Characteristics of children of alcoholics: Putative risk factors, substance use and abuse, and psychopathology.

A sample of 253 children of alcoholics (COAs) and 237 children of nonalcoholics (non-COAs) were compared on alcohol and drug use, psychopathology, cognitive ability, and personality. COAs reported more alcohol and drug problems, stronger alcohol expectancies, higher levels of behavioral undercontrol and neuroticism, and more psychiatric distress in relation to non-COAs. They also evidenced lower academic achievement and less verbal ability than non-COAs. COAs were given Diagnostic Interview Schedule alcohol diagnoses more frequently than non-COAs. The relation between paternal alcoholism and offspring alcohol involvement was mediated by behavioral undercontrol and alcohol expectancies. Although gender differences were found, there were few Gender?×?Family History interactions; the effects of family history of alcoholism were similar for men and women. When gender effects were found, they showed greater family history effects for women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-modal transfer and information processing by the sense of touch in infancy.

136 1-yr-old infants were tested on tasks of visual–tactual cross-modal transfer and tactual intramodal processing. In Exp I, Ss successfully differentiated novel from familiar objects by tactual exploration after 60 sec of either visual familiarization (V–T) or 60 sec of tactual familiarization (T–T); all testing that involved tactual exploration was carried out in total darkness, using infrared videotaping. In both tasks, Ss spent significantly more time manipulating novel than familiar shapes. In the T–T task they also engaged in more manipulatory episodes and exhibited more hand-to-hand transfers with the novel shapes. Neither type of transfer was shown with shorter (30-sec) familiarization periods. The finding of successful T–T transfer with 60-sec familiarization was confirmed in Exp II using different stimuli and a modified testing procedure. In both experiments there was evidence that T–T processing surpassed V–T transfer. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective attentional processing and the right hemisphere: Effects of aging and alcoholism.

Thirty-seven nonalcoholic individuals (22 women, 15 men), ages 26–76, and 36 abstinent alcoholic individuals (11 women, 25 men), ages 31–74, participated in a cued-detection task that assessed right hemisphere (RH) functioning associated with aging and alcoholism. Young controls were less reliant on cues following RH activation, which is consistent with the view that the RH has an advantage because it has the ability to attend to a broader spatial array than does the left hemisphere (LH). This RH advantage was not obtained in older controls or alcoholic participants. The pattern of results for the older nonalcoholic participants indicated that they neither benefited from valid cues following LH activation, nor exhibited enhanced processing on invalid cue trials following RH activation. The results for the alcoholic participants were consistent with RH functional decline, but did not support the view that alcoholism and aging have synergistic effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A structural model of parental alcoholism, family functioning, and psychological health: The mediating effects of hardiness and personal growth orientation.

The purposes of this study were to (a) determine whether personal growth orientation and hardiness mediated the relations of parental alcoholism and family functioning to psychological well-being and distress; (b) determine whether this mediational model was invariant across women and men; and (c) examine the role of parental alcoholism in a model that included family functioning. Personal growth orientation appeared to mediate fully the relation of family functioning to distress for both genders. For women, hardiness appeared to mediate partially the relation of family functioning to well-being. For men, this relation appeared to be fully mediated by hardiness. The models were predominantly invariant across genders. Parental alcoholism had no direct effects on well-being or distress; indirect effects were found through family functioning, personal growth orientation, and hardiness. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual and tactual perception of shape by young children.

Gave 3-4 yr olds a series of 2-choice matching problems involving visual and/or tactual perception. Contrary to S. A. Rose et al (1972) some shape discriminations were more difficult tactually than visually. Predicted differences between dissimilar and similar discrimination were not obtained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adulthood functioning: the joint effects of parental alcoholism, gender and childhood socio-economic stress

The popular literature has publicized the adjustment difficulties of adult children of an alcohol-dependent parent (ACOAs); however, empirical studies do not provide consistent support. We examined the impact of parental alcoholism, degree of childhood socio-economic stress and gender on three broad categories of adulthood functioning (psychopathology, socio-economic attainment and marital stability). These effects were investigated with a heterogeneous sample of 400 men and 226 women participating in studies at the University of Michigan Alcohol Research Center. Parental alcoholism and childhood socio-economic stress exerted significant independent effects on most adulthood functioning measures. Men and women differed substantially only on socio-economic attainment measures, and effects of parental alcoholism and childhood economic stress on men and women were generally similar. For marital stability, parental alcoholism and childhood socio-economic stress interacted. These results suggest that researchers who study the impact of family history for alcoholism on psychological functioning should consider other aspects of the family of origin that promote wellbeing. In addition, results of this study point to the need for more research on gender differences, protective factors that promote good adjustment and outcome measures reflecting general life adaptation.     

The occurrence of partner physical aggression on days of alcohol consumption: A longitudinal diary study.

The likelihood of partner physical aggression on days of male partners' alcohol consumption, during a 15-month period, was examined for men entering a domestic violence treatment program (n=137) and domestically violent men entering an alcoholism treatment program (n=135). For men entering the domestic violence treatment program (alcoholism treatment program odds in parentheses), the odds of any male-to-female physical aggression were more than 8 times (11 times) higher on days when men drank than on days of no alcohol consumption. The odds of severe male-to-female physical aggression were more than 11 times (11 times) higher on days of men's drinking than on days of no drinking. These findings support the proximal effect model of alcohol use and partner violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The skin-flushing response: Autonomic, self-report, and conditioned responses to repeated administrations of alcohol in Asian men.

This study examined the skin-flushing response in Asian men, which is a low-risk factor for alcoholism. Asian men who did and did not flush to alcohol consumed 0.5 g/kg ethanol during three sessions with alcohol, and placebo in a fourth session. The results indicated that: (a) Asian men who flushed to alcohol showed pronounced cardiovascular changes that did not exhibit differential tolerance over 3 sessions, (b) there were surprisingly few self-reported mood differences in response to alcohol between those who did and did not flush, and (c) finger-pulse amplitude decreased and self-ratings of "boastful" increased significantly in response to placebo challenge in those men who did not flush. These results raise questions about the psychological mechanisms by which the skin-flushing response inhibits the development and expression of alcoholism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal changes in cognition, gait, and balance in abstinent and relapsed alcoholic men: Relationships to changes in brain structure.

Chronic alcoholism is associated with cognitive and motor deficits, and there is evidence for reversibility with sobriety. Alcoholic men were examined after 1 month of sobriety and 2 to 12 months later with cognitive and motor tests and magnetic resonance imaging. In this naturalistic study, 20 alcoholic participants had abstained and 22 had resumed drinking at retesting. Abstainers sustained greater improvement than relapsers on tests of delayed recall of drawings, visuospatial function, attention, gait, and balance. Shrinkage in 3rd ventricle volume across all participants significantly correlated with improvement in nonverbal short-term memory. Additional brain structure-function relationships, most involving short-term memory, were observed when analyses were restricted to alcoholic men who had maintained complete abstinence, were light relapsers for at least 3 months, or had consumed no more than 10 drinks prior to follow-up testing. Thus, alcoholic men who maintain abstinence can show substantial functional improvement that is related to improvement in brain structure condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol abuse in clients presenting with marital problems.

84 women and 56 men seeking marital therapy were assessed for alcohol abuse, current marital disagreements about alcohol abuse, and reported interspousal aggression. More than one-third of the men in the sample met the criterion for alcoholism on a standard alcoholism screening interview, one-fifth of the men self-reported drinking at unsafe levels, and more than four-fifths of the Ss reported marital disagreements about alcohol abuse at least "frequently." 69% of respondents reported the occurrence of physical aggression in their relationship. Reported alcohol problems were associated with more severe marital distress, more steps being taken toward divorce, and greater male aggression. Results suggest that routine screening of marital therapy clients for alcohol abuse is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of triphenyltin and other organotins on hepatic monooxygenase system in fish

The interaction of the organotin fungicide triphenyltin chloride (TPT) with fish microsomal monooxygenase systems has been studied in vitro and in vivo in the marine fish scup (Stenotomus chrysops). In vitro incubation of fish liver microsomes with TPT resulted in the conversion of about 40% of the native total spectral P450 to P420. In addition, a strong concentration-related inhibition of ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity was observed, with a complete loss at 1.0 mM TPT. Pentoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (PROD) activity was inhibited only at the highest concentration tested. This suggests either some specificity for the EROD catalyst CYP1A1, or a loss of reductant NADPH cytochrome c reductase as the cause. Further in vitro incubations showed that NADPH, but not NADH, cytochrome c reductase was strongly inhibited at 100 microM TPT and higher. To further investigate this effect, fish were injected with single doses of 5, 25 and 50 microM TPT (1.9, 9.6 and 19.3 mg kg-1 TPT), and 24 and 48 h later, hepatic microsomes were analyzed for total P450 content, EROD activity, NAD(P)H cytochrome c reductase, and the content of three CYP forms. EROD activity tended to be decreased in TPT-treated scup, with the response being stronger after 48 than 24 h. No significant conversion of spectrally determined P450 to cytochrome P420 was found, and cytochrome b5 was not affected. However, both NAD(P)H cytochrome c reductases were significantly inhibited at all concentrations. Immunoblot analysis showed reduction of CYP1A1 content at all doses, being significant at 25 mM after 48 h, but no decrease in CYP3A-like protein, the dominant catalyst of testosterone 6 beta-hydroxylation, nor CYP2B-like protein, the major contributor to indicates significant effects of TPT at high concentrations on fish hepatic CYP1A1 protein, EROD activity and the reductases. TPT seems to act more specifically on CYP1A1 than on other CYP forms. These findings combined with those of our previous studies (Brüschweiler BJ, Würgler FE, Fent K. Environ Toxicol Chem 1996;15:827-735; Fent K, Bucheli TD. Aquat Toxicol 1994;28:107-126; Fent K, Stegeman JJ. Aquat Toxicol 1991;20:159-168; Fent K, Stegeman JJ. Aquat Toxicol 1993;24:219-240) indicate a general degenerative effect of organotins on the fish microsomal monooxygenase system, although some differences are seen between the organotins, and between species. We conclude that these effects of organotins have consequences for use of CYP1A as a biomarker and endocrine disruption.     

Personality characteristics of children of alcoholics.

This study compared the personality characteristics of late adolescent and young adult children of alcoholics (COAs) with those of their peers and examined the extent to which personality differences are gender specific and are related to the gender of the alcoholic parent. Specifically, data derived from an alcohol survey of young college students (N?=?860) were used to examine familial alcoholism and personality characteristics, including impulsiveness, self-depreciation, lack of tension, independence/autonomy, need for social support, directiveness, sociability, and other-directedness. Although COA respondents were similar to their peers on most personality measures, they were more likely to report great self-depreciation. This difference in self-depreciation between COAs and their peers was greater for women than men. Women with an alcoholic father were significantly more likely than women with an alcoholic mother to report greater self-depreciation. Male COAs rated themselves significantly higher on autonomy than did their male peers, but the gender of the alcoholic parent had little effect on this variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cerebellar volume decline in normal aging, alcoholism, and Korsakoff's syndrome: Relation to ataxia.

The authors used magnetic resonance imaging to measure gray and white matter volumes in cerebellar hemispheres and 4 vermian regions in 61 normal control (NC) men aged 23–72 years, 25 men with uncomplicated alcoholism (ALC), and 8 men and 1 woman with alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome (KS). NC and ALC took quantitative gait and balance tests. Gray but not white matter volume declined with normal age in both hemispheres and anterior–superior vermis. ALC had gray but not white matter cerebellar hemisphere volume deficits, whereas KS had deficits in both tissue types. ALC and KS had gray and white matter volume deficits in anterior superior but not posterior inferior vermis. ALC had a 1 SD ataxia deficit, significantly and selectively correlated with white matter volume in anterior superior vermis. Regional distribution but not severity of cerebellar volume deficits is similar in alcoholic individuals whether or not complicated by KS and relates to ataxia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sleep-disordered breathing in alcoholics: association with age

Sleep apnea and related disorders are not uncommon in abstinent alcoholics. We assessed the relationship between age and the presence and severity of sleep-disordered breathing in alcoholism by performing one night of polysomnography on 75 abstinent alcoholic subjects undergoing treatment for alcoholism. Sleep-disordered breathing (defined as 10 or more apneas plus hypopneas/hr of sleep) was present in 17% of 66 men aged 22-76 and in 0 of 9 women aged 28-63 years. Three percent of men under age 40 years had sleep-disordered breathing compared with 25% of men between ages 40-59 and 75% of those above age 60. Although alcoholics with sleep-disordered breathing had a higher body mass index than those without, the increased frequency over age 40 was statistically significant after controlling for the effects of body mass index. Sleep in subjects with sleep-disordered breathing was significantly more disturbed than in subjects without sleep-disordered breathing. Our findings suggest that sleep-disordered breathing in older male alcoholics is more prevalent than has been reported in most studies of normal men and that the increase in sleep-disordered breathing that occurs with age in alcoholics is greater than the age-related increase in sleep-disordered breathing that occurs in healthy elderly men. Furthermore, sleep-disordered breathing is a significant contributor to sleep disturbance in a substantial proportion of male alcoholics above the age of 40 years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Alcoholism, aging, and functional cerebral asymmetries.

Reviews research concerning the possible relationship between cognitive decline and abnormal hemispheric asymmetries in alcoholic and aging individuals. Because the deteriorative effects of alcoholism on the central nervous system have suggested greater visuospatial than language-related functional impairments, numerous investigators had hypothesized that right-hemisphere integrity may be selectively disrupted (rather than the left hemisphere). Furthermore, performance on diverse perceptual and cognitive tests used to measure right-hemisphere functions in alcoholics had been observed to decline with normal chronological aging as well, thereby raising the possibility that certain neuropsychological deficits associated with alcoholism (presumably related to right-hemispheric decline) are identical to those associated with aging. However, an extensive review of empirical research findings on cerebral asymmetries both in alcoholics and in aging individuals suggested that their patterns of functional laterality are similar to those of normal controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual versus tactual receptor preference in normal and schizophrenic children.

Receptor preferences between visual or tactual stimuli were measured in schizophrenic and normal children. 4 pairs of standardized choice situations between visual or tactual stimuli were used, with the time of engagement with either stimulus constituting the preference measure. Schizophrenic children, ages 7-9, were compared with same aged normal children. A group of retardates were used for MA control. Schizophrenics were significantly lower in visual preference than the same aged normals, and an age trend for increased visual preference was found in the normal sample. Retardates showed greater visual preference than schizophrenics of comparable MA. Some implications for theory of schizophrenia are discussed. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rate of psychiatric morbidity in a metropolitan county jail population

The author describes social-psychiatric characteristics of 122 jail inmates examined while awaiting trail, 80% of them on felony charges. The estimated overall rate of psychiatric illness was 4.6%. The patient sample was significantly older and contained significantly more minority group men than the jail population as a whole. Thirty-six percent of the patients diagnosed as schizophrenic were arrested on misdemeanor charges. Drug dependency was diagnosed in 51% of the men but in only 15% of the women. Psychosis was diagnosed more frequently and alcoholism, anxiety neurosis, and antisocial personality less frequently than in studies of prison populations using similar diagnostic criteria.     

Cytotoxic effects of topotecan combined with various anticancer agents in human cancer cell lines

BACKGROUND: Topotecan (TPT) is a topoisomerase I poison that exhibits antineoplastic activity. Analysis of the cytotoxic effects of combinations of TPT and other anticancer agents has been limited. PURPOSE: We assessed the cytotoxic effects produced by combinations of TPT and other antineoplastic agents in experiments involving multiple human cancer cell lines of diverse histologic origins. METHODS: The cytotoxic effects of various antimetabolites (fluorouracil, methotrexate, or cytarabine), antimicrotubule agents (vincristine or paclitaxel [Taxol]), DNA alkylating agents (melphalan, bis[chloroethyl]nitrosourea [BCNU], or 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide [4HC]), and a DNA-platinating agent (cisplatin), alone and in combination with TPT, were measured in clonogenic (i.e., colony-forming) assays. HCT8 ileocecal adenocarcinoma, A549 non-small-cell lung carcinoma, NCI-H82ras(H) lung cancer, T98G glioblastoma, and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines were used in these assays. The data were analyzed by the median effect method, primarily under the assumption that drug mechanisms of action were mutually nonexclusive (i.e., completely independent of one another). For each level of cytotoxicity (ranging from 5% to 95%), a drug combination index (CI) was calculated. A CI less than 1 indicated synergy (i.e., the effect of the combination was greater than that expected from the additive effects of the component agents), a CI equal to 1 indicated additivity, and a CI greater than 1 indicated antagonism (the effect of the combination was less than that expected from the additive effects of the component agents). RESULTS: When the mechanisms of drug action were assumed to be mutually nonexclusive, virtually all CIs for combinations of TPT and either antimetabolites or antimicrotubule agents revealed cytotoxic effects that were less than additive. The CIs calculated at low-to-intermediate levels of cytotoxicity for combinations of TPT and the DNA alkylating agents melphalan, BCNU, and 4HC also showed drug effects that were less than additive; in most cases, however, nearly additive or even synergistic effects were observed with these same drug combinations at high levels of cytotoxicity (i.e., at > or = 90% inhibition of colony formation). Results obtained with combinations of TPT and cisplatin varied according to the cell line examined. With A549 cells, less than additive effects were seen at low-to-intermediate levels of cytotoxicity, and more than additive effects were seen at high levels of cytotoxicity. With NCI-H82ras(H) cells, synergy was observed over most of the cytotoxicity range. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: TPT cytotoxicity appears to be enhanced more by combination with certain DNA-damaging agents than by combination with antimetabolites or antimicrotubule agents. Interactions between TPT and other drugs can vary depending on the cell type examined. Further investigation is required to determine the basis of the observed effects and to determine whether these in vitro findings are predictive of results obtained in vivo.     

Men at high risk for alcoholism: The effect of alcohol on cardiovascular response to unavoidable shock.

Three groups of 12 nonalcoholic men at differing degrees of genetic risk for alcoholism were tested with and without alcohol for their cardiovascular response to an aversive stimulus. A high-risk group consisted of sons of alcoholic fathers with extensive transgenerational family histories of alcoholism. A moderate-risk group included sons of alcoholic fathers whose previous generation was essentially negative for other alcoholic diagnoses. The low-risk group consisted of men with negative family histories for the disorder. Heart rate and digital blood volume amplitude were measured in each subject while resting and during a signaled shock procedure. Results show that the high-risk group was more cardiovascularly reactive to the stressor than the moderate-risk group when sober. Alcohol consumption led to a dramatic reduction in the degree of reactivity in the high-risk group, and it led to increased reactivity in the moderate-risk group. The trend for the low-risk group was similar to the moderate-risk group with no significant differences between the two. The methodology and results are discussed in terms of their relevance in the etiology of alcoholism in high-risk men and in terms of the need for generational controls in studying sons of alcoholics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Occurrence of Male-to-Female Intimate Partner Violence on Days of Men's Drinking: The Moderating Effects of Antisocial Personality Disorder.

In this study, the moderating effects of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) on the day-to-day relationship between male partner alcohol consumption and male-to-female intimate partner violence (IPV) for men entering a domestic violence treatment program (n = 170) or an alcoholism treatment program (n = 169) were examined. For both samples, alcohol consumption was associated with an increased likelihood of nonsevere IPV among men without a diagnosis of ASPD but not among men with ASPD (who tended to engage in nonsevere IPV whether they did or did not drink). Drinking was more strongly associated with a likelihood of severe IPV among men with ASPD compared with those without ASPD who also drank. These results provide partial support for a multiple threshold model of intoxication and aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)