Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system in Tuvan alcoholics is associated with a high level of stress in comparison with ethnic Russian patients

Introduction

Alcoholization is considered as prolonged auto-aggression, low frustration tolerance, filling of the existential vacuum. In all cases, the use of a psychoactive substance that alters the state of consciousness is regarded as a way of escape from real life.

Objectives

The study of clinically significant markers in alcoholism associated with the constitutional characteristics of craving for alcohol in people of different ethnicity is importance for the formation of new approaches to prevention and treatment.

Methods

68 Russian alcoholics and 67 Tuvans alcoholics only men and 20 healthy male were monitored. Clinical assessment of the condition of patients was carried out with the traditional clinical description. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits were used to determine serum hormone levels in patients and volunteers.

Results

Deeper shifts in the increase in ACTH and Cortisol levels were found in alcoholic Tuvinians compared with Russian patients, which is associated with a high risk of alcohol dependence and a highly progressive course of the disease. The index of the ratio Cortisol/ACTH (IR) in the blood of alcoholic patients of the Russian (IR - 10,36) and Tuvan (IR - 10,62) nationalities does not differ, but significantly (1.5 times) differs from the indicator in healthy individuals (IR - 15,12).

Conclusions

The background level of dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in patients of Tuvan nationality is significantly more pronounced, however, the index of Cortisol/ACTH ratios (IR) in each ethnic group of patients is constant in this disease, which is characterized by a high level of stress.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

The scaling of olfaction: Moths have relatively more olfactory surface area than mammals

Body size affects nearly every aspect of locomotion and sensing, but little is known how body size influences olfaction. One reason for this missing link is that olfaction differs fundamentally from vision and hearing in that molecules are advected by fluid before depositing on olfactory sensors. This critical role of fluid flow in olfaction leads to complexities and trade-offs. For example, a greater density of hairs and sensory neurons may lead to greater collection, but can also lead to reduced flow through hairs and additional weight and drag due to a larger olfactory organ. In this study, we report the surface area and sensory neuron density in olfactory organs of 95 species of moths and mammals. We find that approximately 12-14 percent of an olfactory system's surface area is devoted to chemosensors. Furthermore, total olfactory surface area and olfactory sensing surface area scale with body mass to the 0.49 and 0.38 powers respectively, indicating that moths have a higher proportion of olfactory surface area than mammals. The density of olfactory neurons appears to be near the limit, at 10,000 to 100,000 neurons per square mm across both insects and mammals. This study demonstrates the need for future work detailing how scaling of olfaction and other senses vary across taxa.

Neuroendocrine factors - predictors of the formation of alcohol dependence and human ecology in various ethnic populations, new approaches to therapy

Introduction

Integrated clinical and biological approaches in the study of disorders caused by alcohol consumption in people of different ethnic groups, are important for determining effective treatment strategies.

Objectives

To study the clinical and dynamic features and the role of neuroendocrine factors of the formation and course of alcohol dependence in individuals of Tuvan ethnicity.

Methods

68 Russian alcoholics and 67 Tuvans alcoholics only men and 20 healthy male were monitored. Clinical assessment of the condition of patients was carried out with the traditional clinical description. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits were used to determine serum hormone levels in patients and volunteers.

Results

The systematic consumption of alcoholic beverages develops among Tuvans in adulthood, in contrast to Russian men who begin to drink systematically young. Alcohol dependence in people of Tuvan nationality are formed several years later than in Russians: a symptom of loss of quantitative control over use was detected in Tuvans at 36.9±9.9 years, in Russian patients at 29,8±7.5 years; the formation of withdrawal syndrome in Tuvans occurs at the age of 37.7±8.4 years, unlike Russians, in whom the withdrawal syndrome develops on average at the age of 29.6±6.0 years. The index of the ratio cortisol/progesterone in the blood of examined Russian alcoholics is almost twice as high as the index of examined healthy donors; in patients of Tuvan ethnicity, index is almost five times higher.

Conclusions

Alcohol dependence among representatives of the Tuvan ethnic group indicates a greater vulnerability to the effects of alcohol.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Biological profile of medical response in alcoholic patients of different ethnic groups in Siberia

Introduction

The individual sensitivity of a person to the effects of alcohol is defined as the possibility of adaptive reactions, which are controlled by various factors associated in their manifestation with characteristics in various ethnic populations.

Objectives

To determine biological profile of medical response in alcoholic patients of different ethnic groups.

Methods

168 alcoholic men, aged 17 to 62 years were examined. For the therapeutic correction of withdrawal and post-withdrawal symptoms of patients from two different ethnic groups (Tatars and Russians in Siberia), the original anticonvulsant galodif (M-chloro-benzhydrylurea) was used. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated a model-independent method of statistical moments: half-life (T1/2,h), total clearance (Clt,ml/min), average time of the residual drug in the body (MRI,h), average elimination time (MET,h), the area under the pharmacokinetic curve (AUC, μg/ml).

Results

Galodif causes a reduction in almost half T1/2, a significant decrease in the average time of the residual drug in the body MRI, and the average elimination time MET. Overall clearance increased. Under the influence of the course with Galodif, antipyrine elimination intensified, which indicates the induction of the cytochrome P-450 system of microsomal liver monooxygenases in Russian alcoholic patients. Galodif causes a reduction of almost five-fold T1/2, a significant decrease MRI and MET. Activation of oxidative metabolism of xenobiotics in Tatar alcoholic patients is more significant.

Conclusions

The increased sensitivity of P-450 cytochrome system to anticonvulsants action with inductive detoxification properties reflects differences in adaptive mechanisms in human from various ethnic groups, what is significant in the therapy.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Cognitive, Emotional and Personal Features of Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

Introduction

Cognitive and behavioural problems usually accompany isolated clefts of the lip and/or the palate (ICLP) [1].

Aims

To investigate cognitive, emotional and personal features of children with ICLP in comparison with non-cleft children from complete families and non-cleft orphans.

Methods

The ICLP group consisted of 29 children (age 14.2 ± 0.7). The first comparison group (1CG) consisted of 34 non-cleft children (age 14.1 ± 0.5). The second comparison group (2CG) consisted of 30 non-cleft orphans (age 13.8 ± 0.8). Drawing tests “House-Tree-Person” have been selected to evaluate the level of children's development, emotional and personal features in all three groups. M. Luscher Color test was chosen to figure out the children's psychological state, regardless of education level.

Results

The most characteristic features of the ICLP children and 2CG were similar. They included infantilism (69%; 43.3%), low self-control (65.5%; 56.7%), demonstrative demeanor (62%; 36.7%), escape from reality into fantasy (93%; 76.7%), anxiety (69%; 63.3%). ICLP children compared with the 1CG has shown significantly higher level of aggression (79.3% vs. 4.2%), increased self-esteem (59.6 vs. 4.2%), impulsiveness (51.7% vs. 16.7%), the importance of other people's opinions (59.6% vs. 29.2%). Contrary, the feelings of lack of emotional warmth, the need for protection were observed in 1CG more frequently–70.8% vs 55.2% in ICLP and 60% in 2CG.

Conclusions

Psychological correction in children with ICLP should be aimed at increasing the adaptive functions, facilitating communication with peers, search the area for self-realization.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Disrupted homeostasis during chronic ethanol consumption associated with specific mechanism of endogenous neurosteroids activity

Introduction

Neurobiological research describes one of mechanisms overlap in the Cortico-Striatal-Limbic Circuit (CSLC), which can be disrupted due to chronic stress and alcohol abuse that primarily modulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, from which cortisol is an end-product.

Objectives

To investigate the effects of chronic stimulant abuse on the CSLC. This was examined by relating cortisol levels with grey matter volume in brain structures associated with addiction and stress.

Aims

We hypothesized that stimulant-dependent individuals show increased cortisol levels and abnormalities in the CSLC. We further hypothesized relationships between altered grey matter volume and increased cortisol levels in the patients.

Methods

Twenty-two alcohol-dependent individuals, men only and 21 healthy volunteers (matched for age and gender) underwent an assessment session. Cortisol, DHEA and DHEA-S was assessed in blood plasma. Mood, impulsivity and compulsivity were measured by clinical instruments.

Results

Alcohol-dependent individuals showed higher levels of cortisol in blood plasma, and decreased levels of progesterone and its metabolites DHEA and DHEA-S, which were associated with distinct expression in impulsivity and compulsivity in alcoholic patients. Indices of these steroids were changed compared with healthy persons. Plasma cortisol was positively correlated with the duration of alcohol use. The relationships observed between cortisol, progesterone and its metabolites: DHEA and DHEA-S may be explained by abnormal functioning of HPA axis.

Conclusions

Optimizing of disrupted homeostasis during chronic ethanol consumption being provided with specific mechanism by manipulation of endogenous neurosteroids activity may prove a beneficial pharmacotherapeutic strategy in the intervention of alcohol abuse.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Therapeutic efficacy of original anticonvulsant meta-chloro-benzhydrylurea (m-ch-BHU) in the treatment of patients with a compulsive craving for alcohol

Introduction

The problem of the treatment of alcohol addiction is very difficult due to the reoccurrence of relapses. One of the major concepts of the formation of alcohol addiction is the concept of epileptic origin of compulsive craving for alcohol.

Objective

We investigated therapeutic efficacy of long-term dosing of original anticonvulsant (m-ch-BHU) on symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) in patients with a compulsive craving for alcohol.

Methods

Sixty-eight male alcoholic patients aged from 24 to 53 years with different levels of alcohol abuse were examined. Type of course of alcoholism in examined patients was of middle-progressing character. Clinical evaluation of state of patients was carried out with traditional clinical description. Quantitative characterization was conducted according to Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Hamilton Depression Scale. m-ch-BHU was administered to alcoholic patients at dose from 300 mg a day during 21 days against the background of conventional medication as well as in post-withdrawal period under various degrees of severity of affective disorders.

Results

Among affective disorders dysphoric symptoms have a marked tropism for m-ch-BHU. Of the other clinical manifestations in the structure of AWS cerebral diencephalic paroxysms, cardiovascular and myofascial symptoms have the most pronounced sensitivity to the drug. In patients with complicated forms of alcoholism application of m-ch-BHU is effective also in phase of remission in spontaneously arising symptom complex of neurovegetative manifestations of primary pathological craving for ethanol called “dry abstinence”.

Conclusions

Our data allows recommending the use of m-ch-BHU under outpatient conditions as an anti-recurrent and preventive agent.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Reduced fear and aggression and altered serotonin metabolism in Gtf2ird1-targeted mice

The GTF2IRD1 general transcription factor is a candidate for involvement in the varied cognitive and neurobehavioral symptoms of the microdeletion disorder, Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS). We show that mice with heterozygous or homozygous disruption of Gtf2ird1 exhibit decreased fear and aggression and increased social behaviors. These findings are reminiscent of the hypersociability and diminished fear of strangers that are hallmarks of WBS. Other core features of WBS, such as increased anxiety and problems with spatial learning were not present in the targeted mice. Investigation of a possible neurochemical basis for the altered behaviors in these mice using high-performance liquid chromatography analysis showed increased levels of serotonin metabolites in several brain regions, including the amygdala, frontal cortex and parietal cortex. Serotonin levels have previously been implicated in fear and aggression, through modulation of the neural pathway connecting the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. These results suggest that hemizygosity for GTF2IRD1 may play a role in the complex behavioral phenotype seen in patients with WBS, either individually, or in combination with other genes, and that the GTF2I transcription factors may influence fear and social behavior through the alteration of neurochemical pathways.

A 1.5 million-base pair inversion polymorphism in families with Williams-Beuren syndrome

Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is most often caused by hemizygous deletion of a 1.5-Mb interval encompassing at least 17 genes at 7q11.23 (refs. 1,2). As with many other haploinsufficiency diseases, the mechanism underlying the WBS deletion is thought to be unequal meiotic recombination, probably mediated by the highly homologous DNA that flanks the commonly deleted region. Here, we report the use of interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to identify a genomic polymorphism in families with WBS, consisting of an inversion of the WBS region. We have observed that the inversion is hemizygous in 3 of 11 (27%) atypical affected individuals who show a subset of the WBS phenotypic spectrum but do not carry the typical WBS microdeletion. Two of these individuals also have a parent who carries the inversion. In addition, in 4 of 12 (33%) families with a proband carrying the WBS deletion, we observed the inversion exclusively in the parent transmitting the disease-related chromosome. These results suggest the presence of a newly identified genomic variant within the population that may be associated with the disease. It may result in predisposition to primarily WBS-causing microdeletions, but may also cause translocations and inversions.

A microdeletion in 19q13.2 associated with mental retardation, skeletal malformations, and Diamond-Blackfan anaemia suggests a novel contiguous gene syndrome

Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA) is a constitutional red blood cell hypoplasia which may be associated with a variety of developmental abnormalities. A gene for DBA was recently mapped to chromosome 19q13.2 and subsequently cloned. Analysis of 19q marker alleles in DNA of sporadic DBA cases showed de novo microdeletions in three patients also presenting with mental retardation. We have studied one of these patients and characterised the deletion by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) to extended DNA fibres. The deletion was shown to be continuous over a 3.2 Mb region and the fibre-FISH analysis showed both chromosomal breakpoints. In combination, the clinical and molecular findings suggest a contiguous gene syndrome with a gene locus for mental retardation and, probably, skeletal malformations included in the deletion.

A new clinical scoring system fails to differentiate hemorrhagic from ischemic stroke when used in the acute care setting

Recently, a new diagnostic scoring system has been proposed to help differentiate intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) from ischemic infarct. The system, derived using data from hospitalized stroke patients, is based on eight variables readily available to all clinicians. A diagnostic score <1.0 is reportedly 100% predictive of ischemic infarct. The clinical scoring system is asserted to be a useful adjunct in the initial evaluation of patients with acute stroke syndrome. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate this clinical scoring system in our emergency department (ED). Sixty-one ED patients with focal neurologic deficit undergoing cranial computed tomography (CT) scan to rule out ICH were entered in the study. Thirteen [21% (95% CI, 12-34%)] were found to have an ICH. Twenty-two [36% (95% CI, 24-49%)] had a diagnostic score < 1.0. The CT scans on 4 of these 22 patients showed ICH. The positive predictive value for ischemic infarct for these 22 patients using the diagnostic scoring system was 82% (95% CI, 60-95%). Our results suggest that this new clinical scoring system is of no value in helping to differentiate ICH from ischemic stroke in the acute care setting.

Decreased platelet imipramine binding in Tourette syndrome children with obsessive-compulsive disorder

[3H]Imipramine binding to blood platelets was assessed in eight untreated Tourette syndrome (TS) children, nine drug-free TS children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and nine age-matched and gender-matched control subjects. The density of [3H]imipramine binding sites in TS + OCD patients was significantly lower compared with TS-OCD patients (28%) as well as when compared with controls (31%). This alteration was not accompanied by differences in the affinity of the binding site to the ligand. The decreased density of the platelet serotonin "transporter" might implicate the involvement of the serotonergic system in the pathophysiology of OCD in TS patients, but not in TS per se.

Effects of nimodipine on medial septal area cells after section of the fimbria-fornix

In rats, sectioning the fimbria-fornix leads to a decrease in cells reactive for acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase, as well as other types of cells, in the medial septal area that project to the hippocampus. In this study cells in the medial septal area were stained for acetylcholinesterase reaction product or by a Nissl method two weeks after unilateral section of the fimbria-fornix. Counts were made of cells on each side of the midline by independent observers. The counts of the cells on the two sides of the brain were compared in rats that had been given nimodipine (70 μg/kg) just after the lesion and for 7 additional days and in rats that had been given only the vehicle for an equivalent amount of time. The number of cells reactive for acetylcholinesterase was reduced in the medial septal area on the side of the brain in which the forebrain fornix was sectioned, but this occurred to a significantly less extent in the nimodipine-treated rats. No differences were noted in the number of cells on the two sides of the medial septal area when counted in Nissl-stained sections.

Bacterial flora in psoriasis

The aerobic bacterial flora of psoriatic plaques, uninvolved skin and the anterior nares of forty psoriatic patients was studied. The incidence od Staphylococcus aureus was 30% in the anterior nares, 20% on the plaques and 13% on the uninvolved skin. S. aureus counts were 3 x 10(2)/cm2 on the plaques and 1-5 x 10/cm2 on the normal skin. The total bacterial counts were also higher on plaques (7-9 x 10(3)/cm2) than on normal skin (3-0 x 10(3)/cm2). The incidence of lipophilic diphtheroids was significantly lower on the plaques (4%) than the normal skin (30%). Eighty percent of the strains of S. aureus isolated from psoriatic patients were resistant to 10 units of penicillin. Because of increased desquamation, psoriatic skin is a public health hazard.

Niridazole. II. A potent long-acting suppressant of cellular hypersensitivity

Niridazole, a human anthelminthic drug, is shown to be a potent long-acting suppressor of delayed hypersensitivity. Much lower doses than used in the therapy of helminth infections suppressed granuloma formation around Schistosoma mansoni eggs for periods up to 32 days and inhibited delayed footpad swelling in mice previously sensitized with eggs. Marked prolongation of skin allograft survival in mice accross the H-2 area was produced. The drug is administered orally, has been used clinically on a massive scale, and appears to be relatively free of the cytotoxic effects of most immunosuppressive agents.