Does sex moderate the effects of early life stress on peripheral inflammation in alcohol use disorder? A preliminary investigation.

Introduction: Early life stress (ELS) increases risk for many medical and psychiatric illnesses, including alcohol use disorder (AUD). Females appear to be more vulnerable than males to adverse ELS-related health outcomes, including heavy alcohol use. The biological processes underlying sex differences in ELS-related drinking outcomes are not well understood.

Examining the moderating role of cannabis use on the relationship between alcohol consumption and inflammation in individuals with alcohol use disorder.

Inflammation appears to be a critical mechanism in the development of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and a consequence of chronic alcohol use. The potential anti-inflammatory properties of cannabis may modulate the proinflammatory effects of alcohol. This study sought to extend previous work investigating the relationship between alcohol consumption, cannabis use and circulating interleukin (IL)-6 levels in a sample with AUD.

Endpoints for Pharmacotherapy Trials for Alcohol Use Disorder.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a debilitating disorder, yet currently approved pharmacotherapies to treat AUD are under-utilized. The three medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the indication of AUD are disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone. The current landscape of pharmacotherapies for AUD suggests opportunities for improvement.

Characterizing reward and relief/habit drinking profiles in a study of naltrexone, varenicline, and placebo.

Introduction: This study aims to clarify differences in mood, craving, and treatment response between reward and relief/habit individuals in a study of naltrexone, varenicline, and placebo. We hypothesized that relief/habit individuals would have a poorer mood during early abstinence and higher levels of alcohol craving than reward individuals. We hypothesized that reward individuals would demonstrate better drinking outcomes on naltrexone versus placebo.

Early life stress is associated with greater negative emotionality and peripheral inflammation in alcohol use disorder.

Early life stress (ELS) increases risk for psychiatric illness, including alcohol use disorder (AUD). Researchers have hypothesized that individuals with and without a history of ELS who have the same primary DSM-5 diagnosis are clinically and biologically distinct. While there is strong support for this hypothesis in the context of mood disorders, the hypothesis remains largely untested in the context of AUD.

The gut microbiome in alcohol use disorder and alcohol-associated liver disease: A systematic review of clinical studies.

Evidence suggests that a relationship exists between the gut microbiome and the pathogenesis of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-associated liver disease (AALD). This systematic review identified studies that investigated the gut microbiome in individuals with an AUD or an AALD. A search was conducted on October 27, 2022, in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases.

Characterizing alcohol cue reactive and non-reactive individuals with alcohol use disorder.

Purpose: Exposure to alcohol-related cues is thought to elicit a conditional response characterized by increased craving in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). In the context of AUD research, it is important to consider that not all individuals with an AUD are alcohol cue reactive. This study systematically examined subjective alcohol cue reactivity and its clinical and drinking correlates in individuals with an AUD enrolled in a human laboratory pharmacotherapy trial.

Neuroimmune modulators as novel pharmacotherapies for substance use disorders.

One promising avenue of research is the use of neuroimmune modulators to treat substance use disorders (SUDs). Neuroimmune modulators target the interactions between the nervous system and immune system, which have been found to play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of SUDs. Multiple classes of substances produce alterations to neuroimmune signaling and peripheral immune function, including alcohol, opioids, and psychostimulants Preclinical studies have shown that neuroimmune modulators can reduce drug-seeking behavior and prevent relapse in animal models of SUDs.

Neural correlates of the addictions neuroclinical assessment (ANA) incentive salience factor among individuals with alcohol use disorder.

The Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment (ANA) is a recently-developed framework offering a more holistic understanding of three neurofunctional and behavioral domains that reflect the neurobiological dysfunction seen in alcohol use disorder (AUD). While the ANA domains have been well-validated across independent laboratories, there is a critical need to identify neural markers that subserve the proposed neurofunctional domains. The current study involves secondary data analysis of a two-week experimental medication trial of ibudilast (50 mg BID).

Anterior cingulate and medial prefrontal cortex alcohol cue reactivity varies as a function of drink preference in alcohol use disorder.

Background: Functional MRI visual cue reactivity studies have not considered that brain responses to various alcohol-containing beverage types may vary as a function of an individual's drinking patterns and preferences. This study tested whether the brain's reward system responds differently to visual cues associated with an individuals' most commonly consumed ("preferred") alcohol beverage compared with less commonly consumed ("non-preferred") alcohol beverages in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Methods: Participants (N=70) with current AUD completed a standard visual alcohol cue reactivity procedure during fMRI and reported recent alcohol use through the Timeline Followback interview.

Influence of sleep quality on lapse to alcohol use during a quit attempt.

Aims: Sleep problems are common among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and is often associated with a heightened relapse risk. The present study examines the relationship between sleep and alcohol use among individuals with current AUD during a 6-day quit attempt as part of a medication study.

Methods: The current study is a secondary analysis of a medication trial for individuals with AUD.

The role of sex in daily levels of high-risk alcohol and cannabis co-use.

Background: Co-use of alcohol and cannabis is highly prevalent and may be associated with negative outcomes. The intersection between alcohol and cannabis use remains poorly understood. The present study assessed this intersection and the moderating effects of sex on the daily levels of high-risk alcohol and cannabis co-use.

A practice quit model to test early efficacy of medications for alcohol use disorder in a randomized clinical trial.

Rationale: Screening novel medications for alcohol use disorder (AUD) requires models that are both efficient and ecologically-valid. Ideally, such models would be associated with the outcomes of a given medication in clinical trials.

Objectives: To test a novel human laboratory model in which individuals with intrinsic motivation to change their drinking engage in a "practice quit" attempt consisting of 6 days of complete abstinence from alcohol.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with enhanced sensitivity to cellular lipopolysaccharide challenge.

Background: Inflammation has been associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD). A novel method to characterize AUD-related immune signaling involves probing Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 stimulated monocyte production of intracellular cytokines (ICCs) via lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We evaluated relationships between AUD and ICC production at rest and after LPS stimulation.

Response to Letter to the Editors regarding 'A Meta-Regression of Trial Features Predicting the Effects of Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapies on Drinking Outcomes in Randomized Clinical Trials: A Secondary Data Analysis'.

The Letter to the Editors regarding our article was reviewed. The take-home message is that substantively, the authors of the letter are referencing a paper that asks a different research question in a different set of studies. When we ask different questions, we are not surprised when we reach different answers.

Alcohol Craving and Severity are Associated with Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Choline Levels in Individuals with an Alcohol Use Disorder.

Aims: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has been used to probe inflammation in the brain. While altered MRS metabolite levels have previously been found in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD), the relationship between potential metabolite markers of inflammation and the clinical correlates of AUD remains understudied. Therefore, this exploratory study sought to elucidate the clinical significance of inflammation in AUD by examining relationships between metabolites, AUD severity, alcohol consumption, and craving in individuals with AUD.

Translational models of addiction phenotypes to advance addiction pharmacotherapy.

Alcohol and substance use disorders are heterogeneous conditions with limited effective treatment options. While there have been prior attempts to classify addiction subtypes, they have not been translated into clinical practice. In an effort to better understand heterogeneity in psychiatric disorders, the National Institute for Mental Health Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) has challenged scientists to think beyond diagnostic symptoms and to consider the underlying features of psychopathology from a neuroscience-based framework.

Baseline C-reactive protein levels are predictive of treatment response to a neuroimmune modulator in individuals with an alcohol use disorder: a preliminary study.

Inflammation is implicated in alcohol use disorder (AUD). Ibudilast, a neuroimmune modulator, shows promise for the treatment of AUD. Elevated inflammation, indicated by high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), represents a possible subtype of AUD, which may be associated with treatment response to ibudilast.