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Differential effects of naltrexone on cardiac, subjective and behavioural reactions to acute ethanol intoxication.

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol may have psychomotor stimulant properties during the rising limb of the blood alcohol curve at commonly self-administered doses. Increased heart rate (HR) immediately after alcohol consumption may serve as an indicator or marker of such properties, which appear to be potentially opiate-mediated and dopamine-dependent. Naltrexone, an opiate antagonist, has been used successfully in the treatment of alcoholism and may produce its therapeutic effects through its effects on alcohol metabolism or by blocking alcohol's rewarding effects. We hypothesized that, if naltrexone blocks the psychomotor stimulant properties of ethanol, then it would decrease or eliminate the HR increase associated with acute alcohol intoxication and that this would be independent of any effect on alcohol metabolism. METHODS: Twenty male subjects were administered placebo and alcohol (1.0 mL 95% USP ethanol/kg body weight) in a laboratory setting on one day and naltrexone (50 mg) and alcohol on another (counterbalanced). We assessed all subjects for a change in HR and for a subjective and behavioural response from 35 to 170 minutes after drug or alcohol administration. RESULTS: The placebo and alcohol mix produced a significant mean HR increase from baseline (F(1,95) = 46.01, p < 0.0001, Cohen's d = 0.62), while naltrexone and alcohol did not (nonsignificant). The significant effects of naltrexone on blood alcohol level did not account for the effect of naltrexone on alcohol-induced HR change but did account for alterations in subjective and behavioural response to alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: Naltrexone appears to substantially reduce the HR increase that is characteristic of alcohol intoxication. This finding appears to lend moderate support to the notions that, first, naltrexone has differential effects on alcohol reactions and, second, that it specifically blocks the acute psychomotor stimulant properties of alcohol.

Adult↗

[Role of blood-brain barrier disorders in the pathogenesis of alcoholic heart damage].

An experimental study of alcoholic heart damage was performed in 150 male rats of series I, II and III with modelled acute alcoholic intoxication, chronic alcoholic intoxication against developing abstinence syndrome, alcoholic abstinence syndrome, respectively. The degree of cardiomyocyte damage is largely determined by structural changes of histohematic barriers in alcoholic intoxication. Primary ethanol damage of the microcirculatory bed, that of perivascular connective tissue and sarcolemma result in a cardiomyocyte mitochondria damage and development of energetic deficiency. Atrophic and sclerotic alterations of the histohematic barrier develop in chronic alcoholic intoxication resulting in profound metabolic changes in the heart muscle and development of alcoholic cardiomyopathy. The damages to the histohematic barrier in abstinence syndrome result in catecholamine penetration into cardiomyocytes and development of focal necrosis in the myocardium.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

Detection of cardiomyocyte apoptosis in forensic autopsy cases.

The purpose of the present study was to determine reliable parameters for the detection of apoptotic cells for use as a diagnostic marker during the early stage of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in forensic autopsy cases. Myocardial tissues taken from forensic autopsy cases were examined by immunohistochemical and molecular-biological methods using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP biotin nick end-labelling (TUNEL) and the DNA laddering methods. In cases of AMI with a time period between 2 h from onset to death and 20 h post-mortem time, the nuclei of cardiomyocytes were stained positive with the TUNEL method and DNA fragmentation of myocardial cells was detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. Similar findings were obtained in cases of carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication. However, no apoptotic cells were found in other cases such as methamphetamine (MAP) intoxication, tetrodotoxin intoxication, alcohol intoxication, asphyxia, head injury, heart injury or myocarditis. These findings suggested that it would be possible to apply TUNEL-positive cells as a diagnostic marker during the early stages of AMI.

Adult↗

The tipsy terminal: presynaptic effects of ethanol.

Considerable evidence suggests that the synapse is the most sensitive CNS element for ethanol effects. Although most alcohol research has focussed on the postsynaptic sites of ethanol action, especially regarding interactions with the glutamatergic and GABAergic receptors, few such studies have directly addressed the possible presynaptic loci of ethanol action, and even fewer describe effects on synaptic terminals. Nonetheless, there is burgeoning evidence that presynaptic terminals play a major role in ethanol effects. The methods used to verify such ethanol actions range from electrophysiological analysis of paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) and spontaneous and miniature synaptic potentials to direct recording of ion channel activity and transmitter/messenger release from acutely isolated synaptic terminals, and microscopic observation of vesicular release, with a focus predominantly on GABAergic, glutamatergic, and peptidergic synapses. The combined data suggest that acute ethanol administration can both increase and decrease the release of these transmitters from synaptic terminals, and more recent results suggest that prolonged or chronic ethanol treatment (CET) can also alter the function of presynaptic terminals. These new findings suggest that future analyses of synaptic effects of ethanol should attempt to ascertain the role of presynaptic terminals and their involvement in alcohol's behavioral actions. Other future directions should include an assessment of ethanol's effects on presynaptic signal transduction linkages and on the molecular machinery of transmitter release and exocytosis in general. Such studies could lead to the formulation of new treatment strategies for alcohol intoxication, alcohol abuse, and alcoholism.

Animals↗

Subacute encephalopathy with seizures in alcoholism.

Generalised seizures are a common manifestation of acute alcohol intoxication. Alcohol is known to precipitate generalised seizures in patients with focal brain pathology. A rare case of secondarily generalised seizures precipitated by alcohol in a patient without an underlying focal brain lesion is reported. Electroencephalopgraphy (EEG) showed periodic lateralised epileptiform discharges (PLEDs) on the side contralateral to the focal motor fits.

Alcoholism↗

Modulation of f-met-leu-phe induced chemotactic activity and superoxide production by neutrophils during chronic ethanol intoxication.

Chronic alcohol consumption has been associated with increased migration of neutrophils into liver that could contribute to the development of alcoholic liver disease. Mild endotoxemia may be at least partially responsible for this condition since endotoxemia was shown to be present in virtually all chronic alcoholics. This study examines the release of superoxide anion and chemotactic activity by Kupffer cells and sequestered hepatic as well as blood neutrophils during chronic alcohol intoxication (16 weeks) alone, and following an intravenous injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 mg/kg) 3 hr before cell isolation. Chronic ethanol consumption increased the total neutrophil yield per liver, but did not change the f-met-leu-phe induced chemotactic activity by both hepatic and blood neutrophils. However, the combined insults of ethanol and LPS increased the chemotactic activity and superoxide anion generation by these cells. Plasma from ethanol-fed rats was highly chemotactic to syngeneic normal rat neutrophils. This activity was increased 1.75-fold in the plasma obtained from chronic ethanol plus endotoxin-injected rats. The chemotactic activity of Kupffer cells was not significantly modulated during ethanol intoxication plus endotoxin treatment. The f-met-leu-phe-induced superoxide anion release by Kupffer cells was enhanced after LPS treatment. Chronic ethanol consumption did not induce any effect on this parameter. These observations suggest that functional alterations in neutrophils during chronic ethanol intoxication may contribute to hepatic injury.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

Substance abuse and trauma in Cape Town.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain baseline data on the incidence of acute alcohol intoxication, chronic alcoholism and illicit drug usage among a cohort of injured patients. DESIGN: A prospective, descriptive study of 254 injured patients presenting at the trauma unit of Groote Schuur Hospital over an idealized week in 1997. Alcohol consumption was assessed by means of the Lion SD2 alcolmeter. Chronic alcoholism was assessed using the CAGE questionnaire. Each patient's urine was analysed for four drugs (cannabis, morphine, opiates and methaqualone) using conventional 'wet' analysis. Sweat was tested for cannabis using a Drugwipe. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Socio-demographics, cause of injury, injury severity, acute alcohol intoxication, chronic alcohol usage and illicit drug involvement. RESULTS: Patients were predominantly male, coloured and an average of 31.3 years old. The majority had been injured as a result of interpersonal violence. Self-reported alcohol consumption was reliable but this was not so for self-reported drug usage. Sixty per cent of patients had positive alcohol levels on breath analysis. More than one-quarter of all the patients could be classified as chronic alcoholics on the CAGE questionnaire. On urine analysis, 40% of patients were found to have used at least one illicit drug in the recent past. The most commonly abused drugs were cannabis or a combination of cannabis and Mandrax, locally called a 'white pipe'. Use of the white pipe was confined almost exclusively to patients injured as a result of interpersonal violence. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol remains the most commonly abused substance among trauma patients, but there are growing numbers of patients who simultaneously abuse illicit drugs. This study will be conducted annually to detect trends and identify emerging problems.

Adolescent↗

Selectively attending to natural scenes after alcohol consumption: an ERP analysis.

Alcohol effects on cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes have been linked to an impairment of attention. Because attention operates at the level of specific cognitive subsystems, recent studies demonstrated alcohol effects in specific post-perceptual processes such as response selection and working memory. Measuring event-related potentials, the present study focused on perceptual processes by utilizing a categorization task where participants had to decide whether briefly presented images contained an animal or not. Findings demonstrate an early differential ERP activity for target compared to non-target images, which was reduced after alcohol intoxication. Thus, alcohol intoxication had deleterious effects at the perceptual level of processing considered to reflect the interaction of top-down (category-related) and bottom-up (stimulus-driven) processes. In addition, post-perceptual processes were also impaired by alcohol intoxication.

Adult↗

Clubgoers and their trendy cocktails: implications of mixing caffeine into alcohol on information processing and subjective reports of intoxication.

Alcoholic drink preferences in college students have made an interesting shift recently, with trends in consumption leaning toward caffeinated alcohol in various forms (e.g., Red Bull and vodka or caffeinated beers such as Anheuser-Busch's B-to-the-E). Despite the dramatic rise in popularity of these beverages, little research has examined the combined effects of alcohol and caffeine, which is problematic for adequately informing the public about the risk or lack thereof of these drinks. The purpose of this study was to directly investigate the acute effects of alcohol and caffeine, alone and in combination, on well-validated measures of cognitive performance and subjective intoxication in social drinkers. Participants (N = 12) performed a psychological refractory period task that measured dual-task interference as the prolonged reaction time to complete the 2nd of 2 tasks performed in close temporal sequence. Performance was tested under 2 active doses and 1 placebo dose of caffeine (0.0 mg/kg, 2.0 mg/kg, and 4.0 mg/kg) in combination with 1 active dose and 1 placebo dose of alcohol (0.0 g/kg and 0.65 g/kg). As expected, alcohol impaired task performance by increasing dual-task interference and increasing errors. The coadministration of caffeine counteracted the effects of alcohol on interference but had no effect on the degree to which alcohol increased errors. Subjective measures of intoxication showed that coadministration of caffeine with alcohol reduced participants' perceptions of alcohol intoxication compared with administration of alcohol alone. The results highlight the complexity of drug interactions between alcohol and caffeine.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

[The immunocorrecting effect of vitamin E during ethanol intoxication].

Chronic alcohol intoxication of mice CBA and C57BL/6 strains decreased distinctly the content of T lymphocytes in peripheric blood and inhibited the immune response to sheep erythrocytes. Vitamin E, administered into mice at a dose of 5 IU and into guinea pigs--of 50 IU within 3 days, restored completely the immunity status of these animals. Besides, vitamin E decreased ethanol consumption in mice kept under conditions of alternative choice of water-ethanol within one week after its injection.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

Acute intoxication.

Acute alcohol intoxication is a commonly encountered clinical presentation in Emergency Medicine. Its role should be considered in many Emergency Department presentations, specifically in major and minor trauma, and in gastrointestinal, metabolic, neurologic, and psychiatric disorders. The differential diagnosis of change in mental status must be considered in all intoxicated patients. Management of intoxicated patients is generally supportive although complications of chronic alcoholism should be considered. Management should consist of correction of complications resultant from intoxication, as well as observation and the provision of a safe environment for the patient during the recovery phase of acute intoxication.

Aftercare↗

[Abnormalities of autonomic nervous systems in intoxications, including alcohol and drugs].

Disorders in the autonomic nervous system occur frequently in cases with alcoholism or various intoxications. Drugs, especially those related to neurotransmitters may induce complicated symptoms in the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system. Some of these symptoms are accompanied by peripheral neuropathy. Intoxication, especially alcoholism is often are combined with a malnutrition, such as avitaminosis. Dysautonomic symptoms change successively; at an early stage, drugs or toxins stimulate sympathetic or parasympathetic receptors, while the same receptors are inhibited at a later stage when the concentration of the substances rises in the blood. Frequent stimulations of the same receptor may produce change in the sensitivity of receptors, decreased metabolism or addiction. These changes suggest that a different approach towards the acute and chronic autonomic disorders caused by intoxications is needed.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

Drug abuse and intoxication in alcoholics.

The frequency of drug, alcohol and combined alcohol/drug intoxication in forensic autopsy material is described. Alcoholics had frequently abused drugs; the cause of death was drug intoxication in 12%, combined alcohol/drug intoxication in 13%, and alcohol intoxication only in 4%. The manner of death was different in the various groups as it was almost equally stated as accident, suicide and unascertainable, respectively, with only drugs involved, whereas accidents were the predominant features in the combined alcohol/drug intoxication among alcoholics. In controls, accidents predominated on both types of intoxication. The alcoholics seemed to be more 'deliberately' choosing suicide with drugs, while both alcoholics and controls need more information with regard to the dangers of mixing alcohol and drugs. The frequency of combined alcohol and drug intoxication was much higher in alcoholics.

Accidents↗

Alcohol-associated acute head trauma in human subjects is associated with early deficits in serum ionized Mg and Ca.

Acute head trauma (AHT) (caused by motor vehicle accidents that did not produce loss of consciousness or observed brain lesions on CT scan, or falls) was found to result in early (1-8 h after injury) serum deficits in ionized magnesium (IMg2+) and ionized calcium (ICa2+) assessed with ion-selective electrodes (ISEs). Total Mg (TMg) and other electrolytes as well as serum biochemical analytes were all within the normal reference ranges. AHT patients with acute alcohol intoxication (BAC > or = 150 mg/dl) or alcohol abuse (BAC > 200 mg/dl) demonstrated deficits (15-35% less than normal) in IMg2+, but serum TMg levels were normal as were electrolytes and serum biochemical analytes. AHT patients with alcohol intoxication or alcohol abuse required hospitalization for 1-3 days prior to release, whereas AHT patients without alcohol intoxication were released in less than 24 h. The ICa2+/IMg2+ ratio, a sign of increased vascular tone and vascular reactivity, was significantly elevated in AHT patients with alcohol intoxication but not in AHT patients without alcohol intoxication or abuse. These serum divalent cation changes early after traumatic brain injury could be of considerable practicable diagnostic value in the assessment of alcohol-associated head injury. Use of ion-selective electrodes to accurately measure IMg2+ could serve as a logical basis for monitoring the response of the body to AHT.

Adolescent↗