RSV-specific anti-viral immunity is disrupted by chronic ethanol consumption
Alcohol-use disorders (AUD) persist in the United States and are heavily associated with an increased susceptibility to respiratory viral infections. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in particular has received attention as a viral pathogen commonly detected in children and immune-compromised populations (elderly, asthmatics), yet more recently was recognized as an important viral pathogen in young adults. Our study evaluated the exacerbation of RSV-associated illness in mice that chronically consumed alcohol for 6 weeks prior to infection. (Source: Alcohol)
Source: Alcohol - August 23, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Kristi J. Warren, Samantha M. Simet, Jacqueline A. Pavlik, Jane M. DeVasure, Joseph H. Sisson, Jill A. Poole, Todd A. Wyatt Source Type: research
A single alcohol drinking session is sufficient to enable subsequent aversion-resistant consumption in mice
Addiction is mediated in large part by pathological motivation for rewarding, addictive substances, and alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) continue to extract a very high physical and economic toll on society despite extensive efforts directed toward treatment of these disorders. Compulsive alcohol drinking, where intake continues despite negative consequences, is considered a particular obstacle during treatment of AUDs. Aversion-resistant drives for alcohol have been modeled in rodents, where animals continue to consume even when alcohol is adulterated with the bitter tastant quinine, or is paired with another aversive consequ...
Source: Alcohol - August 20, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Kelly Lei, Scott A. Wegner, Ji-Hwan Yu, Jeffrey A. Simms, F. Woodward Hopf Source Type: research
Sex differences in the behavioral sequelae of chronic ethanol exposure
Rates of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) differ between men and women, and there is also marked variation between sexes in the effects of acute and chronic alcohol. In parallel to observations in humans, prior studies in rodents have described male/female differences across a range of ethanol-related behaviors, including ethanol drinking. Nonetheless, there remain gaps in our knowledge of the role of sex in moderating the effects of ethanol, particularly in models of chronic ethanol exposure. The goal of the current study was to assess various behavioral sequelae of exposing female C57BL/6J mice to chronic intermittent ethano...
Source: Alcohol - August 17, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Nicholas J. Jury, Jeffrey F. DiBerto, Thomas L. Kash, Andrew Holmes Source Type: research
Reduced ethanol drinking following selective cortical interneuron deletion of the GluN2B NMDA receptors subunit
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) are involved in the regulation of alcohol drinking, but the contribution of NMDAR subunits located on specific neuronal populations remains incompletely understood. The current study examined the role of GluN2B-containing NMDARs expressed on cortical principal neurons and cortical interneurons in mouse ethanol drinking. Consumption of escalating concentrations of ethanol was measured in mice with GluN2B gene deletion in either cortical principal neurons (GluN2BCxNULL) or interneurons (GluN2BInterNULL), using a two-bottle choice paradigm. (Source: Alcohol)
Source: Alcohol - August 10, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Anna K. Radke, Nicholas J. Jury, Eric Delpire, Kazu Nakazawa, Andrew Holmes Source Type: research
Maternal choline supplementation in a sheep model of first trimester binge alcohol fails to protect against brain volume reductions in peripubertal lambs
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a leading potentially preventable birth defect. Poor nutrition may contribute to adverse developmental outcomes of prenatal alcohol exposure, and supplementation of essential micronutrients such as choline has shown benefit in rodent models. The sheep model of first-trimester binge alcohol exposure was used in this study to model the dose of maternal choline supplementation used in an ongoing prospective clinical trial involving pregnancies at risk for FASD. (Source: Alcohol)
Source: Alcohol - August 2, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Sharla M. Birch, Mark W. Lenox, Joe N. Kornegay, Beatriz Paniagua, Martin A. Styner, Charles R. Goodlett, Tim A. Cudd, Shannon E. Washburn Source Type: research
