Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C Fahlke

Publications and source records attributed to C Fahlke.

58 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Effect of adrenalectomy and exposure to corticosterone on alcohol intake in alcohol-preferring and alcohol-avoiding rat lines.

The daily fluid intake of male rats of the alcohol-preferring (AA) and alcohol-avoiding (ANA) lines with simultaneous access to 10% (v/v) ethanol and water was determined during a baseline period (2 weeks), following adrenalectomy (1 week), and for 2 weeks following corticosterone treatment. The results showed that adrenalectomized AA rats decreased their ethanol intake compared to the sham-operated AA controls and that treatment with corticosterone restored the intake of ethanol to that observed during the baseline period. In contrast to the AA rats, there were no alterations in ethanol intake after adrenalectomy and following corticosterone replacement in the ANA rats. These results suggest that corticosterone stimulates ethanol intake in animals with pronounced high preference for ethanol.

Adrenalectomy↗

Transient increase in platelet monoamine oxidase b activity during early abstinence in alcoholics: implications for research.

Some earlier studies have suggested that platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO)-B activity should be determined at time points other than early in the abstinence phase. However, the optimal times for blood sampling have not been precisely defined. We therefore assessed platelet MAO-B activity repeatedly in 13 male alcohol-dependent patients over the 2 months after the end of a period of heavy alcohol intake. Twelve healthy men were used as controls. In the alcohol-dependent patients, platelet MAO-B activity was transiently increased from 2 to 6 weeks after the end of alcohol intake and the values during this time period were not different from those of controls. Platelet MAO-B activity was, however, significantly lower in the alcohol-dependent patients at 1 week and at 2 months after the end of alcohol intake, in comparison to controls. It is concluded that the transient increase in platelet MAO-B activity after the end of alcohol intake in alcohol-dependent patients may conceal a difference from a control group. Therefore, it is suggested that when platelet MAO-B activity is determined, the preferential time point for obtaining those values in alcohol-dependent patients is after 2 months of abstinence.

Adult↗

Alcoholics with the dopamine receptor DRD2 A1 allele have lower platelet monoamine oxidase-B activity than those with the A2 allele: a preliminary study.

Low platelet monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) activity and the presence of the Taq1 A1 allele of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene have independently been proposed as 'biological/genetic' markers for alcoholism. In the present study, the relationship between these two markers was investigated in a group of socially stable Caucasian middle-aged men with a mean (+/-SD) daily ethanol consumption of 85 +/- 57 g. The platelet MAO-B activity was significantly lower in individuals with the DRD2 A1 allele (n = 8), compared to those without it (n = 29). This relationship remained unchanged when including only subjects who fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence (n = 27). The finding suggests that alcoholics who are carriers of the DRD2 A1 allele may have lower platelet MAO-B activity.

Adult↗