Aldehyde Dehidrogenase Level and Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester as Biochemical Markers Persist Longer Than Ethanol in Wistar Rats After Chronic Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol consumption in human has increased from year to year in Indonesia and more recently, anincreasing number of cases of alcohol intoxication, alcoholic liver disease, and death were observed.The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the significance of two known biochemicalmarkers of alcohol given by mouth in the Wistar rats. The study design used was the “Truerandomized experimental post test only control group design". The rats were randomly distributedaccording to the experimental design and were treated daily for six weeks (chronic intake) with 5%and 20% alcohol. This study used 15 rats with 5 rats for treatment group treated with 5% alcohol, 5rats for treatment group treated with 20% alcohol, and 5 rats as control group treated with distilledwater. The biochemical markers were aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters(FAEE). ALDH and FAEE were two biochemical markers of ethanol which are sensitive and specificfor alcohol consumption. The study was conducted in two phases. Initially, rats were treated orallyeveryday for six weeks with 5% and 20% alcohol, and then the blood level of ethanol, ALDH andFAEE were measured. Blood samples were collected at 6 and 24 hours after the last oral intake ofchronic alcohol administration. Qualitative analysis was carried out to detect the presence of ethanol,ALDH, and FAEE in the treatment groups and quantitative analysis to determine their levels in theblood of Wistar rats. Statistical analysis of ALDH was done by using parametric test and the presenceof FAEE persisting longer than ethanol by non-parametric test. The results showed that ALDHpersisted and increased significantly following chronic consumption of alcohol in the rats. Similarly,FAEEs persisted longer than ethanol after alcohol intake. After six hours, the ALDH level increasedby 108.14% in the rat treated chronically with 5% alcohol and by 85.07% in rat treated with 20%alcohol. After 24 hours, FAEE also persisted longer in the blood than ethanol following treatmentwith alcohol 5%. ALDH levels increased by 83.11% after chronic treatment with 5% alcohol and by112.05% in the rats treated with 20% alcohol. In the blood collected 24 hours after the last treatmentwith 5% alcohol, ALDH increased by 95.11% and by 86.79% in the rats treated with 20% alcohol.FAEE persisted longer than ethanol in the blood following administration of 5 % and 20% alcoholboth at 24 hours following chronic treatment. The longer persisting ALDH and FAEE were new andgood biochemical blood markers for chronic alcohol consumption in the Wistar rats

Alcohol use, alcohol-related aggression and intimate partner abuse: a cross-sectional survey of convicted versus general population men in Scotland

Introduction and Aims. Scotland has a particular problem with alcohol, and the links between intimate partner abuse (IPA) and alcohol appear stronger here than elsewhere across Europe. This study explored differences in alcohol use, related aggression and relationship conflict across a number of groups: men convicted for intimate partner abuse, men convicted of general offences and men recruited from community sports teams. Design and Methods. Participants (n = 64) completed three questionnaires exploring their experiences of alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, AUDIT); alcohol and aggression (Alcohol Related Aggression Questionnaire, ARAQ-28), and relationship conflict (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale, CTS-2). Results. There were significant differences across the groups in terms of AUDIT and ARAQ-28 scores, IPA and general offenders scored higher than the community sample. CTS-2 scores showed significant differences: both offender groups reported more use of negotiation and psychological abuse, than the community men, and IPA offenders reported causing more physical harm than either general offenders or the community sample. ARAQ-28 scores correlated with psychological abuse for general offenders. Alcohol use was very high across all groups, but the community group did not endorse an aggression-precipitating view of alcohol and did not report high IPA. Discussion and Conclusions. Discussed is the need for cross-cultural research to explore putative mediators and moderators in the relationship between alcohol, aggressiveness and IPA. [Gilchrist EA, Ireland L, Forsyth A, Godwin J, Laxton T. Alcohol use, alcohol-related aggression and intimate partner abuse: A cross-sectional survey of convicted versus general population men in Scotland. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36:20-23

Comparison of Subjective Responses to Oral and Intravenous Alcohol Administration under Similar Systemic Exposures

Objective To test whether an individual's subjective responses to alcohol are similar when the breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) trajectory resulting from oral administration is matched by intravenous administration. Background Individuals perceive the effects of alcohol differently, and the variation is commonly used in research assessing the risk for developing an alcohol use disorder. Such research is supported by both oral and intravenous alcohol administration techniques, and any differences attributable to the route employed should be understood. Methods We conducted a 2‐session, within‐subject study in 44 young adult, healthy, non‐dependent drinkers (22 females and 22 males). In the first session, subjects ingested a dose of alcohol which was individually calculated, on the basis of total body water, to yield a peak BrAC near 80 mg/dl, and the resulting BrAC trajectory was recorded. A few days later, subjects received an intravenous alcohol infusion rate profile, pre‐computed to replicate each individual's oral alcohol BrAC trajectory. In both sessions, we assessed 4 subjective responses to alcohol: SEDATION, SIMULATION, INTOXICATION, and HIGH; at baseline and frequently for 4 hours. We compared the individuals’ baseline‐corrected responses at peak BrAC and at half‐peak BrAC on both the ascending and descending limbs. We also computed and compared Pearson‐product moment correlations of responses by route of administration, the Mellanby measure of acute adaptation to alcohol, and the area under the entire response curve for each subjective response. Results No significant differences in any measure could be attributed to the route of alcohol administration. Eleven of 12 response comparisons were significantly correlated across the routes of alcohol administration, with 9 surviving correction for multiple measures, as did the Mellanby effect and area under the response curve correlations. Conclusion The route of alcohol administration has a minimal effect on subjective responses to alcohol when an individual's BrAC exposure profiles are similar

The Relationship Between Alcohol Beverage Types and Violence

There is substantial evidence of an ecological association between off-premise alcohol outlets and violence. We know less, however, about how specific beverage types that are sold in the outlets might explain the difference in violence rates across different alcohol outlets. Data on alcohol beverage types were collected for all off-premise alcohol outlets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, using a systematic social observation instrument. Spatially lagged regression models were estimated to determine whether the variation in alcohol beverage types is related to robbery density net of important neighborhood predictors of crime rates. Availability of all alcohol beverage types (beer, wine, spirits, premixed, single beer, single spirits, single premixed) was positively associated with the density of robberies, net of neighborhood characteristics. Reducing alcohol beverages, regardless of the beverage type, sold at off-premise alcohol outlets may reduce violence in communities

Comparative approaches for assessing access to alcohol outlets: exploring the utility of a gravity potential approach.

BackgroundA growing body of research recommends controlling alcohol availability to reduce harm. Various common approaches, however, provide dramatically different pictures of the physical availability of alcohol. This limits our understanding of the distribution of alcohol access, the causes and consequences of this distribution, and how best to reduce harm. The aim of this study is to introduce both a gravity potential measure of access to alcohol outlets, comparing its strengths and weaknesses to other popular approaches, and an empirically-derived taxonomy of neighborhoods based on the type of alcohol access they exhibit.MethodsWe obtained geospatial data on Seattle, including the location of 2402 alcohol outlets, United States Census Bureau estimates on 567 block groups, and a comprehensive street network. We used exploratory spatial data analysis and employed a measure of inter-rater agreement to capture differences in our taxonomy of alcohol availability measures.ResultsSignificant statistical and spatial variability exists between measures of alcohol access, and these differences have meaningful practical implications. In particular, standard measures of outlet density (e.g., spatial, per capita, roadway miles) can lead to biased estimates of physical availability that over-emphasize the influence of the control variables. Employing a gravity potential approach provides a more balanced, geographically-sensitive measure of access to alcohol outlets.ConclusionsAccurately measuring the physical availability of alcohol is critical for understanding the causes and consequences of its distribution and for developing effective evidence-based policy to manage the alcohol outlet licensing process. A gravity potential model provides a superior measure of alcohol access, and the alcohol access-based taxonomy a helpful evidence-based heuristic for scholars and local policymakers

Alcohol-induced retrograde facilitation renders witnesses of crime less suggestible to misinformation

RATIONALE: Research has shown that alcohol can have both detrimental and facilitating effects on memory: intoxication can lead to poor memory for information encoded after alcohol consumption (anterograde amnesia) and may improve memory for information encoded before consumption (retrograde facilitation). This study examined whether alcohol consumed after witnessing a crime can render individuals less vulnerable to misleading post-event information (misinformation). METHOD: Participants watched a simulated crime video. Thereafter, one third of participants expected and received alcohol (alcohol group), one third did not expect but received alcohol (reverse placebo), and one third did not expect nor receive alcohol (control). After alcohol consumption, participants were exposed to misinformation embedded in a written narrative about the crime. The following day, participants completed a cued-recall questionnaire about the event. RESULTS: Control participants were more likely to report misinformation compared to the alcohol and reverse placebo group. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that we may oversimplify the effect alcohol has on suggestibility and that sometimes alcohol can have beneficial effects on eyewitness memory by protecting against misleading post-event information

Social and Cultural Contexts of Alcohol Use: Influences in a Social-Ecological Framework.

Alcohol use and misuse account for 3.3 million deaths every year, or 6 percent of all deaths worldwide. The harmful effects of alcohol misuse are far reaching and range from individual health risks, morbidity, and mortality to consequences for family, friends, and the larger society. This article reviews a few of the cultural and social influences on alcohol use and places individual alcohol use within the contexts and environments where people live and interact. It includes a discussion of macrolevel factors, such as advertising and marketing, immigration and discrimination factors, and how neighborhoods, families, and peers influence alcohol use. Specifically, the article describes how social and cultural contexts influence alcohol use/misuse and then explores future directions for alcohol research