Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
-
Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Dec 1995
Stage-dependent effects of ethanol on cranial neural crest cell development: partial basis for the phenotypic variations observed in fetal alcohol syndrome.
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is characterized by growth retardation, mental deficiencies, and numerous craniofacial and neuronal anomalies; the type and severity of these defects may be related to the time and dose of maternal ethanol exposure. Ethanol administered during presomitic stages results in the typical FAS craniofacial phenotype and is accompanied by a loss of cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs) through ethanol-induced cell death. However, the stage-specific effects of ethanol on the CNCC population is unknown. ⋯ These results suggest that there are distinct developmental windows during which the CNCCs may be particularly susceptible to ethanol-induced cell death. We conclude that ethanol exposure seems to affect specific events adversely during neural crest development. The timing of embryonic ethanol exposure relative to CNCC development could account, in part, for the heterogenous craniofacial defects observed in FAS.
-
The steady decline in tuberculosis case rate reversed in the mid-1980s, and tuberculosis cases have increased dramatically since that time. Important factors contributing to this increase are the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic and tuberculosis occurring in foreign-born persons. ⋯ Some of the outbreaks have involved strains of tuberculosis resistant to multiple antituberculosis drugs. Recent recommendations for initial therapy of tuberculosis include the use of four drugs and directly observed therapy in an effort to prevent the emergence of further drug resistance.
-
Alcohol abuse is known to increase erythrocyte mean cell volume mainly as a consequence of direct toxic effect on the developing red cell. The influence of alcohol on other red cell parameters is unclear. The objective of this cross-sectional survey was to examine the consequences of different alcohol amounts on red cell parameters among women. ⋯ In alcoholics, red cell distribution width values were even more often increased (in 44%) than erythrocyte mean cell volume values (in 34%). This increase in red cell distribution width was not solely explained by iron deficiency or liver disease. Chronic alcohol abuse not only affects erythrocyte mean cell volume values, but also leads to anisocytosis seen in blood count as an increased red cell distribution width value.