Marcin Ziółkowski

CROSS-CULTURAL EVALUATION OF TWO DRINKING ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS: ALCOHOL TIMELINE FOLLOWBACK AND INVENTORY OF DRINKING SITUATIONS

This article describes the psychometric characteristics of two major assessment instruments used in a World Health Organization (WHO) clinical trial: (a) Alcohol Timeline Followback (TLFB, which assesses daily drinking patterns), and (b) Inventory of Drinking Situations (IDS, which assesses antecedents to “heavy” drinking). Clients (N=308) were outpatient alcohol abusers from four countries (Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Sweden). Generally, the Alcohol TLFB and IDS were shown to be reliable and valid with outpatient alcohol abusers in four countries, and in three languages. These results suggest that the Alcohol TLFB and the IDS can be used in clinical and research settings with Swedish-, Spanish-, and English-speaking alcohol abusers.

Does Alexithymia in Male Alcoholics Constitute a Negative Factor for Maintaining Abstinence

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of alexithymia by means of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) in 60 male outpatients with alcohol dependence showing various durations of abstinence. Alexithymia (> or = 74 points on TAS) was found in 48% of subjects. In patients with a shorter duration of abstinence (< 1 year) both total scores of TAS as well as the scores for all three subscales were significantly higher than in subjects abstaining for more than 1 year. The findings may suggest a negative relationship between alexithymia and maintaining abstinence in male alcoholic outpatients.

High prevalence of alexithymia in male patients with alcohol dependence

The personality trait of alexithymia was assessed in 100 male inpatients with alcohol dependence using the Schaling-Sifneos Personality Scale. The score indicative of alexithymia (below 50 points) was found in 78 patients, a prevalence which exceeds that found in psychosomatic subjects. Patients with alexithymia did not differ from non-alexithymics in regard to demographic factors and severity of alcohol dependence. They were younger and had a shorter duration of illness what may indicate that alexithymia is not a result of the dependence. Alcoholic patients with concomitant hypertension had greater alexithymic scores. It is hypothesized that psychological and biological features of alexithymic subjects may render them more vulnerable to alcohol and more prone to subsequent development of the dependence.

Clinical and biochemical heterogeneity of alcoholism: The role of family history and alexithymia

Of 100 male patients with alcohol dependence, clinical and biochemical data were analysed in relation to family history of alcoholism and alexithymic personality traits. Family history was found in 38 patients and alexithymic personality traits in 79. No relationship was established between these two factors. In patients with a family history alcoholism began at a younger age with more severe clinical symptoms than in the remaining subjects. Patients with alexithymia had lower intensity of psychopathology but higher frequency of concomitant hypertension. Patients with family history had higher leukocyte counts and lower alcohol-induced elevations of liver enzymes and plasma lipids. In patients with alexithymia, higher values of hemoglobin and hematocrit were found. The results suggest that two predisposing factors to alcohol dependence such as family history of alcoholism and alexithymic personality determine the different clinical and biochemical features of the disease.

Orexin in Patients with Alcohol Dependence Treated for Relapse Prevention: A Pilot Study

AIM The aim of the study was to assess the blood concentration of orexin and its association with other clinical factors in patients with alcohol dependence. METHODS Thirty-two males hospitalized on an addiction treatment ward due to alcohol dependence and 23 healthy men as a control group were enrolled in the study. The measurement of orexin in the blood was made at the beginning of the treatment (after withdrawal symptoms had stopped) and again after 4 weeks of observation. RESULTS At the beginning of the observation, the alcohol-dependent patients had significantly greater orexin blood concentration than the control group. After 4 weeks of treatment for relapse prevention, the blood orexin level decreased significantly to a value similar to that in the control group. At the beginning of the study, more severely alcohol-dependent patients (Short Alcohol Dependence Data [SADD] score range: 20-45) had significantly greater orexin blood concentration than individuals with moderate addiction severity (SADD score range: 10-19). However, after 4 weeks of abstinence, the peptide blood concentration was similar in both groups of alcoholic patients. CONCLUSIONS Orexin or its receptor is a potential target for relapse prevention treatment, but further study with long-term observation is needed to verify the usefulness of blood orexin determination as a marker of alcohol relapse risk.

Fitting the derivative surfaces for full-dimensional interaction potentials

A new three-dimensional analytical representation of the interaction energy surface of the atom–diatom van der Waals complex is derived following the recently proposed derivative approach [P. Jankowski, J. Chem. Phys. 121, 1655 (2004)]. The method assumes the validity of the truncated Taylor expansion of the full-dimensional surface with respect to intramolecular coordinates. The expansion coefficients depend solely on intermolecular coordinates. With the second-order expansion the effective full-dimensional surface for the atom–diatom complex is generated from three low-dimensional surfaces. Each of these surfaces can be fitted separately to the numerical values of the derivatives defining the coefficients of the expansion. The formulae representing the surfaces of the first and second derivatives have been derived and are presented. The Ar–HF complex has been used for the numerical tests. The interaction energy and its derivatives were calculated on the grid of points using the coupled-cluster supermolecular method with single, double and non-iterative triple excitations, combined with the extrapolation to the basis set limit. The proposed analytical form of the potential was fitted and the features of the resulting surfaces are discussed. The two-dimensional surfaces, which build up the three-dimensional interaction energy surface, have different anisotropy properties, and the most pronounced anisotropy is observed for the surface representing the second derivative. The fit is formed to offer very high accuracy of the representation of the ab initio data. †Dedicated to Professor A. J. Sadlej on the occasion of his 65th birthday.

Predicting the infrared transition intensities in the Ar–HF complex: The key role of the dipole moment surface accuracy

The method proposed earlier for the generation of the full-dimensional energy surface for van der Waals complexes [P. Jankowski, J. Chem. Phys. 121, 1655 (2004)] is used to obtain a fulldimensional dipole moment surface for the atom-diatom complex in calculations based on the coupled-cluster with single, double, and noniterative triple excitation approach and the aug-cc-pVQZ basis sets. This surface has been employed to calculate transition intensities of the infrared spectra of Ar-HF. Special attention has been paid to study the problem of relative intensities of the different bands which have not been properly predicted within the long-range models of the dipole moment [A. E. Thornley and J. M. Hutson, J. Chem. Phys. 101, 5578 (1994)]. The intensities calculated with the present dipole moment surface agree very well with the experimental data, which indicate that the short-range interactions significantly affect the dipole moment surface and the calculated intensities. To investigate the role of the accuracy of the dipole moment surface on infrared transition intensities in atom-diatom complexes, four models of increasing complexity are studied. Their performance is shown to strongly depend on the region of the interaction energy surface probed by the initial and final states of the individual transitions.

Oxidoreductive homeostasis in alcohol-dependent male patients and the risk of alcohol drinking relapse in a 6-month follow-up

Disturbances in the central signaling of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to energy intake are recognized as taking part in appetitive and consummative phases of eating disorders. This study aimed to verify the hypothesis that blood oxidoreductive balance can also affect demand for energy substances, such as alcoholic beverages in alcohol-dependent individuals, as well as the severity of their alcohol dependence and risk of drinking relapse. The following values were determined in the blood of 54 alcohol-dependent male patients after alcohol withdrawal, again after 4 weeks and after 6 months: the aldehyde products of lipid peroxidation (malonyl dialdehyde [MDA] and 4-hydroxynonenal [4-HNE]), nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, total antioxidant status (TAS), the blood activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSHpx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GSHred), blood glucose, and lipids. Alcoholics who relapsed during 6 months of observation (n = 31, 57%) compared with patients who maintained alcohol abstinence for 6 months (n = 23, 43%) differed only in relation to initial and final NO metabolite serum concentrations. The risk of alcohol drinking relapse was lower in patients with an above-median initial blood concentration of NO metabolites and TAS. The oxidative stress parameters correlated with alcohol-dependence severity markers. No significant correlations between the studied antioxidant balance parameters and markers of nutritional status, including blood glucose and lipids, were found. Although the results of our study have some limitations and require further investigation, they suggest the role of oxidoreductive balance in the pathomechanisms of alcohol dependence and drinking relapse. In addition, due to a lack of association found between blood oxidative stress parameters and BMI, blood glucose, and lipid concentrations, they show the presence of disturbances in systemic ROS signaling in response to energy availability in alcoholics after alcohol withdrawal.

Prolonged Latency Saccades in Alcohol-dependent Patients

Aims The aim of this study was to assess the differences in saccadic latency (a measure of time delay experienced in eye movements) between alcohol-dependent and healthy controls. Materials and methods Participants Ninety-nine alcohol dependent patients were examined. Thirty-eight healthy controls were matched to the affected cohort according to demographic characteristics. Assessment In this study we used the Saccadometer Advanced System (Advanced Clinical Instrumentation, Cambridge, UK). The Saccadometer System allows quick and easy collection of saccadic responses within the shortest physiologically possible time (100 saccades in 5 min). The brevity of the testing routine minimizes any potential influence on the results due to fatigue in the test subjects. The eye movement measurements are automated and synchronised with stimuli presentation. This study analyzed saccadic latency and standard deviation of mean latency. Results There was higher saccadic latency and standard deviation of mean latency in alcohol-dependent individuals (224.43±56.24 msec) when compared to healthy controls (187.84±25.65 msec). A marked asymmetry of standard deviation of mean latency between right-sided and left-sided saccades was observed in the affected cohort. There was an increased standard deviation of right-sided saccades mean latency (69.96 msec) in alcohol-dependent individuals when compared to healthy controls (30.93 msec) and also an increased standard deviation of left-sided saccades mean latency (59.33 msec) when compared to healthy controls (33.09 msec). Conclusion It was found that alcohol dependence is associated with impaired (longer time delay) saccadic reaction.

Suicidal thoughts in persons treated for alcohol dependence: The role of selected demographic and clinical factors

Greater knowledge is needed of potential predictive factors for suicide in cases of alcohol addiction. Therefore, the aim of the study was to identify the socio-demographic variables and clinical factors associated with alcohol dependence which may have an influence on the occurrence of suicidal thoughts in alcohol-dependent patients. A group of 510 patients (396 male and 114 female) diagnosed with alcohol dependence syndrome were interviewed during the third week of therapy according to the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) and the Short Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire (SADD). Socio-demographic data was also collected. The results of a binary logistic regression with suicidal thoughts as a dependent variable show that 63 out of the 510 participants (12% of the sample) reported the presence of suicidal thoughts. Alcohol dependence and alcohol craving appear to increase the likelihood of suicidal thoughts, and participants presenting psychiatric disorders were twice as likely to demonstrate suicidal ideation as those who did not. Alcohol dependence, alcohol craving and psychiatric comorbidity may be regarded as risk factors for suicidal ideation in the studied sample, with the only protective factor being living in a relationship.