Senior Recital: Brenda Dratnol

Kemp Recital HallNovember 10, 2012Saturday Afternoon 4:30 p.m

The impact of nocturnal hemodialysis on sexual function

BACKGROUND: Sexual dysfunction is common in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) and treatment options are limited. Observational studies suggest that nocturnal hemodialysis may improve sexual function. We compared sexual activity and responses to sexual related questions in the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form questionnaire among patients randomized to frequent nocturnal or thrice weekly conventional hemodialysis. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of data from an RCT which enrolled 51 patients comparing frequent nocturnal and conventional thrice weekly hemodialysis. Sexual activity and responses to sexual related questions were assessed at baseline and six months using relevant questions from the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form questionnaire. RESULTS: Overall, there was no difference in sexual activity, or the extent to which people were bothered by the impact of kidney disease on their sex life between the two groups between randomization and 6 months. However, women and patients age < 60 who were randomized to frequent nocturnal hemodialysis were less bothered by the impact of kidney disease on their sex life at 6 months, compared with patients allocated to conventional hemodialysis (p = 0.005 and p = 0.024 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that frequent nocturnal hemodialysis is not associated with an improvement in sexual activity in all patients but might have an effect on the burden of kidney disease on sex life in women and patients less than 60 years of age. The validity of these subgroup findings require confirmation in future RCTs

Alcohol and Its Relationship to Family Work Conflict

Alcohol has tension reducing properties, and there is evidence that people consume alcohol to reduce stressors in their lives. Conflict between work and family is a common stressor for workers. This project analyzes the relationship between work-family conflict and alcohol consumption in a sample of 81 non-professional working parents. Contrary to our hypothesis, work-family conflict was not related to either the quantity or frequency of alcohol consumption. In contrast, family-to-work conflict was related to lower alcohol consumption

Within Subject Cross-Tissue Analyzes of Epigenetic Clocks in Substance Use Disorder Postmortem Brain and Blood

There is a possible accelerated biological aging in patients with substance use disorders (SUD). The evaluation of epigenetic clocks, which are accurate estimators of biological aging based on DNA methylation changes, has been limited to blood tissue in patients with SUD. Consequently, the impact of biological aging in the brain of individuals with SUD remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated multiple epigenetic clocks (DNAmAge, DNAmAgeHannum, DNAmAgeSkinBlood, DNAmPhenoAge, DNAmGrimAge, and DNAmTL) in individuals with SUD (n = 42), including alcohol (n = 10), opioid (n = 19), and stimulant use disorder (n = 13), and controls (n = 10) in postmortem brain (prefrontal cortex) and blood tissue obtained from the same individuals. We found a higher DNAmPhenoAge (β = 0.191, p-value = 0.0104) and a nominally lower DNAmTL (β = -0.149, p-value = 0.0603) in blood from individuals with SUD compared to controls. SUD subgroup analysis showed a nominally lower brain DNAmTL in subjects with alcohol use disorder, compared to stimulant use disorder and controls (β = 0.0150, p-value = 0.087). Cross-tissue analyzes indicated a lower blood DNAmTL and a higher blood DNAmAge compared to their respective brain values in the SUD group. This study highlights the relevance of tissue specificity in biological aging studies and suggests that peripheral measures of epigenetic clocks in SUD may depend on the specific type of drug used

Within Subject Cross-Tissue Analyzes of Epigenetic Clocks in Substance Use Disorder Postmortem Brain and Blood.

There is a possible accelerated biological aging in patients with substance use disorders (SUD). The evaluation of epigenetic clocks, which are accurate estimators of biological aging based on DNA methylation changes, has been limited to blood tissue in patients with SUD. Consequently, the impact of biological aging in the brain of individuals with SUD remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated multiple epigenetic clocks (DNAmAge, DNAmAgeHannum, DNAmAgeSkinBlood, DNAmPhenoAge, DNAmGrimAge, and DNAmTL) in individuals with SUD (n=42), including alcohol (n=10), opioid (n=19), and stimulant use disorder (n=13), and controls (n=10) in postmortem brain (prefrontal cortex) and blood tissue obtained from the same individuals. We found a higher DNAmPhenoAge (beta=0.191, p-value=0.0104) and a nominally lower DNAmTL (beta=−0.149, p-value=0.0603) in blood from individuals with SUD compared to controls. SUD subgroup analysis showed a nominally lower brain DNAmTL in subjects with alcohol use disorder, compared to stimulant use disorder and controls (beta=0.0150, p-value=0.087). Cross-tissue analyses indicated a lower blood DNAmTL and a higher blood DNAmAge compared to their respective brain values in the SUD group. This study highlights the relevance of tissue specificity in biological aging studies and suggests that peripheral measures of epigenetic clocks in SUD may depend on the specific type of drug used