Frequency and Predictors of Alcohol-Related Outcomes Following Alcohol Residential Rehabilitation Programs: A 12-Month Follow-Up Study.

Excessive use of alcohol has been identified as a major risk factor for diseases, injury conditions and increased mortality. The aims of this study were to estimate the frequency of success (abstinence and no alcohol related hospitalization) at 6- and 12-month follow-up after hospital discharge, and to identify the predictors of success. In 2009, a total of 1040 patients at their first admission in one of the 12 Residential Alcohol Abuse Rehabilitation Units (RAARUs) participating in the CORRAL (COordinamento of Residenzialità Riabilitative ALcologiche) project were included in the study.

Abnormal fronto-striatal intrinsic connectivity reflects executive dysfunction in alcohol use disorders.

The neural bases of cognitive impairment(s) in alcohol use disorders (AUDs) have been explained either with the specific involvement of frontal regions mostly affected by alcohol neurotoxic effects, or with a global brain damage underlying different neuro-cognitive alterations. Novel insights into this issue might come from the analysis of resting-state brain activity, representing a baseline level of intrinsic connectivity within and between the networks underlying cognitive performance. We thus addressed the neural bases of cognitive impairment(s) in 22 AUD patients, compared with 18 healthy controls, by coupling resting-state fMRI with an in-depth neuropsychological assessment of the main cognitive domains.

Salience network structural integrity predicts executive impairment in alcohol use disorders.

The neural bases of cognitive impairment(s) in alcohol use disorders (AUDs) might reflect either a global brain damage underlying different neuro-cognitive alterations, or the involvement of specific regions mostly affected by alcohol neuro-toxic effects. While voxel-based-morphometry (VBM) studies have shown a distributed atrophic pattern in fronto-limbic and cerebellar structures, the lack of comprehensive neuro-cognitive assessments prevents previous studies from drawing robust inferences on the specificity of the association between neuro-structural and cognitive impairments in AUDs. To fill this gap, we addressed the neuro-structural bases of cognitive impairment in AUDs, by coupling VBM with an in-depth neuropsychological assessment.

Psychological changes in alcohol-dependent patients during a residential rehabilitation program.

Background: Alcohol-dependent patients usually experience negative affects under the influence of alcohol, and these affective symptoms have been shown to decrease as a result of alcohol-withdrawal treatment. A recent cognitive-affective model suggests an interaction between drug motivation and affective symptoms. The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the psychological changes in subjects undergoing a residential rehabilitation program specifically designed for alcohol addiction, and to identify at discharge patients with greater affective symptoms and therefore more at risk of relapse.

Impulsiveness and time perception in alcohol dependent patients in alcoholic rehabilitation treatment.

Introduction: To analyze the relationship between alcoholism, impulsiveness, anxiety and depression. Further, we wish to investigate the relationship between these variables and both the period of alcohol abuse and the length of hospitalization.

Methods: The investigation was carried out on a group of alcoholics in residential treatment (N=60) and on a control group (N=60); within the group of alcoholics in treatment, we attempted to investigate possible differences in performance between "pure alcoholics" (N=48) and polyabusers (N=12).

Platelet monoamine oxidase B activity as a state marker for alcoholism: trend over time during withdrawal and influence of smoking and gender.

Aims And Methods: The present study evaluated time-related changes in platelet monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) activity in an Italian cohort of alcohol-dependent subjects (n = 98) during early abstinence, and the effect of potential confounding factors, such as gender and smoking status, on the temporal trend of the enzyme activity.

Results: While still under the influence of ethanol (time point T1), the mean value of platelet MAO-B activity in alcoholics was 6.4 +/- 3.