Adrenocorticotropin Responses to Naloxone in Sons of Alcohol-Dependent Men1

The endogenous opioid system is part of a neural circuitry functionally related to alcohol-seeking behaviors. A family history of alcoholism is the strongest predictor of future development of alcohol dependence. This study was designed to evaluate ACTH responses to opioid receptor blockade as a function of family history for alcohol dependence. The nonselective opioid antagonist naloxone stimulates ACTH secretion by blocking opioidergic input on paraventricular corticotropin-releasing factor neurons, thereby providing a methodology for comparing hypothalamic opioid tone between study groups. Sixty nonalcoholic subjects, aged 18–25 yr, were enrolled in a protocol to measure the ACTH response to naloxone. Thirty-two subjects were offspring from families with a high density of alcohol dependence and were designated as family history-positive subjects. Twenty-eight subjects were offspring of nonalcohol-dependent parents and were designated family history-negative subjects. Subjects received naloxone (125 μg/kg) or placebo (0.9% saline) in double blind, randomized order. Plasma ACTH was monitored. Family history-positive men had increased ACTH response to naloxone compared to 1) family history-positive women, 2) family history-negative men, and 3) family history-negative women. Despite differences in plasma ACTH levels after naloxone administration, plasma naloxone concentrations did not differ between study groups. This finding suggests that nonalcoholic male offspring of alcohol-dependent men have altered endogenous opioid activity directed at hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor neurons.

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Involvement of the Endogenous Opioid System in the Drinking Behavior of Schizophrenic Patients Displaying Self-Induced Water Intoxication: A Double-Blind Controlled Study with Naloxone

Clinical Neuropharmacology ◽

10.1097/00002826-199619030-00007 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 252-258 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Tadashi Nishikawa ◽

Akira Tsuda ◽

Masatoshi Tanaka ◽

Mariko Nishikawa ◽

Itsuyuki Koga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drinking Behavior ◽

Water Intoxication ◽

Opioid System ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Endogenous Opioid System ◽

Endogenous Opioid ◽

Double Blind ◽

Schizophrenic Patients

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A retrospective assessment of parental attitudes in alcohol dependent and non-dependent groups

Psychiatria i Psychologia Kliniczna ◽

10.15557/pipk.2020.0031 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 241-258

Author(s):

Ewa Wojtynkiewicz ◽

Keyword(s):

Family History ◽

Alcohol Dependence ◽

Alcohol Use Disorder ◽

Parental Attitudes ◽

Alcohol Addiction ◽

Retrospective Assessment ◽

Identification Test ◽

History Of ◽

Disorder Identification ◽

Alcohol Dependent

Aim: The aim of the studies was to verify whether an alcohol-dependent group differs in terms of retrospectively assessed parental attitudes from a non-dependent group (study 1) as well as whether there are differences between individuals with alcohol dependence having or not having an addicted parent in terms of the retrospectively assessed parental attitudes (study 2). Materials and methods: 121 individuals with alcohol dependence and 121 people with no dependence took part in study 1 (in both groups there were 37 women and 84 men). 221 individuals with alcohol dependence (55 women and 166 men) participated in study 2. Mieczysław Plopa’s Questionnaire of Retrospective Assessment of Parental Attitudes (KPR-Roc) and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) were used in the studies. Results: The outcome of study 1 proved that the individuals with alcohol dependence score higher in comparison with those non-dependent in terms of variables Mother Protectiveness, Father Demanding and Father Inconsequence and score lower for variables Father Acceptance/Rejection and Father Autonomy. The results of study 2 show that alcohol-dependent women with a family history of alcohol addiction tended to score lower for variables Mother Acceptance/Rejection, Father Acceptance/Rejection, Father Autonomy and Father Protectiveness in comparison with the non-dependent women with no family history of alcohol addiction. Whereas men addicted to alcohol with a family history of alcohol addiction score higher for the variable Father Acceptance/Rejection and higher concerning variables Father Demanding and Father Inconsequence in comparison with the addicted male group with no family history of alcohol addiction. Conclusion: Alcohol-dependent individuals have a tendency to assess more adversely the father’s attitude in comparison with the non-dependent group. Having an alcohol-dependent parent among individuals with alcohol dependence differentiates mainly the retrospective assessment of the father.

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Efficacy of acamprosate in the treatment of alcohol-dependent outpatients

Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1590/s1516-44462003000300007 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 156-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Danilo Antonio Baltieri ◽

Arthur Guerra de Andrade

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Alcohol Dependence ◽

Placebo Treatment ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Double Blind ◽

Double Blind Placebo ◽

Continuous Abstinence ◽

Icd 10 ◽

Alcohol Dependent

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and security of acamprosate in the treatment of 75 men, aged 18 to 59 years, with diagnosis of alcohol dependence according to the ICD-10. METHODS: Double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 24-week long. After a one-week detoxification period, patients were randomly divided in two groups: the first group received acamprosate (six tablets of 333 mg/d for 12 weeks) and the second group received placebo (six tablets for 12 weeks). After the first 12 weeks, patients continued the follow-up for further 12 weeks without medication. RESULTS: Patients who were receiving acamprosate showed significantly higher continuous abstinence time within the 24 weeks of treatment compared with patients who were assigned to placebo treatment (p=.017). Twenty-five percent of patients who were receiving acamprosate and 20% of the placebo-treated patients dropped out. Few side-effects were reported in both groups. CONCLUSION: Acamprosate proved to be safe and effective in treating alcohol-dependent patients and to maintain the abstinence during 24 weeks.

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Acamprosate for the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence: A Review of Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trials

CNS Spectrums ◽

10.1017/s1092852900012827 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 58-69 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Barbara J. Mason ◽

Raymond L. Ownby

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Alcohol Dependence ◽

Latin American ◽

The United States ◽

Concomitant Treatment ◽

Controlled Clinical Trials ◽

Double Blind ◽

Safety And Efficacy ◽

Double Blind Placebo ◽

Alcohol Dependent

AbstractAcamprosate (calcium acetyl-homotaurine) is a synthetic compound that crosses the blood-brain barrier and has a chemical structure similar to that of the naturally occurring amino acid neuromediators, homotaurine and γ-aminobu-tyric acid (GABA). Acamprosate appears to act primarily by restoring normal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor tone in the glutamate system, and has been shown to have a specific dose-dependent effect on decreasing voluntary alcohol intake in animals with no effects on food and water consumption. The safety and efficacy of acamprosate in alcohol-dependent outpatients is currently under evaluation in the United States. Acamprosate has been available by prescription since 1989 in France and more recently in most European and Latin American coutries as well as Australia, South Africa, and Hong Kong. More than 4 million people have been treated with acamprosate since it became commercially available.The purpose of this article is to review all available double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of acamprosate treatment of alcohol dependence. This work encompasses 16 controlled clinical trials conducted across 11 European countries and involves more than 4,500 outpatients with alcohol dependence. Fourteen of 16 studies found alcohol-dependent patients treated with acamprosate had a significantly greater rate of treatment completion, time to first drink, abstinence rate, and/or cumulative abstinence duration than patients treated with placebo. Additionally, a multinational open-label study of acamprosate in 1,281 patients with alcohol dependence found acamprosate to be equally effective across four major psychosocial concomitant treatment programs in maintaining abstinence and reducing consumption during any periods of relapse. An absence of known strong predictors of response to acamprosate, in conjunction with a modest but consistent effect on prolonging abstinence, and an excellent safety profile, lend support to the use of acamprosate across a broad range of patients with alcohol dependence.

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The A1 allele of the DRD2 gene (TaqI A polymorphisms) is associated with antisocial personality in a sample of alcohol-dependent patients

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2003.06.006 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 356-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

G Ponce ◽

M.A Jimenez-Arriero ◽

G Rubio ◽

J Hoenicka ◽

I Ampuero ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Family History ◽

Personality Disorder ◽

Alcohol Dependence ◽

Antisocial Personality Disorder ◽

Phenotypic Expression ◽

Severity Index ◽

Addiction Severity Index ◽

Antisocial Personality ◽

Drd2 Gene ◽

Alcohol Dependent

AbstractBackground. –Presence of A1 allele of the DRD2 gene has been associated with a predisposition for alcoholism although there are limited data about its phenotypic expression in alcoholism.Objectives. –To determine the importance of the A1 allele in clinical variables of alcohol dependence.Methodology. –A sample of 103 alcohol-dependent males was studied. All patients were recruited consecutively from the general hospital and community settings. The diagnostics were made with the structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R (SCID); and the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE). Diagnosis of family alcoholism was made by direct interview or with the Research Diagnostic Criteria-Family History (RDC-FH). The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Scale (SADS) were used to assess alcohol dependence severity. Genotyping was done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methods.Results. –Approximately 39% of the sample carried the A1 allele (A1+ group). This group had higher prevalences of antisocial personality disorder (60% vs. 15.9%); and alcoholism family history (72.5% vs. 52.4%). Also A1+ had early onset alcohol abuse and more drinking problems. The presence of A1+ was the main factor to explain the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, but the weight of this factor was not sufficient to explain the complications assessed by the ASI.Conclusions. –Our results support the existence of an association between the A1 allele and factors resulting from dopaminergic deficiency, otherwise denominated reward deficiency syndrome.

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Confirmation That Offspring From Families With Alcohol-Dependent Individuals Have Greater Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activation Induced by Naloxone Compared With Offspring Without a Family History of Alcohol Dependence

Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research ◽

10.1111/j.1530-0277.2001.tb02327.x ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 25 (8) ◽

pp. 1134-1139 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Gary Wand ◽

Mary E. McCaul ◽

Deidre Gotjen ◽

Joanna Reynolds ◽

Shing Lee

Keyword(s):

Family History ◽

Alcohol Dependence ◽

Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis ◽

Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal ◽

Adrenal Axis ◽

History Of ◽

Pituitary Adrenal Axis ◽

Alcohol Dependent

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Influence of endogenous opioids on the response of selected hormones to exercise in humans

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/jappl.1986.61.3.1051 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 1051-1057 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

P. A. Farrell ◽

A. B. Gustafson ◽

T. L. Garthwaite ◽

R. K. Kalkhoff ◽

A. W. Cowley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Venous Blood ◽

Endogenous Opioids ◽

Psychological State ◽

Opioid Antagonist ◽

Plasma Norepinephrine ◽

Endogenous Opioid System ◽

Endogenous Opioid ◽

Naltrexone Treatment ◽

The Difference ◽

Exercise Induced

To examine the influence of endogenous opioids on the hormonal response to isotonic exercise, eight males were studied 2 h after oral administration of placebo or 50 mg naltrexone, a long-lasting opioid antagonist. Venous blood samples were obtained before, during, and after 30 min of bicycle exercise at 70% VO2max. Naltrexone had no effect on resting cardiovascular, endocrine, or serum variables. During exercise epinephrine was higher [mean 433 +/- 100 (SE) pg/ml] at 30 min with naltrexone than during placebo (207 +/- 26 pg/ml, P less than 0.05). Plasma norepinephrine showed the same trend but the difference (2,012 +/- 340 pg/ml with naltrexone and 1,562 +/- 241 pg/ml with placebo) was not significant. Plasma glucose was higher at all times with naltrexone. However, the difference was significant only 10 min into recovery from exercise (104.7 +/- 4.7 vs. 94.5 +/- 2.8 mg/dl). Plasma growth hormone and cortisol increased during recovery and these elevations were significantly (P less than 0.05) augmented by naltrexone. Plasma vasopressin and prolactin increased with exercise as did heart rate, blood pressure, lactic acid, and several serum components; these increases were not affected by naltrexone. Psychological tension or anxiety was lower after exercise compared with before and this improved psychological state was not influenced by the naltrexone treatment. These data suggest that exercise-induced activation of the endogenous opioid system may serve to regulate the secretion of several important hormones (i.e., epinephrine) during and after exercise.

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Role of the endogenous opioid system in modulation of urinary bladder activity by spinal nerve stimulation

AJP Renal Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajprenal.00090.2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 305 (1) ◽

pp. F52-F60 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Xin Su ◽

Angela Nickles ◽

Dwight E. Nelson

Keyword(s):

Urinary Bladder ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Opioid Antagonist ◽

Inhibitory Effects ◽

Endogenous Opioid System ◽

Endogenous Opioid ◽

Contraction Frequency ◽

Bladder Contraction ◽

Bladder Activity

The role of the endogenous opioid system in modulation of urinary bladder activity by spinal nerve (SN) stimulation was studied in anesthetized female rats, using the rat model of isovolumetric bladder contraction. SN stimulation at a fixed frequency of 10 Hz attenuated bladder contraction frequency; the magnitude of the inhibition was directly proportional to the current intensity. Neither the κ-opioid antagonist nor-binaltorphimine (2 mg/kg iv) nor the δ-opioid antagonist naltrindole (5 mg/kg iv) attenuated the bladder inhibitory response to SN stimulation. In contrast, the μ-opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (NLX; 0.03 mg/kg iv) blocked the inhibitory responses evoked by SN stimulation at therapeutic current intensities at ≤1 × motor threshold current (Tmot). An action at spinal and supraspinal centers was further confirmed by the ability of intrathecal or intracerebroventricular administration of NLX methiodide to attenuate the bladder inhibitory effects of 1 × Tmot SN stimulation. The magnitude of SN-mediated neuromodulation using therapeutically relevant stimulation intensity (Tmot) is equivalent to 0.16 mg/kg of systemically administered morphine, which produces 50% inhibition of bladder contraction frequency. These results suggest that the inhibitory effects of lower intensity SN stimulation may be mediated through the release of endogenous μ-opioid peptides. Additionally, these data suggest that neuromodulation may offer a mode of treating the symptoms of overactive bladder with efficacy equal to the opioid drugs but without their liability for abuse and dependence.

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