Outcome in Relation to Drinking Goals in Alcohol-Dependent Individuals: A Follow-up Study 2.5 and 5 Years After Treatment Entry.

Aims: To evaluate the long-term treatment outcome (up to 5 years) with respect to different drinking goals of patients.

Methods: Alcohol-dependent individuals (n = 349) were recruited from three alcohol treatment units. They were interviewed using the Addiction Severity Index (ASI).

TAQ1A1 Allele of the DRD2 Gene Region Contribute to Shorter Survival Time in Alcohol Dependent Individuals When Controlling for the Influence of Age and Gender. A Follow-up Study of 18 Years.

Aims: To investigate the influence of the A1 allele of the TAQ1A polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene region on mortality in adult individuals with alcohol dependence.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 359 alcohol-dependent individuals treated for severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms in 1997. Years of survival was studied in an 18-year follow-up.

The Influence of Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco on the Progression, Severity and Treatment Outcome in Alcohol-Dependent Individuals.

Aims: The influence of tobacco use in alcohol-dependent individuals is not well understood, especially the role of snuffing, which is common in Northern Europe. The aim was therefore to investigate the influence of smoking and snuffing on the progression, severity and treatment outcome in alcohol-dependent individuals. The hypotheses were that concomitant tobacco use (i.

Is There a Need for Congruent Treatment Goals Between Alcohol-Dependent Patients and Caregivers?

Background: Alcohol-dependent patients have different treatment goals when entering treatment. Furthermore, different treatment settings advocate different treatment goals. Earlier studies have pointed out that treatment goal is important for treatment outcome, both in the treatment setting as well as in the patients themselves.

Childhood maltreatment affects the serotonergic system in male alcohol-dependent individuals.

Background: Reduced central serotonergic neurotransmission has been demonstrated in individuals with excessive alcohol consumption and/or alcohol dependence. Childhood maltreatment has also been found to have a negative impact on central serotonergic neurotransmission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of childhood maltreatment on central serotonergic dysfunction in alcohol-dependent individuals.

Neuroendocrine assessment of serotonergic, dopaminergic, and noradrenergic functions in alcohol-dependent individuals.

Background: Alcohol dependence has been associated with reduced function of serotonin, dopamine as well as noradrenaline activities in several neuroendocrine studies. To our knowledge, there is, however, no study investigating all these 3 systems with the use of neuroendocrine methods in one and the same alcohol-dependent individual.

Methods: Alcohol-dependent individuals (n = 42) and controls (n = 28) participated in the neuroendocrine test series.

Do alcohol-dependent individuals with DRD2 A1 allele have an increased risk of relapse? A pilot study.

Aims: The TaqIA polymorphism of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene has been extensively studied in relation to alcoholism, and the TaqI A1 allele appears to be over-represented in alcohol-dependent individuals. In a recent study, this allele has also been associated with a highly increased mortality rate in alcohol-dependent individuals. In the present study, we investigated whether the TaqI A1 allele of the DRD2 gene region was associated with a higher relapse rate in alcohol-dependent individuals.

Reward-related genes and personality traits in alcohol-dependent individuals: a pilot case control study.

Components of the brain reward system, i.e. the mesolimbic dopamine, laterodorsal cholinergic and ghrelin signaling systems, have been implicated in alcohol reward in preclinical studies.

Do men with excessive alcohol consumption and social stability have an addictive personality?

The existence of an "addictive" personality has been extensively debated. The current study investigated personality in male individuals with excessive alcohol consumption (n=100) in comparison to a population-based control group (n=131). The individuals with excessive alcohol consumption were recruited by advertisements in a regional daily newspaper and controls from a population based Swedish Twin Registry.

Gamma-glutamyltransferase in alcohol use disorders: Modification of decision limits in relation to treatment goals?

Serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is recommended as a marker for alcohol use disorders by the Swedish National Guidelines for Addiction, although it has a low sensitivity and specificity. GGT is inexpensive and easily accessible but additional knowledge is required on how to use the marker in patients with various levels of alcohol intake. Levels of GGT were obtained from 37 male social drinkers (< 100 grams pure alcohol weekly) and 18 former alcohol-dependent males with long-term (6 +/- 5 years) abstinence.

Dopamine D2 receptor genotype is associated with increased mortality at a 10-year follow-up of alcohol-dependent individuals.

Aims: Because the TAQ1 A1 allele may be associated with alcohol-related medical illnesses, and medical illnesses in alcohol-dependent individuals are associated with increased mortality, we test the hypothesis that the TAQ1 A1 allele of the DRD2 gene is associated with increased mortality in alcohol-dependent individuals.

Methods: Following an index treatment episode, a 10-year follow-up study in 366 alcohol-dependent individuals was performed. The TAQ1 A1/A2 DRD2 genotype and allele frequencies were compared between those deceased and those still living at the 10-year point.

Thrombocytopenia in early alcohol withdrawal is associated with development of delirium tremens or seizures.

Aims: In several studies, possible risk factors/predictors for severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS), i.e. delirium tremens (DT) and/or seizures, have been investigated.

Self-reported health functioning in Swedish alcohol-dependent individuals: age and gender perspectives.

The aim of this study was to investigate health functioning and drinking patterns in a Swedish alcohol-dependent treatment sample. Gender and two age groups were, respectively, compared in these characteristics. Data for demographic characteristics, substance use and health functioning were collected by a structured interview, using the Addiction Severity Index.

Different effects of smoking or use of smokeless tobacco on platelet MAO-B activity in type 1 alcohol-dependent subjects.

Background: Low platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO)-B activity has been proposed as a marker for alcohol-dependence. Findings are, however, contradictory and the influence of confounding factors have been thoroughly investigated. Thus, it is now well established that cigarette smoking reduces platelet MAO-activity.

Tobacco use is associated with more severe alcohol dependence, as assessed by the number of DSM-IV criteria, in Swedish male type 1 alcoholics.

Background: A high smoking prevalence has been reported in treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent individuals. It has also been suggested that alcohol-dependent individuals who smoke may have a more severe course and greater severity of their alcoholism.

Methods: This study evaluated the impact of tobacco use in 108 Swedish male type 1 alcohol-dependent individuals, recruited by advertisement in a local daily newspaper.

The taqI DRD2 A1 allele is associated with alcohol-dependence although its effect size is small.

Background: Numerous studies of the relationship between the TaqIA DRD2 A1 allele and alcohol-dependence have been performed and many of these have shown an association whereas others have not (Noble, 2003). This has consequently generated some controversy as to whether such an association actually exists (Noble, 2003). In the two recent meta-analyses by Noble (2003) and Young et al.

Individuals with excessive alcohol intake recruited by advertisement: demographic and clinical characteristics.

Aims: Studies have shown that most individuals with alcohol problems have never received any treatment for their alcoholism. The purpose of the present study was to describe demographic and clinical characteristics in male individuals with excessive alcohol intake who were recruited by advertisements. These characteristics were compared between individuals with or without prior treatment histories.

Changes in mental well-being during Minnesota treatment.

The present study assessed mental well-being daily in 28 alcohol-dependent patients who underwent 28 days of Minnesota inpatient treatment. The Swedish Mood Adjective Check List (sMACL) with six bipolar dimensions was used for daily self-reports. At start of treatment, patients had lower levels in four dimensions of mental well-being compared to those of a norm group.

[Adolescents who have tried illicit drugs and experienced psychiatric symptoms seldom seek professional help. A pilot study of 18-year old high school students in an urban district].

In recent years the use of illicit drugs has increased among adolescents in Sweden. Prolonged use of illicit drugs causes different psychiatric symptoms, but usage of short duration has also been reported to induce similar symptoms. It is less known how these psychiatric symptoms caused by occasional intake of illicit drugs are managed.

Tobacco use is associated with reduced central serotonergic neurotransmission in type 1 alcohol-dependent individuals.

Background: Reduced central serotonergic neurotransmission in alcohol dependence may be attributed to the effects of cigarette smoking (and possibly more specifically to nicotine) rather than to alcoholism or its subtypes. The aim of the present study was therefore to compare central serotonergic neurotransmission in tobacco-using (cigarette smokers and users of smokeless tobacco, i.e.

Subnormal alpha-2-adrenoceptor-mediated sedation during 6 months of sobriety in male type 1 alcohol-dependent subjects.

Aims: In the present study, alpha(2)-adrenoceptor function was investigated over 6 months of sobriety in eight male alcohol-dependent subjects.

Methods: Subjects were investigated with repeated clonidine (CLON, 2 micro g/kg body weight intravenously) challenge tests at days 1 and 7, and months 2 and 6 after the end of a period of heavy alcohol intake. CLON-induced sedation was rated at challenge tests.

Extremely long recovery time for the sedative effect of clonidine in male type 1 alcohol-dependent subjects in full sustained remission.

The possible relation between alpha-2-adrenoceptor function-as assessed by changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate, as well as level of sedation, after administration of clonidine (2.0 microg/kg, i.v.

Platelet monoamine oxidase B in family history positive and family history negative type 1 alcohol-dependent subjects.

Aims And Methods: In the present study platelet monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) activity was investigated in 76 male type 1 alcohol-dependent subjects with and without a family history of alcoholism.

Results: Platelet MAO-B activity did not differ between family history positive (FHP) and family history negative alcohol-dependent subjects. The smoking status of the subjects was registered and there was still no difference between the groups when possible effects of smoking were taken into account.