Alcohol self-administration and nicotine withdrawal alter biomarkers of stress and inflammation and prefrontal cortex changes in Gβ subunits.

Although alcohol and nicotine are often used together, the biological consequences of these substances are not well understood. Identifying shared targets will inform cessation pharmacotherapies and provide a deeper understanding of how co-use of alcohol and nicotine impacts health, including biomarkers of stress and inflammation. We examined the effects of nicotine exposure and withdrawal on alcohol self-administration (SA), stress and inflammatory biomarkers, and a G-protein coupled receptor subunit (Gβ) in brain areas associated with drug use.

Do racial/ethnic disparities exist in the utilization of high-volume surgeons for women with ovarian cancer?

Objective: Determine if racial/ethnic disparities exist for access to high-volume surgeons (HVS) for patients with ovarian cancer.

Methods: Retrospective study of ovarian cancer surgeries identified by the California Cancer Registry (CCR) linked to hospital discharge data (1991-2002). Surgeon volume was defined as HVS (>10 ovarian cancer surgeries/year), middle volume (MVS; 2-9/year), and low volume (LVS; View Article and Find Full Text PDF