Social factors but not stress-coping styles predict relapse in detoxified alcoholics.

Alcohol-dependent patients face a substantial risk of relapse after detoxification. Though psychosocial stress and coping strategies are regarded as major contributing factors in returning to drinking, the direct effects of coping styles on relapse are not clear. In this treatment outcome study, a mixed gender sample of 130 detoxified and well-characterized alcohol-dependent patients (37 women) was followed up over a period of 12 months after 6 weeks of inpatient treatment.

Controlled study on the combined effect of alcohol and tobacco smoking on testosterone in alcohol-dependent men.

Aims: The present study examined the association between pre-treatment drinking and smoking parameters and plasma testosterone levels before and after alcohol withdrawal.

Methods: A total of 51 alcohol-dependent men and 43 age-matched healthy men were investigated. In alcoholics, free testosterone in plasma was measured on the day of admission, after detoxification and after 6 weeks of sobriety.

Cortisol concentrations, stress-coping styles after withdrawal and long-term abstinence in alcohol dependence.

Alcohol-dependent patients face a substantial risk of relapse after detoxification. A major risk factor for relapse is stress which is reflected biologically by various physiological changes that include an activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and release of glucocorticoids. The prospective study examined cortisol concentrations and stress-coping styles in relation to abstinence 1 year following discharge from treatment.

A functional polymorphism in the promoter region of the monoamine oxidase A gene is associated with the cigarette smoking quantity in alcohol-dependent heavy smokers.

Tobacco smoking represents a leading cause of morbidity and mortality with a strong dose-response relation between the amount of smoking and the risks of tobacco-related diseases and death. The quantity that is smoked is determined predominantly by genetic factors. The present study examined whether there is an association between the quantity of cigarettes smoked and length variation of a functional 30-bp repeat polymorphism in the promoter region of the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) gene.

A three-axes approach of subtyping the alcohol dependence syndrome.

Subtyping of alcoholics according to specific characteristics has a long tradition in alcoholism research with a number of different typologies that emerged in the literature. The goal of the present study was to test a multidimensional approach of subtyping with characteristics from different axes. Therefore, male inpatients meeting ICD-10 criteria for alcohol dependence were rated on three axes by assessing their degree of sensation seeking (personality axis), age of alcoholism onset (clinical axis) and level of dopamine activity (neurobiological axis).

Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism and personality traits in primary alcohol dependence.

We tested the hypothesis of an association between the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene regulatory region polymorphism and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) personality dimension of Harm Avoidance. For the study, 124 subjects seeking inpatient treatment for primary alcohol dependence were grouped by their 5-HTT genotype and assessed with the TCI. Genotypes differed statistically significantly in Harm Avoidance but not in any other personality trait.