Levels of Free Amino Acids and their Derivatives in the Brain Cortex of Rats During Unilateral Ischemia

amino acids, brain, ischemia.The efficiency of treatment of ischemic brain damage depends upon integrity of sofisticated conceptions of its pathogenesis. One of the prospective approaches in the development of most comprehensive treatment can be the study of the pool of free amino acids (AAs) as a possible target for the correction in such pathology. Available information does not provide a complete view on the changes of their content under ischemia of various severity. The aim of the study was to evaluate changes in the content of free amino acids and their derivatives in the frontal cortex of the cerebral hemispheres of rats at different terms of unilateral ischemia. Materials and methods: The changes of pool of A As and their derivatives in the frontal cortex of the cerebral hemispheres at different duration of unilateral cerebral ischemia (UCI) (1 hour, 3 hours, 1 day) were studied in 18 rats. The analyses of the levels of AAs and their derivatives were carried out in the supernatant of protein-free tissue homogenates by reversed-phase liquid chromatography using chromatograph Agilent 1100. Results: Shifts of AAs content after 3 h of UCI observed included the raise of lysine, branched chain AAs (BCAA) – valine and leucine, depletion of the aromatic AAs (AAA) — tyrosine and tryptophan with the doubled ratio of BCAA/AAA. Moreover, we observed the decrease in the content of asparagine and essential/nonessential AAs and glycogenic/ketogenic AAs ratios. These changes were disappeared after 1 day of UCI. Conclusions: These results show possible mechanisms of development of the energy and neurotransmitter imbalances and their implications in the function of the brain with pathology studied. It is feasible that limitation on BCAA in this pathology will reduce consequences of mediator disturbancies caused by the deficiency of the precursors of biogenic amines – tyrosine and tryptophan

Effect of affordability of alcohol on the level of alcohol consumption in Russia

Objective: To study the relationship between the affordability of alcohol and the level of its sale, the total level of consumption, as well as the consumption of unrecorded alcohol in Russia in the post-Soviet period.&nbsp;Methods: A comparative analysis of the dynamics of the affordability of alcohol, the level of its sale, the total level of consumption, as well as the consumption of unrecorded alcohol in Russia in the period from 1991 to 2015 was carried out. Statistical analysis (Spearman’s correlation, linear regression) was carried out using the STATISTICA 10 package.&nbsp;Results: The affordability of alcohol is positively correlated with the sale of alcohol (r=0,64; p&lt;0.000) and negatively correlated with the total level of alcohol consumption (r=-0,4; p&lt;0.000), as well as the level of unrecorded alcohol consumption (r=-0,77; p&lt;0,000).&nbsp;Conclusions: This study revealed the positive relationship between affordability of alcohol and the level of alcohol sales, as well as negative relationship between affordability of alcohol and unregistered alcohol consumption in Russia.</p

The effects of alcohol taxation and pricing policies on vodka sales in Russia

Background: The majority of aggregate econometric studies indicate that higher taxes and real prices on alcohol significantly reduce the alcohol consumption. Objectives: To estimate the effects of recent alcohol taxation and pricing policies on vodka sales per capita in Russia. Methods: Trends in the affordability of vodka, excise tax rates on vodka, real and minimum price of vodka and per capita vodka sales between 2010 and 2015, were compared. Results: A Pearson&rsquo;s correlation analysis suggests a positive and statistically significant association between the affordability of vodka and per capita vodka sales. The association between vodka sales and excise tax rates on vodka, the real price of vodka and minimum price of vodka was negative. Conclusions: These findings indicate that pricing policy has potential to reduce binge drinking of vodka in Russia

Estimation of the level of alcohol consumption in Russia: A literature review

Background: the level of alcohol consumption per capita is an important indicator of the alcohol-related problems. However, it is difficult to estimate the real level of alcohol consumption, since part of the consumption comes from illegal sources. Aim: an overview of studies estimating the overall level of alcohol consumption in Russia. Methods: in this review, 9 articles were analyzed estimating the overall level of alcohol consumption in Russia. Results: in the period from 1956 to 2015 the overall level of alcohol consumption was subject to significant fluctuations: it grew almost linearly in the period from 1965 to 1979; decreased markedly in 1981; declined sharply between 1984 and 1987; rose sharply between 1991 and 1994; decreased significantly between 1995 and 1998; then increased significantly in the period from 1999 to 2003, after which it began to decline. The lowest estimate of the level of alcohol consumption for the entire period under consideration was obtained using the method proposed by Razvodovsky (7.25 litres - 1987), and the highest - using the method proposed by Norstrom (19.64 litres - 1994). Conclusion: despite a significant decrease in the level of alcohol consumption in Russia over the past decade, this level remains high

Impact of income on the structure of alcohol sales in Russia

Significant changes in the structure of alcohol consumption, as well as changing economic cycles, make Russia a convenient object for studying the impact of the population’s income on the structure of alcohol consumption. The aim of this study was to study the relationship between income and the structure of alcohol sales in Russia at the population level.&nbsp;Methods: A comparative analysis of the dynamics of the gross domestic product (GDP) and the level of sales of various types of alcoholic beverages/the structure of alcohol sales in Russia in the period from 1990 to 2015 was carried out. Statistical data processing was carried out using the STATISTICA 10 package.&nbsp;Results: According to the results of the correlation analysis, GDP is negatively correlated with the sale of vodka (r = -0.63; p &lt;0.000)/the share of vodka in the sales structure (r = -0.8; p &lt;0.000) and positively correlates with beer sales (r = 0.5; p &lt;0.000)/share of beer in the sales structure (r = -0.72; p &lt;0.000), as well as with wine sales (r = 0.73 ; p &lt;0.000)/share of wine in the sales structure (r = 0.67; p &lt;0.000).&nbsp;Conclusions: The improvement of the macroeconomic situation and the growth of incomes of the population was one of the drivers of the change in the structure of alcohol consumption in Russia in favor of low-alcohol drinks.</p

Alcohol Consumption and Pancreatitis Mortality

Background: Pancreatitis is a major public health problem with high associated economic costs. Accumulated research and empirical evidence suggests that excessive alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for both acute and chronic pancreatitis. In line with this evidence we assume that devastating combination of higher level of alcohol consumption per capita and drinking of vodka results in a close association between binge drinking and pancreatitis mortality at the aggregate level in Russia. This paper was design to estimate the aggregate level effect of binge drinking on pancreatitis mortality rate in Russian.Method: Trends in age-adjusted, sex-specifi c pancreatitis mortality and fatal alcohol poisoning rate (as a proxy for binge drinking) from 1956 to 2015 were analyzed employing a distributed lags analysis in order to ass’s bivariate relationship between the two time series.Results: The results of the time series analysis indicates the presence of a statistically significant association between the two time series at zero lag for male (r = 0.72; S.E. = 0.13), and for female (r = 0.36; S.E. = 0.13).Conclusion: The results of present study support the hypothesis that alcohol played a crucial role in pancreatitis mortality fl uctuation in Russia over the past decades. This study also indicates that substantial proportion of pancreatitis deaths in Russia is due to acute effect of binge drinking. The&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; findings from the present study have important implications as regards pancreatitis mortality prevention indicating that a restrictive alcohol policy can be considered as an effective measure of prevention in countries where higher rate of alcohol consumption and binge drinking pattern.</p