Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jul 2011
Comparative StudyOutcomes of patients with alcohol use disorders experiencing healthcare-associated infections.
Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) affect 1.7 million patients annually in the United States, and patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) are at increased risk of developing HAI. HAI have been shown to substantially increase the hospital length of stay, mortality, and cost. In a cohort of patients with HAI, we sought to determine mortality, cost, and hospital length of stay attributable to AUD. ⋯ Patients with AUD who experience HAI have worse outcomes compared with patients without AUD. Patients with AUD have higher mortality, longer hospital length of stay, and higher costs. Studies aimed at decreasing the morbidity and mortality of HAI in patients with AUD are warranted.
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jul 2011
Comparative StudyEthanol alters BDNF-induced Rho GTPase activation in axonal growth cones.
The effects of ethanol on development of postmitotic neurons include altered neurite outgrowth and differentiation, which may contribute to neuropathology associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. We previously reported that ethanol exposure alters axon growth dynamics in dissociated cultures of rat hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Given the important regulatory role of small Rho guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) in cytoskeletal reorganization associated with axon growth, and reports that ethanol alters whole cell Rho GTPase activity in other cell types, this study explored the hypothesis that ethanol alters Rho GTPase activity specifically in axonal growth cones. ⋯ These results reveal an inhibitory effect of ethanol on growth cone signaling via small Rho GTPases during early stages of hippocampal development in vitro, and suggest a mechanism whereby ethanol may disrupt neurotrophic factor regulation of axon growth and guidance.