Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are a major public health issue and have an enormous social and economic burden in developed, developing, and third-world countries. Current pharmacotherapies for treating AUDs suffer from deleterious side effects and are only effective in preventing relapse in a subset of individuals. This signifies an essential need for improved medications to reduce heavy episodi...

Prenatal alcohol exposure causes persistent neuropsychiatric deficits included under the term fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Cellular identity emerges from a cascade of intrinsic and extrinsic (involving cell-cell interactions and signaling) processes that are partially initiated and maintained through changes in chromatin structure. Prenatal alcohol exposure influences neuronal and a...

BACKGROUND Alcohol-induced changes in thyroid function may contribute to the development of mood disorders such as depression and anxiety that almost invariably coexist in alcohol-dependent individuals. The aim of the present study was to investigate the severity of liver dysfunction and thyroid activity in correlation with anxiety and depressive-like symptomatology before and after a detoxific...

Despite the known damaging effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, women continue to drink during pregnancy, creating a need for effective interventions and treatments for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Experimental models can be useful in identifying potential treatments, and this article describes the spectrum of experimental therapeutics that currently are being investigated, includi...

Studies in rats found that alcohol exposure during the early postnatal period, particularly during the brain-growth-spurt period, can result in cell loss in various brain regions and persistent behavioral impairments. Some investigators have speculated that the body's internal clock, which is located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in the brain, may also be affected by developmental alcohol...

Chronic alcohol exposure causes widespread changes in brain gene expression in humans and animal models. Many of these contribute to cellular adaptations that ultimately lead to behavioral tolerance and alcohol dependence. There is an emerging appreciation for the role of epigenetic processes in alcohol-induced changes in brain gene expression and behavior. For example, chronic alcohol exposure...

Aims Accumulating evidence for the influence of the gut microbiota on the bidirectional communication along the gut-brain axis suggests a role of the gut microbiota in eating disorders (EDs) and alcohol and substance use disorders. The potential influence of altered gut microbiota (dysbiosis) on behaviors associated with such disorders may have implications for developing therapeutic interventi...

AIM To determine the extent to which mental disorders (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders) and psychoactive substance use are prevalent among Krakow secondary school adolescents in the late adolescent phase. METHOD A representative sample of the population of Krakow secondary school pupils was tested. Two-stage draw method identified a group of 1933 2nd form pupils of a...

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which results from ethanol exposure during pregnancy, and alcohol use disorder (AUD), which includes both binge and chronic alcohol abuse, are strikingly common and costly at personal and societal levels. These disorders are associated with significant pathology, including that observed in the CNS. It is now appreciated in both humans and animal models th...

Early childhood traumatic experiences, such as childhood maltreatment, are associated with an enhanced risk of adolescent and adult alcohol and substance use disorders (defined as DSM-IV alcohol or substance abuse or dependence). Maltreated children and adolescents manifest dysregulation of major biological stress response systems including adverse influences on brain development. Dysregulation...