PubMed · 7942946
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H J Van Peenen. 1994. John Barleycorn.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9343(94)90311-5
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Alveolar macrophages were isolated by pulmonary lavage from rats which had been either chronically overloaded with iron by intraperitoneal injections of iron dextran for four weeks, or rendered alcoholic by administration of increasing concentrations of alcohol vapour, also for four weeks. Although the hepatic iron content increased in both groups of animals, only the macrophages isolated from the iron-loaded animals showed a significant increase in iron content (P = < 0.05). Furthermore, in these macrophages there was a significant increase in oxidative tone as demonstrated by a six fold increase in superoxide dismutase activity. In both the iron-loaded and chronically alcoholised macrophages, there was a significant diminution in nitric oxide release after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide and/or interferon-gamma, which impaired the ability of both of these groups of macrophages to inhibit the germination of spores from the fungus Rhizopus, a nitric oxide-dependent process. Such an alteration in nitric oxide release reduces the macrophage's microbicidal activity.
BACKGROUND: Few studies of the neurocognitive performance of patients with bipolar disorder have been performed while patients are in the euthymic state. METHODS: Twenty-five euthymic bipolar patients (12 with and 13 without a history of alcohol dependence) were compared with 22 normal control subjects on a neuropsychological test battery assessing a range of cognitive domains. The relationship between subjects' neurocognitive performance and the course-of-illness variables (lifetime episodes and duration of mania, depression, or both), as well as current lithium level, was determined. RESULTS: The results indicated differences across the groups, with the bipolar patients with and without alcohol dependence performing more poorly than controls on tests of verbal memory. Furthermore, bipolar subjects with a history of alcohol dependence had additional decrements in executive (i.e., frontal lobe) functions when compared with controls. For subjects in the bipolar group, lifetime months of mania and depression were negatively correlated with performance in verbal memory and several executive function measures. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the presence of persistent neurocognitive difficulties in patients with long-standing bipolar disorder who are not in the psychiatrically acute state or who are suffering the effects of alcohol abuse and suggest that there may be an aggregate negative effect of lifetime duration of bipolar illness on memory and frontal or executive systems.
Amperozide, a novel 5-HT2A receptor antagonist that releases dopamine from mesolimbic neurons suppresses alcohol drinking in rats. Because serotonergic neurons are implicated in both the central mechanisms underlying thermoregulation and the reinforcing effects of alcohol, this study was undertaken to determine whether the poikilothermic effects of alcohol on body temperature (Tb) would be altered by amperozide. In adult male Sprague-Dawley rats kept at an ambient temperature of 22 to 24 degrees C, a radio transmitter for continuous monitoring of Tb was first implanted intraperitoneally. Then, amperozide was given subcutaneously in a dose of 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/kg 30 min before an intragastric gavage of either 2.0 g/kg or 4.0 g/kg 20% ethyl alcohol (v/v). Amperozide blocked dose dependently the fall in Tb of the lower 2.0 g/kg dose of alcohol. However, only the higher 5.0 mg/kg and 10.0 mg/kg doses of amperozide prevented the initial thermolytic action of the higher 4.0 g/kg dose of alcohol. Further, the 10.0 mg/kg dose of amperozide given prior to the control saline gavage evoked a hyperthermic response in the rats that persisted for 5 h. These results suggest that the antagonism of 5-HT2A receptors on central serotonergic synapses involved in thermoregulation acts to counteract the potent thermolytic effects of alcohol at an ambient temperature that is below thermoneutrality.