Alcohol Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Alcohol, including details on use, abuse, treatment, health, rehab. | ||||||
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Overweight and obesity are associated with psychiatric disorders: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.Petry NM, Barry D, Pietrzak RH, Wagner JA Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-3944, USA. petry@psychiatry.uchc.edu OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated associations between body mass index (BMI) and psychiatric disorders. METHODS: Data from 41,654 respondents in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions were analyzed. RESULTS: After controlling for demographics, the continuous variable of BMI was significantly associated with most mood, anxiety, and personality disorders. When persons were classified into BMI categories of underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese, and extremely obese, both obese categories had significantly increased odds of any mood, anxiety, and alcohol use disorder, as well as any personality disorder, with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 1.21 to 2.08. Specific Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-revision IV mood and personality disorders associated with obesity included major depression, dysthmia, and manic episode (ORs, 1.45-2.70) and antisocial, avoidant, schizoid, paranoid, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders (ORs, 1.31-2.55). Compared with normal weight individuals, being moderately overweight was significantly associated with anxiety and some substance use disorders, but not mood or personality disorders. Specific anxiety disorders that occurred at significantly higher rates among all categories of persons exceeding normal weight were generalized anxiety, panic without agoraphobia, and specific phobia (ORs, 1.23-2.60). Being underweight was significantly related to only a few disorders; it was positively related to specific phobia (OR, 1.31) and manic episode (OR, 1.83), and negatively associated with social phobia (OR, 0.60), panic disorder with agoraphobia (OR, 0.40), and avoidant personality disorder (OR, 0.59). CONCLUSION: These data provide a systematic and comprehensive assessment of the association between body weight and psychiatric conditions. Interventions addressing weight loss may benefit from integrating treatment for psychiatric disorders. Published 14 April 2008 in Psychosom Med, 70(3): 288-97. Articles on Alcohol published 8 April 2008: Effect of naltrexone and ondansetron on alcohol cue-induced activation of the ventral striatum in alcohol-dependent people. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 65(4): 466-75. CONTEXT: Medication for the treatment of alcoholism is currently not particularly robust. Neuroimaging techniques might predict which medications could be useful in the treatment of alcohol dependence. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of naltrexone, ondansetron hydrochloride, or the combination of these medications on cue-induced craving and ventral striatum activation. DESIGN: Functional brain imaging was conducted during alcohol cue presentation. SETTING: Participants were recruited from the ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Alcohol published 19 March 2008: Association of NFKB1, which encodes a subunit of the transcription factor NF-kappaB, with alcohol dependence. Hum Mol Genet, 17(7): 963-70. A broad region on chromosome 4q has been linked to alcohol dependence (alcoholism). We hypothesized that such broad linkage regions represent the combined action of multiple genes. Seeking to identify genes within that region that are associated with alcoholism, we have tested the association of NFKB1, located at 4q24, with alcoholism. NFKB1 encodes a 105 kDa transcription inhibitor that is cleaved to the 50 kDa DNA-binding subunit of the ubiquitous transcription factor NF-kappaB. NF-kappaB ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Apolipoprotein E polymorphism, homocysteine serum levels and hippocampal volume in patients with alcoholism: an investigation of a gene-environment interaction. Pharmacogenomics J, 8(2): 117-21. There is growing evidence that disadvantageous influences of the apolipoprotein E4 allele in the central nervous system are modified by environmental and dietary conditions. The present study investigated the gene-environment interaction of apolipoprotein E4 with homocysteine serum levels in patients with alcohol dependence with regard to alcohol-related hippocampal volume loss using volumetric high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. We included 52 patients with alcohol-dependence. ApoE ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Low level of harm avoidance is associated with serotonin transporter functional haplotype in alcohol-dependent individuals. Psychiatr Genet, 18(2): 59-63. BACKGROUND: The serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) encodes a trans-membrane protein (5-HTT) that plays an important role in regulating serotonergic neurotransmission, which is known to be involved in many psychiatric disorders. A polymorphism in the transcriptional control region containing long (L) and short (S) variants (5-HTTLPR) as well as alleles of the variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) region were demonstrated. Higher serotonin levels among carriers of the S allele might exhibit ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Alcohol published 14 March 2008: Neurokinin 1 receptor antagonism as a possible therapy for alcoholism. Science, 319(5869): 1536-9. Alcohol dependence is a major public health challenge in need of new treatments. As alcoholism evolves, stress systems in the brain play an increasing role in motivating continued alcohol use and relapse. We investigated the role of the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R), a mediator of behavioral stress responses, in alcohol dependence and treatment. In preclinical studies, mice genetically deficient in NK1R showed a marked decrease in voluntary alcohol consumption and had an increased sensitivity to ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Alcohol published 6 March 2008: Effector immediate-early gene arc in the amygdala plays a critical role in alcoholism. J Neurosci, 28(10): 2589-600. The immediate early gene, activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc), has been implicated in synaptic plasticity. However, the role of Arc in alcoholism is unknown. Here, we report that the anxiolytic effects of acute ethanol were associated with increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine kinase B (trkB) expression, increased phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (Erk1/2), Elk-1, and cAMP responsive element-binding protein (CREB), ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Alcohol published 5 March 2008: A 74-year-old man with memory loss and neuropathy who enjoys alcoholic beverages. JAMA, 299(9): 1046-54. Adverse effects of alcohol on the peripheral and central nervous system can be direct (ie, neurotoxicity) or indirect (eg, nutritional deficiency). Using the case of Mr E, an older, moderate to heavy drinker experiencing memory difficulty, the diagnostic considerations, which include mild cognitive impairment, early Alzheimer dementia, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, and "alcoholic dementia," are discussed. These disorders are not mutually exclusive, and in a patient with either mild ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Alcohol published 26 February 2008: Comparison of ethyl glucuronide in hair with phosphatidylethanol in whole blood as post-mortem markers of alcohol abuse. Forensic Sci Int, 176(1): 76-81. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a direct metabolite of ethanol and has been used as a marker of alcohol abuse in both urine and hair. This study investigated the value of EtG testing in post-mortem hair for diagnostic improvement of alcohol abuse in forensic medicine. Material from 70 consecutive medico-legal autopsies was collected in accordance with the recommendations on ethics by the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine. A method for determination of EtG in hair samples was developed ... [Abstract] [Full-text] © 2004-2008 Alcohol Research Today. All Rights Reserved. |
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