Substance and alcohol actions/misuse最新文献

This paper presents a critical discussion of the definitions, conceptual models, and methodological issues that researchers should consider in studies of sociocultural influences on drinking practices and problems. In particular, these concerns are related to studies of American Indian and Alaskan Native people. In an effort to avoid overgeneralized explanatory statements, it is recommended that efforts be made to study more specific aspects of such loosely defined terms as culture, alcoholism, and "Indianness." Research in this area might usefully be guided by parsimonious conceptual models developed and investigated in the dominant culture; however the extent to which relationships observed within one group generalized to another group remains an empirical question. While there may be a common set of operationalizing variables and collecting valid data cannot be assumed to have equal applicability with different subgroups. By remaining sensitive to the methodological implications of sociocultural differences, investigators can more accurately clarify the processes by which complex biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors influence alcohol use and misuse in any individual or group.

This paper summarizes the findings of two studies on the demand for alcoholic beverages. The first study surveyed the results of over twenty demand estimation studies conducted between 1945 and 1977, covering many countries. The second study estimated the demand for distilled spirits and beer across states and the District of Columbia for the period 1974-1978. The main finding is that among all the regulatory variables available to reduce mean consumption, price has the strongest impact.

The time courses of changes in levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB), glucose (GLC), and glycogen (GLY) were measured hourly for 7 h after i.p. 2 g/kg ethanol (ETOH) in samples of liver, blood, and brain in 21 day old C57BL/6J mice. After acute ETOH, brain GLC remained at 2.1 mmol/kg for 2 h, fell to a low of 1.5 mmol/kg at 5 h, then rose slightly. Blood GLC remained near 8 mmol/kg until 3 h, then fell. Liver GLC fell steadily from 10.2 to 7.2 mmol/kg at 7 h. Brain GLY rose from 1.7 to 2.9 mmol/kg at 3 h, then fell steadily. Blood GLY increased from 2.7 to 4.6 mmol/kg at 2 h, then fell to 1.7 mmol/kg. Liver GLY decreased from 70 to 30 mmol/kg. BOHB changes were similar in all samples. BOHB in brain fell from 0.12 to 0.08 mmol/kg at 2 to 3 h; then rose steadily to 0.27 mmol/kg at 7 h. Blood and liver BOHB fell from 0.40 to 0.25 mmol/kg, then rose to 1.0 mmol/kg. In a previous study, susceptibility to audiogenic seizures after 2 g/kg ETOH was completely suppressed for up to 1 h, then susceptibility increased to a maximum at 5 1/2 h, when a period of potentiation was observed. In this study, brain GLY levels were increased during the period of protection, and brain GLC levels were decreased during the period of potentiation. Together, these data may lend support to an hypothesis of an indirect effect of ETOH on the brain, leading to changes in susceptibility to audiogenic seizures via changes in metabolite availability.

Five different alcoholic beverages were tested in rats to determine if congener content contributed to the hypothermia or motor impairment produced by the beverages. Solutions of cognac, scotch, tequila, vodka, and commercially supplied ethanol were diluted with physiological saline to form solutions containing 16% w/v ethanol, as verified by gas chromatographic analysis. All beverages were administered in doses containing 0 (saline), 1.6, 3.2, 4.8, or 6.4 g/kg ethanol (gastric intubation) in test sessions separated by 7 days (repeated measures design, N = 8 rats per group). Measurements of rectal temperature and motor impairment (rotarod performance) made at 0, 60, and 120 minutes postinjection revealed no noteworthy differences in either measure at 60 or 120 minutes postinjection at any of the 4 doses tested. Thus, no evidence for a contribution of congeners to beverage effects was observed.

Rats (N=6) were trained to discriminate 3.0 mg/kg i.p. phencyclidine (PCP) from saline in a 2-lever fixed-ratio 32 operant discrimination procedure for food presentation. Generalization tests were conducted with other doses of PCP as well as with various doses of the stereoisomers of dioxadrol. Dose-dependent PCP-like discriminative stimulus effects were obtained with dexoxadrol but not with levoxadrol, however overall rates of responding were decreased to a comparable extent by 30 mg/kg of both compounds. PCP was 3.6 times more potent than dexoxadrol in producing stimulus control of responding. These data provide some evidence for stereoselectivity of action for dioxadrol, however nonPCP-like effects of levoxadrol are present at doses only 3 times greater than those doses of dexoxadrol that result in PCP-lever responding. Therefore, absolute stereospecificity beyond 3-fold cannot be demonstrated by these data.

Tail skin temperature (TST) response of morphine-dependent rats was evaluated as a potential in vivo assay for the activity of narcotic antagonists. Dependency was produced in rats by repeated subcutaneous implantation of morphine-containing pellets and TST was evaluated by thermistor probes attached to the dorsal surface of the tail. TST was determined prior to and following administration of either naloxone (NAL: 0, 0.01, 0.1, 0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg body weight); naltrexone (NALT: 0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02 or 0.1 mg/kg body weight); or 6-Desoxy-6-methylenenaltrexone (DM-NALT: 0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02 or 0.1 mg/kg body weight). Each of the narcotic antagonists caused a dose-dependent increase in tail skin temperature in morphine dependent rats. The initial TST increase was observed by 5 minutes and the maximal TST response occurred 15 to 25 minutes after drug administration. For each drug evaluated, a linear relationship was observed between the dose and maximal change in TST and between the dose and the area under the TST response curve. Determination of ED50 for the TST response revealed the expected relative potency for the narcotic antagonists evaluated: DM-NALT greater than NALT greater than NAL. Thus, the TST-response test is a rapid and quantitative bioassay for the evaluation of compounds for narcotic antagonistic activity.

The resistance of glioma cells to radiations may be diminished by previous ethanol or oxygen treatment. When rat glioma C6 cells were treated with either 50 mM or 100 mM ethanol in the culture medium before X ray irradiation (1000 rads), the surviving cells decrease two weeks later by about 40% compared with irradiated non treated cells. We suggest that the greater cell death after irradiation of alcohol treated glioma cells in culture may partially result from an accumulation of cytotoxic O = 2 radicals, since superoxide dismutase activity was reduced under these conditions.

Survey data was analyzed to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the general population. Among older people, SBP is higher for heavier drinkers. Among females, SBP is slightly lower for the light drinkers than for abstainers.. These effects are measured with obesity, race, and menopause, use of birth control pills, smoking, and anxiousness held constant. The reasons for these effects are not clear.

The effect of chronic administration of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 9-THC) on the endogenous opiate and catecholamine levels was investigated. Intact male rats were injected daily either with vehicle (50 microliters oil) or delta 9-THC in oil (3 mg delta 9-THC/kg body wt). The treatments were administered subcutaneously over a period of 25 days. All animals were decapitated after the last injection and trunk plasma was assayed for prolactin, beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity (beta-end LI), norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid (DOPAC) and dopamine (DA). The preoptic area (POA) and medial basal hypothalamus were assayed for methionine enkephalin, beta-endorphin and catecholamines. Chronic delta 9-THC treatment resulted in an increase in POA and MBH methioine-enkephalin and beta-end LI as well as an increase in plasma beta-end LI. The POA, MBH and plasma NE and E levels were lower in these animals when compared with the controls. In the MBH, however, the delta 9-THC treated rats contained higher DA and DOPAC levels when compared with the controls. These results support our view that chronic delta 9-THC administration alters the activities of the endogenous opiate system as well as the catecholaminergic system and consequently impairs the endocrine functions.

Three barriers to effective treatment for alcoholic women are described: 1) the impact of negative myths and expectancies (in particular, the myth that women do worse); 2) the impact of stereotyped sex-role expectancies which may limit and constrict women's potential for growth; and 3) the impact of the knowledge gap. The impact of each kind of barrier is elaborated as data are presented from: a clinical field experiment; a meta-analysis of a decade of research studies; and clinical experience.