Elevated endogenous expression of the dominant negative basic helix-loop-helix protein ID1 correlates with significant centrosome abnormalities in human tumor cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>ID proteins are dominant negative inhibitors of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors that have multiple functions during development and cellular differentiation. Ectopic (over-)expression of ID1 extends the lifespan of primary human epithelial cells. High expression levels of ID1 have been detected in multiple human malignancies, and in some have been correlated with unfavorable clinical prognosis. ID1 protein is localized at the centrosomes and forced (over-)expression of ID1 results in errors during centrosome duplication.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we analyzed the steady state expression levels of the four ID-proteins in 18 tumor cell lines and assessed the number of centrosome abnormalities. While expression of ID1, ID2, and ID3 was detected, we failed to detect protein expression of ID4. Expression of ID1 correlated with increased supernumerary centrosomes in most cell lines analyzed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first report that shows that not only ectopic expression in tissue culture but endogenous levels of ID1 modulate centrosome numbers. Thus, our findings support the hypothesis that ID1 interferes with centrosome homeostasis, most likely contributing to genomic instability and associated tumor aggressiveness.</p

Changes in Alcoholic Beverage Choice and Risky Drinking among Adolescents in Europe 1999–2019

This paper explores trends in beverage preference in adolescents, identifies related regional differences, and examines cluster differences in key drinking measures. Data were obtained from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), covering 24 European countries between 1999 and 2019. Trends in the distribution of alcoholic beverages on the participants’ most recent drinking occasion were analysed by sex and country using fractional multinomial logit regression. Clusters of countries based on trends and predicted beverage proportions were compared regarding the prevalence of drinkers, mean alcohol volume and prevalence of heavy drinking. Four distinct clusters each among girls and boys emerged. Among girls, there was not one type of beverage that was preferred across clusters, but the proportion of cider/alcopops strongly increased over time in most clusters. Among boys, the proportion of beer decreased, but was dominant across time in all clusters. Only northern European countries formed a geographically defined region with the highest prevalence of heavy drinking and average alcohol volume in both genders. Adolescent beverage preferences are associated with mean alcohol volume and heavy drinking at a country-level. Future approaches to drinking cultures need to take subpopulations such as adolescents into account

Changes in Alcohol Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic Are Dependent on Initial Consumption Level: Findings from Eight European Countries

Evidence suggests that changes in alcohol consumption during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic were unevenly distributed over consumer groups. We investigated possible inter-country differences in how changes in alcohol consumption are contingent on initial consumption (before or at the start of the pandemic), and how changes in consumption translate into possible changes in the prevalence of heavy drinking. We used data from the European Survey on Alcohol use and COVID-19 (ESAC) conducted in Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, and the UK (N = 31921). Past-year alcohol consumption and changes in consumption were measured by AUDIT-C. Drinking habits were compared according to percentiles of pre-pandemic consumption levels, below versus above the 90th percentile. Across countries, drinkers in the highest 10% for pre-pandemic consumption increased their drinking during the pandemic, whereas absolute changes among those initially drinking below this level were modest. The percentage of people reporting >28 alcohol units/week increased significantly in seven of eight countries. During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, alcohol consumption in the upper decile of the drinkers increased as did the prevalence of heavy drinkers, in contrast with a declining consumption in other groups in the sample

Increased alcohol-specific mortality in Germany during COVID-19: state-level trends from 2010 to 2020

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic may have led to an increase in the alcohol-specific mortality. Against this backdrop, the aim of this report is to explore alcohol-specific mortality trends in Germany of the years 2010 to 2020. Method Alcohol-specific mortality data aggregated by sex, 5-year age groups and state were collected from the annual cause-of-death statistics and analysed descriptively by visual inspection. Results The overall alcohol-specific mortality rate (age-standardised) has mainly decreased between 2010 and 2020. However, increased alcohol-specific mortality rates for the year 2020 compared to 2019 were found for both, women (+4.8%) and men (+5.5%), particularly in age groups between 40 and 69 years. Changes in alcohol-specific mortality rates differed between federated states, with steeper increases in East Germany. Discussion and Conclusions Different mechanisms related to the increase in alcohol consumption, particularly among high-risk drinkers, and reduced resources in health care may have led to an increase in alcohol-specific mortality in Germany in 2020. Despite the recent decline in the alcohol-specific mortality in Germany, an increase in the death toll was observed in 2020

Increased alcohol-specific mortality in Germany during COVID-19: State-level trends from 2010 to 2020.

INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic may have led to an increase in the alcohol-specific mortality. Against this backdrop, the aim of this report is to explore alcohol-specific mortality trends in Germany of the years 2010 to 2020. METHOD Alcohol-specific mortality data aggregated by sex, 5-year age groups and state were collected from the annual cause-of-death statistics and analysed descriptively by visual inspection. RESULTS The overall alcohol-specific mortality rate (age-standardised) has mainly decreased between 2010 and 2020. However, increased alcohol-specific mortality rates for the year 2020 compared to 2019 were found for both, women (+4.8%) and men (+5.5%), particularly in age groups between 40 and 69 years. Changes in alcohol-specific mortality rates differed between federated states, with steeper increases in East Germany. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Different mechanisms related to the increase in alcohol consumption, particularly among high-risk drinkers, and reduced resources in health care may have led to an increase in alcohol-specific mortality in Germany in 2020. Despite the recent decline in the alcohol-specific mortality in Germany, an increase in the death toll was observed in 2020

Alcohol use, dementia risk, and sex: a systematic review and assessment of alcohol-attributable dementia cases in Europe

Abstract Background High-risk alcohol use is an established modifiable risk factor for dementia. However, prior reviews have not addressed sex differences in alcohol-related dementia risk. In this systematic review, we take a sex-specific perspective towards the alcohol-dementia link, taking into account the age of dementia onset. Methods We searched electronic databases for original cohort or case–control studies investigating the association between alcohol use and dementia. Two restrictions were considered: First, studies had to report results stratified by sex. Second, given the fact that the age at dementia onset seems to affect the alcohol-dementia link, studies were required to distinguish between early-onset and late-onset dementia (cut-off: 65 years). Additionally, the contribution of alcohol to dementia incidence was quantified for a set of 33 European countries for the year 2019. Results We reviewed 3,157 reports, of which 7 publications were finally included and summarised narratively. A lower dementia risk when drinking alcohol infrequent or at moderate levels was found in men (three studies) and women (four studies). High-risk use and alcohol use disorders increased the risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia, particularly early-onset dementia. Estimating the alcohol-attributable share of incident dementia cases revealed that 3.2% and 7.8% of incident dementia cases were estimated to be attributable to high-risk alcohol use (at least 24 g of pure alcohol per day) in 45-to-64-year-old women and men, respectively. Conclusions Research to date has paid little attention to the sex-specific link of alcohol and dementia. In the absence of sex-specific research, the established recommendations on high-risk alcohol use should be employed to communicate the alcohol-attributable dementia risk

Changes in Alcohol-Specific Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 14 European Countries

&lt;jats:p&gt; Abstract: Aim: Exploring trends in 1) alcohol-specific mortality and 2) alcohol sales in European countries in the years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Complete data on alcohol-specific mortality and alcohol sales were obtained for 14 European countries (13 EU countries and UK) for the years 2010 to 2020, with six countries having mortality data available up to 2021. Age-standardised mortality rates were calculated and descriptive statistics used. Results: When compared to 2019, alcohol-specific mortality rates in 2020 increased by 7.7 % and 8.2 % for women and men, respectively. Increases in alcohol-specific mortality were seen in the majority of countries and continued in 2021. In contrast, alcohol sales declined by an average of 5.0 %. Conclusion: Despite a drop in alcohol consumption, more people died due to alcohol-specific causes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. &lt;/jats:p&gt