Alcohol

Orexin in both the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and medial septum (MS) is involved in sleep- and consciousness-related conditions. Since orexin modulates the intoxicating as well as rewarding effects of ethanol, this study focused on the role of orexin-projecting neurons from the LH to the MS, and this neurocircuit's role in mediating the sedative effects of alcohol. Drinking-in-the-Dark (DID) behavior was also assessed as a measure of the role of the LH-MS pathway in modulating binge-like ethanol intake, with a particular focus on sex differences in both behavioral paradigms...

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorders (AUD) are a common cause of poor treatment outcomes among people with HIV (PWH). In Malawi, routine screening for AUD among PWH is unavailable. We piloted the utility of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in screening for AUD among PWH and assessed its adoption, acceptability and fidelity in HIV clinics in Malawi. METHODS: We implemented the AUDIT tool at Mchinji, Kapiri and Kochirira hospitals in Mchinji District between April and May 2021...

Problematic alcohol use is a serious threat to the behavioral health of active-duty Service Members (ADSM), resulting in numerous calls from governmental agencies to better understand mechanistic factors contributing to alcohol misuse within the military. Alcohol use motives are reliable predictors of alcohol-related behaviors, and are considered malleable targets for prevention and interventions efforts. However, empirical research indicates that drinking motives vary across contextually-distinct populations...

BACKGROUND: Autonomic symptoms in alcohol-withdrawal syndrome (AWS) are associated with a sympathetic driven imbalance of the autonomic nervous system. To restore autonomic balance in AWS, novel neuromodulatory approaches could be beneficial. We conducted a pilot trial with percutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (pVNS) in AWS and hypothesized that pVNS will enhance the parasympathetic tone represented by a reduction of pupillary dilation in a parasympatholytic pharmacological challenge...

Craving is one of the most studied concepts in the field of addiction. It is often investigated with repeated measure experimental designs using self-reported scales. However, the explicit nature of self-reported craving scales may make them vulnerable to social desirability and demand effects. The aim of the present study was to test whether a pre-experimental measurement of craving affects its post-experimental assessment after an alcohol video exposure and whether these changes relate to social desirability, demand effects and alcohol consumption...

The goal of this study was to assess the readability of online resources pertaining to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) as perceived by patients seeking treatment. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and American Medical Association (AMA) have recommended that medical resources should be written at a sixth-grade reading level. However, prior investigations in various medical fields have revealed that online materials often fail to adhere to these guidelines. An internet search was conducted to simulate the experience of patients seeking information on AUD treatment...

Several cross-sectional investigations reported widespread cortical thinning in those with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The few longitudinal studies investigating cortical thickness changes during abstinence are limited to the first month of sobriety. Consequently, cortical thickness changes during extended abstinence in those with AUD is unclear. In this study, AUD participants were studied at approximately 1 week (n=68), 1 month (n=88) and 7.3 months (n=40) of abstinence. Forty-five never-smoking controls (CON) completed a baseline study, and 15 were reassessed after approximately 9...

Ethanol exposure during pregnancy is an important problem and is the cause of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The etiology of FAS and FASD can be elucidated using animal models. Recently, a novel model, the zebrafish (Danio rerio), has garnered the interest of researchers. This study confirmed the negative influence of ethyl alcohol (0.5%, 1.5%, and 2.5% v/v) on the development of zebrafish embryos. The observed malformations included pericardial and yolk sac edema, increased body curvature, tail edema, and a decreased embryo hatching rate...

Although alcohol use disorder (AUD) regularly co-occurs with other conditions, there has not been investigation of specific multimorbidity classes among military members with at-risk alcohol use. We used latent class analysis (LCA) to cluster 138,929 soldiers with post-deployment at-risk drinking based on their co-occurring psychological and physical health conditions and indicators of alcohol severity. We examined the association of these multimorbidity classes with healthcare utilization and military readiness outcomes...

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with significant psychological and economic burden, as well as physical comorbidities that can lead to death. Previous research has found that probiotics may reduce inflammatory biomarkers in persons with AUD and comorbid conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver. This relationship has not been explored in heavy drinkers without comorbid conditions. In a proof-of-concept study, individuals who were heavy drinkers without known comorbidities received a 30-day course of a daily probiotic supplement in an open-label pilot trial...

The association between substance use and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is complex. Although sensory processing difficulties are highly prevalent in individuals with ASD, data on the association between sensory processing and substance use in ASD are limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between sensory processing patterns and alcohol use in adults with ASD. Kruskal-Wallis Tests were performed on questionnaire data (Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption) of 101 adults with ASD...

AIM: To investigate the association between mental health symptoms, alcohol use, and alcohol misuse among psychiatrists in China during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted an online survey to collect mental health symptoms and alcohol use among psychiatrists in early 2020.The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-Chinese Version (DASS-21) was used to assess depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) was used to assess alcohol use...

Evidence suggested that addiction and memory systems are related, but the signaling cascades underlying this interaction have not been ultimately revealed yet. The importance of Calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the memory processes and also in drug addiction have been previously established. In this present investigation, we examined the effects of repeated morphine pre-treatment on impairment of spatial learning and memory acquisition induced by systemic ethanol administration in adult male rats...

Chronic alcohol use induces innate immune genes, which activate the innate immune system. Neuroimmune regulatory proteins [e.g., Cluster of Differentiation 200 (CD200)] are immune response regulators and are involved in balancing the immune response. This study aimed to investigate the expression of CD200 on the surface of peripheral blood leucocytes in patients with alcohol use disorder and compare them with controls. Fifty male patients with alcohol use disorder were included in the study. A baseline assessment was done, and alcohol use history, craving, and withdrawal scores were collected...

The 2022 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group (FASDSG) meeting was held in coordination with the 45th annual Research Society on Alcoholism conference on June 25th , 2022. The theme of the meeting was "Enhancing the Relevance of Research for the Community." The program began with a moderated panel discussion on the value of community-engaged research, which included two self-advocates and a clinical and pre-clinical researcher. Invited plenary speakers included Jill Locke, Ph.D., who provided an engaging introduction to implementation science, and Jared Young, Ph...

OBJECTIVE: In recent years, women have significantly closed the alcohol use gender gap-and they are drinking more heavily now than in previous decades (Hasin et al., 2019; Keyes et al., 2019). Furthermore, "wine-mom" culture (which promotes the use of alcohol to cope with the stressors of parenthood) has become increasingly prevalent in society and may be a factor in mothers' alcohol use. In the present study, we examined wine-mom-consistent drinking (whether mothers' alcohol use corresponds to that promoted by wine-mom culture) as a moderator in the relationship between psychosocial predictors (stress, body dissatisfaction) and alcohol-related outcomes (problematic alcohol use, food and alcohol disturbance-FAD)...

Recent studies revealed that any amount of alcohol consumption is an overall health detriment to multiple populations, contrary to popular beliefs. In addition, very few alcohol use studies utilized machine learning methods to compare the biological health of moderate drinkers compared to those that abstain from alcohol consumption, opting instead to focus on binge drinking and heavy drinking. Using participant data of multiple factor types from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we created prediction models with stacked ensembles and gradient boosting models...

The Non-Human Primate (NHP) model for the study of Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) as developed in our laboratories is critical to our understanding of the pathophysiology of voluntary, chronic, ethanol consumption. Previous work in this model established categories of ethanol consumption that parallel reported categories of human consumption across a spectrum spanning low drinking, binge drinking, heavy drinking, and very heavy drinking, albeit at generally higher daily intakes across categories than documented in people...

Consuming alcohol affects almost all organs. Acetaldehyde, formed as the main product as a result of alcohol metabolism, causes the production of free superoxide radicals when oxidized, and accordingly oxidative and apoptotic processes are triggered. There are studies showing that carnitine has effects on oxidative and apoptotic processes that occur in various conditions. However, the mechanisms showing the effects of L-carnitine on these effects of alcohol have not been fully elucidated. In our study, the effects of acetyl-L-carnitine administration on the molecular mechanisms of oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptotic parameters in gastric tissue of rats chronically exposed to alcohol were investigated...

Recent studies have demonstrated the ability of the positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the GABAB receptor (GABAB PAM), KK-92A, to suppress operant alcohol self-administration and reinstatement of alcohol seeking in selectively bred Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats. The present study was designed to scrutinize the suppressing effects of KK-92A on alcohol-related behaviors; to this end, four separate experiments were conducted to address just as many new research questions, some of which bearing translational value...