Workshop on Alcohol Use and Health Disparities 2002: a call to arms.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored a "Workshop on Alcohol Use and Health Disparities 2002: A Call to Arms," on December 5, 2002, in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. This workshop was part of the NIAAA/NIH comprehensive strategic plan to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, health disparities. Eleven topics were addressed: (1).

Audio computerized self-report interview use in prenatal clinics: audio computer-assisted self interview with touch screen to detect alcohol consumption in pregnant women: application of a new technology to an old problem.

Computer interviewing to obtain sensitive information is not a new concept. However, concerns about the acceptance of computers in disadvantaged populations with potentially low literacy led us to combine audio- and touch-screen technologies with an audio computerized self-report interview to obtain information about alcohol use. This study evaluated acceptance and ease of use by a disadvantaged population of pregnant women in the District of Columbia.

Alcohol-related birth defects--the past, present, and future.

In 1994 Alcohol Health & Research World (now titled Alcohol Research & Health) last devoted a full issue to the topic of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and other alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD). This introductory article provides readers with information on how the field has advanced since then. In addition to tracing the development of the terminology used in the field, it describes the difficulties involved in determining the true prevalence of FAS and ARBD; the mechanisms that may play a role in alcohol-derived fetal injuries; approaches to preventing drinking during pregnancy; and strategies for assisting people who have been born with FAS and ARBD.

Changes in lipid composition of rat heart mitochondria after chronic ethanol administration.

Triacylglycerols and phospholipids of mitochondria from heart ventricular muscle were analyzed following chronic ethanol administration (2 and 10 g/kg of body weight/day) to adult rats for 21 days via intragastric intubation. Triacylglycerols were elevated 57% in the high ethanol group as compared to controls, but cholesterol level was not altered. Most of the phospholipids, including lysophospholipids, showed a small increase in level after ethanol administration.

On the status of lysolecithin in rat cerebral cortex during ischemia.

Lysolecithin (lysoglycerophosphocholine, LPC) was isolated from rat cerebral cortex and quantitatively analyzed at various times after postdecapitative ischemic treatment. In addition, different procedures for extraction and analysis of the LPC in brain were evaluated. Results indicated that LPC can be quantitatively extracted into the organic phase using the conventional extraction procedure with chloroform-methanol (2:1, vol/vol).

Ethanol consumption and serum lipid profiles in Sinclair(S-1) miniature swine.

Ethanol consumption was correlated with changes in acyl group profiles of phosphatidylcholine and triacylglycerols in serum of Sinclair(S-1) miniature boars. Serum triacylglycerols in the control pigs were high in linoleate (18:2) (48%) and low in stearate (18:0 (3%). Upon feeding with 10% (w/v) ethanol ad lib for two weeks, the proportion of 18:2 in serum triacylglycerols decreased to 12-15% with a concomitant increase in 16:0, 18:0 and 18:1.

Serum albumin washing specifically enhances arachidonate incorporation into synaptosomal phosphatidylinositols.

Arachidonate incorporation into synaptosomal phospholipids was shown to be affected by factors including the procedure for preparation of the membrane fractions and preincubation of synaptosomes prior to assay of incorporation of arachidonate into both phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylinositol (PI). However, the inhibition toward incorporation into PIs, but not PCs, was fully reversed when the membranes were washed with bovine serum albumin. A twofold increase in arachidonate incorporation into PIs was also observed when freshly prepared synaptosomes were washed with serum albumin immediately before assay of incorporation activity.