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Alcohol 2020 Jun 30. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla CA 92037. Electronic address:

Adolescence is a time of marked changes in sleep, neuromaturation, and alcohol use. While there is substantial evidence that alcohol disrupts sleep and that disrupted sleep may play a role in the development of alcohol use disorders (AUD), there is very little known about the brain mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. The orexin (also known as hypocretin) system is fundamental for a number of homeostatic mechanisms including the initiation and maintenance of wakefulness that may be impacted by adolescent alcohol exposure. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Instituto de Investigación Médica M. y M. Ferreyra (INIMEC - CONICET - UNC), Córdoba, Argentina. Electronic address:

Fetal ethanol exposure represents a risk factor for the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and its respiratory effects promote hypoxic ischemic consequences. This study analyzes central ethanol's effects upon breathing plasticity during an ontogenetic stage equivalent to the third human gestational trimester. Ethanol's unconditioned breathing effects and their intervention in learning processes were examined. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 20. Epub 2020 Jun 20.

Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, Shandong Province, China; Department of Orthodontics, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Electronic address:

Background: Considering the increasing prevalence of alcohol use and the growing number of orthodontic patients, some orthodontic patients might engage in binge drinking along the treatment. Nevertheless, little is known about the effect of alcohol use on orthodontic treatment.

Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into ethanol and control groups (n = 32). Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 16. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA; Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. Electronic address:

The acute and chronic effects of alcohol on the brain and behavior are linked to alterations in inhibitory synaptic transmission. Alcohol's most consistent effect at the synaptic level is probably a facilitation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release, as seen from several rodent studies. The impact of alcohol on GABAergic neurotransmission in human neurons is unknown due to a lack of a suitable experimental model. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 15. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

General Medical Education and Research Center, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan.

Several recent clinical and epidemiological studies have suggested inhibitory effects of light-to-moderate alcohol consumption on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH); however, these effects have not been confirmed in experimental studies. Therefore, in this study, we examined the effects of small amounts of ethanol consumption on a mouse model of NASH. Nine-week-old male obese mice (db/db mice) were divided into the following groups: control, high-fat, and low-ethanol groups. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 12. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM 87131; New Mexico Alcohol Research Center, University of New Mexico HSC, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Electronic address:

Exposure to alcohol during development produces Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), characterized by a wide range of effects that include deficits in multiple cognitive domains. Early identification and treatment of individuals with FASD remains a challenge because neurobehavioral alterations do not become a significant problem until late childhood and early adolescence. Understanding the mechanisms underlying low and moderate prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) effects on behavior and cognition is essential for improved diagnosis and treatment. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 4;87:25-27. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.

Methanol poisoning has been a significant public health challenge for several decades in Iran. Even though alcohol use is highly criminalized, people consume illicit alcohol, which tends to be predominantly homemade and often contains methanol. Consequently, thousands of individual poisonings and hundreds of deaths annually are attributable to methanol poisoning. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 2. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

Wolfson Centre for Personalised Medicine, Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom; Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom; Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Royal Liverpool University Hospital Trust, Ward 5z Link, United Kingdom.

Alcohol-related brain injury (ARBI) is an unrecognised and therefore untreated consequence of alcohol use disorder. Here, we explore 12-month period prevalence of alcohol-related brain injury (ARBI) in alcohol use disorder patients. Inpatients aged ≥18 years reviewed by the Alcohol Care Team's Specialist Nurses between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018 were eligible for the study (n=1276). Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 1. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Research Service, Veterans Affairs Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, Omaha, NE; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. Electronic address:

This review provides a summary of the symposium entitled "Role of Non-Genetic Risk Factors in Exacerbating Alcohol-Related Organ Damage" was held at the at the 42 Annual Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism. The goals of the symposium were to provide newer insights into the role of non-genetic factors including specific external factors, notably infectious agents or lifestyle factors that synergistically act to exacerbate alcohol pathogenicity to generate more dramatic downstream biological defects. This summary of the symposium will benefit junior/senior basic scientists and clinicians' currently investigating/treating alcohol-induced organ pathology as well as undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students and fellows. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 1. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Department of Psychology, University of Guelph (ON). Electronic address:

Objective: the addition of sweeteners to alcoholic beverages is thought to facilitate heavy alcohol consumption, and this may be of particular concern when the additive is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Methods: four experiments in male Sprague-Dawley rats were performed to investigate whether the addition of 25% HFCS to ethanol (5%, 10% & 20% v/v EtOH) would alter its intraoral operant self-administration, palatability, and sensitivity to food deprivation stress.

Results: as anticipated, HFCS drastically increased EtOH intake, and this effect appeared driven by its caloric value. Read More

Alcohol 2020 May 20. Epub 2020 May 20.

Center for Neuroscience; Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine; Department of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology, Tower 3, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA USA 15261; Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Biomedical Science Tower 3, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA USA 15261. Electronic address:

We previously reported that paternal preconception chronic ethanol exposure in mice imparts adult male offspring with reduced ethanol drinking preference and consumption, increased ethanol sensitivity, and attenuated stress responsivity. That same chronic ethanol exposure paradigm was later revealed to affect the sperm epigenome by altering the abundance of several small noncoding RNAs, a mechanism that mediates the intergenerational effects of numerous paternal environmental exposures. Although recent studies have revealed that the unique RNA signature of sperm is shaped during maturation in the epididymis via extracellular vesicles (EVs), formal demonstration that EVs mediate the effects of paternal preconception perturbations is lacking. Read More

Alcohol 2020 May 16. Epub 2020 May 16.

National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Studiestræde 6, 1455 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Electronic address:

Alcohol has a direct effect on blood coagulation and fibrinolysis. We studied how alcohol is related to common (e.g. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Apr 27. Epub 2020 Apr 27.

Department of Surgery, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA; Alcohol Research Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA; Immunology Graduate Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.

On November 15, 2019, the 24 annual Alcohol and Immunology Research Interest Group (AIRIG) meeting was held as a satellite conference during the annual Society for Leukocyte Biology meeting in Boston, MA. The 2019 meeting focused on alcohol, immunity and organ damage and included two plenary sessions. The first session highlighted new research exploring the mechanisms of alcohol-induced inflammation and liver disease including effects on lipidomics and lipophagy, regulatory T cells, epigenetics, epithelial cells and age-related changes in the gut. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Apr 27. Epub 2020 Apr 27.

Laboratory of Genetic, Neuroendocrinology and Biotechnology (LGNB), Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, B.P 133, 14 000 Kenitra, Morocco. Electronic address:

The present study investigates the potential neuroprotective effect of Argan Oil (AO), a natural vegetable oil, commonly used in folk Moroccan medicines, on adolescent intermittent ethanol intoxications (IEI) induced voluntary ethanol consumption and withdrawal syndrome in rats. Animals were treated with ethanol (ip. 3g/kg bw) in intermittent doses (2 days on; 2days off, from postnatal day 30 to 43) with/without orally AO pre-treatment (10 ml/Kg/day bw, from postnatal day 21 to 121). Read More

Alcohol 2020 Apr 23;87:29-37. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Center for Clinical Metabolic Research, Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Hellerup, Denmark; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address:

Ethanol intake increases plasma concentrations of triglycerides and chronic ethanol use impairs lipid metabolism and causes chronic inflammation. The gut plays an important role in metabolic handling of nutrients, including lipids, and a leaky gut associated with alcohol intake, allowing inflammatory signals to the portal vein, has been proposed to constitute a mechanism by which ethanol induces hepatic inflammation. We compared the effects of enteral and parenteral administration of ethanol on a range of circulating inflammation markers (including soluble CD163, a marker of liver macrophage activation), lipids, cholecystokinin (CCK) and fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) as well as gallbladder volume. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 23;86:93-101. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Section on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States. Electronic address:

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a serious medical condition of high variability in alcohol use disorder (AUD) after drinking cessation. Identification of clinical biomarkers capable of detecting severe AWS is needed. While alcohol consumption and withdrawal are linked with lipid profile dysregulation, the relationship between lipid levels (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C], and triglycerides) and AWS is unknown. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Apr 22. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC USA; Duke Emergency Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC USA; Division of Global Neurosurgery and Neurology, Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC USA. Electronic address:

Background: Alcohol is a leading risk factor for road traffic injury in low- and middle-income countries, such as Tanzania. This research seeks to explore the drinking patterns, perceptions, and stigma of drink driving behavior of injury patients at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Moshi, Tanzania.

Methods: This mixed methods study incorporated the Perceived Alcohol Stigma (PAS), an additive Likert scale, and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Read More

Alcohol 2020 Apr 21;87:17-23. Epub 2020 Apr 21.

Laboratory of Addictive Disorders, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 E. Concord St., Boston, MA, United States. Electronic address:

Alcohol is the most ubiquitously consumed and misused mind-altering substance in the world. Various animal models exist to aid in our neurobiological understanding of alcohol addiction. One variable too often taken for granted and not consistently controlled is the "standard" chow diet rodents are maintained on. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 21;86:9-16. Epub 2020 Apr 21.

Department of the Prevention and Treatment of Addictions, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw, Poland.

Thrombocytopenia is a decrease in the platelet count below 150,000 in a microliter of blood, i.e., below the lower limit of the reference range, which is 150,000-400,000/μL. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Apr 21;87:1-15. Epub 2020 Apr 21.

Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Division of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia. Electronic address:

We investigated the effect of chronic (6 weeks) consumption of 10% alcohol on the principal elements of BDNF (BDNF, proBDNF, p75, and TrkB receptors) and 5-HT (5-HT, 5-HIAA, tryptophan hydroxylase-2 [Tph-2], 5-HT transporter [5-HTT], 5-HT, 5-HT, and 5-HT receptors) systems in the brain of C57Bl/6 mice. BDNF mRNA level in the raphe nuclei area and BDNF protein level in the hippocampus were lowered in ethanol-treated mice. The increase in proBDNF protein level in the raphe nuclei area, cortex, and amygdala and the increase of p75 receptor protein levels in the raphe nuclei area were revealed after ethanol exposure. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 20;86:113-119. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. Electronic address:

Collaborative activities to address tobacco addiction among tuberculosis (TB) patients are in place in India. The research was carried out to estimate the prevalence and to determine the predictors of hazardous alcohol use among pulmonary TB patients, assessing the need for joint TB-alcohol collaborative activities. It was a cross-sectional study carried out among 200 drug-sensitive pulmonary TB patients of Bhavnagar city of Gujarat using the "Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test" (AUDIT), with patients scoring ≥8 on AUDIT said to be having hazardous alcohol use. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 15;86:103-112. Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States. Electronic address:

Alcohol abuse is a worldwide public health concern, yet the precise molecular targets of alcohol in the brain are still not fully understood. Alcohol may promote its euphoric and motivational effects, in part, by activating the endogenous opioid system. One particular component of this system consists of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) -producing neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ArcN) of the hypothalamus, which project to reward-related brain areas. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 8;86:1-8. Epub 2020 Apr 8.

Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles, CA, United States. Electronic address:

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has a major national impact, affecting over 18 million people, causing approximately 88,000 deaths, and costing upward of $250 billion annually in the United States. Unfortunately, FDA-approved AUD pharmaceuticals are few, and clinical benefits are mostly ineffective in patients suffering from AUD. Therefore, the identification of novel targets and/or innovative methods for the development of safe and effective medications represents a critical public health need. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Apr 4. Epub 2020 Apr 4.

Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University.

Binge drinking is a remarkably prevalent behavior. In 2015, 27% of U.S. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 2;86:43-44. Epub 2020 Apr 2.

University of Nebraska Medical Center, Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep & Allergy, 985910 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5910, United States; Veterans Affairs Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, Omaha, NE 68105, United States; University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health, Omaha, NE 68198-5910, United States. Electronic address:

Alcohol 2020 Aug 31;86:75-80. Epub 2020 Mar 31.

Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

Alcohol exposure during pregnancy has been associated with altered brain development and facial dysmorphology. While Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is not specifically related to distinct facial phenotypes, recent studies have suggested certain facial characteristics such as increased facial masculinity and asymmetry may be associated with ASD and its clinical presentations. In the present study, we conducted a preliminary investigation to examine facial morphology in autistic children with (n = 37; mean age = 8. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 27;86:17-24. Epub 2020 Mar 27.

Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA. Electronic address:

A relatively common polymorphism in the human brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene (Val66Met, which corresponds to Val68Met in mice) has been shown to modulate cognitive function and vulnerability to mental health disorders. This substitution impairs trafficking and activity-dependent release of BDNF. A number of studies with both humans and transgenic mice suggest that carriers of the Met allele have deficits in the structure and/or function of the hippocampal formation. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 26;86:65-74. Epub 2020 Mar 26.

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Center for Injury Bio Mechanics, Materials and Medicine, USA. Electronic address:

Engagement of programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor by its ligands (PD-L1/PD-L2) in activated immune cells is known to be involved in inflammatory neurological disease via a co-inhibitory signal pathway. Interaction of PD-1/PD-L1 is believed to occur only in activated neuroimmune cells because there are undetectable levels of PD-1/PD-L1 in normal physiological conditions. Here, we evaluated whether activation of neuroimmune cells such as human macrophage, brain endothelial cells (hBECs), astrocytes, microglia, and neurons by non-toxic concentrations of ethanol (EtOH) exposure can alter PD-1/PD-L1 expression. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 26;86:35-41. Epub 2020 Mar 26.

Miami University, Oxford, OH, United States.

Background: Alcohol-induced blackouts are a common high-risk outcome of heavy episodic drinking and are considered a marker of problematic alcohol consumption. One's estimates of the prevalence and peer approval of heavy episodic drinking (i.e. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 26;86:45-56. Epub 2020 Mar 26.

Department of Neural and Behavioral Science, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, 17033, United States. Electronic address:

Alcoholism and high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity individually promote insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in clinical populations, increasing risk for metabolic diseases. HFD can also stimulate alcohol intake in short-term clinical studies. Unfortunately, there is currently a disconnect between animal models and the clinical findings, as animal studies typically show that HFD decreases ethanol intake while ethanol intake mitigates HFD-induced effects on insulin and glucose dysfunction. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 5;86:25-33. Epub 2020 May 5.

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN, United States.

The 2019 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group (FASDSG) meeting was titled "Computational Approaches to Studying Behavioral Control and Individual Change". The theme was reflected in the presentations of two keynote speakers: A. David Redish, Ph. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 12;86:81-91. Epub 2020 Mar 12.

Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China. Electronic address:

Background: Hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation has central functions in alcohol-induced liver fibrosis. Proteins of HSCs in alcoholic liver fibrosis (ALF) are still not completely understood. Here, we performed a proteomic study to discover proteins related to ALF using HSCs isolated from a rat model. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 28;85:153-164. Epub 2020 Feb 28.

Georgetown University Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address:

We have previously reported that prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) in the 2nd trimester-equivalent of gestation is associated with increased N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-induced generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCSs) prevalence in postpartum developing rats. Whether the 1st trimester-equivalent of gestation is also a vulnerable period for developing GTCSs following PAE is unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of a single episode of PAE at embryonic day 8 (E8, in the 1st trimester-equivalent) or E18 (in the 2nd trimester-equivalent) on NMDA-induced seizures in developing rats at postnatal day 7 (P7, the equivalent of preterm newborns) and P15 (the equivalent of term infants). Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 21;86:121-128. Epub 2020 Jan 21.

Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Research Group Neuropharmacology Addiction and Behavior, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Division of Anatomy and Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address:

A number of different voluntary alcohol intake paradigms are available for home cage drinking studies. Traditionally, these paradigms involve single housing in order for individual intake to be measured. This study aimed at investigating the effects of pair housing on voluntary alcohol intake. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 9;85:127-133. Epub 2020 Jan 9.

Department of Family Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address:

We aimed to determine the association between alcohol consumption change on fasting serum glucose, insulin resistance, and beta cell function. The study population consisted of 55,858 men from the Kangbuk Samsung Health Study. Participants were divided into non-, light, moderate, and heavy drinkers for each of the first and second health examinations based on a self-reported questionnaire on alcohol consumption. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Aug 9;86:57-63. Epub 2020 Jan 9.

School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Section for Epidemiology and Social Medicine (EPSO), Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Box 453, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Aim: To describe the personality and social characteristics associated with regular and episodic alcohol consumption in a Swedish cohort of women.

Methods: 406 women aged 38 and 50 who participated in the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg in 2004-2005 with complete data on the key variables are included. Regular alcohol use was based on frequencies of alcoholic beverage consumption, reported to examining physicians. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jan 8. Epub 2020 Jan 8.

Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA 97239-3098; Portland Alcohol Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA 97239-3098.

Alcohol use disorder is a chronic disease characterized in part by repeated relapsing events. Exposure to environmental stimuli or cues that have previously been associated with the effects of alcohol can promote relapse through the triggering of craving for alcohol. Therefore, identifying and characterizing neuronal populations that may regulate these associations is of the upmost importance. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 7;85:119-126. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States; Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States. Electronic address:

Cycles of heavy drinking and abstinence can lead to alcohol use disorder. We studied the effects of chronic intermittent ethanol exposure (CIE) over 3 weeks on neuroblastoma cells, using an ethanol concentration frequently attained in binge drinking (40 mM, 184 mg/dL). There were many changes in gene expression but most were small. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 7;85:135-143. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIND), San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Cigarette smoking is associated with neurocognitive dysfunction in various populations, including those seeking treatment for an alcohol use disorder (AUD). This study compared the rate and extent of recovery on measures of processing speed, executive functions, general intelligence, visuospatial skills and working memory in treatment-seeking alcohol dependent individuals (ALC) who were never-smokers (nvsALC), former-smoker (fsALC), and active smokers (asALC), over approximately 8 months of abstinence from alcohol. Methods: ALC participants were evaluated at approximately 1 month of abstinence (AP1; n = 132) and reassessed after 8 months of sobriety (AP2; n = 54). Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 7;85:145-152. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Center for Epidemiologic Research in Asia, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan; Department of Public Health, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan.

Although heavy alcohol consumption has been identified as a risk factor for adverse cognitive functioning, it currently remains unclear whether moderate alcohol consumption exerts similar effects. Observational studies previously reported the potential benefits of moderate alcohol consumption on cognition, particularly in the elderly; however, these effects have not yet been demonstrated in Asian populations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between alcohol consumption levels and global and domain-specific cognitive functions in cognitively intact elderly Japanese men. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 7;85:111-118. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States. Electronic address:

Ghrelin is an appetite-regulating peptide that is primarily secreted by endocrine cells in the stomach and is implicated in regulation of alcohol consumption and alcohol-reinforced behaviors. In the present study, adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats received intermittent ethanol (AIE) exposure by intragastric intubation (5 g/kg) or vapor inhalation, manipulations conducted between postnatal days (PD) 28-43. On the first and last day of AIE exposure, the level of intoxication was examined 1 h after ethanol gavage or upon removal from the vapor chamber. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 17;85:41-47. Epub 2019 Dec 17.

Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States. Electronic address:

The effects of ethanol on brain function have been extensively studied using a variety of in vitro and in vivo techniques. For example, electrophysiological studies using brain slices from rodents and non-human primates have demonstrated that acute and chronic exposure to ethanol alters the intrinsic excitability and synaptic signaling of neurons within cortical and sub-cortical areas of the brain. In humans, neuroimaging studies reveal alterations in measures of brain activation and connectivity in subjects with alcohol use disorder. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 13;85:101-110. Epub 2019 Dec 13.

Institute of Biosciences, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania. Electronic address:

In the visual system, chronic alcohol consumption and subsequent abstinence strongly modulate processing of sensory information, which could interfere with the actions in our daily lives. Although previous studies showed histological and electrophysiological changes in the retina and visual cortex during chronic alcohol consumption and abstinence, there is still a lack of information related to the effect of alcohol on: 1) different stages of visual information processing; and 2) responses of stimulus onset (ON) and offset (OFF). In order to answer these questions, we recorded visual evoked potentials (VEPs), elicited by onset and offset of a 500-ms stimulus, following long-term alcohol consumption (8 weeks) and abstinence (3 weeks) in freely moving Wistar rats. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 20;85:95-99. Epub 2019 Nov 20.

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St., New Haven, CT 06511, United States.

Background: Acute alcohol consumption triggers release of cytokines, which are immune signaling molecules. Dysregulated cytokine levels are associated with impaired immune function, and peripheral cytokine levels may communicate with the brain to propagate drinking-related behaviors. This exploratory study aims to characterize the peripheral cytokine response to an alcohol challenge in a well-controlled laboratory setting. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 14;85:1-12. Epub 2019 Nov 14.

Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, United States. Electronic address:

Alcohol consumption and genetic risk for Alzheimer disease (AD) are among many factors known to be associated with brain structure in cognitively healthy adults. It is unclear, however, whether the effect of alcohol consumption on brain structure varies depending on a person's level of genetic risk for AD. We hypothesized that there is an interaction effect of alcohol consumption and a 33-SNP AD polygenic risk score (PRS) on the cortical thickness of brain regions known to be affected early in the course of AD. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 14;85:13-20. Epub 2019 Nov 14.

School of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, United States. Electronic address:

Alcohol consumption is a critical risk factor for hepatic pathogenesis, including alcoholic liver diseases (ALD), but implications of alcohol-induced dysregulation of microRNA (miRNA) in ALD pathogenesis are not completely understood. In the present study, C57BL/6J male mice were treated with saline (CON; oral gavage; n = 8) or alcohol (EtOH; 3 g/kg body weight; oral gavage; n = 8) for 7 days. A total of 599 miRNAs and 158 key mRNAs related to fatty liver and hepatotoxicity pathways were assessed in mice liver tissues. Read More

Alcohol 2020 05 14;84:57-66. Epub 2019 Nov 14.

Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kannapolis, NC, 28081, United States; Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, United States. Electronic address:

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) causes developmental abnormalities known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Maternal iron status modulates the severity of these defects in the offspring. Because the placenta is central in supporting fetal development, we investigated whether maternal iron status similarly modulates alcohol's effects in the placenta. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 14;85:49-56. Epub 2019 Nov 14.

Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Cholesterol homeostasis has been proposed to be implicated in the development of addiction. However, the effects of ethanol on cholesterol homeostasis within the brain are not well understood. One of the most important regulators of cholesterol homeostasis is HMG-CoA reductase (HMG-CoAR), the rate-limiting enzyme of cholesterol biosynthesis. Read More

Alcohol 2020 Jun 14;85:65-76. Epub 2019 Nov 14.

Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina; Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. Electronic address:

In rats, high ethanol doses during early postnatal life exert deleterious effects upon brain development that impact diverse social and cognitive abilities. This stage in development partially overlaps with the third human gestational trimester, commonly referred to as the brain growth spurt period. At this stage in development, human fetuses and rat neonates (postnatal days [PD] 3-9) exhibit relatively high respiratory rates that are affected by subteratogenic ethanol doses. Read More

Alcohol 2020 05 4;84:67-75. Epub 2019 Nov 4.

Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil. Electronic address:

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic infusion used in religious rituals that has serotoninergic properties and may be a potential therapeutic option for drug addiction. In this study, Wistar rats had intermittent access to ethanol for 8 weeks, receiving water (control), naltrexone (NTX, 2 mg/kg body weight [bw] intraperitoneally [i.p. Read More