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PubMed1997

Odor of specific alcohol solutions selectively alters locomotor activity of alcohol-drinking P rats.

Evidence exists that the olfactory property of alcohol affects cerebral processes to influence the pattern of alcohol drinking in an experimental animal. In this study, the level of activity was quantified in the genetically selected alcohol-preferring P rats during exposure to the odor of 4 concentrations of alcohol. A Mini-Mitter transmitter was implanted intraperitoneally in each animal to record individual locomotor activity continuously, in terms of counts per unit time. In the first experiment, each rat was exposed between 1730 and 1930 h to the odor of 5%, 15%, 30%, or 60% alcohol placed in 2 petri dishes flanking both sides of each cage. The control condition was identical, except that the petri dishes were empty. In the second experiment, each rat was offered water and its individually preferred solution of alcohol in the drinking tubes during 1730 to 1930 h on alternate days of exposure to the odor of alcohol. During the odor condition alone, the 30% concentration of alcohol increased the activity counts significantly from the control level of 228.8 +/- 23.9 to 303.5 +/- 28.1 over the first 30 min of the 2-h test period. Plots of activity every 30 min for each alcohol solution, calculated as percent of control, also showed that the odor of 30% alcohol evoked significantly greater activity during the first and fourth intervals, in contrast to the exposure to 5%, 15%, and 60% alcohol, which failed to shift activity beyond the control level. When the P rats were exposed to 30% alcohol 24 h after 2 h of alcohol drinking, their profile of activity was concordant with that prior to alcohol drinking. These results demonstrate that the odor of a specific concentration of alcohol (i.e., 30%) selectively enhances the activity of the P rat. This could reflect an association of the sensory quality of alcohol with an anticipation of drinking. Finally, these experiments provide the first quantitative evidence that an olfactory cue associated with the unique odor of a specific solution of alcohol may determine the nature of the drinking response.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2005

Are educational aspirations associated with the risk of alcohol use and alcohol use-related problems among adolescents?

OBJECTIVE: Using prospective data, we hypothesized that public middle school students with high educational aspirations would report less alcohol use, and alcohol use-related problems in the subsequent year. METHODS: The participants for these analyses included students, ages 11 to 14 years old, participating in a longitudinal study in an urban sample of public schools (n = 1229). As part of the prospective annual assessments of the students, in 1992 (to) and 1993 (t1), data on educational aspirations and on alcohol use, and alcohol use-related problems were gathered. Latent variable modeling was used to assess the relationship between educational aspirations at baseline (to) and subsequent year drinking behavior (t1) in two separate models, one to examine the relationship of educational aspirations with self-reported alcohol use (model 1), and another to examine the association with alcohol use-related problems (model 2). Potential confounding by age, sex, race-ethnicity, alcohol use by peers, self-reported school performance, and neighborhood environment was held constant in each model. In addition, each model took into account the prior year report of alcohol use and alcohol use-related problems, respectively. RESULTS: The evidence indicated that students with high aspirations were no more nor less likely to report subsequent alcohol use [beta = 0.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.19, 0.49; p = 0.38] nor alcohol use-related problems (beta = -0.009, CI = -0.07, 0.06; p = 0.80). Other characteristics were associated with alcohol use at follow-up and included race-ethnicity (being non-Black), neighborhood environment, and having friends who drink alcohol. Characteristics associated with alcohol use-related problems at the time of the follow-up interview also included race-ethnicity, peer drinking, neighborhood environment, as well as older age. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from the current study do not support the hypothesis that educational aspirations have significant influences on alcohol consumption or drinking problems in this study population of urban, predominantly Black students. As such, this work helps to advance our understanding of suspected relationships between educational aspirations, as well as factors associated with resilience to alcohol use and the occurrence of alcohol use-related problems.

Achievement↗
PubMed2003

Influence of the number of alcohol and water bottles on murine alcohol intake.

BACKGROUND: Most work to understand the controls of alcohol intake by animals involves the two-bottle choice method. Recent experiments involving other nutrients suggest that intakes are profoundly influenced by the number of nutrient choices available. Here, we extended these observations by measuring the alcohol consumption of mice and rats given multiple choices of water and alcohol. METHODS: Four experiments were conducted. In experiments 1 and 2, male C57BL6/J (B6) mice, 129X1/SvJ mice, or Sprague-Dawley rats received a series of six 72- or 48-hr tests in which the number of bottles of 10% alcohol and water was manipulated. One test involved the typical two-bottle choice. In the other five, the rodents always had six bottles with one, two, three, four, or five containing 10% alcohol and the rest containing water. In experiment 3, separate groups of B6 mice received for 16 days (a) the typical two-bottle test, (b) five alcohol bottles and one water bottle, (c) three alcohol bottles and three water bottles, or (d) one alcohol bottle and five water bottles. In experiment 4, groups of B6 mice received either a two-bottle test or five alcohol bottles and one water bottle for 24 days. RESULTS: In all experiments, the volume of alcohol consumed was strongly and positively related to the number of alcohol bottles available and inversely related to the number of water bottles available. The effect of alcohol availability on alcohol intake persisted for at least 24 days. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intake is strongly influenced by availability. The results point to a simple method of manipulating murine alcohol intake over a wide range. They provide an animal model that might be useful for understanding the influence of alcohol availability on human alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2000

Attribution of injury to alcohol involvement in young adults seriously injured in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 40% of all traffic fatalities are associated with the use of alcohol. Hospitalization for serious injury after a motor vehicle crash related to use of alcohol may be an opportunity to change drinking behaviors in non-alcohol-dependent drinkers, thereby reducing the risk for future disability and death. OBJECTIVES: To determine the degree to which non-alcohol-dependent adults aged 18 to 45 years with alcohol-related vehicular trauma attributed their injury to use of alcohol. METHODS: During hospitalization, 132 subjects involved in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes were interviewed. The interviews included the question, "To what extent do you believe your alcohol consumption was responsible for this injury?" Responses were measured on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (totally). RESULTS: In response to the question about attribution of injury to alcohol, 37.8% of subjects responded "not at all," 24.3 responded "somewhat," and 37.9% responded "mostly" or "totally." Spearman rank correlation between attribution of injury to alcohol involvement and blood alcohol content at admission was r = 0.440 (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: More than 60% of patients injured in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes attributed their injury partly or totally to use of alcohol. When alcohol-free, hospitalized patients with higher blood levels of alcohol on admission were more likely than those with lower levels to attribute their injury to alcohol. Hospitalization for a motor vehicle crash related to use of alcohol provides an opportunity for interventions to decrease drinking.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2004

Alcohol consumption and indicators of alcohol-related harm in Slovenia, 1981-2002.

AIM: To document over-time per capita alcohol consumption and connection between per capita alcohol consumption and indicators of short and long term alcohol-related harm. METHODS: Registered alcohol consumption was calculated from the data on production and trade of alcoholic beverages, using World Health Organization recommended methodology for the 1981-2002 period. The indicators of alcohol-related harm, alcohol-related mortality, and alcohol-related road-traffic accidents were calculated from mortality data and alcohol-related traffic accidents data for the 1986-2001 period. RESULTS: Estimates of apparent per capita alcohol consumption in Slovenia over the past 20 years indicate a decrease in alcohol consumption, beginning in 1982 and continuing with some fluctuations in subsequent years through 2002. Per capita consumption of ethanol from all beverages combined decreased from 1981 to 2002 by 15.1%. The drop was substantial in the period from 1981 to 1991. On average, 32 people per 100,000 aged > or =15 years died annually from all alcohol-related causes. The number of years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to all alcohol related causes decreased by 21%, with a 40% decrease in YPLL due to premature deaths from alcoholic liver disease and 113% increase in YPLL due to premature deaths from mental and behavioral disorders due to use of alcohol. CONCLUSION: Indicators of alcohol-related harm reflect high per capita alcohol consumption. With a strong legislative and public health support the situation is expected to improve.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1990

Reactivity to alcohol cues and induced moods in alcoholics.

It has been theorized that respondent conditioning processes in part underlie desire for alcohol and thus contribute to relapse after alcoholism treatment. One implication of this theory is that the relevant conditioned responses could be eliminated by respondent extinction, in which the alcoholic patient is exposed to alcohol-related stimuli while being prevented from consuming alcohol. However, exteroceptive cues such as the sight and smell of alcoholic beverages are not always sufficient to elicit desire for alcohol. In view of this, it has been suggested that interoceptive cues, such as mood states, may also play a role in eliciting desire for alcohol. To test this, eight alcoholic subjects were induced to experience negative or neutral moods on four separate days, and then exposed to the sight and smell of their favorite alcoholic drink, and to a neutral stimulus (seltzer water), in a within-subjects design. Results from this work indicate that: (a) negative moods can be reliably induced in the laboratory as confirmed by subjects' reports; (b) exposure to alcohol cues had no effect on desire for alcohol while subjects were in a relaxed, neutral mood state; (c) the presence of negative mood states alone appeared to be sufficient to elicit desire for alcohol in some subjects, regardless of whether alcohol or water was presented. These data argue that negative mood states may cue desire for alcohol independent of other cues. The data also suggest that reactivity to alcohol cues may be substantially reduced by relaxation.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Synergism between coenzyme and alcohol binding to liver alcohol dehydrogenase.

Heterotropic cooperativity effects in the binding of alcohols and NAD+ or NADH to liver alcohol dehydrogenase have been examined by equilibrium measurements and stopped-flow kinetic studies. Equilibrium data are reported for benzyl alcohol, 2-chloroethanol, 2,2-dichloroethanol, and trifluoroethanol binding to free enzyme over the pH range 6-10. Binary-complex formation between enzyme and alcohols leads to inner-sphere coordination of the alcohol to catalytic zinc and shows a pH dependence reflecting the ionization states of zinc-bound water and the zinc-bound alcohol. The affinity of the binding protonation state of the enzyme for unionized alcohols increases approximately by a factor of 10 on complex formation between enzyme and NAD+ or NADH. The rate and kinetic cooperativity with coenzyme binding of the alcohol association step indicates that enzyme-bound alcohols participate in hydrogen bonding interactions which affect the rates of alcohol and coenzyme equilibration with the enzyme without providing any pronounced contribution to the net energetics of alcohol binding. The pKa values determined for alcohol deprotonation at the binary-complex level are linearly dependent on those of the free alcohols, and can be readily reconciled with the pKa values attributed to ionization of zinc-bound water. Alcohol coordination to catalytic zinc provides a major contribution to the pKa shift which ensures that the substrate is bound predominantly as an alcoholate ion in the catalytically productive ternary complex at physiological pH. The additional pKa shift contributed by NAD+ binding is less pronounced, but may be of particular mechanistic interest since it increases the acidity of zinc-bound alcohols relatively to that of zinc-bound water.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1995

Alcohol schema acquisition in preschoolers: differences between children of alcoholics and children of nonalcoholics.

Cognitive schemas provide the structure within which children organize their knowledge and beliefs about the use of alcohol. The development of schemas about alcohol should be affected both by age and parental patterns of alcohol use. We examined differences in alcohol schema development among 139 male children of alcoholics (COAs) and 82 controls [children of nonalcoholics (NCOAs)] utilizing the Appropriate Beverage Task as an indicator of these processes. Overall, the vast majority of the sample identified at least one alcoholic beverage from photographs, even at age 3. COAs were more likely to identify at least one alcoholic beverage. With age controlled, COAs were better able to identify specific alcoholic beverages and correctly identified a larger number of alcoholic beverages. There was a trend for these children of alcoholic men to attribute more alcoholic beverage use to male adults than NCOAs. Moreover, differences in these children's attributions of alcoholic consummatory behavior were predicted by their parents' current consumption levels. Results provide evidence that alcohol schemas are detectable in early childhood and are more common in children from alcoholic homes. Discussion focuses on the potential relevance of these risk attributes to the development of more fully formed alcohol expectancies and to the later emergence of alcohol-related difficulty.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1993

Association of restriction fragment length polymorphism in alcohol dehydrogenase 2 gene with alcohol induced liver damage.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of genetically determined differences in the enzymes of alcohol metabolism in susceptibility to liver damage from misusing alcohol. DESIGN: Use of pADH36 probe to study PVU II restriction length fragment polymorphism in alcohol dehydrogenase 2 gene in white alcohol misusers and controls. SETTING: Teaching hospital referral centres for liver disease and alcohol misuse. SUBJECTS: 45 white alcohol misusers (38 with alcoholic liver disease) and 23 healthy controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Alcohol misuse, the presence and severity of alcoholic liver disease, alcohol dependency, and family history of alcohol misuse. RESULTS: A two allele polymorphism (A and B) was identified. In control subjects the allele frequencies were 85% for A and 15% for B compared with 37% and 63% respectively in alcohol misusers (p < 0.001). B allele was significantly associated with severe liver damage (p < 0.05) as well as alcohol dependency and family history of alcohol misuse compared with controls. CONCLUSION: Inherited variation in enzymes of ethanol metabolism may contribute to the pathogenesis of alcohol induced liver damage. This supports the presence of a genetic component in alcohol misuse.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Animal models of alcoholism: neurobiology of high alcohol-drinking behavior in rodents.

This review discusses efforts to develop rodent models for the study of neurobiological mechanisms underlying chronic alcohol drinking, alcoholism, and abnormal alcohol-seeking behavior. Selective breeding has produced stable lines of rats that reliably exhibit high and (for comparison purposes) low voluntary alcohol consumption. In addition, animal models of chronic ethanol self-administration have been developed in rodents, who do not have a genetic predisposition for high alcohol-seeking behavior, to explore environmental influences in ethanol drinking and the effects of physical dependence on alcohol self-administration. The selectively bred high-preference animals reliably self-administer ethanol by free-choice drinking and operantly respond for oral ethanol in amounts that produce pharmacologically meaningful blood alcohol concentrations (50 to 200 mg% and higher). In addition, the alcohol-preferring rats will self-administer ethanol by intragastric infusion. With chronic free-choice drinking, the high alcohol-preferring rats develop tolerance to the high-dose effects of ethanol and show signs of physical dependence after the withdrawal of alcohol. Compared with nonpreferring animals, the alcohol-preferring rats are less sensitive to the sedative-hypnotic effects of ethanol and develop tolerance more quickly to high-dose ethanol. Nonselected common stock rats can be trained to chronically self-administer ethanol following its initial presentation in a palatable sucrose or saccharin solution, and the gradual replacement of the sucrose or saccharin with ethanol (the sucrose/saccharin-fade technique). Moreover, rats that are trained in this manner and then made dependent by ethanol-vapor inhalation or liquid diet increase their ethanol self-administration during the withdrawal period. Both the selectively bred rats and common-stock rats demonstrate "relapse" and an alcohol deprivation effect following 2 or more weeks of abstinence. Systemic administration of agents that (1) increase synaptic levels of serotonin (5-HT) or dopamine (DA); (2) activate 5-HT1A, 5-HT2, D2, D3, or GABA(A) receptors; or (3) block opioid and 5-HT3 receptors decrease ethanol intake in most animal models. Neurochemical, neuroanatomical, and neuropharmacological studies indicate innate differences exist between the high alcohol-consuming and low alcohol-consuming rodents in various CNS limbic structures. In addition, reduced mesolimbic DA and 5-HT function have been observed during alcohol withdrawal in common stock rats. Depending on the animal model under study, abnormalities in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway, and/or the serotonin, opioid, and GABA systems that regulate this pathway may underlie vulnerability to the abnormal alcohol-seeking behavior in the genetic animal models.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

[Occasional alcohol drinkers and chronic alcoholics. Comparison of two patient groups from the viewpoint of accident surgery].

Patients who suffer an accident after alcohol consumption can be differentiated into 2 groups: patients which drink alcohol occasionally and chronic alcoholics. We examined prospectively in-patients treated after suffering a trauma in an alcoholised state. The diagnosis acute alcohol intoxication was made by a breath-alcohol-analysis, the diagnosis chronic alcoholism by a shortened MAST-test. In the average chronic alcoholics were 12 years older than acute intoxicated. Family background of chronic alcoholics was more often disrupted and social status lower than in acute alcoholics. For the acute alcoholics a car crash, for the chronic alcoholics a fall was the main trauma cause. In over 50% both patient groups suffered a minor head injury. Chronic alcoholics had a twice as long hospital stay (16.1 +/- 3.2 vs. 8.5 +/- 1.1 days), needed more specialist consultations (84% vs. 60%) and developed more complications (40% vs 16%) than the acute alcohol intoxicated. The ISS (Injury Severity Score) was the same for both patient groups (6.7 +/- 0.7 vs. 7.1 +/- 0.8) and had no prognostic value for the group of the chronic alcoholics. On the basis of the present findings it is advisable to check the diagnosis alcohol intoxication and to look whether chronic alcoholism is present whenever a drunken patient is admitted.

Accidents↗
PubMed2002

Interaction between alcohol dehydrogenase II gene, alcohol consumption, and risk for breast cancer.

MaeIII Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism in exon 3 of the alcohol dehydrogenase II was assessed in serum from 467 randomly selected German women and 278 women with invasive breast cancer to evaluate the interaction between a polymorphism of the alcohol dehydrogenase II gene, alcohol consumption and risk for breast cancer. In both groups, usual consumption of different alcoholic beverages was asked for using semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires. We used multivariable logistic regression to separately estimate the association between alcohol consumption and alcohol dehydrogenase II polymorphism in the population sample and women with breast cancer. The alcohol dehydrogenase II polymorphism was detected in 14 women from the population sample (3.0%) and in 27 women with invasive breast cancer (9.7%). Frequency of alcohol consumption was independent of the genotype in the population sample. In women with breast cancer, there was a significant inverse association between the alcohol dehydrogenase II polymorphism and frequency of alcohol consumption (adjusted case-only odds ratio over increasing frequency of alcohol consumption=0.5; P for interaction=0.02). We observed a gene-environment interaction between the alcohol dehydrogenase II polymorphism, alcohol consumption, and risk for breast cancer. Breast cancer risk associated with alcohol consumption may vary according to the alcohol dehydrogenase II polymorphism, probably due to differences in alcohol metabolism.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Self-reported subjective perception of intoxication reflects family history of alcoholism when breath alcohol levels are constant.

BACKGROUND: The premise of this study is that the increased familial risk for alcoholism is associated with genetic determinants of the response to alcohol, characterized by sensitivity and adaptation. Following a single administration, sensitivity is the initial response to alcohol, expressed as the change in dependent measures from baseline. Adaptation of dependent measures within a single exposure to alcohol can be expressed as acute tolerance (recovery of dependent measures toward baseline values) or sensitization (movement of dependent measure further away from baseline values). This study tested the hypothesis that family history-positive (FHP) subjects are more sensitive and more adaptive to alcohol compared with family history-negative (FHN) subjects. METHODS: The initial response and development of adaptation to alcohol were assessed by using self-reported subjective perceptions during a breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) clamp of 60 mg%. The Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale, the Sensation Scale and a visual analog scale of intoxication were acquired at baseline, after the BrAC clamp was established, and after maintenance of the clamp for 105 min. RESULTS: FHP subjects were more sensitive to alcohol compared with FHNs, as evidenced by greater changes in feelings of intoxication when the BrAC clamp was initially achieved. While the clamp was maintained, the FHP subjects adapted to the effects of alcohol and their perceptions of intoxication became indistinguishable from those of the FHN subjects. The FHP subjects had developed acute tolerance to alcohol, whereas the FHN subjects did not. Other self-reported perceptions of alcohol's effects did not distinguish between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: A differential family history of alcoholism was reflected in self-reported subjective perceptions of intoxication when the brain's exposure to a specified concentration of alcohol was held constant (BrAC of 60 mg%). FHP subjects reported greater intoxication after alcohol and subsequently developed acute tolerance to alcohol compared with FHN subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Stereospecificity and other properties of a novel secondary-alcohol-specific alcohol dehydrogenase.

NAD-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase from the methanol-grown Methylcoccus sp. CRL M1 (type I membrane), Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b (type II membrane), Methylobacterium organophillum CRL 26 (type II membrane, facultative methylotroph). Pseudomonas sp. ATCC 21439, and Pichia pastoris Y-55 are secondary-alcohol-specific and that from P. pastoris Y-7556 is not. This novel secondary-alcohol-specific alcohol dehydrogenase (secondary-alcohol dehydrogenase) has been purified from methanol-grown Pseudomonas sp. ATCC 21439. Secondary-alcohol dehydrogenase shows a single protein band on acrylamide gel electrophoresis and has a molecular weight of 95000. It consists of two subunits of Mr 48000 daltons and two atoms of zinc per molecule of enzyme protein. It oxidizes secondary alcohols, notably 2-propanol and 2-butanol. Primary alcohols are not oxidized. The pH and temperature optima for secondary-alcohol dehydrogenase are 8--9, and 30--35 degrees C, respectively. The activation energy calculated is 82.8 kJ. Secondary-alcohol dehydrogenase also catalyzes the reduction of methyl ketones to their corresponding 2-alcohols in the presence of NADH (a reverse reaction). The Km values at 25 degrees C in the forward reaction for 2-butanol, (2R)-(-)-butan-2-ol, and NAD, and in the reverse reaction for 2-butanone and NADH are 2.5 x 10(-4) M, 1.6 x 10(-4) M, 11 x 10(-5) M, 1.98 x 10(-4) M, and 2.1 x 10(-6) M, respectively. The secondary-alcohol dehydrogenase activity was inhibited by metal-chelating agents and by strong thio reagents such as p-hydroxymercuribenzoate and 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). The substrate specificity, and mobility on gel electrophoresis of secondary-alcohol dehydrogenase and primary-alcohol dehydrogenases are compared. Secondary-alcohol dehydrogenase oxidizes preferentially the (-)-2-butanol. This is different from primary-alcohol dehydrogenase from bakers' yeast which oxidizes only the (+)-2-butanol. This may be explained in terms of the structure of the enzymes.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1989

Psychophysiological effects of alcohol-related stimuli: II. Enhancement with alcohol availability.

This laboratory study examined methods of enhancing physiological and subjective responses of alcoholics to naturalistic alcohol-related stimuli by repeated exposures to a high-dose alcohol drink. Individual subjects participated in five successive daily sessions consisting of randomized-block presentations of gustatory and visual presentation of alcohol, pepper juice (as a control for stimulus taste intensity), or water stimuli. Following the stimulus trial series, all subjects ingested 1.5 oz of alcohol in a shot glass. Twelve subjects next received a 1.7 g/kg alcohol drink ("high dose alcohol group") on Days 1-4 and placebo on Day 5, and 12 subjects received a placebo drink on all study Days (1-5) ("placebo drink group"). On Day 1, alcohol stimuli generally elicited larger heart rate and skin conductance increases and skin temperature decreases than water or pepper juice stimuli. Alcohol stimuli also elicited greater subjective responses than either pepper juice or water. Alcohol availability within the taste trial markedly increased physiological and subjective reactivity to alcohol-related stimuli, perhaps due to the closer approximation to natural drinking behavior. A comparison with previous data from this laboratory suggests that prestudy deprivation from alcohol, instructions to expect alcohol, a conductive drink setting, and the opportunity to drink alcohol within the session may enhance reactivity to alcohol stimuli in alcoholics.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase polymorphisms in men with type I and Type II alcoholism.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the genetic polymorphisms of alcohol dehydrogenase 2 and 3 (ADH2 and ADH3) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) in patients diagnosed as having Cloninger's type I or type II alcoholism. METHOD: Seventy-two alcoholic men and 38 nonalcoholic, healthy men were tested for the distribution of genotypes and alleles of ADH2, ADH3, and ALDH2. Forty-eight of the alcoholic men had type I alcoholism, and 24 had type II alcoholism. RESULTS: The frequencies of ADH2*1 and ADH3*2 alleles were significantly higher in men with type II alcoholism than in men with type I alcoholism and healthy men. The frequency of the ALDH2*1 allele was significantly higher in men with alcohol dependence than in healthy men. CONCLUSIONS: The genetic characteristics of alcohol dehydrogenases in men with type I alcoholism were similar to those of healthy men, and the genetic characteristics of aldehyde dehydrogenase in men with type I alcoholism were similar to those of men with type II alcoholism. These findings suggest that the genetic characteristics of alcohol metabolism in type I alcoholism fall between nonalcoholism and type II alcoholism.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1997

The relationship between Self-Rating of the Effects of alcohol and alcohol challenge results in ninety-eight young men.

OBJECTIVE: The level of intensity of response to a drug is likely to influence the future pattern of intake of the substance. This article evaluates a simple Self-Rating of the Effects (SRE) of alcohol form, and reports the relationship between a person's estimate of the amounts of alcohol usually required for four possible effects during three different time frames and his subjective feelings reported during an alcohol challenge. METHOD: SRE forms and results of a challenge with 0.9 ml/kg (0.72 g/kg) of ethanol were available for 18 to 29 year old drinking, but not alcohol dependent, men (N = 98). A subset of 40 subjects completed a second SRE form approximately 1 year later. RESULTS: The correlation between the two SRE administration was .82 (p < .0001), and the results on the SRE were internally consistent, with a higher number of drinks associated with more intense alcohol effects. Focusing on the subjective feelings reported at the 60-minute timepoint during the alcohol challenge, 11 of the 12 alcohol effect categories on the SRE correlated in the predicted direction, including eight that were statistically significant. Evaluating all seven timepoints during the drinking experiment, the average number of drinks on the SRE correlated significantly with the Subjective High Assessment Scale (SHAS) total score at all but the final timepoint. Sons of alcoholics and controls demonstrated similar levels of correlation between SRE and alcohol challenge results. Finally, the SRE correctly identified 79% of the individuals whose levels of response to alcohol fell into the lowest third of intensity during the alcohol challenge, and it correctly classified 60% to 67% of the alcohol challenge subjects who did not fall into that low response category. CONCLUSIONS: The SRE is a simple and reliable measure of a person's estimate of the number of drinks required to achieve a response. The form might be helpful in educating people about the intensity of their response to alcohol and might be useful as a point of discussion in curricula focusing on genetic aspects of alcoholism. When alcohol challenges are not possible in a research protocol, the SRE might help identify a less heterogeneous subgroup of individuals at high risk for alcoholism who have a common mechanism increasing their vulnerability.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

The clinical course of alcohol-related problems in alcohol dependent and nonalcohol dependent drinking women and men.

OBJECTIVE: This article examines the differences in the clinical course of alcohol dependence in men and women, interpreting results in light of the gender differences in nonalcoholics and potential findings from the general population. METHOD: As part of the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) protocol, a detailed semistructured interview was administered to 1,085 alcohol dependent women and 2,120 alcohol dependent men, along with 1,936 women and 1,233 men who were drinkers but not alcoholic. Subjects were alcohol dependent probands, controls, and relatives of each. RESULTS: The men's and women's rank orders of alcohol-related life events were similar for alcohol dependent subjects, with a rho (rho) of .95, a figure that remained constant even when only primary alcoholics were considered. In general, those items for which the two genders evidenced differences in either the mean age of occurrence or the proportion of people who experienced an event were similar to gender differences in drinking among nonalcoholics or the literature on the general population. These included for women a lower maximum number of drinks per day, a 1- to 2-year later onset of several early alcohol-related problems and fewer years between the onset of problems and seeking help. Female alcoholics also showed a lower proportion with legal, job or personal problems related to alcohol. There were also high levels of similarity (p = .76, p > .001) for 28 life events related to alcohol for 1,936 women and 1,233 men who were drinkers but not alcohol dependent. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the time course of alcohol-related problems for men and women were more similar than different. While there was evidence of a "telescoping" of the time between the onset of problems and treatment for women, the gender differences in ages of onset of events were relatively small. These data support the conclusion that, after considering gender differences in drinking in society, there is little evidence that the natural history of alcohol dependence in women is substantially different than in men.

Adult↗