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Biomedical subjects

D W Goodwin

Publications and source records attributed to D W Goodwin.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

A prospective study of young men at high risk for alcoholism: neuropsychological assessment.

As part of the first phase of a prospective longitudinal study on alcoholism, a battery of neuropsychological tests covering general intelligence, memory, attention, field-dependence, categorizing ability, and organizing and planning, was administered to 204 18-19-year-old males. Of these, 134 subjects are the sons of alcoholic fathers and are thereby themselves at high risk for becoming alcoholic. The remaining 70 subjects comprise a control group matched for several social and familial variables. The high risk group was found to have a relatively poorer vocabulary and to perform worse on tests of categorizing ability and organization and planning. All of these findings concur with other results from this study. The anticipated future alcoholics from among the high risk subjects may prove to be those who differed most on these tests.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

A prospective study of young men at high risk for alcoholism: school behavior and achievement.

From a large consecutive birth cohort in Denmark, 134 sons of alcoholic fathers (high-risk group) and 70 matched controls were selected for a prospective longitudinal study of alcoholism. A premorbid multidisciplinary assessment was conducted at age 19-20. Data were derived from three sources: a social worker interview, a psychopathological interview that also collected information about current drinking pattern, and a questionnaire sent to teachers. The high-risk group reported having experienced a more disturbed school career, and were rated by their teachers as having been more impulsive and as having had poorer verbal proficiency. These factors may be predictive of future alcoholism.

Achievement↗
PubMed1985

Blood platelet uptake of serotonin in men alcoholics.

Blood platelet uptake of 3H-serotonin (5HT uptake) was determined in a group of inpatient alcoholics who had just undergone detoxication (N = 19) and an age-matched group of nonalcoholic controls (N = 19). Mean 5HT uptake was 18% lower in the alcoholics (p less than .01). A 3-min 5HT uptake of less than 6 pmoles/10(7) platelets identified 58% of the alcoholics, but only 15% of the controls had a 5HT uptake lower than this value. These results support the hypothesis that serotonergic dysfunction may exist in alcoholics.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Anterograde amnesia with oral lorazepam.

Twelve healthy volunteers were enrolled in a double-blind placebo-controlled study to evaluate the amnestic effects of orally administered lorazepam. The subjects were tested for immediate and delayed recall, using a word recall memory task. The subjects taking lorazepam did not differ from subjects receiving placebo on immediate recall. However, the delayed recall scores of lorazepam subjects were significantly lower compared to the placebo group (p less than .01).

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1984

Studies of familial alcoholism: a review.

Recent studies demonstrate the existence of familial and nonfamilial types of alcoholism. The familial type is characterized by an early age of onset and a severe course. Nonfamilial alcoholism is more often associated with other adult psychiatric disorders. Adoption and twin data suggesting genetic influences in some forms of alcoholism are reviewed. Findings are summarized from studies comparing familial with nonfamilial alcoholics, and from high-risk studies in which sons of alcoholics are compared with sons of nonalcoholics. Both types of studies show important differences between familial and nonfamilial alcoholics.

Adoption↗
PubMed1983

The EEG after alcohol administration in men at risk for alcoholism.

The biologic sons of alcoholics constitute a group at high risk (HR) for alcoholism. A 0.5-g/kg dose of alcohol was administered to HR and control subjects aged 19 to 21 years. Blood alcohol concentration measurements failed to distinguish HR from control subjects, but quantitative measurements of EEG alpha activity differentiated them. The HR subjects exhibited greater increases in slow alpha energy and greater decreases of fast alpha energy after alcohol administration than controls; the HR subjects also showed greater decreases in mean alpha frequency after alcohol administration. These EEG findings suggest that subjects at high risk for alcoholism are physiologically more sensitive to alcohol than control subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The genetics of alcoholism.

One method of investigating the genetic etiology of alcoholism is to study individuals who were separated soon after birth from their alcoholic biological parents. The author and his colleagues conducted a series of such studies in Denmark; they concluded that, despite little exposure to the alcoholic biological parent, the sons of alcoholics were about four times more likely to be alcoholic than were the sons of nonalcoholics. They also found that having an alcoholic biological parent did not increase the sons' risk of developing psychiatric disorders other than alcoholism. After reviewing the results of four other studies that resemble the Danish series, the author discusses two investigations of the possible mode of transmission of alcoholism and describes further evidence for the proposed diagnostic category of familial alcoholism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Familial alcoholism: a separate entity?

Numerous studies indicate that alcoholism runs strongly in families. Recent evidence from twin and adoption studies suggest the illness may have a genetic component. These studies have stimulated two lines of research which are actively being conducted in several centers. One type of research involves comparing alcoholics with a positive family history of alcoholism with alcoholics who lack such a history. The second line of research involves comparing college-age sons of alcoholics with sons of nonalcoholics before members of either group have had an extensive drinking history. Studies consistently show that "familial" alcoholics differ from "nonfamilial" alcoholics in having (a) an earlier age of onset and (b) symptoms of greater severity. Familial alcoholism has also been associated with a childhood history of hyperactivity and conduct disorder and an adult history of antisocial behavior. In one study, familial alcoholics more often showed signs of structural and functional brain abnormalities than did nonfamilial alcoholics. Sons of alcoholics versus controls have been reported to have higher blood acetaldehyde levels after drinking alcohol and also demonstrate more subjective and motor tolerance for alcohol. Sons of alcoholics also generate more alpha activity on the EEG after alcohol and make lower scores on the categories test of the Halstead Battery. About half of hospitalized alcoholics have a family history of alcoholism. Studies indicate that the family-history-positive and family-history-negative alcoholics differ on a number of variables. Twin, adoption and high-risk studies add further evidence that "familial alcoholism" is a separate diagnostic entity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Sleep and growth hormone secretion in alcoholics.

The effect of alcoholism on slow wave sleep (SWS) and SWS-related human growth hormone (HGH) secretion was investigated in 8 sober male alcoholics and 13 non-alcoholic controls. Sleep onset was temporally correlated with both elevated HGH levels and a high percentage of SWS in control subjects, with several specific qualifications related to age. By contrast, alcoholism was associated with a dissociation of sleep onset, SWS, and HGH elevation. The first noticeable HGH elevation in sober alcoholics often occurred several hours after sleep onset and in the absence of any SWS in the same time interval. Acute intoxication appeared to "normalize" the sleep onset-SWS linkage in alcoholics but did not influence the dissociation of HGH elevation from sleep onset and SWS.

Adult↗