and clinical implications are considered. PMID:28110679

Effect of UV irradiation on the evaporation rate of alcohols droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korobko, O. V.; Britan, A. V.; Verbinskaya, G. H.; Gavryushenko, D. A.

2015-06-01

The effect of ultraviolet irradiation with a wavelength of 390 nm on the evaporation of droplets of the homologous series of alcohols ( n-propanol, n-butanol, n-pentanol, n-heptanol, n-octanol, and n-decanol) at 10, 30, 50, 100, and 200 mm Hg in an atmosphere of dry nitrogen is studied. The values of the evaporation rate of alcohols are calculated with and without irradiation. Starting from n-pentanol, the rate of evaporation grows strongly for droplets of higher alcohols under the effect of low-power irradiation not associated with the heating of the evaporating droplets of alcohols. The obtained results are analyzed by comparing them to experimental data on neutron scattering by alcohols. It is shown that free convection must be considered in order to describe the evaporation process. Expressions of different authors for describing this effect are analyzed.

Recent advances in the biomedical applications of fumaric acid and its ester derivatives: The multifaceted alternative therapeutics.

PubMed

Das, Ratul Kumar; Brar, Satinder Kaur; Verma, Mausam

2016-04-01

Several lines of evidence have demonstrated the potential biomedical applications of fumaric acid (FA) and its ester derivatives against many human disease conditions. Fumaric acid esters (FAEs) have been licensed for the systemic treatment of the immune-mediated disease psoriasis. Biogen Idec Inc. announced about the safety and efficacy of the formulation FAE (BG-12) for treating RRMS (relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis). Another FAE formulation DMF (dimethyl fumarate) was found to be capable of reduction in inflammatory cardiac conditions, such as autoimmune myocarditis and ischemia and reperfusion. DMF has also been reported to be effective as a potential neuroprotectant against the HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Many in vivo studies carried out on rat and mice models indicated inhibitory effects of fumaric acid on carcinogenesis of different origins. Moreover, FAEs has emerged as an important matrix ingredient in the fabrication of biodegradable scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. Drug delivery vehicles composed of FAEs have shown promising results in delivering some leading drug molecules. Apart from these specific applications and findings, many more studies on FAEs have revealed new therapeutic potentials with the scope of clinical applications. However, until now, this scattered vital information has not been written into a collective account and analyzed for minute details. The aim of this paper is to review the advancement made in the biomedical application of FA and FAEs and to focus on the clinical investigation and molecular interpretation of the beneficial effects of FA and FAEs. Copyright © 2015 Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.

Estimating effects of alcohol tax increases on highway fatalities

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1989-12-01

There can be no doubt that tax increases which raise the price of all alcoholic beverages : will reduce the overall consumption of alcohol which in turn will reduce highway : accidents and fatalities. Both theoretical reasoning about the effects of t...

Three feruloyl esterases in Cellulosilyticum ruminicola H1 act synergistically to hydrolyze esterified polysaccharides.

PubMed

Li, Jiabao; Cai, Shichun; Luo, Yuanming; Dong, Xiuzhu

2011-09-01

Feruloyl esterases (Faes) constitute a subclass of carboxyl esterases that specifically hydrolyze the ester linkages between ferulate and polysaccharides in plant cell walls. Until now, the described microbial Faes were mainly from fungi. In this study, we report that Cellulosilyticum ruminicola H1, a previously described fibrolytic rumen bacterium, possesses three different active feruloyl esterases, FaeI, FaeII, and FaeIII. Phylogenetic analysis classified the described bacterial Faes into two types, FaeI and FaeII in type I and FaeIII in type II. Substrate specificity assays indicated that FaeI is more active against the ester bonds in natural hemicelluloses and FaeIII preferentially attacks the ferulate esters with a small moiety, such as methyl groups, while FaeII is active on both types of substrates. Among the three feruloyl esterase genes, faeI was the only one induced significantly by xylose and xylan, while pectin appeared to moderately induce the three genes during the late log phase to stationary phase. Western blot analysis determined that FaeI and FaeIII were secreted and cytoplasmic proteins, respectively, whereas FaeII seemed to be cell associated. The addition of FaeI and FaeII but not FaeIII enhanced the activity of a xylanase on maize cob, suggesting a synergy of the former two with xylanase. Hence, we propose that the three feruloyl esterases work in concert to hydrolyze ferulate esters in natural hemicelluloses.

The effects of alcohol-containing e-cigarettes on young adult smokers.

PubMed

Valentine, Gerald W; Jatlow, Peter I; Coffman, Marcedes; Nadim, Haleh; Gueorguieva, Ralitza; Sofuoglu, Mehmet

2016-02-01

The liquids (e-liquids) used in an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) contain myriad chemicals without adequate human inhalation safety data. Furthermore, the absence of e-liquid labeling requirements poses a formidable challenge to understanding how e-liquid constituents may promote nicotine addiction and/or have independent or synergistic biological effects when combined with nicotine. Ethyl alcohol is such a constituent, but has received little scientific interest in this context. Using a randomized, double blind, crossover design, acute changes in subjective drug effects, motor performance and biochemical measures of alcohol and nicotine intake were evaluated after directed and ad lib puffing from two commercially available e-liquids containing nicotine (8 mg/ml), vanilla flavor and either 23.5% (high) or 0.4% (trace) alcohol. While no differences in subjective drug effects were observed between alcohol conditions, performance on the Purdue Pegboard Dexterity Test (PPDT) improved under the trace, but not under the 23.5% alcohol condition. Although plasma alcohol levels remained undetectable during testing, urine ethyl glucuronide (EtG), an alcohol metabolite, became measurable in three participants after puffing from the 23.5% alcohol e-cigarette. Brief use of a widely available type of e-cigarette containing an e-liquid purchased from an internet vendor can negatively impact psychomotor performance and in some instances, produce detectable levels of a urine alcohol metabolite. Given the widespread and unregulated use of e-cigarettes, especially by youth and other vulnerable populations, further studies are needed to evaluate both the acute safety and long-term health risks of using alcohol-containing e-cigarettes. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Differential Effects of Alcohol on Working Memory: Distinguishing Multiple Processes

PubMed Central

Saults, J. Scott; Cowan, Nelson; Sher, Kenneth J.; Moreno, Matthew V.

2008-01-01

We assessed effects of alcohol consumption on different types of working memory (WM) tasks in an attempt to characterize the nature of alcohol effects on cognition. The WM tasks varied in two properties of materials to be retained in a two-stimulus comparison procedure. Conditions included (1) spatial arrays of colors, (2) temporal sequences of colors, (3) spatial arrays of spoken digits, and (4) temporal sequences of spoken digits. Alcohol consumption impaired memory for auditory and visual sequences, but not memory for simultaneous arrays of auditory or visual stimuli. These results suggest that processes needed to encode and maintain stimulus sequences, such as rehearsal, are more sensitive to alcohol intoxication than other WM mechanisms needed to maintain multiple concurrent items, such as focusing attention on them. These findings help to resolve disparate findings from prior research into alcohol’s effect on WM and on divided attention. The results suggest that moderate doses of alcohol impair WM by affecting certain mnemonic strategies and executive processes rather than by shrinking the basic holding capacity of WM. PMID:18179311

Acute Effects of Alcohol on Encoding and Consolidation of Memory for Emotional Stimuli

PubMed Central

Weafer, Jessica; Gallo, David A.; De Wit, Harriet

2016-01-01

Objective: Acute doses of alcohol impair memory when administered before encoding of emotionally neutral stimuli but enhance memory when administered immediately after encoding, potentially by affecting memory consolidation. Here, we examined whether alcohol produces similar biphasic effects on memory for positive or negative emotional stimuli. Method: The current study examined memory for emotional stimuli after alcohol (0.8 g/kg) was administered either before stimulus viewing (encoding group; n = 20) or immediately following stimulus viewing (consolidation group; n = 20). A third group received placebo both before and after stimulus viewing (control group; n = 19). Participants viewed the stimuli on one day, and their retrieval was assessed exactly 48 hours later, when they performed a surprise cued recollection and recognition test of the stimuli in a drug-free state. Results: As in previous studies, alcohol administered before encoding impaired memory accuracy, whereas alcohol administered after encoding enhanced memory accuracy. Critically, alcohol effects on cued recollection depended on the valence of the emotional stimuli: Its memory-impairing effects during encoding were greatest for emotional stimuli, whereas its memory-enhancing effects during consolidation were greatest for emotionally neutral stimuli. Effects of alcohol on recognition were not related to stimulus valence. Conclusions: This study extends previous findings with memory for neutral stimuli, showing that alcohol differentially affects the encoding and consolidation of memory for emotional stimuli. These effects of alcohol on memory for emotionally salient material may contribute to the development of alcohol-related problems, perhaps by dampening memory for adverse consequences of alcohol consumption. PMID:26751358

Effects of caffeine on alcohol consumption and nicotine self-administration in rats.

PubMed

Rezvani, Amir H; Sexton, Hannah G; Johnson, Joshua; Wells, Cori; Gordon, Karen; Levin, Edward D

2013-09-01

Caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine are 3 of the most widespread self-administered psychoactive substances, which are known to be extensively co-administered. However, little is known about the degree to which they may mutually potentiate each other's consumption. In the current set of studies, we examined in rats the effect of caffeine administration on alcohol drinking and intravenous (i.v.) self-administration of nicotine. In male alcohol-preferring (P) rats, caffeine (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg) or the saline vehicle was administered acutely either by subcutaneous (S.C.) injection or orally (PO) by gavage. In a chronic study, the effect of PO caffeine (5 and 20 mg/kg) on alcohol intake over a 10-day period was tested. In another experiment, the effect of acute PO administration of caffeine (20 mg/kg) or saline on saccharin intake (0.2% solution) was determined in P rats. Effects of 20 mg/kg caffeine on motor activity were also determined in P rats. Finally, the effects of acute PO caffeine administration on nicotine self-administration in Sprague-Dawley rats were also determined. Both routes of administration of caffeine, S.C. and PO, caused a significant dose-related decrease in alcohol intake and preference during free access to alcohol and after 4-day deprivation of alcohol. However, the low dose of 5 mg/kg caffeine increased alcohol intake. Acute PO caffeine also reduced saccharin intake. Acute systemic administration of 20 mg/kg caffeine did not exert a significant effect on motor activity. In Sprague-Dawley rats trained to self-administer i.v. nicotine, acute PO administration of caffeine significantly increased self-administration of nicotine in a dose-related manner. These results suggest that adenosine receptor systems may play a role in both alcohol and nicotine intake and deserve further study regarding these addictions. Copyright © 2013 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Effects of MAOA-Genotype, Alcohol Consumption, and Aging on Violent Behavior

PubMed Central

Tikkanen, Roope; Sjöberg, Rickard L.; Ducci, Francesca; Goldman, David; Holi, Matti; Tiihonen, Jari; Virkkunen, Matti

2009-01-01

Background Environmental factors appear to interact with a functional polymorphism (MAOA-LPR) in the promoter region of the monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) in determining some forms of antisocial behavior. However, how MAOA-LPR modulates the effects of other factors such as alcohol consumption related to antisocial behavior is not completely understood. Methods This study examines the conjunct effect of MAOA-LPR, alcohol consumption, and aging on the risk for violent behavior. Recidivism in severe impulsive violent behavior was assessed after 7 to 15 years in a sample of 174 Finnish alcoholic offenders, the majority of whom exhibited antisocial or borderline personality disorder or both, and featured impulsive temperament traits. Results The risk for committing new acts of violence increased by 2.3% for each kilogram of increase in yearly mean alcohol consumption (p = 0.004) and decreased by 7.3% for every year among offenders carrying the high activity MAOA genotype. In contrast, alcohol consumption and aging failed to affect violent behavior in the low activity MAOA genotyped offenders. MAOA-LPR showed no main effect on the risk for recidivistic violence. Conclusions Violent offenders carrying the high activity MAOA genotype differ in several ways from carriers with the low activity MAOA risk allele previously associated with antisocial behavior. Finnish high activity MAOA genotyped risk alcoholics exhibiting antisocial behavior, high alcohol consumption, and abnormal alcohol-related impulsive and uncontrolled violence might represent an etiologically distinct alcohol dependence subtype. PMID:19120058

Effects of MAOA-genotype, alcohol consumption, and aging on violent behavior.

PubMed

Tikkanen, Roope; Sjöberg, Rickard L; Ducci, Francesca; Goldman, David; Holi, Matti; Tiihonen, Jari; Virkkunen, Matti

2009-03-01

Environmental factors appear to interact with a functional polymorphism (MAOA-LPR) in the promoter region of the monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) in determining some forms of antisocial behavior. However, how MAOA-LPR modulates the effects of other factors such as alcohol consumption related to antisocial behavior is not completely understood. This study examines the conjunct effect of MAOA-LPR, alcohol consumption, and aging on the risk for violent behavior. Recidivism in severe impulsive violent behavior was assessed after 7 to 15 years in a sample of 174 Finnish alcoholic offenders, the majority of whom exhibited antisocial or borderline personality disorder or both, and featured impulsive temperament traits. The risk for committing new acts of violence increased by 2.3% for each kilogram of increase in yearly mean alcohol consumption (p = 0.004) and decreased by 7.3% for every year among offenders carrying the high activity MAOA genotype. In contrast, alcohol consumption and aging failed to affect violent behavior in the low activity MAOA genotyped offenders. MAOA-LPR showed no main effect on the risk for recidivistic violence. Violent offenders carrying the high activity MAOA genotype differ in several ways from carriers with the low activity MAOA risk allele previously associated with antisocial behavior. Finnish high activity MAOA genotyped risk alcoholics exhibiting antisocial behavior, high alcohol consumption, and abnormal alcohol-related impulsive and uncontrolled violence might represent an etiologically distinct alcohol dependence subtype.

Cost-Effectiveness of Preventive Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Consumption in Denmark

PubMed Central

Holm, Astrid Ledgaard; Veerman, Lennert; Cobiac, Linda; Ekholm, Ola; Diderichsen, Finn

2014-01-01

Introduction Excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of many diseases and injuries, and the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study estimated that 6% of the burden of disease in Denmark is due to alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption thus places a considerable economic burden on society. Methods We analysed the cost-effectiveness of six interventions aimed at preventing alcohol abuse in the adult Danish population: 30% increased taxation, increased minimum legal drinking age, advertisement bans, limited hours of retail sales, and brief and longer individual interventions. Potential health effects were evaluated as changes in incidence, prevalence and mortality of alcohol-related diseases and injuries. Net costs were calculated as the sum of intervention costs and cost offsets related to treatment of alcohol-related outcomes, based on health care costs from Danish national registers. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated by calculating incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for each intervention. We also created an intervention pathway to determine the optimal sequence of interventions and their combined effects. Results Three of the analysed interventions (advertising bans, limited hours of retail sales and taxation) were cost-saving, and the remaining three interventions were all cost-effective. Net costs varied from € -17 million per year for advertisement ban to € 8 million for longer individual intervention. Effectiveness varied from 115 disability-adjusted life years (DALY) per year for minimum legal drinking age to 2,900 DALY for advertisement ban. The total annual effect if all interventions were implemented would be 7,300 DALY, with a net cost of € -30 million. Conclusion Our results show that interventions targeting the whole population were more effective than individual-focused interventions. A ban on alcohol advertising, limited hours of retail sale and increased taxation had the highest probability of being cost-saving and should thus

Cost-effectiveness of preventive interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in Denmark.

PubMed

Holm, Astrid Ledgaard; Veerman, Lennert; Cobiac, Linda; Ekholm, Ola; Diderichsen, Finn

2014-01-01

Excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of many diseases and injuries, and the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study estimated that 6% of the burden of disease in Denmark is due to alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption thus places a considerable economic burden on society. We analysed the cost-effectiveness of six interventions aimed at preventing alcohol abuse in the adult Danish population: 30% increased taxation, increased minimum legal drinking age, advertisement bans, limited hours of retail sales, and brief and longer individual interventions. Potential health effects were evaluated as changes in incidence, prevalence and mortality of alcohol-related diseases and injuries. Net costs were calculated as the sum of intervention costs and cost offsets related to treatment of alcohol-related outcomes, based on health care costs from Danish national registers. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated by calculating incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for each intervention. We also created an intervention pathway to determine the optimal sequence of interventions and their combined effects. Three of the analysed interventions (advertising bans, limited hours of retail sales and taxation) were cost-saving, and the remaining three interventions were all cost-effective. Net costs varied from € -17 million per year for advertisement ban to € 8 million for longer individual intervention. Effectiveness varied from 115 disability-adjusted life years (DALY) per year for minimum legal drinking age to 2,900 DALY for advertisement ban. The total annual effect if all interventions were implemented would be 7,300 DALY, with a net cost of € -30 million. Our results show that interventions targeting the whole population were more effective than individual-focused interventions. A ban on alcohol advertising, limited hours of retail sale and increased taxation had the highest probability of being cost-saving and should thus be first priority for implementation.

Effects of alcohol on body-sway patterns in human subjects.

PubMed

Nieschalk, M; Ortmann, C; West, A; Schmäl, F; Stoll, W; Fechner, G

1999-01-01

The vestibulospinal aspects of vestibular function are commonly neglected in the evaluation of alcohol-induced intoxication. Thus, in the present study the effect of an acute intoxication with a low or moderate quantity of alcohol was examined with respect to the equilibrium in 30 healthy subjects. The blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured 30 min after the ingestion of the last alcohol, ranging between 0.22 and 1.59 per thousand. Stability of stance was quantified by static platform posturography in Romberg-test conditions with eyes open and eyes closed. Among other parameters, the average body sway path (SP) and area of body sway (SA) were assessed. Posturography revealed a significant increase in body sway. There was a positive correlation between SA (or SP) and BAC both with eyes open and eyes closed. Multiple group comparisons revealed that the large-alcohol-dose group (BAC > or = 1.0 per thousand) could be clearly differentiated from test cases with BAC lower than 0.8 per thousand. Sway area was the most sensitive parameter for detecting increased body sway after alcohol ingestion. The area increase, present not only with eyes closed but with eyes open, revealed an inadequate compensation of the ethanol-induced ataxia by visual stabilization. The Romberg's quotient, which denotes eyes closed relative to eyes open, remained constant. The increase in sway path with eyes closed showed an omnidirectional sway. A comparison of the sway pattern of subjects after acute ethanol ingestion with the data of patients with permanent cerebellar lesions suggested that the acute effect of alcohol resembles that of a lesion of the spinocerebellum. This finding contrasts with earlier studies, which postulated an acute effect of ethanol resembling that in patients with an atrophy of the anterior lobe of the cerebellum due to chronic alcohol abuse. In seven cases of the lower dose group (BAC < or = 0.8 per thousand), a reduction in body sway after alcohol ingestion was

The effects of energy drink in combination with alcohol on performance and subjective awareness.

PubMed

Alford, Chris; Hamilton-Morris, Jennifer; Verster, Joris C

2012-08-01

This study investigated the coadministration of an energy drink with alcohol to study the effects on subjective intoxication and objective performance. This study aims to evaluate the objective and subjective effects of alcohol versus placebo at two alcohol doses, alone and in combination with an energy drink, in a balanced order, placebo-controlled, double-blind design. Two groups of ten healthy volunteers, mean (SD) age of 24 (6.5), participated in the study. One group consumed energy drink containing 80 mg of caffeine and the other consumed a placebo drink, with both receiving two alcohol doses (0.046 and 0.087% breathalyser alcohol concentration). Tests included breath alcohol assessment, objective measures of performance (reaction time, word memory and Stroop task) and subjective visual analogue mood scales. Participants showed significantly impaired reaction time and memory after alcohol compared to the no alcohol condition and had poorer memory after the higher alcohol dose. Stroop performance was improved with the energy drink plus alcohol combination compared to the placebo drink plus alcohol combination. Participants felt significant subjective dose-related impairment after alcohol compared to no alcohol. Neither breath alcohol concentration nor the subjective measures showed a significant difference between the energy drink and the placebo energy drink when combined with alcohol. Subjective effects reflected awareness of alcohol intoxication and sensitivity to increasing alcohol dose. There were no overall significant group differences for subjective measures between energy drink and placebo groups in the presence of alcohol and no evidence that the energy drink masked the subjective effects of alcohol at either dose.

The Swedish six-community alcohol and drug prevention trial: effects on youth drinking.

PubMed

Hallgren, Mats; Andréasson, Sven

2013-09-01

Local communities are increasingly targeted for alcohol and drug prevention campaigns. This study describes some of the key findings from the Swedish six-community alcohol and drug prevention trial (2003-2007) and lessons learned following an evaluation of the trial's effectiveness. The paper focuses mainly on changes in youth drinking and related harms. This was a pre- to post-intervention effect study comparing six trial communities that received added training and technical support with six control communities where regular prevention efforts were supported by national alcohol and drug action plans. A repeated, cross-sectional survey of 8092 youths aged 15-19 years assessed changes in alcohol consumption, binge drinking, perceived alcohol availability, access to alcohol via parents and adult attitudes towards the supply of alcohol to youths. National registry data were used to assess changes in hospital admissions due to alcohol intoxication. Overall, there were few significant improvements in the six trial communities compared with the control communities. The absence of program effects was largely attributable to the selection of strategies (in particular, school and parental programs) lacking evidence of effectiveness in reducing alcohol consumption at the aggregate level. Prevention programs based on efficacy studies need to be tested in community-based effectiveness trials before being disseminated. © 2013 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Community organization moderates the effect of alcohol outlet density on violence.

PubMed

Pridemore, William Alex; Grubesic, Tony H

2012-12-01

There is growing evidence from multiple disciplines that alcohol outlet density is associated with community levels of assault. Based on the theoretical and empirical literatures on social organization and crime, we tested the hypothesis that the association between alcohol outlet density and neighbourhood violence rates is moderated by social organization. Using geocoded police data on assaults, geocoded data on the location of alcohol outlets, and controlling for several structural factors thought to be associated with violence rates, we tested this hypothesis employing negative binomial regression with our sample of 298 block groups in Cincinnati. Our results revealed direct effects of alcohol outlet density and social organization on assault density, and these effects held for different outlet types (i.e., off-premise, bars, restaurants) and levels of harm (i.e., simple and aggravated assaults). More importantly, we found that the strength of the outlet-assault association was significantly weaker in more socially organized communities. Subsequent analyses by level of organization revealed no effects of alcohol outlet density on aggravated assaults in organized block groups, but significant effects in disorganized block groups. We found no association between social (dis)organization and outlet density. These results clarify the community-level relationship between alcohol outlets and violence and have important implications for municipal-level alcohol policies. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2012.

UK Alcohol Treatment Trial: client-treatment matching effects.

PubMed

2008-02-01

To test a priori hypotheses concerning client-treatment matching in the treatment of alcohol problems and to evaluate the more general hypothesis that client-treatment matching adds to the overall effectiveness of treatment. Pragmatic, multi-centre, randomized controlled trial (the UK Alcohol Treatment Trial: UKATT) with open follow-up at 3 months after entry and blind follow-up at 12 months. Five treatment centres, comprising seven treatment sites, including National Health Service (NHS), social services and joint NHS/non-statutory facilities. Motivational enhancement therapy and social behaviour and network therapy. Matching hypotheses were tested by examining interactions between client attributes and treatment types at both 3 and 12 months follow-up using the outcome variables of percentage days abstinent, drinks per drinking day and scores on the Alcohol Problems Questionnaire and Leeds Dependence Questionnaire. None of five matching hypotheses was confirmed at either follow-up point on any outcome variable. The findings strongly support the conclusion reached in Project MATCH in the United States that client-treatment matching, at least of the kind examined, is unlikely to result in substantial improvements to the effectiveness of treatment for alcohol problems. Possible reasons for this failure to support the general matching hypothesis are discussed, as are the implications of UKATT findings for the provision of treatment for alcohol problems in the United Kingdom.

The effect of energy drinks on the urge to drink alcohol in young adults.

PubMed

McKetin, Rebecca; Coen, Alice

2014-08-01

Recently, Marczinski and colleagues (2013) showed that energy drinks combined with alcohol augment a person's desire to drink more alcohol relative to drinking alcohol alone. The current study replicates the findings of Marczinski and colleagues (2013) using a robust measure of alcohol craving. Seventy-five participants aged 18 to 30 years were assigned to an alcohol only or alcohol+energy drink condition in a double-blind randomized pre- versus posttest experiment. Participants received a cocktail containing either 60 ml of vodka and a Red Bull(®) Silver Edition energy drink (alcohol+energy drink condition) or 60 ml of vodka with a soda water vehicle (alcohol-only condition); both cocktails contained 200 ml of fruit drink. The primary outcome measure was the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire taken at pretest and at 20 minutes (posttest). Other measures taken at posttest were the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Questionnaire, the Drug Effects Questionnaire, and breath alcohol concentration (BAC). The alcohol+energy drink condition showed a greater pre- versus posttest increase in urge to drink alcohol compared with the alcohol-only condition (B = 3.24, p = 0.021, d = 0.44). Participants in the alcohol+energy drink condition had significantly higher ratings on liking the cocktail and wanting to drink more of the cocktail, and lower BACs, than the alcohol-only condition. When examined at specific BACs, the effect of the energy drink on the pre- to posttest increase in urge to drink was largest and only significant at BACs of 0.04-0.05 (cf. < 0.04 g/dl).There were no significant differences in stimulation, sedation, feeling the effects of the cocktail, or feeling high. Combining energy drinks with alcohol increased the urge to drink alcohol relative to drinking alcohol alone. More research is needed to understand what factors mediate this effect and whether it increases subsequent alcohol consumption. Copyright © 2014 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Acute alcohol effects on facial expressions of emotions in social drinkers: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Capito, Eva Susanne; Lautenbacher, Stefan; Horn-Hofmann, Claudia

2017-01-01

Background As known from everyday experience and experimental research, alcohol modulates emotions. Particularly regarding social interaction, the effects of alcohol on the facial expression of emotion might be of relevance. However, these effects have not been systematically studied. We performed a systematic review on acute alcohol effects on social drinkers’ facial expressions of induced positive and negative emotions. Materials and methods With a predefined algorithm, we searched three electronic databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) for studies conducted on social drinkers that used acute alcohol administration, emotion induction, and standardized methods to record facial expressions. We excluded those studies that failed common quality standards, and finally selected 13 investigations for this review. Results Overall, alcohol exerted effects on facial expressions of emotions in social drinkers. These effects were not generally disinhibiting, but varied depending on the valence of emotion and on social interaction. Being consumed within social groups, alcohol mostly influenced facial expressions of emotions in a socially desirable way, thus underscoring the view of alcohol as social lubricant. However, methodical differences regarding alcohol administration between the studies complicated comparability. Conclusion Our review highlighted the relevance of emotional valence and social-context factors for acute alcohol effects on social drinkers’ facial expressions of emotions. Future research should investigate how these alcohol effects influence the development of problematic drinking behavior in social drinkers. PMID:29255375

Relationship Between Circulating Fatty Acids and Fatty Acid Ethanolamide Levels After a Single 2-h Dietary Fat Feeding in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats : Elevated levels of oleoylethanolamide, palmitoylethanolamide, linoleoylethanolamide, arachidonoylethanolamide and docosahexanoylethanolamide after a single 2 h dietary fat feeding in male Sprague Dawley rats.

PubMed

Olatinsu, Anthonia O; Sihag, Jyoti; Jones, Peter J H

2017-11-01

Previous studies show that long term variations in dietary fat consumption impact circulating fatty acid ethanolamide (FAE) concentrations, however, few studies have investigated short term effects of dietary fat feeding on FAE levels. The trial's objective was to explore the effect of acute feeding of varying amounts of dietary n-9 and n-3 fatty acids on plasma and organ levels of FAE. Sixty-four rats were assigned to four groups fed meals containing 40% of energy as either safflower oil (control), canola oil (CO), or DHA rich oil (DRO), each consumed as a bolus within a 2-h window. Plasma and tissue FAE levels were measured at 3, 6, 12 and 24 h following the bolus. FAE profiles over time exhibited patterns that were specific both to FAE and to dietary fat type provided. At 3 h, plasma and liver OEA levels were higher (p < 0.05) in the 95% CO:5% DRO compared with other groups. At 12 h, plasma PEA levels were lower (p < 0.05) in the 50% CO:50% DRO group compared to the 95% CO group. Plasma DEA levels showed an increase (p < 0.05) only after 24 h of feeding. All four dietary groups manifested increased DEA levels in a dose-dependent manner. Data demonstrate that a single meal feeding of diets with different ratios of fat types impacts tissue levels of FAE within a short time frame, which could further influence the physiological roles of FAE on appetite regulation and energy expenditure.

Are Alcohol Taxation and Pricing Policies Regressive? Product-Level Effects of a Specific Tax and a Minimum Unit Price for Alcohol.

PubMed

Vandenberg, Brian; Sharma, Anurag

2016-07-01

To compare estimated effects of two policy alternatives, (i) a minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol and (ii) specific (per-unit) taxation, upon current product prices, per capita spending (A$), and per capita consumption by income quintile, consumption quintile and product type. Estimation of baseline spending and consumption, and modelling policy-to-price and price-to-consumption effects of policy changes using scanner data from a panel of demographically representative Australian households that includes product-level details of their off-trade alcohol spending (n = 885; total observations = 12,505). Robustness checks include alternative price elasticities, tax rates, minimum price thresholds and tax pass-through rates. Current alcohol taxes and alternative taxation and pricing policies are not highly regressive. Any regressive effects are small and concentrated among heavy consumers. The lowest-income consumers currently spend a larger proportion of income (2.3%) on alcohol taxes than the highest-income consumers (0.3%), but the mean amount is small in magnitude [A$5.50 per week (95%CI: 5.18-5.88)]. Both a MUP and specific taxation will have some regressive effects, but the effects are limited, as they are greatest for the heaviest consumers, irrespective of income. Among the policy alternatives, a MUP is more effective in reducing consumption than specific taxation, especially for consumers in the lowest-income quintile: an estimated mean per capita reduction of 11.9 standard drinks per week (95%CI: 11.3-12.6). Policies that increase the cost of the cheapest alcohol can be effective in reducing alcohol consumption, without having highly regressive effects. © The Author 2015. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Restricting Opening Hours on Alcohol-Related Violence

PubMed Central

Duailibi, Sergio; Ponicki, William; Grube, Joel; Pinsky, Ilana; Laranjeira, Ronaldo; Raw, Martin

2007-01-01

Objective. We investigated whether limiting the hours of alcoholic beverage sales in bars had an effect on homicides and violence against women in the Brazilian city of Diadema. The policy to restrict alcohol sales was introduced in July 2002 and prohibited on-premises alcohol sales after 11 pm. Methods. We analyzed data on homicides (1995 to 2005) and violence against women (2000 to 2005) from the Diadema (population 360 000) police archives using log-linear regression analyses. Results. The new restriction on drinking hours led to a decrease of almost 9 murders a month. Assaults against women also decreased, but this effect was not significant in models in which we controlled for underlying trends. Conclusions. Introducing restrictions on opening hours resulted in a significant decrease in murders, which confirmed what we know from the literature: restricting access to alcohol can reduce alcohol-related problems. Our results give no support to the converse view, that increasing availability will somehow reduce problems. PMID:17971559

Biphasic effects of alcohol as a function of circadian phase.

PubMed

Van Reen, Eliza; Rupp, Tracy L; Acebo, Christine; Seifer, Ronald; Carskadon, Mary A

2013-01-01

To assess how alcohol affects multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT) and subjective measures of stimulation/sedation when alcohol is given at different circadian phases. Twenty-seven healthy young adults (age 21-26 yr) were studied. Double-blind placebo and alcohol (vodka tonic targeting 0.05 g% concentration) beverages were each administered three times during the 20-h forced desynchrony protocol. Sleep latency tests and Biphasic Effects of Alcohol Scale (BAES) were administered on each forced desynchrony day. The outcome variables for this study include sleep onset latency (SOL) and stimulation and sedation value (from the BAES). Each outcome variable was associated with the ascending or descending limb of the breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) curve and assigned a circadian phase within a 90° bin. BrAC confirmed targeted maximal levels. Only outcome variables associated with the ascending and descending limb of the alcohol curve were analyzed for this article. Alcohol administered at a circadian time associated with greatest sleepiness showed longer SOL compared with placebo when measured on the ascending limb of the BrAC curve. We also found longer SOL with alcohol on the ascending limb of the BrAC curve in a circadian bin that favors greatest alertness. We observed shorter SOLs on the descending limb of the BrAC curve, but with no circadian phase interaction. The subjective data were partially consistent with the objective data. The physiologic findings in this study support the biphasic stimulating and sedating properties of alcohol, but limit the effect to specific circadian times.

Prazosin + naltrexone decreases alcohol drinking more effectively than does either drug alone in P rats with a protracted history of extensive voluntary alcohol drinking, dependence and multiple withdrawals

PubMed Central

Rasmussen, Dennis D; Kincaid, Carrie L; Froehlich, Janice C

2015-01-01

Background Prazosin (PRZ, an α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist) and naltrexone (NTX, a non-specific opioid receptor antagonist) each decrease alcohol drinking when administered to rats selectively-bred for high voluntary alcohol drinking (alcohol-preferring, or “P”), and the combination of PRZ+NTX decreases alcohol drinking more effectively than does either drug alone. Since drug responsiveness can depend on history of alcohol drinking and dependence, we investigated whether various schedules of PRZ and NTX administration, alone or in combination, are effective in decreasing alcohol drinking in male P rats with a history of protracted voluntary alcohol drinking, dependence and repeated withdrawals closely resembling human alcoholism. Methods Male P rats became alcohol-dependent during 1 year of ad libitum 24 h/day access to food, water and 20% alcohol with repetitive temporary alcohol withdrawals. Four sequential studies then addressed effects of oral PRZ (2 mg/kg) and NTX (10 mg/kg), alone or together, on alcohol drinking during: 1) daily alcohol access with daily drug treatment, 2) intermittent alcohol access with daily drug treatment, 3) intermittent alcohol access with occasional drug treatment, and 4) post-deprivation reinstatement of alcohol access. Results The combination of PRZ+NTX consistently suppressed alcohol drinking during daily or intermittent alcohol access conditions and when drug treatment was either daily or occasional. PRZ+NTX was consistently more effective than either drug alone. The reduction in alcohol drinking was not due to sedation, motor effects or malaise. Conclusions Both daily and “as-needed” treatment with PRZ+NTX are highly effective in suppressing daily, intermittent and post-deprivation alcohol drinking in male P rats with a protracted history of alcohol dependence and repeated withdrawals. This drug combination may be especially effective for treating individuals with long histories of heavy alcohol abuse, dependence and

Effects of a natural community intervention intensifying alcohol law enforcement combined with a restrictive alcohol policy on adolescent alcohol use.

PubMed

Schelleman-Offermans, Karen; Knibbe, Ronald A; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Casswell, Sally

2012-12-01

Determining whether intensified inspections on alcohol retailers, combined with a policy withdrawing liquor licenses if retailers are fined twice per annum, is effective in reducing adolescents' odds to initiate weekly drinking and drunkenness. Causal pathways by which the intervention was assumed to work were tested. A longitudinal (2008, 2009, and 2010) quasi-experimental comparison group design including two Dutch communities, one intervention and one comparison, was used. Outcomes were assessed by following a cohort of 1,327 adolescents (aged 13-15 years at baseline). The intervention resulted in increased retail inspections but only seven sanctions and no repeated sanctions in 1 year. The intervention did not reduce adolescents' odds to initiate weekly drinking. Weekly drinking adolescents in the intervention community were at reduced risk to initiate drunkenness. This effect was not mediated by smaller increases in the frequency of adolescents' alcohol purchases or their perceived ease of purchasing alcohol. Intensified enforcement was effective in preventing adolescent drunkenness. No mediating causal pathways were detected. Effectiveness of enforcement could be increased by adopting enforcement methods with a high likelihood of apprehension, increasing social support for restrictive measures, and mobilizing the community to be more outspoken against adolescent (heavy) drinking. Copyright © 2012 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of a 2009 Illinois Alcohol Tax Increase on Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes.

PubMed

Wagenaar, Alexander C; Livingston, Melvin D; Staras, Stephanie S

2015-09-01

We examined the effects of a 2009 increase in alcohol taxes in Illinois on alcohol-related fatal motor vehicle crashes. We used an interrupted time-series design, with intrastate and cross-state comparisons and measurement derived from driver alcohol test results, for 104 months before and 28 months after enactment. Our analyses used autoregressive moving average and generalized linear mixed Poisson models. We examined both population-wide effects and stratifications by alcohol level, age, gender, and race. Fatal alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes declined 9.9 per month after the tax increase, a 26% reduction. The effect was similar for alcohol-impaired drivers with positive alcohol levels lower than 0.15 grams per deciliter (-22%) and drivers with very high alcohol levels of 0.15 or more (-25%). Drivers younger than 30 years showed larger declines (-37%) than those aged 30 years and older (-23%), but gender and race stratifications did not significantly differ. Increases in alcohol excise taxes, such as the 2009 Illinois act, could save thousands of lives yearly across the United States as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce alcohol-impaired driving.

Effects of a 2009 Illinois Alcohol Tax Increase on Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes

PubMed Central

Livingston, Melvin D.; Staras, Stephanie S.

2015-01-01

Objectives. We examined the effects of a 2009 increase in alcohol taxes in Illinois on alcohol-related fatal motor vehicle crashes. Methods. We used an interrupted time-series design, with intrastate and cross-state comparisons and measurement derived from driver alcohol test results, for 104 months before and 28 months after enactment. Our analyses used autoregressive moving average and generalized linear mixed Poisson models. We examined both population-wide effects and stratifications by alcohol level, age, gender, and race. Results. Fatal alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes declined 9.9 per month after the tax increase, a 26% reduction. The effect was similar for alcohol-impaired drivers with positive alcohol levels lower than 0.15 grams per deciliter (−22%) and drivers with very high alcohol levels of 0.15 or more (−25%). Drivers younger than 30 years showed larger declines (−37%) than those aged 30 years and older (−23%), but gender and race stratifications did not significantly differ. Conclusions. Increases in alcohol excise taxes, such as the 2009 Illinois act, could save thousands of lives yearly across the United States as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. PMID:25790414

Breastfeeding and maternal alcohol use: Prevalence and effects on child outcomes and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

PubMed

May, Philip A; Hasken, Julie M; Blankenship, Jason; Marais, Anna-Susan; Joubert, Belinda; Cloete, Marise; de Vries, Marlene M; Barnard, Ronel; Botha, Isobel; Roux, Sumien; Doms, Cate; Gossage, J Phillip; Kalberg, Wendy O; Buckley, David; Robinson, Luther K; Adnams, Colleen M; Manning, Melanie A; Parry, Charles D H; Hoyme, H Eugene; Tabachnick, Barbara; Seedat, Soraya

2016-08-01

Determine any effects that maternal alcohol consumption during the breastfeeding period has on child outcomes. Population-based samples of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), normally-developing children, and their mothers were analyzed for differences in child outcomes. Ninety percent (90%) of mothers breastfed for an average of 19.9 months. Of mothers who drank postpartum and breastfed (MDPB), 47% breastfed for 12 months or more. In case control analyses, children of MDPB were significantly lighter, had lower verbal IQ scores, and more anomalies in comparisons controlling for prenatal alcohol exposure and final FASD diagnosis. Utilizing a stepwise logistic regression model adjusting for nine confounders of prenatal drinking and other maternal risks, MDPB were 6.4 times more likely to have a child with FASD than breastfeeding mothers who abstained from alcohol while breastfeeding. Alcohol use during the period of breastfeeding was found to significantly compromise a child's development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

BREASTFEEDING AND MATERNAL ALCOHOL USE: PREVALENCE AND EFFECTS ON CHILD OUTCOMES AND FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS

PubMed Central

May, Philip A.; Hasken, Julie M.; Blankenship, Jason; Marais, Anna-Susan; Joubert, Belinda; Cloete, Marise; de Vries, Marlene M.; Barnard, Ronel; Botha, Isobel; Roux, Sumien; Doms, Cate; Gossage, J. Phillip; Kalberg, Wendy O.; Buckley, David; Robinson, Luther K.; Adnams, Colleen M.; Manning, Melanie A.; Parry, Charles D.H.; Hoyme, H. Eugene; Tabachnick, Barbara; Seedat, Soraya

2016-01-01

Objective Determine any effects that maternal alcohol consumption during the breastfeeding period has on child outcomes. Methods Population-based samples of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), normally-developing children, and their mothers were analyzed for differences in child outcomes. Results Ninety percent (90%) of mothers breastfed for an average of 19.9 months. Of mothers who drank postpartum and breastfed (MDPB), 47% breastfed for 12 months or more. In case control analyses, children of MDPB were significantly lighter, had lower verbal IQ scores, and more anomalies in comparisons controlling for prenatal alcohol exposure and final FASD diagnosis. Utilizing a stepwise logistic regression model adjusting for nine confounders of prenatal drinking and other maternal risks, MDPB were 6.4 times more likely to have a child with FASD than breastfeeding mothers who abstained from alcohol while breastfeeding. Conclusions Alcohol use during the period of breastfeeding was found to significantly compromise a child’s development. PMID:27174445

The effects of the therapeutic workplace and heavy alcohol use on homelessness among homeless alcohol-dependent adults.

PubMed

Carlson, Emily; Holtyn, August F; Fingerhood, Michael; Friedman-Wheeler, Dara; Leoutsakos, Jeannie-Marie S; Silverman, Kenneth

2016-11-01

A clinical trial demonstrated that a therapeutic workplace could promote alcohol abstinence in homeless, alcohol-dependent adults. This secondary-data analysis examined rates of homelessness and their relation to the therapeutic workplace intervention and alcohol use during the trial. In the trial, homeless, alcohol-dependent adults could work in a therapeutic workplace for 6 months and were randomly assigned to Unpaid Training, Paid Training, or Contingent Paid Training groups. Unpaid Training participants were not paid for working. Paid Training participants were paid for working. Contingent Paid Training participants were paid for working if they provided alcohol-negative breath samples. Rates of homelessness during the study were calculated for each participant and the three groups were compared. Mixed-effects regression models were conducted to examine the relation between alcohol use (i.e., heavy drinking, drinks per drinking day, and days of alcohol abstinence) and homelessness. Unpaid Training, Paid Training, and Contingent Paid Training participants did not differ in the percentage of study days spent homeless (31%, 28%, 17%; respectively; F(2,94)=1.732, p=0.183). However, participants with more heavy drinking days (b=0.350, p<0.001), more drinks per drinking day (b=0.267, p<0.001), and fewer days of alcohol abstinence (b=-0.285, p<0.001) spent more time homeless. Reducing heavy drinking and alcohol use may help homeless, alcohol-dependent adults transition out of homelessness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Are energy drinks unique mixers in terms of their effects on alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences?

PubMed

Johnson, Sean J; Alford, Chris; Stewart, Karina; Verster, Joris C

2018-01-01

Previous research has suggested that consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AMED) increases overall alcohol consumption. However, there is limited research examining whether energy drinks are unique in their effects when mixed with alcohol, when compared with alcohol mixed with other caffeinated mixers (AOCM). Therefore, the aim of this survey was to investigate alcohol consumption on AMED occasions, to that on other occasions when the same individuals consumed AOCM or alcohol only (AO). A UK-wide online student survey collected data on the frequency of alcohol consumption and quantity consumed, as well as the number of negative alcohol-related consequences reported on AO, AMED and AOCM occasions (N=250). Within-subjects analysis revealed that there were no significant differences in the number of alcoholic drinks consumed on a standard and a heavy drinking session between AMED and AOCM drinking occasions. However, the number of standard mixers typically consumed was significantly lower on AMED occasions compared with AOCM occasions. In addition, when consuming AMED, students reported significantly fewer days consuming 5 or more alcohol drinks, fewer days mixing drinks, and fewer days being drunk, compared with when consuming AOCM. There were no significant differences in the number of reported negative alcohol-related consequences on AMED occasions to AOCM occasions. Of importance, alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences were significantly less on both AMED and AOCM occasions compared with AO occasions. The findings that heavy alcohol consumption occurs significantly less often on AMED occasions compared with AOCM occasions is in opposition to some earlier claims implying that greatest alcohol consumption occurs with AMED. The overall greatest alcohol consumption and associated negative consequences were clearly associated with AO occasions. Negative consequences for AMED and AOCM drinking occasions were similar, suggesting that energy

Effects of alcohol on c-Myc protein in the brain

PubMed Central

Akinyeke, Tunde; Weber, Sydney J; Davenport, April T; Baker, Erich J; Daunais, James B; Raber, Jacob

2018-01-01

Alcoholism is a disorder categorized by significant impairment that is directly related to persistent and extreme use of alcohol. The effects of alcoholism on c-Myc protein expression in the brain have been scarcely studied. This is the first study to investigate the role of different characteristics of alcoholism in c-Myc protein levels in the brain. We analyzed c-Myc protein in the hypothalamus and amygdala from four different animal models of alcohol abuse. c-Myc protein was increased following alcohol exposure in acute, chronic and withdrawal models. We also observed increases in c-Myc protein exposure in animals that are genetically predisposed to alcohol and methamphetamine abuse. Lastly, c-Myc protein was increased in animals that were acutely exposed to methamphetamine when compared to control treated animals. These results suggest that in substance abuse c-Myc plays an important role in the brain’s response. PMID:27832980

Subjective Effects of Thiopental in Young Adults with and without a Family History of Alcoholism

PubMed Central

Petrakis, Ismene L; Kerfoot, Karin; Pittman, Brian; Perrino, Albert; Koretski, Julia; Newcomb, Jenelle; Limoncelli, Diana; Acampora, Gregory; Ralevski, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

Background The development of alcohol use disorders is genetically influenced, and may be mediated through differences in the subjective response to alcohol. There is some evidence to suggest that response differences to alcohol could be conveyed by heritable differences in GABAA receptors. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether individuals with a family history positive (FHP) for alcohol dependence would experience alterations in response to the GABAA receptor agonist thiopental, in comparison to family history negative (FHN) subjects. Methods 73 subjects (24 FHP and 49 FHN) between the ages of 21 and 30 years were administered sub-anesthetic doses of the GABAA receptor agonist thiopental and placebo on two separate test days. Various alcohol-related measures were administered, including those examining subjective effects, coordination, and cognition. Results Sub-anesthetic doses of thiopental produced alcohol-like subjective effects, as well as alcohol-like impaired coordination and cognition in healthy subjects. While there were no significant main effects in subjective, coordination, or cognitive effects between FHP and FHN individuals, analysis of peak effects suggested FHP had blunted sedative, but not stimulant effects compared to FHN. Conclusion Thiopental produced alcohol-like effects and perceived similarities to alcohol in healthy individuals. Subtle differences in sedative effects are consistent with reports of blunted FHP response to the negative but not stimulant effects of alcohol. Future studies are needed to better understand how this insight informs our understanding of the heritable risk for alcoholism and the treatment of alcohol use disorders. PMID:24273687

Creativity on tap? Effects of alcohol intoxication on creative cognition

PubMed Central

Benedek, Mathias; Panzierer, Lisa; Jauk, Emanuel; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2017-01-01

Anecdotal reports link alcohol intoxication to creativity, while cognitive research highlights the crucial role of cognitive control for creative thought. This study examined the effects of mild alcohol intoxication on creative cognition in a placebo-controlled design. Participants completed executive and creative cognition tasks before and after consuming either alcoholic beer (BAC of 0.03) or non-alcoholic beer (placebo). Alcohol impaired executive control, but improved performance in the Remote Associates Test, and did not affect divergent thinking ability. The findings indicate that certain aspects of creative cognition benefit from mild attenuations of cognitive control, and contribute to the growing evidence that higher cognitive control is not always associated with better cognitive performance. PMID:28705663

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN AGE AND MODERATE ALCOHOL EFFECTS ON SIMULATED DRIVING PERFORMANCE

PubMed Central

Sklar, Alfredo L.; Boissoneault, Jeff; Fillmore, Mark T.; Nixon, Sara Jo

2013-01-01

Rationale There is a substantial body of literature documenting the deleterious effects of both alcohol consumption and age on driving performance. There is, however, limited work examining the interaction of age and acute alcohol consumption. Objectives The current study was conducted to determine if moderate alcohol doses differentially affect the driving performance of older and younger adults. Methods Healthy older (55 – 70) and younger (25 – 35) adults were tested during a baseline session and again following consumption of one of three beverages (0.0% (placebo), 0.04% or 0.065% target breath alcohol concentration). Measures of driving precision and average speed were recorded. Results Older adults performed more poorly on precision driving measures and drove more slowly than younger adults at baseline. After controlling for baseline performance, interactions between alcohol and age were observed following beverage consumption on two measures of driving precision with older adults exhibiting greater impairment as a result of alcohol consumption. Conclusions These data provide evidence that older adults may be more susceptible to the effects of alcohol on certain measures of driving performance. An investigation of mechanisms accounting for alcohol’s effects on driving in older and younger adults is required. Further evaluation using more complex driving environments is needed to assess the real-world implication of this interaction. PMID:24030469

Overexpression of Aspergillus tubingensis faeA in protease-deficient Aspergillus niger enables ferulic acid production from plant material.

PubMed

Zwane, Eunice N; Rose, Shaunita H; van Zyl, Willem H; Rumbold, Karl; Viljoen-Bloom, Marinda

2014-06-01

The production of ferulic acid esterase involved in the release of ferulic acid side groups from xylan was investigated in strains of Aspergillus tubingensis, Aspergillus carneus, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus oryzae. The highest activity on triticale bran as sole carbon source was observed with the A. tubingensis T8.4 strain, which produced a type A ferulic acid esterase active against methyl p-coumarate, methyl ferulate and methyl sinapate. The activity of the A. tubingensis ferulic acid esterase (AtFAEA) was inhibited twofold by glucose and induced twofold in the presence of maize bran. An initial accumulation of endoglucanase was followed by the production of endoxylanase, suggesting a combined action with ferulic acid esterase on maize bran. A genomic copy of the A. tubingensis faeA gene was cloned and expressed in A. niger D15#26 under the control of the A. niger gpd promoter. The recombinant strain has reduced protease activity and does not acidify the media, therefore promoting high-level expression of recombinant enzymes. It produced 13.5 U/ml FAEA after 5 days on autoclaved maize bran as sole carbon source, which was threefold higher than for the A. tubingensis donor strain. The recombinant AtFAEA was able to extract 50 % of the available ferulic acid from non-pretreated maize bran, making this enzyme suitable for the biological production of ferulic acid from lignocellulosic plant material.

Gender Differences in Acute Alcohol Effects on Self-Regulation of Arousal in Response to Emotional and Alcohol-Related Picture Cues

PubMed Central

Udo, Tomoko; Bates, Marsha E.; Mun, Eun Young; Vaschillo, Evgeny G.; Vaschillo, Bronya; Lehrer, Paul; Ray, Suchismita

2010-01-01

Basic mechanisms through which men and women self-regulate arousal have received little attention in human experimental addiction research although stress-response-dampening and craving theories suggest an important role of emotional arousal in motivating alcohol use. This study examined gender differences in the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on psychophysiological and self-reported arousal in response to emotionally negative, positive, and neutral, and alcohol-related, picture cues. Thirty-six social drinkers (16 women) were randomly assigned to an alcohol, placebo, or control beverage group, and exposed to picture cues every 10 s (0.1 Hz presentation frequency). Psychophysiological arousal was assessed via a 0.1-Hz heart rate variability (HRV) index. A statistically significant beverage group-by-gender interaction effect on psychophysiological, but not self-reported, arousal was found. 0.1-Hz HRV responses to picture cues were suppressed by alcohol only in men. This gender-specific suppression pattern did not differ significantly across picture cue types. There were no significant gender differences in the placebo or control group. Greater dampening of arousal by alcohol intoxication in men, compared to women, may contribute to men's greater tendency to use alcohol to cope with stress. PMID:19586136

The economics of alcohol abuse and alcohol-control policies.

PubMed

Cook, Philip J; Moore, Michael J

2002-01-01

Economic research has contributed to the evaluation of alcohol policy through empirical analysis of the effects of alcohol-control measures on alcohol consumption and its consequences. It has also provided an accounting framework for defining and comparing costs and benefits of alcohol consumption and related policy interventions, including excise taxes. The most important finding from the economics literature is that consumers tend to drink less ethanol, and have fewer alcohol-related problems, when alcoholic beverage prices are increased or alcohol availability is restricted. That set of findings is relevant for policy purposes because alcohol abuse imposes large "external" costs on others. Important challenges remain, including developing a better understanding of the effects of drinking on labor-market productivity.

Parental Alcohol Involvement and Adolescent Alcohol Expectancies Predict Alcohol Involvement in Male Adolescents

PubMed Central

Cranford, James A.; Zucker, Robert A.; Jester, Jennifer M.; Puttler, Leon I.; Fitzgerald, Hiram E.

2010-01-01

Current models of adolescent drinking behavior hypothesize that alcohol expectancies mediate the effects of other proximal and distal risk factors. This longitudinal study tested the hypothesis that the effects of parental alcohol involvement on their children’s drinking behavior in mid-adolescence are mediated by the children’s alcohol expectancies in early adolescence. A sample of 148 initially 9–11 year old boys and their parents from a high-risk population and a contrast group of community families completed measures of drinking behavior and alcohol expectancies over a 6-year interval. We analyzed data from middle childhood (M age = 10.4 years), early adolescence (M age = 13.5 years), and mid-adolescence (M age = 16.5 years). The sample was restricted only to adolescents who had begun to drink by mid-adolescence. Results from zero-inflated Poisson regression analyses showed that 1) maternal drinking during their children’s middle childhood predicted number of drinking days in middle adolescence; 2) negative and positive alcohol expectancies in early adolescence predicted odds of any intoxication in middle adolescence; and 3) paternal alcoholism during their children’s middle childhood and adolescents’ alcohol expectancies in early adolescence predicted frequency of intoxication in middle adolescence. Contrary to predictions, child alcohol expectancies did not mediate the effects of parental alcohol involvement in this high-risk sample. Different aspects of parental alcohol involvement, along with early adolescent alcohol expectancies, independently predicted adolescent drinking behavior in middle adolescence. Alternative pathways for the influence of maternal and paternal alcohol involvement and implications for expectancy models of adolescent drinking behavior were discussed. PMID:20853923

Protective Effects of Lemon Juice on Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury in Mice.

PubMed

Zhou, Tong; Zhang, Yu-Jie; Xu, Dong-Ping; Wang, Fang; Zhou, Yue; Zheng, Jie; Li, Ya; Zhang, Jiao-Jiao; Li, Hua-Bin

2017-01-01

Chronic excessive alcohol consumption (more than 40-80 g/day for males and more than 20-40 g/day for females) could induce serious liver injury. In this study, effects of lemon juice on chronic alcohol-induced liver injury in mice were evaluated. The serum biochemical profiles and hepatic lipid peroxidation levels, triacylglycerol (TG) contents, antioxidant enzyme activities, and histopathological changes were examined for evaluating the hepatoprotective effects of lemon juice in mice. In addition, the in vitro antioxidant capacities of lemon juice were determined. The results showed that lemon juice significantly inhibited alcohol-induced increase of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), hepatic TG, and lipid peroxidation levels in a dose-dependent manner. Histopathological changes induced by alcohol were also remarkably improved by lemon juice treatment. These findings suggest that lemon juice has protective effects on alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. The protective effects might be related to the antioxidant capacity of lemon juice because lemon juice showed in vitro antioxidant capacity.

Nicotine administration in the wake-promoting basal forebrain attenuates sleep-promoting effects of alcohol.

PubMed

Sharma, Rishi; Lodhi, Shafi; Sahota, Pradeep; Thakkar, Mahesh M

2015-10-01

Nicotine and alcohol co-abuse is highly prevalent, although the underlying causes are unclear. It has been suggested that nicotine enhances pleasurable effects of alcohol while reducing aversive effects. Recently, we reported that nicotine acts via the basal forebrain (BF) to activate nucleus accumbens and increase alcohol consumption. Does nicotine suppress alcohol-induced aversive effects via the BF? We hypothesized that nicotine may act via the BF to suppress sleep-promoting effects of alcohol. To test this hypothesis, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with sleep-recording electrodes and bilateral guides targeted toward the BF. Nicotine (75 pmol/500 nL/side) or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF; 500 nL/side) was microinjected into the BF followed by intragastric alcohol (ACSF + EtOH and NiC + EtOH groups; 3 g/kg) or water (NiC + W and ACSF + W groups; 10 mL/kg) administration. On completion, rats were killed and processed to localize injection sites in the BF. The statistical analysis revealed a significant effect of treatment on sleep-wakefulness. While rats exposed to alcohol (ACSF + EtOH) displayed strong sleep promotion, nicotine pre-treatment in the BF (NiC + EtOH) attenuated alcohol-induced sleep and normalized sleep-wakefulness. These results suggest that nicotine acts via the BF to suppress the aversive, sleep-promoting effects of alcohol, further supporting the role of BF in alcohol-nicotine co-use. © 2015 International Society for Neurochemistry.

Alcoholic neuropathy

MedlinePlus

Neuropathy - alcoholic; Alcoholic polyneuropathy ... The exact cause of alcoholic neuropathy is unknown. It likely includes both a direct poisoning of the nerve by the alcohol and the effect of poor nutrition ...

Effectiveness of lockouts in reducing alcohol-related harm: Systematic review.

PubMed

Nepal, Smriti; Kypri, Kypros; Pursey, Kirrilly; Attia, John; Chikritzhs, Tanya; Miller, Peter

2018-05-01

Australian jurisdictions have introduced lockouts to prevent alcohol-related violence. Lockouts prohibit patrons from entering licensed premises after a designated time while allowing sale and consumption of alcohol to continue. Their purposes include managing the movement of intoxicated patrons, and preventing violence and disorder by dispersing times that patrons leave premises. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of lockouts in preventing alcohol-related harm. We systematically searched electronic databases and reference lists and asked authors to identify relevant studies published to 1 June 2017. We deemed studies eligible if they evaluated lockouts, and if outcome measures included: assault, emergency department attendances, alcohol-related disorders or drink-driving offences. Two reviewers independently extracted data. After screening 244 records, we identified five studies from electronic databases, two from reference lists search and one from a Google search (N = 8). Two studies showed a decline in assaults; a third study showed reductions occurred only inside licensed premises; two studies showed an increase in assaults; and three studies showed no association. The studies had significant design and other limitations. Lockouts have been implemented across Australian jurisdictions as a strategy to prevent alcohol-related harm, despite limited evidence. In this systematic review, we synthesised findings from studies that evaluated lockouts as stand-alone interventions, to help clarify debate on their utility as a harm prevention strategy. There is not good evidence that lockouts prevent alcohol-related harm, in contrast to what is known about stopping the sale of alcohol earlier, for which there is evidence of effectiveness. © 2018 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Recognizing and Managing Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects: A Guidebook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCreight, Brenda

A family counselor and mother of adopted children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Effects (FAS/E) offers practical advice and information on dealing with FAS/E's lifelong effects on behavior and learning. The book begins by discussing the historical, medical, and social aspects of FAS/E, and details common behavioral characteristics associated with…

Effects of Intoxicating Free-Choice Alcohol Consumption During Adolescence on Drinking and Impulsivity During Adulthood in Selectively Bred High Alcohol Preferring Mice

PubMed Central

O’Tousa, David Scott; Matson, Liana Marie; Grahame, Nicholas Joseph

2014-01-01

Background Abuse of alcohol during adolescence continues to be a problem, and it has been shown that earlier onset of drinking predicts increased alcohol abuse problems later in life. High levels of impulsivity have been demonstrated to be characteristic of alcoholics, and impulsivity has also been shown to predict later alcohol use in teenage subjects, showing that impulsivity may precede the development of alcohol use disorders. These experiments examined adolescent drinking in a high-drinking, relatively impulsive mouse population, and assessed its effects on adult drinking and adult impulsivity. Methods Experiment 1: Selectively bred High-Alcohol Preferring (HAPII) mice were given either alcohol (free choice access) or water only for two weeks during middle adolescence or adulthood. All mice were given free choice access to alcohol 30 days later, in adulthood. Experiment 2: Adolescent HAPII mice drank alcohol and water, or water alone, for two weeks, and were then trained to perform a delay discounting task as adults to measure impulsivity. In each experiment, effects of volitional ethanol consumption on later behavior were assessed. We expected adolescent alcohol exposure to increase subsequent drinking and impulsivity. Results Mice consumed significant quantities of ethanol, reaching average blood ethanol concentrations (BECs) of 142 mg/dl (adolescent) or 154 mg/dl (adult) in Experiment 1. Adolescent mice in experiment 2 reached an average of 108 mg/dl. Mice exposed to alcohol in either adolescence or adulthood showed a transient increase in ethanol consumption, but we observed no differences in impulsivity in adult mice as a function of whether mice drank alcohol during adolescence. Conclusions These findings indicate that HAPII mice drink intoxicating levels of alcohol during both adolescence and adulthood, and that this volitional intake has long-term effects on subsequent drinking behavior. Nonetheless, this profound exposure to alcohol during adolescence

Effects of sibutramine alone and with alcohol on cognitive function in healthy volunteers

PubMed Central

Wesnes, K A; Garratt, C; Wickens, M; Gudgeon, A; Oliver, S

2000-01-01

Aims To investigate the effects of sibutramine in combination with alcohol in a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, four-way crossover study in 20 healthy volunteers. Methods On each study day each volunteer received either: sibutramine 20 mg+0.5 g kg−1 alcohol; sibutramine 20 mg+placebo alcohol; placebo capsules+0.5 g kg−1 alcohol; or placebo capsules+placebo alcohol. Alcohol was administered 2 h following ingestion of the study capsules. During each study day, assessments of cognitive performance were made prior to dosing, and at 3, 4.5, 6 and 10 h post dosing. Blood alcohol concentration was estimated using a breath alcometer immediately prior to each cognitive performance test session. Each study day was followed by a minimum 7 day washout period. Results Alcohol was found to produce statistically significant impairments in tests of attention (maximum impairment to speed of digit vigilance=49 ms) and episodic memory (maximum impairment to speed of word recognition=74 ms). Alcohol also increased body sway (maximum increase 17.4 units) and lowered self rated alertness (maximum decrease 13.6 mm). These effects were produced by an inferred blood alcohol level of 53.2 mg dl−1.Sibutramine was not found to potentiate any of the effects of alcohol. There was a small, yet statistically significant, interaction effect observed on the sensitivity index of the picture recognition task. In this test, the combined effects of sibutramine and alcohol were smaller than the impairments produced by alcohol alone. Sibutramine, when dosed alone, was associated with improved performance on several tasks. Sibutramine improved attention (mean speed of digit vigilance improved by 21 ms), picture recognition speed (improvement at 3=81) and motor control (tracking error at 3 h reduced by 1.58 mm). Also sibutramine improved postural stability (reducing body sway at 3 h by 14.2 units). Adverse events reported were unremarkable and consistent with the known pharmacology of

Effect of Maryland's 2011 Alcohol Sales Tax Increase on Alcohol-Positive Driving.

PubMed

Lavoie, Marie-Claude; Langenberg, Patricia; Villaveces, Andres; Dischinger, Patricia C; Simoni-Wastila, Linda; Hoke, Kathleen; Smith, Gordon S

2017-07-01

The 2011 Maryland alcohol sales tax increase from 6% to 9% provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact on rates of alcohol-positive drivers involved in injury crashes. Maryland police crash reports from 2001 to 2013 were analyzed using an interrupted time series design and a multivariable analysis employing generalized estimating equations models with a negative binomial distribution. Data were analyzed in 2014-2015. There was a significant gradual annual reduction of 6% in the population-based rate of all alcohol-positive drivers (p<0.03), and a 12% reduction for drivers aged 15-20 years (p<0.007), and 21-34 years (p<0.001) following the alcohol sales tax increase. There were no significant changes in rates of alcohol-positive drivers aged 35-54 years (rate ratio, 0.98; 95% CI=0.89, 1.09). Drivers aged ≥55 years had a significant immediate 10% increase in the rate of alcohol-positive drivers (rate ratio, 1.10; 95% CI=1.04, 1.16) and a gradual increase of 4.8% per year after the intervention. Models using different denominators and controlling for multiple factors including a proxy for unmeasured factors found similar results overall. The 2011 Maryland alcohol sales tax increase led to a significant reduction in the rate of all alcohol-positive drivers involved in injury crashes especially among drivers aged 15-34 years. This is the first study to examine the impact of alcohol sales taxes on crashes; previous research focused on excise tax. Increasing alcohol taxes is an important but often neglected intervention to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of alcohol media literacy programmes: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Gordon, Chloe S; Hindmarsh, Chloe S; Jones, Sandra C; Kervin, Lisa

2015-06-01

Alcohol media literacy is an emerging field that aims to address the link between exposure to alcohol advertising and subsequent expectancies and behaviours for children and adolescents. The design, rigour and results of alcohol media literacy programmes vary considerably, resulting in a number of unanswered questions about effectiveness. To provide insight into some of these questions, a systematic literature review of alcohol media literacy studies was conducted. The review was guided by the following research question: What considerations are needed to develop an effective school-based alcohol media literacy programme? On the basis of a critical synthesis of 10 interventions (published in the period 1997 to May 2014), our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the descriptive, methodological and outcome characteristics of this small body of significant research. The review provides considerations for future alcohol media literacy programmes, including the need for an interactive pedagogical approach within the naturalistic school setting, implementation fidelity and a holistic approach to programme evaluation, a means for maintaining relevance, consideration of gender differences, relevance for an international audience and use of follow-up and longitudinal data. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Creativity on tap? Effects of alcohol intoxication on creative cognition.

PubMed

Benedek, Mathias; Panzierer, Lisa; Jauk, Emanuel; Neubauer, Aljoscha C

2017-11-01

Anecdotal reports link alcohol intoxication to creativity, while cognitive research highlights the crucial role of cognitive control for creative thought. This study examined the effects of mild alcohol intoxication on creative cognition in a placebo-controlled design. Participants completed executive and creative cognition tasks before and after consuming either alcoholic beer (BAC of 0.03) or non-alcoholic beer (placebo). Alcohol impaired executive control, but improved performance in the Remote Associates Test, and did not affect divergent thinking ability. The findings indicate that certain aspects of creative cognition benefit from mild attenuations of cognitive control, and contribute to the growing evidence that higher cognitive control is not always associated with better cognitive performance. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of ethylic alcohol on attentive functions involved in driving abilities.

PubMed

Bivona, Umberto; Garbarino, Sergio; Rigon, Jessica; Buzzi, Maria Gabriella; Onder, Graziano; Matteis, Maria; Catani, Sheila; Giustini, Marco; Mancardi, Giovanni Luigi; Formisano, Rita

2015-01-01

The burden of injuries due to drunk drivers has been estimated only indirectly. Indeed, alcohol is considered one of the most important contributing cause of car crash injuries and its effect on cognitive functions needs to be better elucidated. Aims of the study were i) to examine the effect of alcohol on attentive abilities involved while driving, and ii) to investigate whether Italian law limits for safe driving are sufficiently accurate to prevent risky behaviours and car crash risk while driving. We conducted a cross-over study at IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Rehabilitation Hospital in Rome. Thirty-two healthy subjects were enrolled in this experiment. Participants were submitted to an attentive test battery assessing attention before taking Ethylic Alcohol (EA-) and after taking EA (EA+). In the EA+ condition subjects drank enough wine until the blood alcohol concentration, measured by means of Breath Analyzer, was equal to or higher than 0.5 g/l. Data analysis revealed that after alcohol assumption, tonic and phasic alertness, selective, divided attention and vigilance were significantly impaired when BAC level was at least 0.5 g/l. These data reveal that alcohol has a negative effect on attentive functions which are primarily involved in driving skills and that Italian law limits are adequate to prevent risky driving behaviour.

[Early alcohol initiation and increased adult alcohol consumption: cause or indicator?].

PubMed

Geels, L M; Vink, J M; van Beek, J H D A; Willemsen, G; Bartels, M; Boomsma, D I

2013-01-01

Early alcohol initiation is strongly associated with increased alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse/dependence in adulthood. The mechanisms that underlie this association are unclear. To examine whether there is a causal link between early alcohol initiation and later alcohol consumption. Survey data were collected from twin pairs (age range 18-80) included in the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR). A discordant twin design was used to examine the origin of the link between early alcohol initiation and adult alcohol consumption. Within monozygotic pairs (82-143 pairs), twins who started drinking early were compared to their brother/sister who started drinking later, on frequency of alcohol use, weekly alcohol consumption, number of alcohol intoxications, excessive drinking, alcohol abuse/-dependence, and hazardous drinking. By drawing comparisons within monozygotic pairs, we were able to control for the effects of genes/shared environment. Additional analyses examined the effects of age, sex, and in-/exclusion of lifelong abstainers. Within monozygotic twin pairs, the twin who had started drinking early did not differ significantly from his/her brother/sister with respect to future alcohol consumption. Results were independent of age, sex, and in-/exclusion of lifelong abstainers. Early alcohol initiation did not have significant causal effects on subsequent alcohol consumption in adulthood and may be an indicator of a predisposition for alcohol consumption. Campaigns aimed at raising the minimum age for alcohol initiation will possibly have only a limited effect on adult alcohol consumption.

Flagellin and F4 fimbriae have opposite effects on biofilm formation and quorum sensing in F4ac+ enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Zhou, Mingxu; Guo, Zhiyan; Yang, Yang; Duan, Qiangde; Zhang, Qi; Yao, Fenghua; Zhu, Jun; Zhang, Xinjun; Hardwidge, Philip R; Zhu, Guoqiang

2014-01-10

Bacteria that form biofilms are often highly resistant to antibiotics and are capable of evading the host immune system. To evaluate the role of flagellin and F4 fimbriae on biofilm formation by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), we deleted the fliC (encoding the major flagellin protein) and/or the faeG (encoding the major subunit of F4 fimbriae) genes from ETEC C83902. Biofilm formation was reduced in the fliC mutant but increased in the faeG mutant, as compared with the wild-type strain. The expression of AI-2 quorum sensing associated genes was regulated in the fliC and faeG mutants, consistent with the biofilm formation of these strains. But, deleting fliC and/or faeG also inhibited AI-2 quorum sensing activity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alcohol, Methamphetamine, and Marijuana Exposure Have Distinct Effects on the Human Placenta.

PubMed

Carter, R Colin; Wainwright, Helen; Molteno, Christopher D; Georgieff, Michael K; Dodge, Neil C; Warton, Fleur; Meintjes, Ernesta M; Jacobson, Joseph L; Jacobson, Sandra W

2016-04-01

Animal studies have demonstrated adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on placental development, but few studies have examined these effects in humans. Little is known about effects of prenatal exposure to methamphetamine, marijuana, and cigarette smoking on placental development. Placentas were collected from 103 Cape Coloured (mixed ancestry) pregnant women recruited at their first antenatal clinic visit in Cape Town, South Africa. Sixty-six heavy drinkers and 37 nondrinkers were interviewed about their alcohol, cigarette smoking, and drug use at 3 antenatal visits. A senior pathologist, blinded to exposure status, performed comprehensive pathology examinations on each placenta using a standardized protocol. In multivariable regression models, effects of prenatal exposure were examined on placental size, structure, and presence of infections and meconium. Drinkers reported a binge pattern of heavy drinking, averaging 8.0 drinks/occasion across pregnancy on 1.4 d/wk. 79.6% smoked cigarettes; 22.3% used marijuana; and 17.5% used methamphetamine. Alcohol exposure was related to decreased placental weight and a smaller placenta-to-birthweight ratio. By contrast, methamphetamine was associated with larger placental weight and a larger placenta-to-birthweight ratio. Marijuana was also associated with larger placental weight. Alcohol exposure was associated with increased risk of placental hemorrhage. Prenatal alcohol, drug, and cigarette use were not associated with chorioamnionitis, villitis, deciduitis, or maternal vascular underperfusion. Alcohol and cigarette smoking were associated with a decreased risk of intrauterine passing of meconium, a sign of acute fetal stress and/or hypoxia; methamphetamine, with an increased risk. This is the first human study to show that alcohol, methamphetamine, and marijuana were associated with distinct patterns of pathology, suggesting different mechanisms mediating their effects on placental development. Given the growing

The effects of moderate alcohol concentrations on driving and cognitive performance during ascending and descending blood alcohol concentrations.

PubMed

Starkey, Nicola J; Charlton, Samuel G

2014-07-01

Alcohol has an adverse effect on driving performance; however, the effects of moderate doses on different aspects of the driving task are inconsistent and differ across the intoxication curve. This research aimed to investigate driving and cognitive performance asymmetries (acute tolerance and acute protracted error) accompanying the onset and recovery from moderate alcohol consumption. Sixty-one participants received a placebo, medium (target blood alcohol concentration [BAC] 0.05 mg/ml) or high (target BAC 0.08 mg/ml) dose of alcohol. Participants completed a simulated drive, cognitive tests and subjective rating scales five times over a 3.5 h period. When ascending and descending BACs (0.05 and 0.09 mg/ml) were compared participants' self-ratings of intoxication and willingness to drive showed acute tolerance. Acute protracted errors were observed for response speed, maze learning errors, time exceeding the speed limit and exaggerated steering responses to hazards. Participants' estimates of their level of intoxication were poorly related to their actual BAC levels (and hence degree of impairment), and various aspects of driving and cognitive performance worsened during descending BACs. This indicates that drivers are not good at judging their fitness to drive after drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol and suggests an important focus for public education regarding alcohol and driving. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effect of alcohol exposure on fetal brain development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudheendran, Narendran; Bake, Shameena; Miranda, Rajesh C.; Larin, Kirill V.

2013-02-01

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can be severely damage to the brain development in fetuses. This study investigates the effects of maternal ethanol consumption on brain development in mice embryos. Pregnant mice at gestational day 12.5 were intragastrically gavaged with ethanol (3g/Kg bwt) twice daily for three consecutive days. On gestational day 14.5, fetuses were collected and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and imaged using a swept-source optical coherence tomography (SSOCT) system. 3D images of the mice embryo brain were obtained and the volumes of the left and right ventricles of the brain were measured. The average volumes of the left and the right volumes of 5 embryos each alcohol-exposed and control embryos were measured to be 0.35 and 0.15 mm3, respectively. The results suggest that the left and right ventricle volumes of brain are much larger in the alcohol-exposed embryos as compared to control embryos indicating alcohol-induced developmental delay.

Effects of caffeine and alcohol on mood and performance changes following consumption of lager.

PubMed

Smith, Andrew P

2013-06-01

The present study examined whether caffeine would modify the behavioural effects of alcohol. The aim of the study was to determine whether caffeine modifies the effects of alcohol on mood and psychomotor performance and to identify possible dose-response and temporal relationships. A double-blind study examined the effects of three successive lager drinks (330 ml each) in the early afternoon on mood and psychomotor performance assessed at 30-min intervals over a 2-h period. Participants carried out a baseline session and were then randomly assigned to one of six conditions formed by combining three different doses of caffeine (0, 62.5 and 125 mg per drink) with either no alcohol or 4.3 % alcohol. One hundred and forty-six young adults (65 male, 81 female; age range 18-30 years) participated in the study. Mood (alertness, hedonic tone and anxiety) was assessed before and after performing simple reaction time and choice reaction time tasks. Alcohol was associated with higher hedonic tone (p < 0.005), reduced anxiety (p < 0.05) and reduced alertness (p < 0.005). Caffeine had no modifying effect on hedonic tone or anxiety. However, the highest dose of caffeine did remove the effect of alcohol on alertness (p < 0.05). Effects of alcohol and caffeine were found on the performance tasks (all p values < 0.05) but these were independent effects. The results from the present study confirm that caffeine does not remove the negative effects of alcohol on performance although high doses counteract the drop in subjective alertness produced by alcohol.

Effects of an online alcohol education course among college freshmen: an investigation of potential mediators.

PubMed

Paschall, Mallie J; Ringwalt, Chris; Wyatt, Todd; Dejong, William

2014-04-01

The authors investigated possible mediating effects of psychosocial variables (perceived drinking norms, positive and negative alcohol expectancies, personal approval of alcohol use, protective behavioral strategies) targeted by an online alcohol education course (AlcoholEdu for College) as part of a 30-campus randomized trial with 2,400 first-year students. Previous multilevel analyses have found significant effects of the AlcoholEdu course on the frequency of past-30-day alcohol use and binge drinking during the fall semester, and the most common types of alcohol-related problems. Exposure to the online AlcoholEdu course was inversely related to perceived drinking norms but was not related to any of the other psychosocial variables. Multilevel analyses indicated at least partial mediating effects of perceived drinking norms on behavioral outcomes. Findings of this study suggest that AlcoholEdu for College affects alcohol use and related consequences indirectly through its effect on student perceptions of drinking norms. Further research is needed to better understand why this online course did not appear to affect other targeted psychosocial variables.

Watching and drinking: expectancies, prototypes, and friends' alcohol use mediate the effect of exposure to alcohol use in movies on adolescent drinking.

PubMed

Dal Cin, Sonya; Worth, Keilah A; Gerrard, Meg; Stoolmiller, Mike; Sargent, James D; Wills, Thomas A; Gibbons, Frederick X

2009-07-01

To investigate the psychological processes that underlie the relation between exposure to alcohol use in media and adolescent alcohol use. The design consisted of a structural equation modeling analysis of data from four waves of a longitudinal, nationally representative, random-digit dial telephone survey of adolescents in the United States. The main outcome measures were adolescent alcohol consumption and willingness to use alcohol. Tested mediators were alcohol-related norms, prototypes, expectancies, and friends' use. Alcohol prototypes, expectancies, willingness, and friends' use of alcohol (but not perceived prevalence of alcohol use among peers) were significant mediators of the relation between movie alcohol exposure and alcohol consumption, even after controlling for demographic, child, and family factors associated with both movie exposure and alcohol consumption. Established psychological and interpersonal predictors of alcohol use mediate the effects of exposure to alcohol use in movies on adolescent alcohol consumption. The findings suggest that exposure to movie portrayals may operate through similar processes as other social influences, highlighting the importance of considering these exposures in research on adolescent risk behavior.

Gender differences in acute alcohol effects on self-regulation of arousal in response to emotional and alcohol-related picture cues.

PubMed

Udo, Tomoko; Bates, Marsha E; Mun, Eun Young; Vaschillo, Evgeny G; Vaschillo, Bronya; Lehrer, Paul; Ray, Suchismita

2009-06-01

Basic mechanisms through which men and women self-regulate arousal have received little attention in human experimental addiction research, although stress-response-dampening and craving theories suggest an important role of emotional arousal in motivating alcohol use. This study examined gender differences in the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on psychophysiological and self-reported arousal in response to emotionally negative, positive, and neutral, and alcohol-related, picture cues. Thirty-six social drinkers (16 women) were randomly assigned to an alcohol, placebo, or control beverage group and exposed to picture cues every 10 s (0.1 Hz presentation frequency). Psychophysiological arousal was assessed via a 0.1-Hz heart rate variability (HRV) index. A statistically significant beverage group-by-gender interaction effect on psychophysiological, but not self-reported, arousal was found. The 0.1-Hz HRV responses to picture cues were suppressed by alcohol only in men. This gender-specific suppression pattern did not differ significantly across picture cue types. There were no significant gender differences in the placebo or control group. Greater dampening of arousal by alcohol intoxication in men, compared with women, may contribute to men's greater tendency to use alcohol to cope with stress. Copyright (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Differentiating the Effects of Familial Risk for Alcohol Dependence and Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol on Offspring Brain Morphology.

PubMed

Sharma, Vinod K; Hill, Shirley Y

2017-02-01

Offspring with a family history of alcohol dependence (AD) have been shown to have altered structural and functional integrity of corticolimbic brain structures. Similarly, prenatal exposure to alcohol is associated with a variety of structural and functional brain changes. The goal of this study was to differentiate the brain gray matter volumetric differences associated with familial risk and prenatal exposure to alcohol among offspring while controlling for lifetime personal exposures to alcohol and drugs. A total of 52 high-risk (HR) offspring from maternal multiplex families with a high proportion of AD were studied along with 55 low-risk (LR) offspring. Voxel-based morphometric analysis was performed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM8) software using 3T structural images from these offspring to identify gray matter volume differences associated with familial risk and prenatal exposure. Significant familial risk group differences were seen with HR males showing reduced volume of the left inferior temporal, left fusiform, and left and right insula regions relative to LR males, controlling for prenatal exposure to alcohol drugs and cigarettes. HR females showed a reduction in the right fusiform but also showed a reduction in volume in portions of the cerebellum (left crus I and left lobe 8). Prenatal alcohol exposure effects, assessed within the familial HR group, was associated with reduced right middle cingulum and left middle temporal volume. Even low exposure resulting from mothers drinking in amounts less than the median of those who drank (53 drinks or less over the course of the pregnancy) showed a reduction in volume in the right anterior cingulum and in the left cerebellum (lobes 4 and 5). Familial risk for AD and prenatal exposure to alcohol and other drugs show independent effects on brain morphology. Copyright © 2017 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Differential effects of ghrelin antagonists on alcohol drinking and reinforcement in mouse and rat models of alcohol dependence

PubMed Central

Gomez, Juan L.; Cunningham, Christopher L.; Finn, Deborah A.; Young, Emily A.; Helpenstell, Lily K.; Schuette, Lindsey M.; Fidler, Tara L.; Kosten, Therese A.; Ryabinin, Andrey E.

2015-01-01

An effort has been mounted to understand the mechanisms of alcohol dependence in a way that may allow for greater efficacy in treatment. It has long been suggested that drugs of abuse seize fundamental reward pathways and disrupt homeostasis to produce compulsive drug seeking behaviors. Ghrelin, an endogenous hormone that affects hunger state and release of growth hormone, has been shown to increased alcohol intake following administration, while antagonists decrease intake. Using rodent models of dependence, the current study examined the effects of two ghrelin receptor antagonists, [DLys3]-GHRP-6 (DLys) and JMV2959, on dependence-induced alcohol self-administration. In two experiments adult male C57BL/6J mice and Wistar rats were made dependent via intermittent ethanol vapor exposure. In another experiment, adult male C57BL/6J mice were made dependent using the intragastric alcohol consumption (IGAC) procedure. Ghrelin receptor antagonists were given prior to voluntary ethanol drinking. Ghrelin antagonists reduced ethanol intake, preference, and operant self-administration of ethanol and sucrose across these models, but did not decrease food consumption in mice. In experiments 1 and 2, voluntary drinking was reduced by ghrelin receptor antagonists, however this reduction did not persist across days. Despite the transient effects to ghrelin antagonists, the drugs had renewed effectiveness following a break in administration as seen in experiment 1. The results show the ghrelin system as a potential target for studies of alcohol abuse. Further research is needed to determine the central mechanisms of these drugs and their influence on addiction in order to design effective pharmacotherapies. PMID:26051399

On the effects of higher alcohols on red wine aroma.

PubMed

de-la-Fuente-Blanco, Arancha; Sáenz-Navajas, María-Pilar; Ferreira, Vicente

2016-11-01

This work aims to assess the aromatic sensory contribution of the four most relevant wine higher alcohols (isobutanol, isoamyl alcohol, methionol and β-phenylethanol) on red wine aroma. The four alcohols were added at two levels of concentration, within the natural range of occurrence, to eight different wine models (WM), close reconstitutions of red wines differing in levels of fruity (F), woody (W), animal (A) or humidity (H) notes. Samples were submitted to discriminant and descriptive sensory analysis. Results showed that the contribution of methionol and β-phenylethanol to wine aroma was negligible and confirmed the sensory importance of the pair isobutanol-isoamyl alcohol. Sensory effects were only evident in WM containing intense aromas, demonstrating a strong dependence on the aromatic context. Higher alcohols significantly suppress strawberry/lactic/red fruity, coconut/wood/vanilla and humidity/TCA notes, but not the leather/animal/ink note. The spirit/alcoholic/solvent character generated by higher alcohols has been shown to be wine dependent. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neurological and neuropsychological effects of low and moderate prenatal alcohol exposure.

PubMed

Comasco, E; Rangmar, J; Eriksson, U J; Oreland, L

2018-01-01

Several explanations for the diverse results in research on foetal alcohol spectrum disorders or alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder might be at hand: timing, amount and patterns of alcohol exposure, as well as complex epigenetic responses. The genetic background of the offspring and its interaction with other prenatal and post-natal environmental cues are likely also of importance. In the present report, key findings about the possible effects of low and moderate doses of maternal alcohol intake on the neuropsychological development of the offspring are reviewed and plausible mechanisms discussed. Special focus is put on the serotonergic system within developmental and gene-environment frameworks. The review also suggests guidelines for future studies and also summarizes some of to-be-answered questions of relevance to clinical practice. Contradictory findings and paucity of studies on the effects of exposure to low alcohol levels during foetal life for the offspring's neuropsychological development call for large prospective studies, as well as for studies including neuroimaging and multi-omics analyses to dissect the neurobiological underpinnings of alcohol exposure-related phenotypes and to identify biomarkers. Finally, it remains to be investigated whether any safe threshold of alcohol drinking during pregnancy can be identified. © 2017 Scandinavian Physiological Society. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effect of boric acid on oxidative stress in rats with fetal alcohol syndrome

PubMed Central

SOGUT, IBRAHIM; OGLAKCI, AYSEGUL; KARTKAYA, KAZIM; OL, KEVSER KUSAT; SOGUT, MELIS SAVASAN; KANBAK, GUNGOR; INAL, MINE ERDEN

2015-01-01

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study concerning the effect of boric acid (BA) administration on fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). In this study, the aim was to investigate prenatal alcohol-induced oxidative stress on the cerebral cortex of newborn rat pups and assess the protective and beneficial effects of BA supplementation on rats with FAS. Pregnant rats were divided into three groups, namely the control, alcohol and alcohol + boric acid groups. As markers of alcohol-induced oxidative stress in the cerebral cortex of the newborn pups, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels were measured. Although the MDA levels in the alcohol group were significantly increased compared with those in the control group (P<0.05), the MDA level in the alcohol + boric acid group was shown to be significantly decreased compared with that in the alcohol group (P<0.01). The CAT activity of the alcohol + boric acid group was significantly higher than that in the alcohol group (P<0.05). The GPx activity in the alcohol group was decreased compared with that in the control group (P<0.05). These results demonstrate that alcohol is capable of triggering damage to membranes of the cerebral cortex of rat pups and BA could be influential in antioxidant mechanisms against oxidative stress resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure. PMID:25667671

Effect of boric acid on oxidative stress in rats with fetal alcohol syndrome.

PubMed

Sogut, Ibrahim; Oglakci, Aysegul; Kartkaya, Kazim; Ol, Kevser Kusat; Sogut, Melis Savasan; Kanbak, Gungor; Inal, Mine Erden

2015-03-01

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study concerning the effect of boric acid (BA) administration on fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). In this study, the aim was to investigate prenatal alcohol-induced oxidative stress on the cerebral cortex of newborn rat pups and assess the protective and beneficial effects of BA supplementation on rats with FAS. Pregnant rats were divided into three groups, namely the control, alcohol and alcohol + boric acid groups. As markers of alcohol-induced oxidative stress in the cerebral cortex of the newborn pups, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels were measured. Although the MDA levels in the alcohol group were significantly increased compared with those in the control group (P<0.05), the MDA level in the alcohol + boric acid group was shown to be significantly decreased compared with that in the alcohol group (P<0.01). The CAT activity of the alcohol + boric acid group was significantly higher than that in the alcohol group (P<0.05). The GPx activity in the alcohol group was decreased compared with that in the control group (P<0.05). These results demonstrate that alcohol is capable of triggering damage to membranes of the cerebral cortex of rat pups and BA could be influential in antioxidant mechanisms against oxidative stress resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure.

Baclofen and naltrexone effects on alcohol self-administration: Comparison of treatment initiated during abstinence or ongoing alcohol access in baboons.

PubMed

Holtyn, August F; Kaminski, Barbara J; Weerts, Elise M

2017-10-01

Baclofen, a GABA B receptor agonist, is under investigation as a pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder. Treatment with a pharmacotherapeutic can be initiated during alcohol abstinence or active drinking, which may influence treatment outcomes. This study examined whether baclofen treatment initiated and maintained during alcohol abstinence would reduce alcohol seeking and self-administration upon return to alcohol access, and whether effects differed from treatment initiated and maintained during ongoing alcohol access. Naltrexone was tested under similar conditions for comparison. Five baboons self-administered alcohol under a three-component chained schedule of reinforcement that modeled periods of anticipation (Component 1), seeking (Component 2), and consumption (Component 3). Alcohol was only available in Component 3. In Experiment 1, baclofen (0.1-1.8mg/kg) or naltrexone (1.0-5.6mg/kg) was administered daily beginning on the first day of a 5-day abstinence period and treatment was continued for 5days of alcohol access. In Experiment 2, selected doses of both drugs were administered during ongoing alcohol access. When treatment was initiated during alcohol abstinence, baclofen and naltrexone did not significantly reduce total alcohol intake (g/kg) or alcohol seeking. In comparison, when treatment was initiated during ongoing alcohol access, both baclofen (1.8mg/kg) and naltrexone (3.2 and 5.6mg/kg) significantly reduced total alcohol intake (g/kg). Naltrexone (5.6mg/kg), but not baclofen, significantly reduced alcohol seeking. Initiation of baclofen treatment (or other alcohol use disorder treatments) during abstinence or active drinking may be an important factor in influencing efficacy and appropriate dose selection. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of alcohol dose on deliberate self-harm in men and women.

PubMed

Berman, Mitchell E; Fanning, Jennifer R; Guillot, Casey R; Marsic, Angelika; Bullock, Joshua; Nadorff, Michael R; McCloskey, Michael S

2017-09-01

Nonexperimental survey and field research support the notion that alcohol use may be associated with deliberate self-harm (DSH) across the spectrum of lethality, from nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) through suicide. Nonexperimental studies, however, provide limited information about potential causal relationships between alcohol consumption and DSH. Two previous experiments showed that a relatively high-dose of alcohol increases the likelihood of engaging in DSH in men, with DSH defined by the self-administration of a "painful" shock (the self-aggression paradigm [SAP]; Berman & Walley, 2003; McCloskey & Berman, 2003). In this study, we examined whether (a) lower doses of alcohol also elicit DSH, (b) this effect occurs for women as well as men, and (c) individual differences in past nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) moderate alcohol's effects on DSH. Nonalcohol dependent men and women (N = 210) were assigned either to .00%, .05%, .075%, or .100% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) drink conditions and completed a self-rating scale of NSSI (the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory [DSHI]; Gratz, 2001). As in previous SAP studies, DSH was operationalized by shock setting behavior during a competitive reaction time (RT) game. Overall, a greater proportion of participants in the .075% and .100% (but not .050%) alcohol conditions self-selected a "painful" shock to administer compared to participants in the placebo condition. NSSI predicted self-administration of painful shocks, but did not moderate the alcohol effect. Results provide experimental evidence to support the notion that interventions for self-harm should include processes to monitor and limit alcohol intake. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Protective Effects of Lemon Juice on Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury in Mice

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yu-Jie; Xu, Dong-Ping; Wang, Fang; Zhou, Yue; Zheng, Jie; Li, Ya; Zhang, Jiao-Jiao

2017-01-01

Chronic excessive alcohol consumption (more than 40–80 g/day for males and more than 20–40 g/day for females) could induce serious liver injury. In this study, effects of lemon juice on chronic alcohol-induced liver injury in mice were evaluated. The serum biochemical profiles and hepatic lipid peroxidation levels, triacylglycerol (TG) contents, antioxidant enzyme activities, and histopathological changes were examined for evaluating the hepatoprotective effects of lemon juice in mice. In addition, the in vitro antioxidant capacities of lemon juice were determined. The results showed that lemon juice significantly inhibited alcohol-induced increase of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), hepatic TG, and lipid peroxidation levels in a dose-dependent manner. Histopathological changes induced by alcohol were also remarkably improved by lemon juice treatment. These findings suggest that lemon juice has protective effects on alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. The protective effects might be related to the antioxidant capacity of lemon juice because lemon juice showed in vitro antioxidant capacity. PMID:28567423

Effects of age and low doses of alcohol on compensatory tracking during angular acceleration.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-01-01

Heightened interest in existing FAA regulations regarding alcohol and flying, with emphasis on the potential effects of low blood alcohol levels on performance, indicated a need for research to help define effects of low doses of alcohol on performan...

Alcohol's effects on emotionally motivated attention, defensive reactivity and subjective anxiety during uncertain threats.

PubMed

Bradford, Daniel E; Motschman, Courtney A; Starr, Mark J; Curtin, John J

2017-11-01

Developing a better understanding of how and under what circumstances alcohol affects the emotions, cognitions and neural functions that precede and contribute to dangerous behaviors during intoxication may help to reduce their occurrence. Alcohol intoxication has recently been shown to reduce defensive reactivity and anxiety more during uncertain vs certain threat. However, alcohol's effects on emotionally motivated attention to these threats are unknown. Alcohol may disrupt both affective response to and attentional processing of uncertain threats making intoxicated individuals less able to avoid dangerous and costly behaviors. To test this possibility, we examined the effects of a broad range of blood alcohol concentrations on 96 participants' sub-cortically mediated defensive reactivity (startle potentiation), retrospective subjective anxiety (self-report) and cortically assessed emotionally motivated attention (probe P3 event related potential) while they experienced visually cued uncertain and certain location electric shock threat. As predicted, alcohol decreased defensive reactivity and subjective anxiety more during uncertain vs certain threat. In a novel finding, alcohol dampened emotionally motivated attention during uncertain but not certain threat. This effect appeared independent of alcohol's effects on defensive reactivity and subjective anxiety. These results suggest that alcohol intoxication dampens processing of uncertain threats while leaving processing of certain threats intact. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

A systematic review: effectiveness of mass media campaigns for reducing alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes.

PubMed

Yadav, Rajendra-Prasad; Kobayashi, Miwako

2015-09-04

Mass media campaigns have long been used as a tool for promoting public health. In the past decade, the growth of social media has allowed more diverse options for mass media campaigns. This systematic review was conducted to assess newer evidence from quantitative studies on the effectiveness of mass media campaigns for reducing alcohol-impaired driving (AID) and alcohol-related crashes, particularly after the paper that Elder et al. published in 2004. This review focused on English language studies that evaluated the effect of mass media campaigns for reducing AID and alcohol-related crashes, with or without enforcement efforts. A systematic search was conducted for studies published between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2013. Studies from the review by Elder et al. were added as well. A total of 19 studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review, including three studies from the review by Elder et al. Nine of them had concomitant enforcement measures and did not evaluate the impact of media campaigns independently. Studies that evaluated the impact of mass media independently showed reduction more consistently (median -15.1%, range -28.8 to 0%), whereas results of studies that had concomitant enforcement activities were more variable (median -8.6%, range -36.4 to +14.6%). Summary effects calculated from seven studies showed no evidence of media campaigns reducing the risk of alcohol-related injuries or fatalities (RR 1.00, 95% CI = 0.94 to 1.06). Despite additional decade of evidence, reviewed studies were heterogeneous in their approaches; therefore, we could not conclude that media campaigns reduced the risk of alcohol-related injuries or crashes. More studies are needed, including studies evaluating newly emerging media and cost-effectiveness of media campaigns.

Effect of naltrexone and ondansetron on alcohol cue-induced activation of the ventral striatum in alcohol-dependent people.

PubMed

Myrick, Hugh; Anton, Raymond F; Li, Xingbao; Henderson, Scott; Randall, Patrick K; Voronin, Konstantin

2008-04-01

Medication for the treatment of alcoholism is currently not particularly robust. Neuroimaging techniques might predict which medications could be useful in the treatment of alcohol dependence. To explore the effect of naltrexone, ondansetron hydrochloride, or the combination of these medications on cue-induced craving and ventral striatum activation. Functional brain imaging was conducted during alcohol cue presentation. Participants were recruited from the general community following media advertisement. Experimental procedures were performed in the magnetic resonance imaging suite of a major training hospital and medical research institute. Ninety non-treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent (by DSM-IV criteria) and 17 social drinking (< 14 drinks per week) paid volunteers recruited through advertisements at an academic center. A taste of alcohol and a series of alcohol-related pictures, neutral beverage pictures, and visual control images were provided to volunteers after 7 days of double-blind randomly assigned daily dosing with 50 mg of naltrexone (n = 23), 0.50 mg of ondansetron hydrochloride (n = 23), the combination of the 2 medications (n = 20), or matching placebos (n = 24). Difference in brain blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance when viewing alcohol pictures vs neutral beverage pictures with a particular focus on ventral striatum activity comparison across medication groups. Self-ratings of alcohol craving. The combination treatment decreased craving for alcohol. Naltrexone with (P = .02) or without (P = .049) ondansetron decreased alcohol cue-induced activation of the ventral striatum. Ondansetron by itself was similar to naltrexone and the combination in the overall analysis but intermediate in a region-specific analysis. Consistent with animal data that suggest that both naltrexone and ondansetron reduce alcohol-stimulated dopamine output in the ventral striatum, the current study found evidence that these medications, alone or in combination

Effects of acute doses of prosocial drugs methamphetamine and alcohol on plasma oxytocin levels.

PubMed

Bershad, Anya K; Kirkpatrick, Matthew G; Seiden, Jacob A; de Wit, Harriet

2015-06-01

Many drugs, including alcohol and stimulants, demonstrably increase sociability and verbal interaction and are recreationally consumed in social settings. One drug, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy), seems to produce its prosocial effects by increasing plasma oxytocin levels, and the oxytocin system has been implicated in responses to several other drugs of abuse. Here, we sought to investigate the effects of 2 other "social" drugs on plasma oxytocin levels--methamphetamine and alcohol. Based on their shared capacity to enhance sociability, we hypothesized that both methamphetamine and alcohol would increase plasma oxytocin levels. In study 1, 11 healthy adult volunteers attended 3 sessions during which they received methamphetamine (10 mg or 20 mg) or placebo under double-blind conditions. Subjective drug effects, cardiovascular effects, and plasma oxytocin levels were measured at regular intervals throughout the sessions. In study 2, 8 healthy adult volunteers attended a single session during which they received 1 beverage containing placebo, and then a beverage containing alcohol (0.8 g/kg). Subjective effects, breath alcohol levels, and plasma oxytocin levels were measured at regular intervals. Both methamphetamine and alcohol produced their expected physiological and subjective effects, but neither of these drugs increased plasma oxytocin levels. The neurobiological mechanisms mediating the prosocial effects of drugs such as alcohol and methamphetamine remain to be identified.

Cost effectiveness of brief interventions for reducing alcohol consumption.

PubMed

Wutzke, S E; Shiell, A; Gomel, M K; Conigrave, K M

2001-03-01

The direct costs and health effects of a primary-care-based brief intervention for hazardous alcohol consumption were examined. The total cost of the intervention was calculated from costs associated with: marketing the intervention programme; providing training and support in the use of the intervention materials; physician time required for providing brief advice for 'at-risk' drinkers. The effect of the intervention on health outcomes was expressed in terms of number of life years saved by preventing alcohol-related deaths. This was derived by combining estimates of the impact of the programme if it were implemented nationally with available evidence on the health effects of excess alcohol consumption. Results are based on international trial evidence showing the physical resources required by the intervention and its effectiveness combined with Australian price data. The costs associated with screening and brief advice using the current intervention programme range from Aus$19.14 to Aus$21.50. The marginal costs per additional life year saved were below Aus$1873. The robustness of the model used is supported by an extensive sensitivity analysis. In comparison with existing health promotion strategies the costs and effects of the current intervention are highly encouraging.

Cost effectiveness of treatment for alcohol problems: findings of the randomised UK alcohol treatment trial (UKATT).

PubMed

2005-09-10

To compare the cost effectiveness of social behaviour and network therapy, a new treatment for alcohol problems, with that of the proved motivational enhancement therapy. Cost effectiveness analysis alongside a pragmatic randomised trial. Seven treatment sites around Birmingham, Cardiff, and Leeds. 742 clients with alcohol problems; 617 (83.2%) were interviewed at 12 months and full economic data were obtained on 608 (98.5% of 617). Main economic measures Quality adjusted life years (QALYs), costs of trial treatments, and consequences for public sector resources (health care, other alcohol treatment, social services, and criminal justice services). Both therapies saved about five times as much in expenditure on health, social, and criminal justice services as they cost. Neither net savings nor cost effectiveness differed significantly between the therapies, despite the average cost of social behaviour and network therapy (221 pounds sterling; 385 dollars; 320 euros) being significantly more than that of motivational enhancement therapy (129 pounds sterling). If a QALY were worth 30,000 pounds sterling, then the motivational therapy would have 58% chance of being more cost effective than the social therapy, and the social therapy would have 42% chance of being more cost effective than the motivational therapy. Participants reported highly significant reductions in drinking and associated problems and costs. The novel social behaviour and network therapy did not differ significantly in cost effectiveness from the proved motivational enhancement therapy.

[The effects of small amounts of alcohol on in-flight activity].

PubMed

Dionisi, A

1981-10-06

Alcohol metabolism is described prior to an account of its effect on vigilance. The psychological and psychosomatic influence of alcohol is also illustrated in the light of experimental data indicating how it alters the response to stimuli. Alterations in various parameters following the administration of significantly small doses of alcohol were studied. Reaction time decreased, then increased, followed by a further decrease after about 1 1/2 hr. Even 1/8th litre depresses receptiveness of the reticular substance, and leads to lengthening of reaction times due to diminished ability to concentrate attention on a given task. CNS depression is also in proportion to the complexity of the performance required. This is particularly and dangerous in pilots, whose tasks are extremely precise and require close attention. Functional alterations induced by alcohol during flight may be numerous, due to disturbances connected with the specific conditions created by flying, and apparatuses whose physiological functions are susceptible to disturbance by flying itself. Alcohol, itself a harmful influence on piloting an aircraft, deteriorates these functions and conditions. Toxic substances present during flying and their potentiation by alcohol are considered. The effects of alcohol, added to these specific pathogenetic toxic effects, quickly and readily lead to a fall in overall psychophysical efficiency, and prejudice flight safety. the reason why a decrease in the limit intake doses to less than 2 cc/kg, equivalent to a blood value of 0.5 g 0/00, to ensure safe control of the plane, is desirable is explained.

Separate and joint effects of alcohol and caffeine on conflict monitoring and adaptation.

PubMed

Bailey, Kira; Amlung, Michael T; Morris, David H; Price, Mason H; Von Gunten, Curtis; McCarthy, Denis M; Bartholow, Bruce D

2016-04-01

Caffeine is commonly believed to offset the acute effects of alcohol, but some evidence suggests that cognitive processes remain impaired when caffeine and alcohol are coadministered. No previous study has investigated the separate and joint effects of alcohol and caffeine on conflict monitoring and adaptation, processes thought to be critical for self-regulation. This was the purpose of the current study. Healthy, young adult social drinkers recruited from the community completed a flanker task after consuming one of four beverages in a 2 × 2 experimental design: Alcohol + caffeine, alcohol + placebo caffeine, placebo alcohol + caffeine, or placebo alcohol + placebo caffeine. Accuracy, response time, and the amplitude of the N2 component of the event-related potential (ERP), a neural index of conflict monitoring, were examined as a function of whether or not conflict was present (i.e., whether or not flankers were compatible with the target) on both the previous trial and the current trial. Alcohol did not abolish conflict monitoring or adaptation. Caffeine eliminated conflict adaptation in sequential trials but also enhanced neural conflict monitoring. The combined effect of alcohol and caffeine was apparent only in how previous conflict affected the neural conflict monitoring response. Together, the findings suggest that caffeine leads to exaggeration of attentional resource utilization, which could provide short-term benefits but lead to problems conserving resources for when they are most needed.

Acute effects of alcohol on memory: impact of emotional context and serial position.

PubMed

Brown, Jennie; Brignell, Catherine M; Dhiman, Sharinjeet K; Curran, H Valerie; Kamboj, Sunjeev K

2010-03-01

Although the amnestic effects of alcohol in humans are well known, its effects on emotional memory are unclear. In this study, using a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled design, we examine narrative emotional episodic memory in healthy human female volunteers (n=32) who received either a single dose of alcohol (0.6g/kg), or a placebo and then viewed neutral story elements presented in either a neutral or emotional context. Memory was tested for gist and detail of the neutral elements 3days later in a surprise recognition test. Since alcohol modulates GABAergic neurotransmission and may exert its effects on emotion through the limbic system, we predicted that acute alcohol treatment would reduce the expected emotional memory-advantage for gist, leaving detail memory relatively unaffected. Furthermore, given previous findings showing that 'primacy' memory is enhanced by physiological arousal, we predicted that reduced arousal produced by alcohol would have the opposite effect and impair primacy memory relative to the middle or 'recency' sections of the narrative. Emotional arousal was expected to oppose this effect, so impaired primacy memory following alcohol was only expected in the neutral version of the narrative. Although there was a main effect of story phase (though not of story version), contrary to expectations, alcohol impaired primacy memory for emotionally encoded neutral material. The results suggest that under certain circumstances emotional context or physiological arousal make memories labile and susceptible to disruption through pharmacological manipulation during encoding. 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Moderating Effects of Positive Parenting and Maternal Alcohol Use on Emerging Adults’ Alcohol Use: Does Living At Home Matter?

PubMed Central

Cleveland, Michael J.; Reavy, Racheal; Mallett, Kimberly A.; Turrisi, Rob; White, Helene R.

2014-01-01

Positive parenting behaviors and parental modeling of alcohol use are consistent predictors of offspring’s alcohol use. Recent research extends these findings to emerging adult children and confirms continued parental influence beyond adolescence. This paper examines how maternal warmth and supervision moderate the effects of mother’s heavy alcohol use on their offspring’s alcohol use among a sample of non-college-attending emerging adults. Three-way interactions were used to examine if these moderating effects differed between emerging adults who lived at home and those with other living arrangements. Separate analyses within gender were used to further examine these associations. Participants were 245 emerging adults between ages 18–22 years with no post-secondary education (59% female) who were selected from a national probability-based Internet panel. Path analyses indicated that, regardless of living arrangements, male emerging adults who were more likely to witness their mother getting drunk were themselves more likely to engage in risky drinking. However, among female emerging adults, similarity between mothers’ and daughters’ drunkenness was strongest among participants who resided with their family and also reported low levels of maternal warmth. This study extends previous research by indicating that the effects of maternal modeling of heavy alcohol use on emerging adults’ heavy alcohol use depend upon several factors, including the gender of the child and the family context. Implications of the study findings are discussed in terms of expanding the scope of a parent-based intervention (PBI) to all emerging adults, including those who do not attend colleges or universities. PMID:24583277

Distance travelled to purchase alcohol and the mediating effect of price.

PubMed

Hobday, M; Lensvelt, E; Gordon, E; Liang, W; Meuleners, L; Chikritzhs, T

2017-03-01

Little research has been done into the distance travelled by consumers to purchase alcohol, whether this is influenced by demographic characteristics or drinking levels of consumers, and the effect of price on purchase distance. This study aimed to explore distances drinkers were prepared to travel to purchase alcohol at on- and off-site outlets and how these decisions were affected by price discounting. Online survey. The study, including 831 alcohol consumers aged 18 years and older living in Australian capital cities, was undertaken in 2012. The survey was used to gather data on the distances which participants anticipated that they usually travelled to purchase alcohol. The data provided insight into which factors influence where participants would choose to purchase alcohol and the possible effects of price discounts on purchase distance. Most participants would choose to travel less than 10 km to purchase alcohol. Data indicated that price discounting might increase the purchase distance that most participants would be prepared to travel to purchase alcohol; this was more marked regarding off-site outlets and among high-risk drinking groups including young males and participants with risky drinking levels. Price discounting affects hypothetical purchase distance choices, indicating the importance of price when implementing alcohol control policies. Purchase distance might be more affected by price discounting among consumers visiting off-site outlets, but less useful when exploring associations with on-site outlets. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of the novel endocannabinoid uptake inhibitor, LY2183240, on fear-potentiated startle and alcohol-seeking behaviors in mice selectively bred for high alcohol preference.

PubMed

Powers, Matthew S; Barrenha, Gustavo D; Mlinac, Nate S; Barker, Eric L; Chester, Julia A

2010-12-01

Alcohol-use disorders often occur together with anxiety disorders in humans which may be partly due to common inherited genetic factors. Evidence suggests that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of individuals with anxiety and/or alcohol-use disorders. The present study assessed the effects of a novel endocannabinoid uptake inhibitor, LY2183240, on anxiety- and alcohol-seeking behaviors in a unique animal model that may represent increased genetic risk to develop co-morbid anxiety and alcohol-use disorders in humans. Mice selectively bred for high alcohol preference (HAP) show greater fear-potentiated startle (FPS) than mice selectively bred for low alcohol preference (LAP). We examined the effects of LY2183240 on the expression of FPS in HAP and LAP mice and on alcohol-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) and limited-access alcohol drinking behavior in HAP mice. Repeated administration of LY2183240 (30 mg/kg) reduced the expression of FPS in HAP but not LAP mice when given prior to a second FPS test 48 h after fear conditioning. Both the 10 and 30 mg/kg doses of LY2183240 enhanced the expression of alcohol-induced CPP and this effect persisted in the absence of the drug. LY2183240 did not alter limited-access alcohol drinking behavior, unconditioned startle responding, or locomotor activity. These findings suggest that ECS modulation influences both conditioned fear and conditioned alcohol reward behavior. LY2183240 may be an effective pharmacotherapy for individuals with anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, but may not be appropriate for individuals with co-morbid anxiety and alcohol-use disorders.

Protective effect of heat-treated cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) juice on alcohol detoxification in experimental rats.

PubMed

Bajpai, Vivek K; Kim, Na-Hyung; Kim, Ji-Eun; Kim, Kangmin; Kang, Sun Chul

2016-05-01

In this study, heat-treated cucumber juice was assessed for its protective effect on blood alcohol levels and hepatic alcohol metabolic enzyme system in experimental rats. Initially, during detoxification of alcohol, all groups were orally dosed to 22% alcohol (6ml/kg body weight) along with different concentrations of heat-treated cucumber juice (10, 100 and 500mg/kg) and commercial goods for hangover-removal on sale (2ml/kg). Cucumber juice was dosed before 30 min, and simultaneously after 30min of alcohol administration, and its hepatoprotective effect on blood alcohol levels and hepatic alcohol metabolic enzyme system in experimental rats was evaluated. As a result, after 7h, remarkable reduction was found in the blood alcohol levels for all concentrations of cucumber juice treatment. Treatment with cucumber juice resulted in increasing dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzymatic activities in rat liver at 9h after alcohol administration thereby stimulated blood alcohol metabolism as compared with control group. The effect of heat-treated cucumber juice on alcohol detoxification was observed only in the rats treated before 30min from alcohol administration. These findings indicate that heat-treated cucumber juice has significant protective effect on alcohol detoxification in experimental rats, suggesting its usefulness in the treatment of liver injury caused by alcohol consumption.

Automatically-Activated Attitudes as Mechanisms for Message Effects: The Case of Alcohol Advertisements.

PubMed

Goodall, Catherine E; Slater, Michael D

2010-10-01

Alcohol advertisements may influence impulsive, risky behaviors indirectly, via automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol. Results from an experiment in which participants were exposed to either four alcohol advertisements, four control advertisements, or four drunk driving public service advertisements, suggested that alcohol advertisements had more measurable effects on implicit, than on explicit attitude measures. Moreover, there were significant indirect paths from alcohol advertisement exposure through automatically-activated alcohol attitudes on willingness to engage in risky alcohol-related behaviors, notably drinking and driving. A mechanism that may explain how these advertisements activate automatic, non-deliberative alcohol attitudes was investigated. Associative evidence was found supportive of an evaluative conditioning mechanism, in which positive responses to an alcohol advertisement may lead to more positive automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol itself.

In vitro effects of alcohol-containing and alcohol-free mouthrinses on microhardness of some restorative materials.

PubMed

Gürgan, S; Onen, A; Köprülü, H

1997-03-01

Daily application of mouthrinses has been recommended for the prevention and control of caries and periodontal disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of alcohol-containing and alcohol-free mouthrinses on the microhardness of three restorative materials. Materials tested included visible light cured (VLC) composite resin (Amelogen), VLC glass-ionomer cement (Fuji II LC) and a fissure sealant (Ultra Seal XT). Eighteen cylinders of each restorative were fabricated and initially stored in distilled water for 24 h. Six samples of the restoratives were stored for 12 hours to simulate a 2 min/day for 1 year exposure to mouthrinses in the following solutions: distilled water (control), alcohol-containing mouthrinse (Viadent) and alcohol-free mouthrinse (Rembrandt). At the end of the test period microhardness was measured with a Tukon microhardness tester. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance was used to analyse the data. Both mouthrinses affected the hardness of the materials tested.

Socioeconomic status moderates genetic and environmental effects on the amount of alcohol use.

PubMed

Hamdi, Nayla R; Krueger, Robert F; South, Susan C

2015-04-01

Much is unknown about the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and alcohol use, including the means by which SES may influence risk for alcohol use. Using a sample of 672 twin pairs (aged 25 to 74) derived from the MacArthur Foundation Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, this study examined whether SES, measured by household income and educational attainment, moderates genetic and environmental influences on 3 indices of alcohol use: amount used, frequency of use, and problem use. We found significant moderation for amount of alcohol used. Specifically, genetic effects were greater in low-SES conditions, shared environmental effects (i.e., environmental effects that enhance the similarity of twins from the same families) tended to increase in high-SES conditions, and nonshared environmental effects (i.e., environmental effects that distinguish twins) tended to decrease with SES. This pattern of results was found for both income and education, and it largely replicated at a second wave of assessment spaced 9 years after the first. There was virtually no evidence of moderation for either frequency of alcohol use or alcohol problems. Our findings indicate that genetic and environmental influences on drinking amount vary as a function of the broader SES context, whereas the etiologies of other drinking phenomena are less affected by this context. Efforts to find the causes underlying the amount of alcohol used are likely to be more successful if such contextual information is taken into account. Copyright © 2015 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Alcoholism and Intimate Partner Violence: Effects on Children’s Psychosocial Adjustment

PubMed Central

Klostermann, Keith; Kelley, Michelle L.

2009-01-01

It is widely recognized that alcoholism and relationship violence often have serious consequences for adults; however, children living with alcoholic parents are susceptible to the deleterious familial environments these caregivers frequently create. Given the prevalence of IPV among patients entering substance abuse treatment, coupled with the negative familial consequences associated with these types of behavior, this review explores what have been, to this point, two divergent lines of research: (a) the effects of parental alcoholism on children, and (b) the effects of children’s exposure to intimate partner violence. In this article, the interrelationship between alcoholism and IPV is examined, with an emphasis on the developmental impact of these behaviors (individually and together) on children living in the home and offers recommendations for future research directions. PMID:20049253

Biphasic effect of alcohol intake on the development of fatty liver disease.

PubMed

Takahashi, Hirokazu; Ono, Masafumi; Hyogo, Hideyuki; Tsuji, Chika; Kitajima, Yoichiro; Ono, Naofumi; Eguchi, Takahisa; Fujimoto, Kazuma; Chayama, Kazuaki; Saibara, Toshiji; Anzai, Keizo; Eguchi, Yuichiro

2015-11-01

Fatty liver is an important clinical feature not only in alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, but in other chronic liver diseases as well. Our aim was to elucidate the effect and relationship between habitual alcohol intake and obesity in the development of fatty liver disease. We enrolled 8,029 subjects undergoing abdominal ultrasonography with general medical examinations, and analyzed the factors associated with fatty liver based on daily alcohol intake, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference. For fatty liver, BMI, waist circumference, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting plasma glucose were significant and independent risk factors. Heavy alcohol intake (50 g/day) was a significant risk factor for fatty liver in women (odds ratio [OR], 3.35). Analysis based on the presence or absence of obesity revealed that moderate alcohol intake was a significant negative risk factor for fatty liver in both male and female obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m(2)) subjects (OR, 0.74 for non-obese and 0.39 for obese patients, respectively). Heavy alcohol intake was also a significant negative risk factor in obese males (0.62). In contrast, heavy alcohol intake was a risk factor in non-obese males (OR, 1.29) and in all females (OR, 2.22 for non-obese and 6.6 for obese patients, respectively). The influence of alcohol intake on fatty liver differed depending on the level of alcohol consumption, gender, and the presence of obesity, and showed biphasic effects.

Effects of televised alcohol messages on teenage drinking patterns.

PubMed

Atkin, C K

1990-01-01

This paper presents an overview of theoretical perspectives applicable to the effects of television drinking portrayals on adolescent audiences, focusing on the influence of beer and wine advertising and entertainment depictions of drinking behavior. A critical review of survey research evidence indicates that alcohol commercials contribute to a modest increase in overall consumption by teenagers and may have a slight impact on alcohol misuse and drunk driving. There are no studies measuring the effects of entertainment programming on adolescents, but content analyses suggest the potential for increased prodrinking attitudes and behaviors. Policy implications for addressing the deleterious effects of televised drinking are discussed, and priorities for future research are identified.

The effects of chronic alcohol consumption and exercise on the skeleton of adult male rats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reed, Adam H.; McCarty, Heidi L.; Evans, Glenda L.; Turner, Russell T.; Westerlind, Kim C.

2002-01-01

BACKGROUND: Lifestyle factors are known to affect skeletal development and integrity. Specifically, running has been reported to increase risk of fatigue fractures, whereas chronic alcohol consumption has been shown to reduce bone formation and bone mass. The combined effect of exercise and alcohol on the skeleton has yet to be explored, although alcohol consumption is common among certain physically active populations (e.g., military recruits, college athletes). It was hypothesized that chronic alcohol consumption would accentuate the inherent risk associated with endurance running exercise. METHODS: Six-month-old male Sprague Dawley rats were assigned to one of five groups: baseline, exercise-alcohol diet, exercise-normal diet, sham-alcohol diet, and sham-normal diet. Alcohol-fed rats (35% caloric intake) received a liquid diet ad libitum. Normal animals were pair-fed the identical diet with a maltose dextrin caloric substitute. Exercise was conducted on a motorized treadmill 5 days/wk for 16 weeks. Sham rats were placed on a stationary treadmill for matching time periods. Fluorochrome labels were administered 3 days before baseline and at 10 and 2 days before animals were killed. Heart, soleus, and rectus femoris muscles were wet weighed to assess the effects of training. Tibiae were collected for static and dynamic histomorphometric measurements on cancellous and cortical bone. RESULTS: Muscle weights were larger in the exercised rats versus the sham rats. Alcohol had no significant effect on skeletal muscle weight but did result in larger heart weights in both alcohol-treated groups. Cancellous and periosteal bone formation rates were significantly decreased in the alcohol-fed rats versus rats on the normal diet and were associated with a significant reduction in trabecular thickness in the tibial metaphysis. Cortical and cross-sectional areas were also significantly lower in the alcohol-fed groups compared with the non-alcohol-fed groups. Exercise had no

The effect of religiosity and campus alcohol culture on collegiate alcohol consumption.

PubMed

Wells, Gayle M

2010-01-01

Religiosity and campus culture were examined in relationship to alcohol consumption among college students using reference group theory. College students (N = 530) at a religious college and at a state university complete questionnaires on alcohol use and religiosity. Statistical tests and logistic regression were utilized to examine alcohol use, religiosity, and campus environment. Alcohol consumption was significantly higher among students at the university (M = 26.9 drinks) versus students at the religious college (M = 11.9 drinks). University students also had lower religiosity scores (M = 23.8) than students at the religious college (M = 26.5). Students who attend a secular university are 4 times more likely to be moderate or heavy drinkers compared to students attending a religiously affiliated college. Students with the least religiosity were 27 times more likely to be a heavy alcohol user and 9 times more likely to be a moderate alcohol user compared to students with greater religiosity.

The economic impact of alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

PubMed

Burke, T R

1988-01-01

The economic effects of alcohol abuse are as damaging to the nation as the health effects, affecting the family, the community, and persons of all ages. Underaged drinking is interfering with children's development, affecting the nation's ability to respond to economic challenge in the future. The college aged may be the most difficult to educate about alcohol abuse because of drinking patterns established at an early age and susceptibility to advertising inducements. Health care costs for families with an alcoholic member are twice those for families without one, and up to half of all emergency room admissions are alcohol related. Fetal alcohol syndrome is one of the top three known causes of birth defects, and is totally preventable. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism are estimated to have cost the nation $117 billion in 1983, while nonalcoholic drug abuse that year cost $60 billion. Costs of alcohol abuse are expected to be $136 billion a year by 1990, mostly from lost productivity and employment. Between 6 and 7 million workers are alcoholic, with an undetermined loss of productivity, profits, and competitiveness of American business. Alcohol abuse contributes to the high health care costs of the elderly beneficiaries of Federal health financing programs. Heavily affected minorities include blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Society tends to treat the medical and social consequences of alcohol abuse, rather than its causes. Although our experience with the consequences of alcohol abuse is greater than that for any other drug, public concern for its prevention and treatment is less than for other major illnesses or abuse of other drugs. Alcohol abuse is a problem being given high priority within the Department in an effort to create a national agenda on the issue and to try to impart a greater sense of urgency about the problems. Ways are being explored to integrate alcoholism activities into more Departmental programs. Employee assistance programs for alcohol

Effects of Beverage-Specific Alcohol Consumption on Drinking Behaviors among Urban Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M.; Reingle, Jennifer M.; Tobler, Amy L.; Komro, Kelli A.

2010-01-01

Alcoholic beverage consumption among high school students has shifted from beer to liquor. The current longitudinal study examined the effects of beverage-specific alcohol use on drinking behaviors among urban youth. Data included 731 adolescents who participated in Project Northland Chicago and reported consuming alcohol in 7th grade. Logistic…

Acute Alcohol Intoxication: Differences in School Levels and Effects on Educational Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Hoof, Joris J.; Klerk, Frouktje Ade; Van der Lely, Nicolaas

2018-01-01

This study examines the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on adolescents' school performance. In the 2007-2015 period, 3,317 adolescents (ages 12 to 17 years) were treated for acute alcohol intoxication, and 37 adolescents were admitted to the hospital twice. Alcohol intoxication has an overrepresentation in "low" school levels. The…

Effects of alcoholic beverage treatment on spatial learning and fear memory in mice.

PubMed

Hashikawa-Hobara, Narumi; Mishima, Shuta; Nagase, Shotaro; Morita, Keishi; Otsuka, Ami; Hashikawa, Naoya

2018-04-24

Although chronic ethanol treatment is known to impair learning and memory, humans commonly consume a range of alcoholic beverages. However, the specific effects of some alcoholic beverages on behavioral performance are largely unknown. The present study compared the effects of a range of alcoholic beverages (plain ethanol solution, red wine, sake and whiskey; with a matched alcohol concentration of 10%) on learning and memory. 6-week-old C57BL6J mice were orally administered alcohol for 7 weeks. The results revealed that red wine treatment exhibited a trend toward improvement of spatial memory and advanced extinction of fear memory. Additionally, red wine treatment significantly increased mRNA levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in mice hippocampus. These results support previous reports that red wine has beneficial effects.

Acute Alcohol Effects on Narrative Recall and Contextual Memory: An Examination of Fragmentary Blackouts

PubMed Central

Wetherill, Reagan R.; Fromme, Kim

2011-01-01

The present study examined the effects of alcohol consumption on narrative recall and contextual memory among individuals with and without a history of fragmentary blackouts in an attempt to better understand why some individuals experience alcohol-induced memory impairments whereas others do not, even at comparable blood alcohol concentrations (BACs). Standardized beverage (alcohol, no alcohol) administration procedures and neuropsychological assessments measured narrative recall and context memory performance before and after alcohol consumption in individuals with (n = 44) and without (n = 44) a history of fragmentary blackouts. Findings indicate acute alcohol intoxication led to impairments in free recall, but not next-day cued recall. Further, participants showed similar memory performance when sober, but individuals who consumed alcohol and had a positive history of fragmentary blackouts showed greater contextual memory impairments than those who had not previously experienced a fragmentary blackout. Thus, it appears that some individuals may have an inherent vulnerability to alcohol-induced memory impairments due to alcohol’s effects on contextual memory processes. PMID:21497445

Impact of Maryland's 2011 alcohol sales tax increase on alcoholic beverage sales.

PubMed

Esser, Marissa B; Waters, Hugh; Smart, Mieka; Jernigan, David H

2016-07-01

Increasing alcohol taxes has proven effective in reducing alcohol consumption, but the effects of alcohol sales taxes on sales of specific alcoholic beverages have received little research attention. Data on sales are generally less subject to reporting biases than self-reported patterns of alcohol consumption. We aimed to assess the effects of Maryland's July 1, 2011 three percentage point increase in the alcohol sales tax (6-9%) on beverage-specific and total alcohol sales. Using county-level data on Maryland's monthly alcohol sales in gallons for 2010-2012, by beverage type, multilevel mixed effects multiple linear regression models estimated the effects of the tax increase on alcohol sales. We controlled for seasonality, county characteristics, and national unemployment rates in the main analyses. In the 18 months after the tax increase, average per capita sales of spirits were 5.1% lower (p < 0.001), beer sales were 3.2% lower (p < 0.001), and wine sales were 2.5% lower (p < 0.01) relative to what would have been expected from sales trends in the 18 months prior to the tax increase. Overall, the alcohol sales tax increase was associated with a 3.8% decline in total alcohol sold relative to what would have been expected based on sales in the prior 18 months (p < 0.001). The findings suggest that increased alcohol sales taxes may be as effective as excise taxes in reducing alcohol consumption and related problems. Sales taxes also have the added advantages of rising with inflation and taxing the highest priced beverages most heavily.

Automatically-Activated Attitudes as Mechanisms for Message Effects: The Case of Alcohol Advertisements

PubMed Central

Goodall, Catherine E.; Slater, Michael D.

2010-01-01

Alcohol advertisements may influence impulsive, risky behaviors indirectly, via automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol. Results from an experiment in which participants were exposed to either four alcohol advertisements, four control advertisements, or four drunk driving public service advertisements, suggested that alcohol advertisements had more measurable effects on implicit, than on explicit attitude measures. Moreover, there were significant indirect paths from alcohol advertisement exposure through automatically-activated alcohol attitudes on willingness to engage in risky alcohol-related behaviors, notably drinking and driving. A mechanism that may explain how these advertisements activate automatic, non-deliberative alcohol attitudes was investigated. Associative evidence was found supportive of an evaluative conditioning mechanism, in which positive responses to an alcohol advertisement may lead to more positive automatically-activated attitudes toward alcohol itself. PMID:21258609

Alcohol and HIV Effects on the Immune System

PubMed Central

Bagby, Gregory J.; Amedee, Angela M.; Siggins, Robert W.; Molina, Patricia E.; Nelson, Steve; Veazey, Ronald S.

2015-01-01

HIV disease and alcohol independently influence the human immune system, so it stands to reason that, together, their influence may be additive. Here, we review the evidence that alcohol can exacerbate HIV’s influence on the immune system, thereby affecting disease progression and transmission. We focus particularly on alcohol’s effect on the mucosal immune system in the tissues of the gastrointestinal tract, the genital tract and the lungs, all of which play a role in transmission and progression of HIV disease. PMID:26695751

The Prospective Joint Effects of Self-Regulation and Impulsive Processes on Early Adolescence Alcohol Use

PubMed Central

O’Connor, Roisin M.; Colder, Craig R.

2015-01-01

Objective: Dual-process models propose that behavior is influenced by the interactive effect of impulsive (automatic) and selfregulatory (controlled) processes. Elaborations of this model posit that the effect of impulsive processes on alcohol use is influenced by capacity and motivation to self-regulate. The interactive effect of these three processes on drinking has not previously been tested. The goal of this study was to provide a developmental extension of this model to early adolescent alcohol use and to test the three-way interaction between impulsive processes (implicit alcohol cognition), self-regulatory capacity (inhibitory and activation control), and self-regulatory motivation (negative alcohol outcome expectancies [AOE]) in a 1-year prospective prediction of adolescent alcohol use. Method: Adolescents (N = 325; 54% girls, mean age = 13.6 years at baseline) completed the Single Category Implicit Association Test and self-reports of alcohol expectancies and use. Inhibitory and activation control were based on parental report. Results: Negative AOE and inhibitory/activation control were supported as moderators of the effect of implicit alcohol cognition on 1-year prospective alcohol use. As expected, weak implicit negative alcohol cognition was associated with elevated alcohol use when both negative AOE and inhibitory control were low. Contrary to hypothesis, when activation control was high, weak implicit negative alcohol cognition was unrelated to alcohol use if negative AOE were high (p = .72) (vs. low, p < .01).Activation control may reflect the ability to plan ahead and act pro-socially. Conclusions: Our study supports current theory suggesting alcohol use is influenced by a complex interplay of impulsive and self-regulatory processes. PMID:26562596

Alcohol Versus Cannabinoids: A Review of Their Opposite Neuro-Immunomodulatory Effects and Future Therapeutic Potentials

PubMed Central

Nair, Madhavan P.; Figueroa, Gloria; Casteleiro, Gianna; Muñoz, Karla; Agudelo, Marisela

2015-01-01

Due to the legalization of marijuana and the increased demand for cannabis and alcohol consumption, research efforts highlighting the biomedical consequences of the use of alcohol and cannabinoids are not only relevant to the substance abuse scientific field, but are also of public health interest. Moreover, an overview of the recent literature about alcohol and cannabinoids neuro-immunomodulatory effects highlighting their future therapeutic potentials will provide a significant contribution to science and medicine. Therefore, in the current review, we will first discuss briefly the prevalence of alcohol and marijuana abuse, followed by a discussion on the individual effects of alcohol and cannabinoids on the immune system; then, we will focus on the role of endocannabinoids on the alcohol-induced inflammatory effects. In addition, the review also incorporates cytokine array data obtained from human monocyte-derived dendritic cells, providing a different perspective on the alcohol and cannabinoid abuse divergent effects on cytokine production. The final section will highlight the therapeutic potential of cannabinoid receptors and the novel strategies to treat alcohol dependence as determined by in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies. PMID:26478902

Acute alcohol effects on narrative recall and contextual memory: an examination of fragmentary blackouts.

PubMed

Wetherill, Reagan R; Fromme, Kim

2011-08-01

The present study examined the effects of alcohol consumption on narrative recall and contextual memory among individuals with and without a history of fragmentary blackouts in an attempt to better understand why some individuals experience alcohol-induced memory impairments whereas others do not, even at comparable blood alcohol concentrations (BACs). Standardized beverage (alcohol and no alcohol) administration procedures and neuropsychological assessments measured narrative recall and context memory performance before and after alcohol consumption in individuals with (n=44) and without (n=44) a history of fragmentary blackouts. Findings indicate that acute alcohol intoxication led to impairments in free recall, but not next-day cued recall. Further, participants showed similar memory performance when sober, but individuals who consumed alcohol and had a positive history of fragmentary blackouts showed greater contextual memory impairments than those who had not previously experienced a fragmentary blackout. Thus, it appears that some individuals may have an inherent vulnerability to alcohol-induced memory impairments due to alcohol's effects on contextual memory processes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of Drug and Alcohol Education on Attitudes of High School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lignell, Constance; Davidhizar, Ruth

1991-01-01

Examined effects of 3-week alcohol and drug education course on attitudes about alcohol and drugs in ninth grade students (n=180). Results showed mean attitude score changed in desired direction after education indicating negative feelings toward drugs and alcohol use and abuse, polydrug use, dependency, social pressure, and media pressure and…

Temporal Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol-Related Road Accidents in Young Swiss Men: Seasonal, Weekday and Public Holiday Effects.

PubMed

Foster, Simon; Gmel, Gerhard; Estévez, Natalia; Bähler, Caroline; Mohler-Kuo, Meichun

2015-09-01

To assess seasonal, weekday, and public holiday effects on alcohol-related road accidents and drinking diaries among young Swiss men. Federal road accident data (35,485 accidents) from Switzerland and drinking diary data from a large cohort of young Swiss men (11,930 subjects) were analysed for temporal effects by calendar week, weekday and public holiday (Christmas, New Years, National Day). Alcohol-related accidents were analysed using rate ratios for observed versus expected numbers of accidents and proportions of alcohol-related accidents relative to the total number. Drinking diaries were analysed for the proportion of drinkers, median number of drinks consumed, and the 90th percentile's number of drinks consumed. Several parallel peaks were identified in alcohol-related accidents and drinking diaries. These included increases on Fridays and Saturdays, with Saturday drinking extending until early Sunday morning, an increase during the summer on workdays but not weekends, an increase at the end of the year, and increases on public holidays and the evening before. Our results suggest specific time-windows that are associated with increases in drinking and alcohol-related harm. Established prevention measures should be enforced during these time-windows to reduce associated peaks. © The Author 2015. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Response inhibition under alcohol: effects of cognitive and motivational conflict.

PubMed

Fillmore, M T; Vogel-Sprott, M

2000-03-01

This experiment tested the effect of cognitive and motivational conflict on response inhibition under alcohol. Fifty-six male social drinkers were randomly assigned to one of eight groups (n = 8). Four pairs of groups received 0.62 g/kg of alcohol, or a placebo, and each pair performed a go/stop choice reaction time task under one of four conflict conditions. One condition (C) produced cognitive conflict by presenting "go" and "stop" signals in the task. Another condition (IR) added motivational conflict by administering an equal monetary reward for inhibiting responses to stop-signals, and for responding to go-signals. The remaining two conditions resolved the motivational conflict by administering the monetary reward only for inhibitions (I), or only for responses (R). Compared with placebo, alcohol reduced inhibitions (i.e., impaired inhibitory control) under cognitive conflict (C; p = .041) and under motivational conflict (IR; p = .012). No significant effect of alcohol on inhibitions was observed in conditions where conflict was resolved (i.e., I and R). The study shows that alcohol can reduce the ability to inhibit a response. However, impaired inhibitory control is not an inevitable outcome of the drug action, because it can be counteracted by the consequences of behavior in the situation.

Witness memory and alcohol: The effects of state-dependent recall.

PubMed

Schreiber Compo, Nadja; Carol, Rolando N; Evans, Jacqueline R; Pimentel, Pamela; Holness, Howard; Nichols-Lopez, Kristin; Rose, Stefan; Furton, Kenneth G

2017-04-01

Many real-world eyewitnesses are under the influence of alcohol either at the time of the crime, the interview, or both. Only recently has empirical research begun to examine the effects of alcohol on witness memory, yielding mixed results. The present study tested the importance of state-dependent memory in the context of alcohol's effects on encoding versus retrieval of a witnessed event, while simultaneously informing real-world investigative practices: Should witnesses sober up before an interview? Participants (N = 249) were randomized to a control, placebo, or alcohol condition at encoding and to either an immediate retrieval condition (in the same state) or a 1-week delay control, placebo, or alcohol retrieval condition. They recalled a witnessed mock crime using open ended and cued recall formats. After a delay, witnesses intoxicated at both encoding and retrieval provided less accurate information than witnesses in sober or placebo groups at both times. There was no advantage of state-dependent memory but intoxicated witnesses were best when recalling immediately compared to 1 week later (sober, placebo, or reintoxicated). Findings have direct implications for the timing of intoxicated witnesses' interviews such that moderately intoxicated witnesses may not benefit from a sobering delay but rather, should be interviewed immediately. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

A preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study of baclofen effects in alcoholic smokers

PubMed Central

Zywiak, William H.; Edwards, Steven M.; Tidey, Jennifer W.; Swift, Robert M.; Kenna, George A.

2014-01-01

Rationale There is presently no approved single treatment for dual alcohol and nicotine dependencies. Objective This pilot study investigated baclofen effects in alcoholic smokers. Methods This was a preliminary double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical study with 30 alcoholic smokers randomized to baclofen at 80 mg/day or placebo. A subgroup (n=18) participated in an alcohol cue-reactivity experiment. Results Baclofen, compared with placebo, significantly decreased the percent days of abstinence from alcohol-tobacco co-use (p=0.004). Alcohol dependence severity moderated baclofen effects, with the higher severity group having the greater baclofen response (p<0.001). Although the percent days of alcohol-tobacco co-use declined in both groups, this decline was greater after placebo than baclofen (p<0.001). Secondary analyses on alcohol or tobacco use alone suggested that the increase in percent days of co-abstinence was driven by the medication differences on heavy drinking days and on percent days smoking. In the cue-reactivity substudy, baclofen slightly decreased alcohol urge (p=0.058) and significantly reduced salivation (p=0.001), but these effects were not related to cue type. Conclusions This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting a possible role of baclofen in the treatment of alcoholic smokers. However, the mixed results and the small sample require larger confirmatory studies. PMID:24973894

The effect of alcohol treatment on social costs of alcohol dependence: results from the COMBINE study.

PubMed

Zarkin, Gary A; Bray, Jeremy W; Aldridge, Arnie; Mills, Michael; Cisler, Ron A; Couper, David; McKay, James R; O'Malley, Stephanie

2010-05-01

The COMBINE (combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral intervention) clinical trial recently evaluated the efficacy of pharmacotherapies, behavioral therapies, and their combinations for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Previously, the cost and cost-effectiveness of COMBINE have been studied. Policy makers, patients, and nonalcohol-dependent individuals may be concerned not only with alcohol treatment costs but also with the effect of alcohol interventions on broader social costs and outcomes. To estimate the sum of treatment costs plus the costs of health care utilization, arrests, and motor vehicle accidents for the 9 treatments in COMBINE 3 years postrandomization. A cost study based on a randomized controlled clinical trial. : The study involved 786 participants 3 years postrandomization. Multivariate results show no significant differences in mean costs between any of the treatment arms as compared with medical management (MM) + placebo for the 3-year postrandomization sample. The median costs of MM + acamprosate, MM + naltrexone, MM + acamprosate + naltrexone, and MM + acamprosate + combined behavioral intervention were significantly lower than the median cost for MM + placebo. The results show that social cost savings are generated relative to MM + placebo by 3 years postrandomization, and the magnitude of these cost savings is greater than the costs of the COMBINE treatment received 3 years prior. Our study suggests that several alcohol treatments may indeed lead to reduced median social costs associated with health care, arrests, and motor vehicle accidents.

Alcohol-cue exposure effects on craving and attentional bias in underage college-student drinkers.

PubMed

Ramirez, Jason J; Monti, Peter M; Colwill, Ruth M

2015-06-01

The effect of alcohol-cue exposure on eliciting craving has been well documented, and numerous theoretical models assert that craving is a clinically significant construct central to the motivation and maintenance of alcohol-seeking behavior. Furthermore, some theories propose a relationship between craving and attention, such that cue-induced increases in craving bias attention toward alcohol cues, which, in turn, perpetuates craving. This study examined the extent to which alcohol cues induce craving and bias attention toward alcohol cues among underage college-student drinkers. We designed within-subject cue-reactivity and visual-probe tasks to assess in vivo alcohol-cue exposure effects on craving and attentional bias on 39 undergraduate college drinkers (ages 18-20). Participants expressed greater subjective craving to drink alcohol following in vivo cue exposure to a commonly consumed beer compared with water exposure. Furthermore, following alcohol-cue exposure, participants exhibited greater attentional biases toward alcohol cues as measured by a visual-probe task. In addition to the cue-exposure effects on craving and attentional bias, within-subject differences in craving across sessions marginally predicted within-subject differences in attentional bias. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluation of innovative state and community alcohol projects : breath alcohol testing program effectiveness, impact and transferability

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1987-03-01

Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) programs in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico are evaluated in regard to effectiveness, impact, and transferability of the special DWI enforcement squads and their use of BAT Mobiles. Squad activity effectiveness is me...

Alcohol Effects on Simulated Driving in Frequent and Infrequent Binge Drinkers

PubMed Central

Bernosky-Smith, Kimberly A.; Shannon, Erin E.; Roth, Alicia J.; Liguori, Anthony

2011-01-01

Objective Compared to non-bingers, binge drinkers are more likely to drive while intoxicated. The extent to which binge frequency impacts confidence in driving and subsequent driving impairment is unknown. This study compared the effects of an experimenter-delivered alcohol binge on subjective impairment and simulated driving ability in female High and Low Frequency bingers. Methods Female drinkers were assigned to High Frequency (n=30) or Low Frequency (n=30) binge groups based on their Alcohol Use Questionnaire responses. At 30-minute intervals within a two-hour period, participants received either a placebo drink (n=15 per group) or a 0.2 g/kg dose of alcohol (n=15 per group; cumulative dose 0.8 g/kg). Self-reported impairment, driving confidence, and simulated driving were then measured. Results Self-reported confidence in driving was significantly lower after alcohol than after placebo in Low Frequency but not High Frequency bingers. Self-reported impairment and collisions during simulated driving were significantly greater after alcohol than after placebo in both Low Frequency and High Frequency bingers. Conclusions The impairing effects of a single alcohol binge on driving ability in females are not influenced by binge frequency. However, high binge frequency may be associated with a less cautious approach to post-binge driving. PMID:21542027

Weakening of one more alcohol control pillar: a review of the effects of the alcohol tax cuts in Finland in 2004.

PubMed

Mäkelä, Pia; Osterberg, Esa

2009-04-01

To review the consequences of the changes in Finnish alcohol policy in 2004, when quotas for travellers' tax-free imports of alcoholic beverages from other European Union (EU) countries were abolished, Estonia joined the EU and excise duties on alcoholic beverages were reduced in Finland by one-third, on average. A review of published research and routinely available data. Finland. Prices of alcoholic beverages, recorded and unrecorded alcohol consumption, data on criminality and other police statistics, alcohol-related deaths and hospitalizations, service use. Alcohol consumption increased 10% in 2004, clearly more than in the early 2000s. With few exceptions, alcohol-related harms increased. Alcohol-induced liver disease deaths increased the most, by 46% in 2004-06 compared to 2001-03, which indicates a strong effect on pre-2004 heavy drinkers. Consumption and harms increased most among middle-aged and older segments of the population, and harms in the worst-off parts of the population in particular. Alcohol taxation and alcohol prices affect consumption and related harms, and heavy drinkers are responsive to price. In Finland in 2004, the worst-off parts of the population paid the highest price in terms of health for cuts in alcohol prices. The removal of travellers' import quotas, which was an inherent part of creating the single European market, had serious public health consequences in Finland.

Tackling alcohol misuse: purchasing patterns affected by minimum pricing for alcohol.

PubMed

Ludbrook, Anne; Petrie, Dennis; McKenzie, Lynda; Farrar, Shelley

2012-01-01

Alcohol consumption is associated with a range of health and social harms that increase with the level of consumption. Policy makers are interested in effective and cost-effective interventions to reduce alcohol consumption and associated harms. Economic theory and research evidence demonstrate that increasing price is effective at the population level. Price interventions that target heavier consumers of alcohol may be more effective at reducing alcohol-related harms with less impact on moderate consumers. Minimum pricing per unit of alcohol has been proposed on this basis but concerns have been expressed that 'moderate drinkers of modest means' will be unfairly penalized. If those on low incomes are disproportionately affected by a policy that removes very cheap alcohol from the market, the policy could be regressive. The effect on households' budgets will depend on who currently purchases cheaper products and the extent to which the resulting changes in prices will impact on their demand for alcohol. This paper focuses on the first of these points. This paper aims to identify patterns of purchasing of cheap off-trade alcohol products, focusing on income and the level of all alcohol purchased. Three years (2006-08) of UK household survey data were used. The Expenditure and Food Survey provides comprehensive 2-week data on household expenditure. Regression analyses were used to investigate the relationships between the purchase of cheap off-trade alcohol, household income levels and whether the household level of alcohol purchasing is categorized as moderate, hazardous or harmful, while controlling for other household and non-household characteristics. Predicted probabilities and quantities for cheap alcohol purchasing patterns were generated for all households. The descriptive statistics and regression analyses indicate that low-income households are not the predominant purchasers of any alcohol or even of cheap alcohol. Of those who do purchase off-trade alcohol

Global alcohol policy and the alcohol industry.

PubMed

Anderson, Peter

2009-05-01

The WHO is preparing its global strategy on alcohol, and, in so doing, has been asked to consult with the alcohol industry on ways it could contribute in reducing the harm done by alcohol. This review asks which is more effective in reducing harm: the regulatory approaches that the industry does not favour; or the educational approaches that it does favour. The current literature overwhelmingly finds that regulatory approaches (including those that manage the price, availability, and marketing of alcohol) reduce the risk of and the experience of alcohol-related harm, whereas educational approaches (including school-based education and public education campaigns) do not, with industry-funded education actually increasing the risk of harm. The alcohol industry should not be involved in making alcohol policy. Its involvement in implementing policy should be restricted to its role as a producer, distributor, and marketer of alcohol. In particular, the alcohol industry should not be involved in educational programmes, as such involvement could actually lead to an increase in harm.

Differential Effects of Alcohol on Memory Performance in Adolescent Men and Women with a Binge Drinking History.

PubMed

Vinader-Caerols, Concepción; Talk, Andrew; Montañés, Adriana; Duque, Aránzazu; Monleón, Santiago

2017-09-01

Binge drinking (BD) is characterized by intermittent consumption of large quantities of alcohol in short periods. This pattern of drinking is prevalent among adolescents, and has been associated with undermined learning and memory ability. This study investigates the relationships between a history of BD and the effects of acute exposure to alcohol on learning and memory performance in adolescent men and women. A high, acute dose of alcohol or control refreshment was administered to a sample of 172 adolescent undergraduate students, some of which had a history of BD and others of which had refrained from alcohol consumption. Subsequently, immediate visual memory (IVM) and working memory (WM) was measured according to the Wechsler Memory Scale in females and males with different BAC (Experiment 1) and similar BAC (Experiment 2). In both experiments, IVM was reduced after acute alcohol consumption and there was no significant main effect of Drinking Pattern. Furthermore, an effect of cognitive alcohol tolerance on IVM was observed in women but not in men. WM was not affected by alcohol, but a gender difference was evident in that performance was superior in men than in women. In adolescents, IVM is more sensitive than WM to impairment by alcohol, and women are more vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol than men, since the cognitive tolerance effect of alcohol on IVM develops in BD women but not in BD men. These findings emphasize the need to investigate the neurotoxic effects of alcohol in adolescent women. In adolescents, immediate visual memory (IVM) is more sensitive than working memory to impairment by alcohol, and women are more vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol than men, because the cognitive tolerance effect of alcohol on IVM develops in binge drinking (BD) women but not in BD men. © The Author 2017. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Fetal Alcohol Effects in Children: Cognitive, Educational, and Behavioral Considerations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horowitz, Sheldon

The effects of alcohol on the developing fetus are examined. Noted is the existence of both structural problems (such as microcephaly and cardiac anomalies) and behavioral problems (such as mental retardation and speech and language deficits). The potential damage of alcohol at a very early stage of fetal development is discussed. It is thought…

Functional biomarkers for the acute effects of alcohol on the central nervous system in healthy volunteers

PubMed Central

Zoethout, Remco W M; Delgado, Wilson L; Ippel, Annelies E; Dahan, Albert; van Gerven, Joop M A

2011-01-01

The central nervous system (CNS) effects of acute alcohol administration have been frequently assessed. Such studies often use a wide range of methods to study each of these effects. Unfortunately, the sensitivity of these tests has not completely been ascertained. A literature search was performed to recognize the most useful tests (or biomarkers) for identifying the acute CNS effects of alcohol in healthy volunteers. All tests were grouped in clusters and functional domains. Afterwards, the effect of alcohol administration on these tests was scored as improvement, impairment or as no effect. Furthermore, dose–response relationships were established. A total number of 218 studies, describing 342 different tests (or test variants) were evaluated. Alcohol affected a wide range of CNS domains. Divided attention, focused attention, visuo-motor control and scales of feeling high and of subjective drug effects were identified as the most sensitive functional biomarkers for the acute CNS effects of alcohol. The large number of CNS tests that are used to determine the effects of alcohol interferes with the identification of the most sensitive ones and of drug–response relationships. Our results may be helpful in selecting rational biomarkers for studies investigating the acute CNS effects of alcohol or for future alcohol- interaction studies. PMID:21284693

Effectiveness of a psychoeducational programme in enhancing motivation to change alcohol-addictive behaviour.

PubMed

Yeh, Mei-Yu; Tung, Tao-Hsin; Horng, Fen-Fang; Sung, Su-Ching

2017-11-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of a psychoeducational programme in enhancing motivation to change alcohol-addictive behaviour. The prevalence of alcohol abuse has increased over the past 10 years, and the age of initial alcohol use has decreased gradually in Taiwan. Alcohol dependence is one of the leading causes of disability and has led to increases in the incidence of crime and violence, with alcohol abuse identified as a problem in society. A quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent pre/post-testing was used. Alcohol-dependent inpatients undergoing alcohol treatment were selected from the psychiatric ward of a teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. The effectiveness of the psychoeducational programme in enhancing motivation to change alcohol-addictive behaviour was evaluated with the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire and the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale. In total, 24 and 51 participants were recruited to the experimental and control groups, respectively, for the baseline survey, and 14 and 17 were in the final survey, respectively. After adjustment for baseline survey scores, the experimental group showed significantly greater increases in recognition and ambivalence relative to those observed in the control group. The results not only showed that the psychoeducational programme was effective in reinforcing addicted inpatients' motivation for changing their drinking behaviour but also provided clinical nurses with practical methods via which to enhance patient motivation. The psychoeducational programme could assist clinical nurses in helping alcohol-dependent patients to recognise the nature of their problematic drinking; increase participants' ambivalence towards their drinking behaviour, leading to the contemplation of change; and strengthen the possibility that they will change their addictive behaviour. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The effects of a priming dose of alcohol and drinking environment on snack food intake.

PubMed

Rose, A K; Hardman, C A; Christiansen, P

2015-12-01

Alcohol consumption is a potential risk factor for being overweight. We aimed to investigate the effects of an alcohol priming dose and an alcohol-related environment on snacking behaviour. One hundred and fourteen social drinkers completed one of four experimental sessions either receiving a priming dose of alcohol (.6 g/kg) or soft drink in a bar-lab or a sterile lab. Participants provided ratings of appetite, snack urge, and alcohol urge before and after consuming their drinks. Participants completed an ad libitum snack taste test of savoury and sweet, healthy and unhealthy foods before completing the self-reports a final time. Appetite and snack urge increased more following alcohol consumption, and decreased to a lesser extent following the taste test relative to the soft drink. Total calories (including drink calories) consumed were significantly higher in the alcohol groups. There was a marginal effect of environment; those in the bar-lab consumed a higher proportion of unhealthy foods. These effects were more pronounced in those who were disinhibited. While alcohol may not increase food consumption per se, alcohol may acutely disrupt appetite signals, perhaps via processes of reward and inhibitory control, resulting in overall greater calorie intake. Individuals who are generally disinhibited may be more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol and drinking environments on eating behaviour. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverages – An Emerging Trend in Alcohol Abuse

PubMed Central

Franklin, Kelle M; Hauser, Sheketha R; Bell, Richard L.; Engleman, Eric A

2014-01-01

Alcohol use disorders are pervasive in society and their impact affects quality of life, morbidity and mortality, as well as individual productivity. Alcohol has detrimental effects on an individual’s physiology and nervous system, and is associated with disorders of many organ and endocrine systems impacting an individual’s health, behavior, and ability to interact with others. Youth are particularly affected. Unfortunately, adolescent usage also increases the probability for a progression to dependence. Several areas of research indicate that the deleterious effects of alcohol abuse may be exacerbated by mixing caffeine with alcohol. Some behavioral evidence suggests that caffeine increases alcohol drinking and binge drinking episodes, which in turn can foster the development of alcohol dependence. As a relatively new public health concern, the epidemiological focus has been to establish a need for investigating the effects of caffeinated alcohol. While the trend of co-consuming these substances is growing, knowledge of the central mechanisms associated with caffeinated ethanol has been lacking. Research suggests that caffeine and ethanol can have additive or synergistic pharmacological actions and neuroadaptations, with the adenosine and dopamine systems in particular implicated. However, the limited literature on the central effects of caffeinated ethanol provides an impetus to increase our knowledge of the neuroadaptive effects of this combination and their impact on cognition and behavior. Research from our laboratories indicates that an established rodent animal model of alcoholism can be extended to investigate the acute and chronic effects of caffeinated ethanol. PMID:25419478

Low-dose alcohol effects on human behavior and performance: a review of post 1984 research.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-11-01

The purpose of this review was to survey the literature examining alcohol effects on human behavior and performance, especially low alcohol dose effects. Other comprehensive reviews on this topic from 1975 to 1990 found that alcohol could affect all ...

Impulsivity Moderates Subjective Responses to Alcohol in Alcohol-Dependent Individuals.

PubMed

Westman, Jonathan G; Bujarski, Spencer; Ray, Lara A

2017-03-09

Studies of social drinkers indicate that subjective response (SR) to alcohol and impulsivity are risk factors for the development of alcohol use disorder which may be related. It is unclear, however, whether there are significant relationships between SR and impulsivity among individuals with alcohol dependence. Using data from an intravenous (IV) alcohol challenge study, the present study is the first to explore the relationship between impulsivity and SR during alcohol administration among alcohol-dependent individuals. Non-treatment-seeking, alcohol-dependent individuals (N = 42) completed the Delay Discounting Task to measure impulsivity and then completed two counterbalanced, placebo-controlled IV alcohol administration sessions, which included assessments of SR at breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) levels of 0.00, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06 g/dl. Analyses revealed that more impulsive participants experienced higher subjective stimulation and positive mood in response to rising BrACs as compared to less impulsive individuals. More impulsive participants also experienced increased sedation over time regardless of condition (i.e. alcohol vs. saline). These findings suggest that among alcohol-dependent individuals, impulsivity is positively associated with the hedonic effects of alcohol as compared to placebo. High impulsivity may characterize a subset of alcohol-dependent individuals who drink to experience the rewarding effects of alcohol. © The Author 2016. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Impact of alcohol-promoting and alcohol-warning advertisements on alcohol consumption, affect, and implicit cognition in heavy-drinking young adults: A laboratory-based randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Stautz, Kaidy; Frings, Daniel; Albery, Ian P; Moss, Antony C; Marteau, Theresa M

2017-02-01

There is sparse evidence regarding the effect of alcohol-advertising exposure on alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers. This study aimed to assess the immediate effects of alcohol-promoting and alcohol-warning video advertising on objective alcohol consumption in heavy-drinking young adults, and to examine underlying processes. Between-participants randomized controlled trial with three conditions. Two hundred and four young adults (aged 18-25) who self-reported as heavy drinkers were randomized to view one of three sets of 10 video advertisements that included either (1) alcohol-promoting, (2) alcohol-warning, or (3) non-alcohol advertisements. The primary outcome was the proportion of alcoholic beverages consumed in a sham taste test. Affective responses to advertisements, implicit alcohol approach bias, and alcohol attentional bias were assessed as secondary outcomes and possible mediators. Typical alcohol consumption, Internet use, and television use were measured as covariates. There was no main effect of condition on alcohol consumption. Participants exposed to alcohol-promoting advertisements showed increased positive affect and an increased approach/reduced avoidance bias towards alcohol relative to those exposed to non-alcohol advertisements. There was an indirect effect of exposure to alcohol-warning advertisements on reduced alcohol consumption via negative affect experienced in response to these advertisements. Restricting alcohol-promoting advertising could remove a potential influence on positive alcohol-related emotions and cognitions among heavy-drinking young adults. Producing alcohol-warning advertising that generates negative emotion may be an effective strategy to reduce alcohol consumption. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Exposure to alcohol advertising has immediate and distal effects on alcohol consumption. There is some evidence that effects may be larger in heavy drinkers. Alcohol-warning advertising has

Paternal and maternal alcohol consumption: effects on offspring in two strains of rats.

PubMed

Abel, E L

1989-08-01

Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley male rats were given liquid alcohol diets containing 35%, 17.5%, or 0% ethanol-derived calories (EDC). The latter two groups were pair fed to the higher alcohol diet group. A fourth group received lab chow and water ad libitum to assess the role of paternal undernutrition associated with alcohol consumption. After three or four weeks of diet consumption, these males were bred to females of the same strain. Pregnant females were divided into similarly treated alcohol groups and were fed these diets beginning on gestation Day 8, thus creating a factorial study with strain, paternal, and maternal alcohol consumption as main factors. Paternal alcohol consumption was associated with decreased litter size, decreased testosterone levels, and a strain-related effect on offspring activity. Offspring activity decreased for those sired by 35% and 17.5% EDC Long-Evans fathers. Activity also decreased for offspring sired by 17.5% EDC Sprague-Dawley fathers but increased for those sired by 35% EDC fathers. Paternal alcohol consumption did not affect postnatal mortality or passive avoidance learning of offspring. Maternal alcohol consumption was associated with lower birth weights, lower offspring weights at weaning, increased postnatal mortality, and poorer passive avoidance learning. However, offspring activity was not affected. In a separate study, levels of alcohol in the testes were found to be somewhat, but not significantly, lower than blood alcohol levels. DNA taken from sperm of Long-Evans males consuming alcohol, migrated farther under pulsed field electrophoresis than DNA from control fathers, suggestive of an alcohol-related effect on sperm DNA.

Socioeconomic Status Moderates Genetic and Environmental Effects on the Amount of Alcohol Use

PubMed Central

Hamdi, Nayla R; Krueger, Robert F.; South, Susan C.

2015-01-01

Background Much is unknown about the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and alcohol use, including the means by which SES may influence risk for alcohol use. Methods Using a sample of 672 twin pairs (aged 25–74) derived from the MacArthur Foundation Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), the present study examined whether SES, measured by household income and educational attainment, moderates genetic and environmental influences on three indices of alcohol use: amount used, frequency of use, and problem use. Results We found significant moderation for amount of alcohol used. Specifically, genetic effects were greater in low-SES conditions, shared environmental effects (i.e., environmental effects that enhance the similarity of twins from the same families) tended to increase in high-SES conditions, and non-shared environmental effects (i.e., environmental effects that distinguish twins) tended to decrease with SES. This pattern of results was found for both income and education, and it largely replicated at a second wave of assessment spaced nine years after the first. There was virtually no evidence of moderation for either frequency of alcohol use or alcohol problems. Conclusions Our findings indicate that genetic and environmental influences on drinking amount vary as a function of the broader SES context, whereas the etiologies of other drinking phenomena are less affected by this context. Efforts to find the causes underlying the amount of alcohol used are likely to be more successful if such contextual information is taken into account. PMID:25778493

Effects of Alcohol on the Endocrine System

PubMed Central

Rachdaoui, Nadia; Sarkar, Dipak K.

2013-01-01

Synopsis The endocrine system ensures a proper communication between various organs of the body to maintain a constant internal environment. The endocrine system also plays an essential role in enabling the body to respond and appropriately cope with changes in the internal or external environments, such as respond to stress and injury. These functions of the endocrine system to maintain body homeostasis are aided by its communication with the nervous system, immune system and body’s circadian mechanism. Chronic consumption of a large amount of alcohol disrupts the communication between nervous, endocrine and immune system and causes hormonal disturbances that lead to profound and serious consequences at physiological and behavioral levels. These alcohol-induced hormonal dysregulations affect the entire body and can result in various disorders such as stress abnormalities, reproductive deficits, body growth defect, thyroid problems, immune dysfunction, cancers, bone disease and psychological and behavioral disorders. This review summarizes the findings from human and animal studies that provide consistent evidence on the various effects of alcohol abuse on the endocrine system. PMID:24011889

The effectiveness of a multimedia program to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome.

PubMed

Lachausse, Robert G

2008-07-01

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) continues to be the leading preventable cause of mental retardation in the United States. Because abstaining from alcohol prior to and throughout pregnancy is the only way to prevent FAS, some prevention programs try to target women before they become pregnant. The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Teaching and Research Awareness Campaign (FASTRAC) is a multimedia, peer-delivered educational presentation designed to reduce the incidence of FAS. Results from an ethnically diverse sample of high school students indicate that the program increased participants' knowledge regarding FAS but had no significant effect on participants' attitudes, beliefs about the dangers of FAS or intention to use alcohol during pregnancy. The FASTRAC program failed partly because of its didactic approach and the lack of health education principles that have been shown to be effective in changing other substance use behaviors. Suggestions for improving FAS prevention education programs are offered.

Protective effect of Flos puerariae extract following acute alcohol intoxication in mice.

PubMed

Chen, Xiao; Cai, Fei; Guo, Shuang; Ding, Fang; He, Yi; Wu, Jiliang; Liu, Chao

2014-07-01

The effect of Flos Puerariae extract (FPE) on alcohol metabolism, hepatic injury, and memory impairment was assessed following acute ethanol (EtOH) intoxication in mice. The model of acute EtOH intoxication was established by intragastric administration with 8 g/kg EtOH in mice. FPE was orally administrated (gavage) once a day for 7 consecutive days. Mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group, model group, and FPE groups (100, 200 mg/kg). Alcohol tolerance and intoxication time, blood alcohol concentration, the activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) in liver, aspartate amino transferase (AST) and alanine amino transferase (ALT) in serum, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px), catalase and the formation of malondialdehyde (MDA) in both liver and brain, as well as memory ability were determined after acute alcohol exposure. Compared with model group, pretreatment with FPE significantly prolonged alcohol tolerance time and shortened intoxication time, which is accompanied by decreased blood alcohol concentration and elevated activities of ADH and ALDH in liver. Moreover, the index of hepatic injury, ALT, and AST activities in serum was markedly decreased by pretreatment with FPE. Additionally, decreased MDA level, enhanced GSH-px and catalase activities in liver, as well as enhanced SOD and catalase activities in brain were found in FPE pretreated mice after acute exposure to EtOH. Furthermore, FPE pretreated mice showed markedly relieved memory disruption following acute EtOH intoxication. This study suggests that FPE pretreatment could enhance alcohol metabolism, prevent hepatic injury, and relieve memory impairment after acute alcohol intoxication and that this effect is likely related to its modulation on the alcohol metabolizing and antioxidant enzymes. Copyright © 2014 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Exposure to alcohol advertisements and teenage alcohol-related problems.

PubMed

Grenard, Jerry L; Dent, Clyde W; Stacy, Alan W

2013-02-01

This study used prospective data to test the hypothesis that exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in underage drinking and that an increase in underage drinking then leads to problems associated with drinking alcohol. A total of 3890 students were surveyed once per year across 4 years from the 7th through the 10th grades. Assessments included several measures of exposure to alcohol advertising, alcohol use, problems related to alcohol use, and a range of covariates, such as age, drinking by peers, drinking by close adults, playing sports, general TV watching, acculturation, parents' jobs, and parents' education. Structural equation modeling of alcohol consumption showed that exposure to alcohol ads and/or liking of those ads in seventh grade were predictive of the latent growth factors for alcohol use (past 30 days and past 6 months) after controlling for covariates. In addition, there was a significant total effect for boys and a significant mediated effect for girls of exposure to alcohol ads and liking of those ads in 7th grade through latent growth factors for alcohol use on alcohol-related problems in 10th grade. Younger adolescents appear to be susceptible to the persuasive messages contained in alcohol commercials broadcast on TV, which sometimes results in a positive affective reaction to the ads. Alcohol ad exposure and the affective reaction to those ads influence some youth to drink more and experience drinking-related problems later in adolescence.

Exposure to Alcohol Advertisements and Teenage Alcohol-Related Problems

PubMed Central

Dent, Clyde W.; Stacy, Alan W.

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: This study used prospective data to test the hypothesis that exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in underage drinking and that an increase in underage drinking then leads to problems associated with drinking alcohol. METHODS: A total of 3890 students were surveyed once per year across 4 years from the 7th through the 10th grades. Assessments included several measures of exposure to alcohol advertising, alcohol use, problems related to alcohol use, and a range of covariates, such as age, drinking by peers, drinking by close adults, playing sports, general TV watching, acculturation, parents’ jobs, and parents’ education. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling of alcohol consumption showed that exposure to alcohol ads and/or liking of those ads in seventh grade were predictive of the latent growth factors for alcohol use (past 30 days and past 6 months) after controlling for covariates. In addition, there was a significant total effect for boys and a significant mediated effect for girls of exposure to alcohol ads and liking of those ads in 7th grade through latent growth factors for alcohol use on alcohol-related problems in 10th grade. CONCLUSIONS: Younger adolescents appear to be susceptible to the persuasive messages contained in alcohol commercials broadcast on TV, which sometimes results in a positive affective reaction to the ads. Alcohol ad exposure and the affective reaction to those ads influence some youth to drink more and experience drinking-related problems later in adolescence. PMID:23359585