The complementarity of phosphatidylethanol in whole blood and ethyl glucuronide in hair as biomarkers for the monitoring of alcohol use.

Monitoring long-term alcohol use and/or abstinence is essential in clinical and medico-legal cases. Analysis of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair provides information on alcohol consumption over several months. However, there is a lag time between ethanol consumption, incorporation of EtG in the hair bulb and hair growing out of the scalp.

Analytical performance of eight enzymatic assays for ethanol in serum evaluated by data from the Belgian external quality assessment scheme.

Objectives: Fast and reliable ethanol assays analysis are used in a clinical context for patients suspected of ethanol intoxication. Mostly, automated systems using an enzymatic reaction based on ethanol dehydrogenase are used. The manuscript focusses on the evaluation of the performance of these assays.

Ethyl glucuronide and alcohol abstinence: A correlation study in hair and fingernails to establish a cut-off value in fingernails for teetotalers.

Introduction: Excessive use of alcohol increases the risk to be involved in a road traffic accident. According to many legislations, certain maximal blood-alcohol-concentrations (BAC) have to be respected to be allowed to drive on public roads. Acute alcohol intoxication is evaluated by blood analysis or analysis of the exhaled alveolar air.

Stability of phosphatidylethanol 16:0/18:1 in authentic and spiked whole blood.

Phosphatidylethanol 16:0/18:1 (PEth) is the most abundant homologue of the phosphatidylethanol group of phospholipids. Formed only in the presence of ethanol, PEth is used as a biomarker in whole blood to provide information about the consumption of alcohol. As information on the storage life of PEth is essential for its beneficial use as a biomarker, this study investigated the stability of PEth in spiked and authentic whole blood samples stored at 4°C.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Biomarkers of Alcohol Use in Patients With Liver Disease: A Systematic Review.

Background And Aims: Alcohol-related liver disease is the most frequent cause of cirrhosis and a major indication for liver transplantation. Several alcohol use biomarkers have been developed in recent years and are already in use in several centers. However, in patients with liver disease their diagnostic performance might be influenced by altered biomarker formation by hepatic damage, altered excretion by kidney dysfunction and diuretics use, and altered deposition in hair and nails.

When clozapine appears at a dance event….

: The content of substances sold and consumed as party drugs is often unknown. They may contain inactive, contaminated or unexpected ingredients, and the dosage of the active components may vary considerably. Obviously, these phenomena increase the chances of a wrong or delayed therapy.

Human exposure pathways to organophosphate flame retardants: Associations between human biomonitoring and external exposure.

Organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) have largely replaced the market of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Concerns about PFR contamination and its impact on human health have consequently increased. A comprehensive investigation on the human exposure pathways to PFRs is to be endeavoured.

How to Interpret Hair EtG Concentrations in Individuals with High Body Mass Index? Brief Commentary on: Influence of Body Mass Index on Hair Ethyl Glucuronide Concentrations.

Body mass index (BMI) is a variable that complicates the interpretation of the alcohol metabolite ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair. However, direction on how EtG should currently be interpreted within individuals consuming moderate and excessive daily amounts of alcohol related to their BMI is lacking. In light of interpretation of EtG in individuals with high BMI, we present post hoc analysis of earlier data regarding the effect of BMI on hair EtG concentrations.

Everolimus depletes plaque macrophages, abolishes intraplaque neovascularization and improves survival in mice with advanced atherosclerosis.

Background And Aims: Inhibition of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a promising approach to halt atherogenesis in different animal models. This study evaluated whether the mTOR inhibitor everolimus can stabilize pre-existing plaques, prevent cardiovascular complications and improve survival in a mouse model of advanced atherosclerosis.

Methods: ApoEFbn1 mice (n = 24) were fed a Western diet (WD) for 12 weeks.

Evaluation of vilazodone for the treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) significantly contribute to the global burden of disease. Vilazodone, a combined serotonin reuptake inhibitor and 5-HT1A partial agonist, is an approved therapy for the treatment of MDD and which has been further investigated for GAD. Areas covered: This article covers the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of vilazodone and provides an evaluation of the clinical usefulness of vilazodone for the treatment of MDD and anxiety disorders.

Gammahydroxybutyrate in hair of non-GHB and repeated GHB users: A new and optimized method.

Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is a short-chain fatty acid used recreationally as a drug of abuse due its strong suppressive effect on the central nervous system. The detection window of GHB in blood and urine is very narrow (t1/2=30min) but can be substantially prolonged using alternative matrices such as hair. We here present a newly developed and limited validated method with a solid phase extraction (SPE) using GC-MS/MS to determine concentrations of GHB in hair samples.

Pharmacokinetic evaluation of the aripiprazole (once-monthly) injection for the treatment of bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a severe, chronic psychiatric disorder with a need for long-term treatment. Patient nonadherence is frequent and poses a major problem in maintenance therapy. Aripiprazole once-monthly long-acting injectable (AOM LAI) is a recently US Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment option for maintenance therapy that could be of great value.

Pharmacotherapy and nutritional supplements for seasonal affective disorders: a systematic review.

Introduction: A seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a subtype of unipolar and bipolar major depressive disorders. It is characterized by its annual recurrence of depressive episodes at a particular season, mostly seen in winter and is responsible for 10-20% of the prevalence of major depressive disorders. Some pathophysiological hypotheses, such as the phase delay and the monoamine depletion hypotheses, have been postulated but the exact cause has not been fully unraveled yet.

Assessment of ethyl sulphate in hair as a marker for alcohol consumption using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulphate (EtS) are 2 non-oxidative and direct metabolites of ethanol. EtG is known to accumulate in hair and has proved to be a reliable biomarker for detection of chronic alcohol consumption. EtS has been analysed in blood and urine but has never been reported in hair.

Lower Limbic Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Availability in Alcohol Dependence.

Animal studies suggest an important role for the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGlu5) in the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence, but direct human evidence is lacking. The goal of this study was to investigate cerebral mGlu5 availability in alcohol-dependent subjects versus controls using F-3-fluoro-5-[(pyridin-3-yl)ethynyl]benzonitrile (F-FPEB) PET. Dynamic 90-min F-FPEB scans combined with arterial blood sampling were acquired for 16 recently abstinent alcohol-dependent subjects and 32 age-matched controls.

Keratinous matrices for the assessment of drugs of abuse consumption: A correlation study between hair and nails.

Keratinous matrices - hair and nails - accumulate substances over time and allow retrospective investigation of past consumption. Analysis of these matrices can provide information complementary to blood and urine analysis or can be used as standalone. So far, research has primarily focused on the detection of substances in hair, while studies in nails are scarce.

Ethyl glucuronide in keratinous matrices as biomarker of alcohol use: A correlation study between hair and nails.

To quantify alcohol use, objective, specific and sensitive long-term alcohol markers are necessary. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a direct metabolite of alcohol, accumulates in keratinous matrices such as hair and nails, and is a specific and sensitive long-term biomarker for the detection of chronic alcohol consumption. So far, research has primarily focused on the detection of EtG in hair, and studies on its measurement in nails are scarce.

Assessment of dietary exposure to organohalogen contaminants, legacy and emerging flame retardants in a Norwegian cohort.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), emerging halogenated flame retardants (EHFRs) and organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) were detected in 24h duplicate diet samples from a Norwegian cohort (n=61), with concentrations ranging from View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A straightforward, validated liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous detection of nine drugs of abuse and their metabolites in hair and nails.

Hair and nails allow for a stable accumulation of compounds over time and retrospective investigation of past exposure and/or consumption. Owing to their long window of detection (weeks to months), analysis of these matrices can provide information complementary to blood and urine analysis or can be used in standalone when e.g.