Diseases Commons^™

Exploring The Impact Of Caffeine, Alcohol, And Opioids On Intraocular Pressure: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Short-Term And Long-Term Effects On Vision, Jake Prieto

CMC Senior Theses

Coffee, alcohol, and opioids are addictive drugs commonly used in modern society, yet their impact on ocular health remains ambiguous. This systematic review aims to elucidate this ambiguity by examining their effects on intraocular pressure (IOP). Utilizing IOP as a metric, both short-term and long-term effects are evaluated across individuals with irregular IOP levels and healthy subjects. Furthermore, the study analyzes choroidal thickness as an additional measure to reinforce or challenge the findings regarding IOP, leveraging the inverse relationship between the two metrics concerning elevated IOP-related illnesses, such as open-angle glaucoma (OAG).

A comprehensive literature search was performed through Google …

Human Alcohol-Microbiota Mice Have Increased Susceptibility To Bacterial Pneumonia, Kelly C. Cunningham, Deandra R. Smith, Daniel N. Villageliú, Christi M. Ellis, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Jeffrey D. Price, Todd A. Wyatt, Daren L. Knoell, Mystera M. Samuelson, Patricia E. Molina, David A. Welsh, Derrick R. Samuelson

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Preclinical studies have shown that chronic alcohol abuse leads to alterations in the gastrointestinal microbiota that are associated with behavior changes, physiological alterations, and immunological effects. However, such studies have been limited in their ability to evaluate the direct effects of alcohol-associated dysbiosis. To address this, we developed a humanized alcohol-microbiota mouse model to systematically evaluate the immunological effects of chronic alcohol abuse mediated by intestinal dysbiosis. Germ-free mice were colonized with human fecal microbiota from individuals with high and low Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores and bred to produce human alcohol-associated microbiota or human control-microbiota F1 progenies. …

An Aerobic Exercise Intervention To Improve Metabolic Health Among People Living With Hiv With At-Risk Alcohol Use: The Alive-Ex Research Study Protocol, Liz Simon, Stefany D. Primeaux, Danielle E. Levitt, Brianna Bourgeois, Neil M. Johannsen, Adrianna Peters, Jameel Ahmed, Richard H. Marshall, Alexandra H. Fairchild, Tekeda F. Ferguson, Patricia E. Molina

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people living with HIV (PLWH) has improved life expectancy and increased risk of age-associated cardiometabolic comorbidities. At-risk alcohol use is more frequent among PLWH and increases the risk of health challenges. PLWH with at-risk alcohol use are more likely to meet criteria for prediabetes/diabetes and this is associated with impaired whole-body glucose-insulin dynamics. Methods: The Alcohol & Metabolic Comorbidities in PLWH: Evidence Driven Interventions Study (ALIVE-Ex Study, NCT03299205) is a longitudinal, prospective, interventional study to determine the effects of an aerobic exercise protocol on improving dysglycemia among PLWH with at-risk alcohol use. The intervention …

Alcohol As A Modifiable Risk Factor For Alzheimer’S Disease—Evidence From Experimental Studies, Devaraj V. Chandrashekar, Ross A. Steinberg, Derick Han, Rachita K. Sumbria

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive impairment and memory loss. Epidemiological evidence suggests that heavy alcohol consumption aggravates AD pathology, whereas low alcohol intake may be protective. However, these observations have been inconsistent, and because of methodological discrepancies, the findings remain controversial. Alcohol-feeding studies in AD mice support the notion that high alcohol intake promotes AD, while also hinting that low alcohol doses may be protective against AD. Chronic alcohol feeding to AD mice that delivers alcohol doses sufficient to cause liver injury largely promotes and accelerates AD pathology. The mechanisms by which alcohol can …

Longitudinal Ultrasound Imaging And Network Modeling In Rats Reveal Sex-Dependent Suppression Of Liver Regeneration After Resection In Alcoholic Liver Disease, Benjamin K. Barnhart, Toshiki Kan, Ankita Srivastava, Corinne E. Wessner, John Waters, Manju Ambelil, John R. Eisenbrey, Jan B. Hoek, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Liver resection is an important surgical technique in the treatment of cancers and transplantation. We used ultrasound imaging to study the dynamics of liver regeneration following two-thirds partial hepatectomy (PHx) in male and female rats fed via Lieber-deCarli liquid diet protocol of ethanol or isocaloric control or chow for 5–7 weeks. Ethanol-fed male rats did not recover liver volume to the pre-surgery levels over the course of 2 weeks after surgery. By contrast, ethanol-fed female rats as well as controls of both sexes showed normal volume recovery. Contrary to expectations, transient increases in both portal and hepatic artery blood flow …

Covid-19 Vaccination And Alcohol Consumption: Justification Of Risks, Pavel A. Solopov

Bioelectrics Publications

Since the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, pharmaceutical companies and research institutions have been actively working to develop vaccines, and the mass roll-out of vaccinations against COVID-19 began in January 2021. At the same time, during lockdowns, the consumption of alcoholic beverages increased. During the peak of vaccination, consumption remained at high levels around the world, despite the gradual relaxation of quarantine restrictions. Two of the popular queries on search engines were whether it is safe to drink alcohol after vaccination and whether this will affect the effectiveness of vaccines. Over the past two …

Clinical And Biological Factors Determine Spinal Cord Injury Outcomes: Liquor To Lipids, Ethan Glaser

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are debilitating and life altering events that can lead to permanent motor and sensory loss. SCI outcomes are impacted by both clinical factors such as blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of injury as well as biological factors like the lipid-rich myelin debris that accumulates in the injury site. Both clinical and biological factors contribute to SCI recovery, impacting neuroinflammation, locomotor recovery, and histopathology. The purpose of the studies described here is to investigate the role of acute alcohol intoxication and intracellular lipid processing pathways on SCI outcomes in a rodent model.

An elevated BAC …

Modulation Of Hepatic Amyloid Precursor Protein And Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein 1 By Chronic Alcohol Intake: Potential Link Between Liver Steatosis And Amyloid-Β, Jerome Garcia, Rudy Chang, Ross A. Steinberg, Aldo Arce, Joshua Yang, Peter Van Der Eb, Tamara Abdullah, Devaraj V. Chandrashekar, Syndey M. Eck, Pablo Meza, Zhang-Xu Liu, Enrique Cadenas, David H. Cribbs, Neil Kaplowitz, Rachita K. Sumbria, Derick Han

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Heavy alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for various forms of dementia and the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this work, we investigated how intragastric alcohol feeding may alter the liver-to-brain axis to induce and/or promote AD pathology. Four weeks of intragastric alcohol feeding to mice, which causes significant fatty liver (steatosis) and liver injury, caused no changes in AD pathology markers in the brain [amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin], except for a decrease in microglial cell number in the cortex of the brain. Interestingly, the decline in microglial numbers correlated with serum alanine transaminase (ALT) levels, suggesting …

Porphyromonas Gingivalis, Ethanol, And Chronic Diseases., Nicholas Alan Short

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigation into the relationships among Porphyromonas gingivalis, ethanol, and a series of chronic diseases, focusing primarily on atherosclerosis. It uses evolutionary theory to understand clinical parameters related to chronic disease biology. The initial research question was, "If people who drink a glass of wine each day have a lower risk for atherosclerosis, could one explanation involve antibacterial effects on pathogens associated with causing atherosclerosis, namely, Porphyromonas gingivalis?". This dissertation is divided into four chapters. Chapter One provides the foundational information pertinent to the dissertation. Chapter Two describes an in- vitro experiment aimed at understanding …

Cannabinoid And Substance Relationships Of European Congenital Anomaly Patterns: A Space-Time Panel Regression And Causal Inferential Study, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

With reports from Australia, Canada, USA, Hawaii and Colorado documenting a link between cannabis and congenital anomalies (CAs), this relationship was investigated in Europe. Data on 90 CAs were accessed from Eurocat. Tobacco and alcohol consumption and median household income data were from the World Bank. Amphetamine, cocaine and last month and daily use of cannabis from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Cannabis herb and resin Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations were from published reports. Data were processed in R. Twelve thousand three hundred sixty CA rates were sourced across 16 nations of Europe. Nations with a higher or …

Alcohol Consumption Is Associated With Increased Cea Levels In Male Patients With Stage Iv Colorectal Cancer- A Single-Institution Retrospective Analysis, Lauren M. Keim, Alexander W. Praus, Walter S. Campbell, Kaeli K. Samson, Ashley M. Mohr, Martin Tobi, Benita L. Mcvicker

Graduate Medical Education Research Journal

Introduction: Alcohol use is an independent risk factor for liver metastasis, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Serum CEA level is an established prognostic indicator in CRC, yet the correlation with behavioral factors such as alcohol use remains to be defined. In a single-center review, we evaluated alcohol use, gender, and CEA levels in predicting advanced disease in CRC patients.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of UNMC patients diagnosed with CRC as the primary cancer between 2012-2019, stages I-IV, and age >19 with documentation of alcohol use. Univariable statistics were performed using Chi-Square and non-parametric tests. …

Assessment Of Pathogenic Changes In The Gut-Liver Axis In Plwh With Heavy Alcohol Drinking And Gut Dysbiosis Marked By Decreased Butyrogenic Potential., Smita Ghare, Vaughn Bryant, Richa Singhal, Sabina Gautam, Chanakya Charan Tirumala, Andrea Reyes-Vega, Craig J. Mcclain, Ronald Cohen, Varand Govind, Robert L. Cook, Shirish Barve

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: People living with HIV infection (PLWH) experience increasing risk for non-AIDS diseases including liver dysfunction and injury. Both HIV-infection and heavy alcohol drinking (HAD) are known to cause gut microbial dysbiosis and systemic inflammation that may potentially contribute to altered Gut-Liver axis. However, the specific pathogenic features associated with combinatorial harmful effects of alcohol and HIV infection on gut-liver interactions are not completely understood. This study evaluate the pathogenic changes in the Gut-Liver axis in PLWH with HAD.

Review Of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (Fasd) Among Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People, Sharynne Hamilton, Michael Doyle, Carol Bower

Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a preventable, lifelong disability that disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the available information on FASD among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with reference to the limitations on population-based data and evaluated programs. The review outlines; the harms of alcohol use in the context of colonisation, cultural perspectives on assessment and diagnosis, effective prevention programs and a summary of state and national policies. Health impacts, educational outcomes and the effects of FASD on vulnerable populations such as children in protection and young people in …

Case–Control Research Study Of Auto-Brewery Syndrome, Barbara Jean Cordell, Anup Kanodia, Gregory K. Miller

Faculty Publications

Background: Auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), also known as Gut Fermentation Syndrome and Endogenous Ethanol Fermentation, is afflicting people worldwide, but little is known about ABS patients’ demographics, health history, lifestyle factors, and diet.

Method: We conducted a broad-based case–control survey study on 52 patients known to have a diagnosis of ABS and their household members. The research compares the symptomatic group (N ¼ 28) to the asymptomatic group (N ¼ 18) regarding lifestyle and health, diet, and medical history.

Results: With a response rate of 88% and using rank-sum tests, the data demonstrate that patients with ABS have …

Cellular Mechanisms By Which Alcohol Promotes Hiv Protease Inhibitor-Induced Hepatotoxicity, Michael Hinton

Theses and Dissertations

CELLULAR MECHANISMS BY WHICH ALCOHOL PROMOTES HIV PROTEASE INHIBITOR-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY

Michael Hinton, B.S.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2019

Major Director: Huiping Zhou

Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology

The development of highly-active-antiretroviral therapy(HAART) has allowed management of HIV and extended the lives of those infected. Alcohol abuse, which is very common in HIV-1 infected patients, is one of the most important co-morbid risk factors for liver injury and has been associated with the occurrence of serious metabolic syndrome and subsequent discontinuation …

Chronic Binge Alcohol Administration Dysregulates Hippocampal Genes Involved In Immunity And Neurogenesis In Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Macaques, John K Maxi, Matt Dean, Jovanny Zabaleta, Krzysztof Reiss, Gregory J. Bagby, Steve Nelson, Peter J. Winsauer, Francesca Peruzzi, Patricia E. Molina

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Alcohol use disorders (AUD) exacerbate neurocognitive dysfunction in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV+) patients. We have shown that chronic binge alcohol (CBA) administration (13-14 g EtOH/kg/wk) prior to and during simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in rhesus macaques unmasks learning deficits in operant learning and memory tasks. The underlying mechanisms of neurocognitive alterations due to alcohol and SIV are not known. This exploratory study examined the CBA-induced differential expression of hippocampal genes in SIV-infected (CBA/SIV+; = 2) macaques in contrast to those of sucrose administered, SIV-infected (SUC/SIV+; = 2) macaques. Transcriptomes of hippocampal samples dissected from brains obtained at necropsy (16 …

Chronic Pancreatitis, Pain, And Anxiety In An Alcohol And High Fat Mouse Model, Tiffanie Clinkinbeard

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

Homeodynamic space (HDS) shrinks as vulnerability increases with aging and repeated damage to the cells. HDS is lost in alcoholic pancreatitis patients due to overconsumption of alcohol, smoking, and high fat diets. Etiologically relevant animal models for study of chronic pancreatitis (CP) are needed. In order to begin filling this gap a central purpose of this dissertation research was to examine relationships between the alcohol and high fat diet (AHF) and pancreatitis with attention to hypersensitivity and anxiety-like behaviors. The AHF diet induced pancreatitis described here etiologically mimics human risk factors of AHF consumption for advancement to alcoholic CP.

In …

Effects Of Moderate Intake Of Alcohol On Coronary Heart Disease, Eli Derdik

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

The french paradox is caused by an inconsistency with scientific experimentation: The French have a very high intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, which is associated with coronary heart disease, yet they have un-commensurately low levels of deaths due to this disease. It has been proposed that alcohol, as a part of the French diet, is the factor that helps decrease the risk of heart disease in the French population by 20-30%. Research has been gathered from many medical journals to create a larger and more accurate perspective to determine if alcohol has any effect on coronary heart disease. Experiments …

Increased Number Of Circulating Exosomes And Their Microrna Cargos Are Potential Novel Biomarkers In Alcoholic Hepatitis, Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, Banishree Saha, Karen Kodys, Donna Catalano, Abhishek Satishchandran, Gyongyi Szabo

Gyongyi Szabo

BACKGROUND: It has been well documented that alcohol and its metabolites induce injury and inflammation in the liver. However, there is no potential biomarker to monitor the extent of liver injury in alcoholic hepatitis patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that are involved in various physiologic and pathologic processes. In the circulation, a great proportion of miRNAs is associated with extracellular vesicles (EVs)/exosomes. Here, we hypothesized that the exosome-associated miRNAs can be used as potential biomarkers in alcoholic hepatitis (AH).

METHODS: Exosomes were isolated from sera of alcohol-fed mice or pair-fed mice, and plasma of alcoholic hepatitis …

Growth Regulation Of Pancreatic Cancer Cells And Their Normal Cells Of Origin By Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors, Mohammed Hussein Al-Wadei

Doctoral Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality with a five-year survival rate of less than 5 %. It shows no symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage upon which it has metastasized to distant organs limiting therapeutic options. Several studies have identified smoking, alcohol, diabetes and pancreatitis as risk factors for pancreatic cancer. While smoking is a well-documented risk factor for this malignancy, there still remains a controversy on whether alcohol can act as a risk factor itself or cooperatively enhances the effects of other risk factors.

Previous reports provide evidence that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) …

Risky Behaviour And Hiv Prevalence Among Zambian Men, Nisha Malhotra, Jonathan Young

Nisha Malhotra

The objective of this paper is to identify demographic, social and behavioural risk factors for HIV infection among men in Zambia. In particular, the role of alcohol, condom use, and number of sex partners is highlighted as being significant in the prevalence of HIV. Multivariate Logistic Regressions were used to analyse the latest cross-sectional population-based demographic health survey for Zambia (2007). The survey included socio-economic variables and HIV serostatus for consenting men (N = 4,434). Risk for HIV was positively related to the wealth status. Men who considered themselves to be at high risk for HIV-positive were most likely to …

Alcohol And Cardio-Respiratory Deaths In Chinese: A Population-Based Case-Control Study Of 32,462 Older Hong Kong, Mary Schooling, Tai Hing Lam, Sai Yin Ho, Yao He, Kwok Hang Mak, Gabriel M. Leung

Publications and Research

Background
In observational studies moderate alcohol use reduces cardio-respiratory mortality. However observational studies may be biased by many factors including residual confounding by unmeasured differences between moderate alcohol users and other groups or by changes in alcohol use with ill-health and aging. We used two different analytic strategies in an under-studied population, i.e. southern Chinese, to provide an assessment of the specific impact of moderate alcohol use on mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).

Methods
In a population-based case-control study of all adult deaths in Hong Kong Chinese in 1998, we used adjusted logistic …

Alcohol Consumption And Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease By Diabetes Status, Paulo A. Lotufo

Paulo A Lotufo

Background—An inverse association between moderate alcohol consumption and coronary heart disease (CHD) has been observed in several epidemiological studies. To assess whether a similar association exists among diabetics, we examined the relation between light to moderate alcohol consumption and CHD in men with and without diabetes mellitus in a prospective cohort study. Methods and Results—A total of 87 938 US physicians (2790 with diagnosed diabetes mellitus) who were invited to participate in the Physicians’ Health Study and were free of myocardial infarction, stroke, cancer, or liver disease at baseline were followed for an average of 5.5 years for death with …