Alcohol and alcoholism : international journal of the Medical Council on Alcoholism
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Arousal-related P3a to novel auditory stimuli is abolished by a moderately low alcohol dose.
Concurrent measures of event-related potentials (ERPs) and skin conductance responses were obtained in an auditory oddball task consisting of rare target, rare non-signal unique novel and frequent standard tones. Twelve right-handed male social drinkers participated in all four cells of the balanced placebo design in which effects of beverage and instructions as to the beverage content (expectancy) were independently manipulated. The beverage contained either juice only, or vodka mixed with juice in the ratio that successfully disguised the taste of alcohol and raised average peak blood-alcohol level to 0.045% (45 mg/dl). ⋯ This evidence confirms the previously suggested distinction between the subcomponents of the LPC: P3a may be a central index of orienting to novel, task-irrelevant but potentially significant stimuli and is an important component of the arousal system. P3b does not have a clear relationship with arousal and may embody voluntary cognitive processing of rare task-related stimuli. Overall, these results indicate that alcohol affects multiple brain systems concerned with arousal, attentional processes and cognitive-autonomic integration.
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We present a case of Korsakoff's syndrome that was successfully treated with high doses of donepezil, an inhibitor of acetylcholine esterase, known to retard the progress of symptoms in Alzheimer's disease. The patient was a 46-year-old married Japanese woman who began to drink alcohol after she married. ⋯ Her amnestic symptoms as well as her quality of life improved markedly during donepezil treatment. Inhibition of acetylcholine esterase may be an effective treatment for Korsakoff's syndrome.
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Endogenous opioid peptides are thought to participate in the phenomena of alcohol tolerance and withdrawal. Since in the pituitary gland, beta-endorphin (beta-EP) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) are produced from the same precursor molecule, pro-opiomelanocortin, it may be expected that alterations in plasma ACTH and cortisol levels should parallel changes in plasma beta-EP levels during alcohol withdrawal. The aim of the present study was to investigate the alterations of beta-EP, ACTH and cortisol secretion patterns in alcohol-dependent patients with heavy intake in the early withdrawal period and, if any, whether these changes remained stable on long-term withdrawal. ⋯ Morning and night levels of plasma beta-EP, ACTH and cortisol were measured in the patients during the early (first week) and late (fourth week) withdrawal periods following alcohol cessation, and only once in the control subjects. It was found that both morning beta-EP and morning ACTH levels were reduced during both early and late withdrawals, whereas cortisol levels were increased in early withdrawal and normalized towards the late withdrawal period. The finding that beta-EP deficiency continued despite withdrawal symptoms subsiding in patients suggests that their beta-EP deficiency is independent of the withdrawal syndrome and that reduced beta-EP activity may be a trait contributing to alcohol craving.