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1.
Auto-brewery syndrome: Ethanol pseudo-toxicity in diabetic and hepatic patients.
Hafez, EM, Hamad, MA, Fouad, M, Abdel-Lateff, A
Human & experimental toxicology. 2017;(5):445-450
Abstract
Endogenous alcohol has been applied for spontaneous ethanol production via different metabolic pathways of the human body. Auto-brewery syndrome describes the patients with alcohol intoxication after ingesting carbohydrate-rich meals. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of diabetes mellitus (DM), liver cirrhosis (LC) and presence of both (DM and LC) on blood alcohol concentration (BAC) especially after carbohydrate ingestion. BAC has been measured by headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in three groups of humans namely control, DM, LC and both (DM and LC) groups. The results showed that BAC in control group was 0.01-.3 mg/dL with mean 0.3 ± 0.41 mg/dL. In patients with DM, BAC is significantly higher than that of control group 4.85 ± 3.96 mg/dL. In patients with LC, BAC was 3.45 ± 2.65 mg/dL. In patients with both DM and LC, BAC increases to reach 10.88 ± 5.36 mg/dL. Endogenous ethanol production appears to increase in DM and LC. Also, it increased much more in patients with both diseases, but it did not reach toxic levels. On comparing BAC and blood glucose level in each group, all groups show insignificant correlations ( p > 0.05).
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2.
[The efficacy of remaxol addition in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome].
Vinnikova, MA, Utkin, SI, Nenasteva, AY, Zakharov, MV
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova. 2016;(1):40-46
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To study the efficacy of remaxol addition in the treatment scheme of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. MATERIAL AND METHODS Eighty patients with alcohol dependence and physical symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome were enrolled. All patients received basic therapy in accordance to the applicable standards of treatment. The patients were randomized to remaxol introduced intravenously 2 times a day (morning and afternoon) in dose of 400 ml for 7 days (n=40) and saline with 25%-magnesium sulfate (10 ml) and 4% potassium chloride (10 ml) (n=40). RESULTS The effectiveness of the inclusion of remaxol was expressed in a more rapid relief of asthenic syndrome, reduction of phenomena such as tension, dysphoria, headache and impaired coordination of samples. Patients treated with remaxol demonstrated a trend towards a more rapid reduction of the affective (p=0.08) and behavioral components (p=0.09) of the syndrome of pathological craving for alcohol. Hepatoprotective and detoxification properties of the drug were confirmed by the significant decline in ALT and AST activity to the 20th day of treatment. Significant positive changes in lipid metabolism (HDL to the 7th day of treatment) and a normalizing effect on the processes of tissue respiration were shown as well. No adverse effects were noted. CONCLUSION The data obtained allow to recommend the inclusion of remaxol in the complex treatment regimens of alcohol withdrawal syndrome to improve the treatment efficacy.
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3.
The effects of a priming dose of alcohol and drinking environment on snack food intake.
Rose, AK, Hardman, CA, Christiansen, P
Appetite. 2015;:341-8
Abstract
Alcohol consumption is a potential risk factor for being overweight. We aimed to investigate the effects of an alcohol priming dose and an alcohol-related environment on snacking behaviour. One hundred and fourteen social drinkers completed one of four experimental sessions either receiving a priming dose of alcohol (.6 g/kg) or soft drink in a bar-lab or a sterile lab. Participants provided ratings of appetite, snack urge, and alcohol urge before and after consuming their drinks. Participants completed an ad libitum snack taste test of savoury and sweet, healthy and unhealthy foods before completing the self-reports a final time. Appetite and snack urge increased more following alcohol consumption, and decreased to a lesser extent following the taste test relative to the soft drink. Total calories (including drink calories) consumed were significantly higher in the alcohol groups. There was a marginal effect of environment; those in the bar-lab consumed a higher proportion of unhealthy foods. These effects were more pronounced in those who were disinhibited. While alcohol may not increase food consumption per se, alcohol may acutely disrupt appetite signals, perhaps via processes of reward and inhibitory control, resulting in overall greater calorie intake. Individuals who are generally disinhibited may be more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol and drinking environments on eating behaviour.
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4.
Effect of low-proof alcoholic beverages on duodenogastro-esophageal reflux in health and GERD.
Seidl, H, Gundling, F, Schepp, W, Schmidt, T, Pehl, C
Neurogastroenterology and motility. 2011;(2):145-50, e29
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcoholic beverages are known to increase acidic gastro-esophageal reflux (GER) and the risk of esophagitis. Moreover, duodenogastro-esophageal reflux (DGER), containing bile acids, was shown to harmfully alter the esophageal mucosa, alone and synergistically with HCl and pepsin. However, studies directly addressing potential effects of different low proof alcoholic beverages on DGER in health and disease are missing. METHODS Bilitec readings for beer and white, rose, and red wine were obtained in vitro from pure and from mixtures with bile. One-hour DGER monitoring and pH-metry were performed in 12 healthy subjects and nine reflux patients with DGER after ingestion of a standardized liquid meal together with 300 mL of water, white wine, and in the volunteers, beer and rose wine. KEY RESULTS Bilitec measurement was found to be feasible in the presence of beer, white wine, and using a threshold of 0.25, rose wine. However, the presence of red wine resulted in extinction values above this threshold. The consumption of all investigated alcoholic beverages, especially of white wine, triggered increased acidic GER, both in healthy participants and patients with reflux disease. In contrast, no relevant DGER was found after intake of alcoholic beverages. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES Fiber-optic bilirubin monitoring can be used for DGER monitoring in combination with alcoholic beverages, except with red wine. Low-proof alcoholic beverages are a strong trigger of GER, but not of DGER, both in healthy subjects and patients with reflux disease.
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5.
Alcohol administration acutely inhibits ghrelin secretion in an experiment involving psychosocial stress.
Zimmermann, US, Buchmann, A, Steffin, B, Dieterle, C, Uhr, M
Addiction biology. 2007;(1):17-21
Abstract
The appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin are altered in alcoholism and influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. We investigated whether acute ethanol ingestion and stress exposure affect ghrelin secretion. Nine healthy male volunteers were exposed to a standardized laboratory stressor involving public speaking on 2 days. On the first day they ingested 0.6 g/kg ethanol and on the second a placebo drink 50 minutes before the stressor. Plasma ghrelin, cortisol, glucose, and insulin were measured at baseline and in eight subsequent samples obtained up to 120 minutes after drinking (75 minutes after stress onset). The stress test induced a transient and significant rise in cortisol, which was not altered by prior alcohol administration. No significant change of ghrelin, insulin or glucose levels was observed after the stressor. Ghrelin declined significantly within 15 minutes after alcohol drinking, fell to a minimum of 66% of baseline at 75 minutes and remained at that level until the last sample at 120 minutes. No significant ghrelin changes were observed during placebo experiments. Insulin and glucose were not significantly influenced by stress or by alcohol. We conclude that alcohol drinking acutely attenuates circulating ghrelin levels. This effect is more pronounced than would be expected from the calories ingested with alcohol, as compared with a prior report where liquid meals of different caloric content were administered. We could not observe a stress effect on ghrelin, which does not support a role for ghrelin in stress-induced anorexia.
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6.
Effect of Nigerian citrus (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) honey on ethanol metabolism.
Onyesom, I
South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde. 2004;(12):984-6
Abstract
The effect of Nigerian citrus (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) honey on ethanol metabolism was tested using 45 consenting individuals in apparent good health and between the ages of 25 and 35 years. The subjects were moderate social drinkers matched in terms of body weight and build. The results obtained showed that on average, honey significantly (p < 0.05) increased the blood ethanol clearance rate by 68% and decreased the intoxication period by 43%, but insignificantly (p > 0.05) reduced the degree of intoxication by 9%. Honey could be a promising anti-intoxicating agent, but its long-term biochemical evaluation, possibly as a complement in the management of alcohol intoxication, deserves further study.
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7.
Unchanged acetylation of isoniazid by alcohol intake.
Wilcke, JT, Døssing, M, Angelo, HR, Askgaard, D, Rønn, A, Christensen, HR
The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. 2004;(11):1373-6
Abstract
SETTING In 10 healthy subjects, the influence of acute alcohol intake on the pharmacokinetics of isoniazid (INH) was studied. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that alcohol increases the conversion of INH by acetylation into its metabolite acetylisoniazid. DESIGN In a crossover design, an oral dose of 300 mg INH was administered on 2 separate days, 14 days apart, with or without alcohol to a serum alcohol of about 21 mmol/l (1 g/l) maintained for 12 h. RESULTS Neither the metabolism of INH nor that of acetylisoniazid was changed by acute alcohol intake. CONCLUSION Acute alcohol intake has no impact on the conversion of INH to its metabolite acetylisoniazid, which is catalysed by the enzyme N-acetyltranferase. Accordingly, a metabolic effect of acute alcohol intake on INH metabolism probably contributes little to the therapeutic failure of anti-tuberculosis treatment among alcoholics.
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8.
Does an energy drink modify the effects of alcohol in a maximal effort test?
Ferreira, SE, de Mello, MT, Rossi, MV, Souza-Formigoni, ML
Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research. 2004;(9):1408-12
Abstract
BACKGROUND There are popular reports on the combined use of alcohol and energy drinks (such as Red Bull and similar beverages, which contain caffeine, taurine, carbohydrates, etc.) to reduce the depressant effects of alcohol on central nervous system, but no controlled studies have been performed. The main purpose of this study was to verify the effects of alcohol, and alcohol combined with energy drink, on the performance of volunteers in a maximal effort test (cycle ergometer) and also on physiological indicators (oxygen uptake, ventilatory threshold, respiratory exchange rate, heart rate, and blood pressure), biochemical variables (glucose, lactate, insulin, cortisol, ACTH, dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline), and blood alcohol levels. METHODS Fourteen healthy subjects completed a double-blind protocol made up of four sessions: control (water), alcohol (1.0 g/kg), energy drink (3.57 ml/kg Red Bull), and alcohol + energy drink, each 1 week apart. The effort test began 60 min after drug or control ingestion, and the dependent variables were measured until 60 min after the test. RESULTS Heart rate at the ventilatory threshold was higher in the alcohol and alcohol + energy drink sessions in comparison with control and energy drink sessions. Although in comparison to the control session, the peak oxygen uptake was 5.0% smaller after alcohol ingestion, 1.4% smaller after energy drink, and 2.7% smaller after the combined ingestion, no significant differences were detected. Lactate levels (30 min after drug ingestion, 30 and 60 min after the effort test) and noradrenaline levels (30 min after the effort test) were higher in the alcohol and alcohol + energy drink sessions compared with the control session. CONCLUSIONS The performance in the maximal effort test observed after alcohol + energy drink ingestion was similar to that observed after alcohol only. No significant differences between alcohol and alcohol + energy drink were detected in the physiological and biochemical parameters analyzed. Our findings suggest that energy drinks, at least in the tested doses, did not improve performance or reduce alterations induced by acute alcohol ingestion.
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9.
Percutaneous ethanol (PEIT) and calcitrol (PCIT) injection therapy are ineffective in treating severe secondary hyperparathyroidism.
de Barros Gueiros, JE, Chammas, MC, Gerhard, R, da Silva Dias Boilesen, CF, de Oliveira, IR, Moysés, RM, Jorgetti, V
Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association. 2004;(3):657-63
Abstract
BACKGROUND Secondary hyperparathyroidism (2HPT) is a frequent complication of long-term dialysis treatment and, despite recent advances in medical therapy, surgical parathyroidectomy (PTX) is required in a considerable number of uraemic patients. Recently, other modalities of therapy, such as ultrasound-guided percutaneous parathyroid injection of ethanol (PEIT) or of calcitriol (PCIT), have been used to treat refractory 2HPT. Our objectives were to evaluate the efficacy of these therapeutic modalities and to analyse their effects on parathyroid cell proliferation. METHODS Nineteen haemodialysis patients with severe 2HPT were studied. Ten underwent PEIT (Group I) and nine underwent PCIT (Group II). After treatment, five patients in each group were submitted to PTX. Parathyroid cell proliferation was appraised at the beginning and at the end of the study by fine-needle aspiration biopsy, making use of immunocytochemical testing for Ki-67. The surgically removed glands were submitted to histopathological analysis and cellular proliferation was evaluated. RESULTS Both PEIT and PCIT proved inefficient in controlling 2HPT. Comparing study onset with day 60, both groups showed a significant decrease in serum-ionized calcium: 5.3+/-0.3 vs 5.1+/-0.5 mg/dl (P = 0.03) in Group I and 5.5+/-0.4 vs 5.4+/-0.3 mg/dl (P = 0.03) in Group II. Other laboratory parameters were unchanged. There was a significant, although transitory, enlargement in glandular volume in Group II at day 30 when compared with study onset (1.5+/-0.6 vs 1.7+/-0.7 cm(3), P = 0.02). When comparing the two groups, Group I showed a glandular volume smaller than that of Group II at days 30 (1+/-0.5 vs 1.7+/-0.7 cm(3), P = 0.003), 60 (0.8+/-0.4 vs 1.5+/-0.9 cm(3), P = 0.006) and 90 (0.8+/-0.5 vs 1+/-0.7 cm(3), P = 0.02). Cellular proliferation, which was equally elevated in both groups at the beginning of the study, could not be evaluated at the end due to lack of material. The majority of glands obtained through PTX presented intensive cellular proliferation and contained areas of nodular hyperplasia, even those glands with a volume of <0.5 cm(3). CONCLUSION In our experience, both PCIT and PEIT were unable to control severe 2HPT in chronic haemodialysis patients. We believe that the severity of the 2HPT in the study patients, in conjunction with the fact that we excluded from treatment parathyroid glands with a volume of <0.5 cm(3), were the most important causes of this failure.
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10.
Regional brain metabolism during alcohol intoxication.
Wang, GJ, Volkow, ND, Franceschi, D, Fowler, JS, Thanos, PK, Scherbaum, N, Pappas, N, Wong, CT, Hitzemann, RJ, Felder, CA
Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research. 2000;(6):822-9
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ethanol has a broad range of actions on many neurotransmitter systems. The depressant actions of ethanol in the brain are related in part to facilitation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission via its interaction with the benzodiazepine/GABA receptor complex. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of ethanol on regional brain metabolism in 10 healthy right-handed men. The results were compared with those we previously published in a different group of 16 normal male subjects who received intravenous lorazepam, a benzodiazepine drug that also enhances GABA neurotransmission. METHODS The subjects were scanned with positron emission tomography and [F-18] fluorodeoxyglucose twice: 40 min after the end of placebo (diet soda) or ethanol (0.75 g/kg) oral administration. Image data sets were analyzed by using both the region of interest and the statistical parametric mapping (SPM) approach. SPM was used to generate a difference image between baseline and ethanol, which we compared to the difference image between baseline and lorazepam (30 microg/kg). RESULTS Ethanol significantly increased self-reports of "high" (p < or = 0.0001), dizziness (p < or = 0.004), and intoxication (p < or = 0.0001). Ethanol significantly decreased whole brain (-25 +/- 6%, p < or = 0.0001) and regional metabolism. Normalization of the regional measures by whole brain metabolism (relative measures) showed that ethanol decreased relative metabolic activity in occipital cortex (-4.9 +/- 4.1%, p < or = 0.006), whereas it increased relative metabolic act in left temporal cortex (+3.5 +/- 2.9%, p < or = 0.006) and left basal ganglia (+9 +/- 6.3%, p < or = 0.0009). SPM analyses revealed the same pattern of responses as the relative measures, showing decreases in occipital cortex and increases in left temporal cortex. Comparison of the relative measures and the SPM analyses obtained with lorazepam data revealed a similar pattern of effects, with relative decreases in occipital cortex (-7.8 +/- 4.8%) and relative increases in left temporal cortex (+3.8 +/- 5.7%). Lorazepam, but not ethanol, also decreased thalamic metabolism (-11.2 +/- 7.2%). CONCLUSIONS These results support similar though not identical mechanisms for the effects of alcohol and benzodiazepines on brain glucose metabolism. The fact that lorazepam, but not alcohol, reduced thalamic metabolism, an effect associated with sleepiness, could explain the higher sedative effects of lorazepam than of alcohol.