The effect of adolescent inhalant abuse on energy balance and growth

The abuse of volatile solvents such as toluene is a significant public health concern, predominantly affecting adolescents. To date, inhalant abuse research has primarily focused on the central nervous system; however, inhalants also exert effects on other organ systems and processes, including metabolic function and energy balance. Adolescent inhalant abuse is characterized by a negative energy balance phenotype, with the peak period of abuse overlapping with the adolescent growth spurt. There are multiple components within the central and peripheral regulation of energy balance that may be affected by adolescent inhalant abuse, such as impaired metabolic signaling, decreased food intake, altered dietary preferences, disrupted glucose tolerance and insulin release, reduced adiposity and skeletal density, and adrenal hypertrophy. These effects may persist into abstinence and adulthood, and the long-term consequences of inhalant-induced metabolic dysfunction are currently unknown. The signs and symptoms resulting from chronic adolescent inhalant abuse may result in a propensity for the development of adult-onset metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes, however, further research investigating the long-term effects of inhalant abuse upon energy balance and metabolism are needed. This review addresses several aspects of the short- and long-term effects of inhalant abuse relating to energy and metabolic processes, including energy balance, intake and expenditure; dietary preferences and glycemic control; and the dysfunction of metabolic homeostasis through altered adipose tissue, bone, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function.Rose Crossin, Ashleigh Qama, Zane B. Andrews, Andrew J. Lawrence, Jhodie R. Dunca

Hepatitis B in the Northern Territory: insights into the changing epidemiology of an ancient condition

BACKGROUND: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately affected by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. A proposed mismatch between standard vaccines and the HBV/C4 sub-genotype prevalent in Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory (NT) may reduce vaccine effectiveness. AIMS: To determine HBV prevalence in the NT by Indigenous status and to explore patterns of immunity following implementation of universal vaccination, using a large longitudinal diagnostic dataset. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all available HBV serology results in the NT from 1991 to 2011 was conducted, with HBV prevalence and vaccination status analysed according to adigenous status, age and sex using individuals' patterns of HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc serology over repeated tests. RESULTS: 100 790 individuals were tested (33.4% Indigenous) between 1991 and 2011 (26.1% of the 2011 NT population), with a total of 211 802 tests performed. In 2011, the proportion of HBV positive individuals in the NT was 3.17% (5.22% in Indigenous populations) compared to previous 2011 estimates of 1.70% (3.70% in Indigenous populations). The vaccine failure rate was lower than expected with only one presumed vaccinated person subsequently developing HBsAg positivity (0.02%). Evidence of suboptimal vaccine efficacy by breakthrough anti-HBc positivity in vaccinated individuals was demonstrated in 3.1% of the vaccinated cohort, of which 86.4% identified as Indigenous (HR 1.17). No difference in HBeAg positivity or seroconversion was observed between Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals living with CHB. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of CHB in Indigenous people in the NT has previously been underestimated. A higher HBV prevalence in the NT than described in previous cross-sectional studies was found, including a higher prevalence in Indigenous people. Evidence of suboptimal vaccine efficacy was demonstrated predominantly in Indigenous individuals

NMDA receptor binding is reduced within mesocorticolimbic regions following chronic inhalation of toluene in adolescent rats

Abstract not availableAlec Lindsay Ward Dick, Tine Pooters, Sarah Gibbs, Emma Giles, Ashleigh Qama, Andrew John Lawrence, Jhodie Rubina Dunca