Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jun 2014
Modulation of fatty acid and bile acid metabolism by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α protects against alcoholic liver disease.
Chronic alcohol intake affects liver function and causes hepatic pathological changes. It has been shown that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα)-null mice developed more pronounced hepatic changes than wild-type (WT) mice after chronic exposure to a diet containing 4% alcohol. The remarkable similarity between the histopathology of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in Ppara-null model and in humans, and the fact that PPARα expression and activity in human liver are less than one-tenth of those in WT mouse liver make Ppara-null a good system to investigate ALD. ⋯ These observations indicate that PPARα plays a protective role to enhance mitochondrial function in response to chronic alcohol consumption by adaptive transcriptional activation and suggest that activation of this nuclear receptor may be of therapeutic value in the treatment for ALD.
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jun 2014
Racial/ethnic disparities in alcohol-related problems: differences by gender and level of heavy drinking.
While prior studies have reported racial/ethnic disparities in alcohol-related problems at a given level of heavy drinking (HD), particularly lower levels, it is unclear whether these occur in both genders and are an artifact of racial/ethnic differences in drink alcohol content. Such information is important to understanding disparities and developing specific, targeted interventions. This study addresses these questions and examines disparities in specific types of alcohol problems across racial-gender groups. ⋯ This study highlights the gender-specific nature of racial/ethnic disparities. Interventions focused on reducing HD might not address disparities in alcohol-related problems that exist at low levels of HD. Future research should consider the potential role of environmental and genetic factors in these disparities.