The development of addiction to d-amphetamine in an animal model: same principles as for alcohol and opiate

We have established a rat model that reflects the course of development of alcohol and opiate addiction. The present study with d-amphetamine aimed to define general principles in the development of an addiction. Male rats had a continuous free choice between d-amphetamine solutions (100, 200 and 400 mg/l) and water for 47 weeks. An initial intake of high doses of d-amphetamine during the first weeks of drug choice was followed by an individually stable pattern of drug consumption of moderate drug doses. During this period of controlled consumption (from week 10 to week 40), the voluntary intake of d-amphetamine depended on individual factors (dominant rats: 0.37 ± 0.02 mg/kg per day, subordinate rats: 0.57 ± 0.05 mg/kg per day) and environmental variables (group housing: 0.21 ± 0.02 mg/kg per day, single housing: 0.41 ± 0.03 mg/kg per day). Beginning with week 41, voluntary d-amphetamine consumption progressively increased (1.9 ± 0.2 mg/kg per day in week 47), although the experimental conditions remained unchanged. Drug intake during a retest (free choice as before) after 6 months of drug deprivation revealed that the rats had persistently lost their control over drug intake and were no longer able to adjust drug taking to internal and external conditions. These addicted rats took very high drug doses, even when all d-amphetamine solutions but not water were adulterated with bitter tasting quinine (6.6 ± 0.6 mg/kg per day; age-matched controls: 0.37 ± 0.04 mg/kg per day). Forced intake of d-amphetamine for 47 weeks (7.1 ± 0.3 mg/kg per day) via the drinking fluid caused physical dependence (hyperreactivity during withdrawal) but did not lead to drug addiction (voluntary intake in the retest with adulteration: 0.42 ± 0.04 mg/kg per day). Both the temporal development and the prerequisites of psychostimulant addiction were in principle the same as for alcohol and opiates. Received: 3 April 1998/Final version: 26 August 1998     

Triazolam-induced changes in alcoholic thought processes

 This study was designed to examine and contrast cognitive effects (explicit memory and access to semantic knowledge) of the benzodiazepine Halcion (triazolam) in ten normal volunteers and ten cognitively unimpaired detoxified alcoholics. The two groups were indistinguishable from one another under placebo conditions on all measures of cognitive functioning. Under Halcion test conditions (0.375 mg PO), both groups were about equally impaired in their recall of to-be-remembered information. However, alcoholics, were more likely to recall information that they were not asked to remember (intrusion errors) on all measures of explicit remembering. Alcoholics also generated relatively uncommon (low frequency) responses from semantic memory, rather than common, categorically related associations in response to stimuli such as types of vegetables, flowers, and fruit following the administration of Halcion, but were not different from normal volunteers in the types of responses generated under placebo conditions. These findings suggest that a drug challenge that simulates many of the effects of acute alcohol administration induces alcoholics to think and remember differently (qualitatively) from normal volunteers. Received: 7 July 1997 / Final version: 22 September 1997     

北京市区大气细菌粒子的沉降量

本工作用平皿沉降法在北京市西单观测了大气细菌粒子的沉降量。结果表明,大气细菌粒子的年平均沉降量为72.9个/皿·5min;一天内大气细菌粒子沉降量出现7:00、19:00两个高峰时和13:00、夜间1:00两个低峰时。同时表明,大气细菌粒子的沉降量夏季高,冬季低;白天高,夜间低。     

Reinstatement of alcohol-seeking by priming injections of alcohol and exposure to stress in rats

 Previous studies using a reinstatement procedure have found that acute reexposure to the self-administered drug and exposure to footshock stress reinstate heroin and cocaine seeking after prolonged drug-free periods. Here we tested whether these findings generalize to alcohol-taking behavior. Male rats were initially allowed to consume alcohol in a two-bottle choice procedure (water versus alcohol) for 30 min/day for 36 days. Rats were then trained for 60 min/day in operant chambers to press a lever for the drug (0.13 ml of 12% w/v of an alcohol solution) for up to 55 days. After stable drug-taking on a fixed-ratio-3 schedule of reinforcement was obtained, lever pressing for alcohol was extinguished by terminating drug delivery for 4–9 days. Reinstatement of drug seeking was then determined after non-contingent priming injections of alcohol (0.24 and 0.48 g/kg; given IP and orally) or exposure to intermittent footshock stress (5 and 15 min; 0.8 mA). Priming injections of alcohol produced a modest dose-dependent reinstatement of drug seeking, whereas footshock stress potently reinstated extinguished alcohol seeking. In contrast, similar parameters of footshock failed to reinstate extinguished sucrose-taking behavior in rats previously trained to lever press for sucrose pellets. These findings extend previous reports on reinstatement of cocaine and heroin seeking by a footshock stressor and by priming drug injections. It also appears that the reinstatement procedure provides an appropriate methodology to study relapse to alcohol-taking behavior in the drug-free state. Received: 9 April 1997 / Final version: 1 August 1997     

Percutaneous aspiration and ethanol sclerotherapy of symptomatic hepatic cysts

Nineteen patients with 49 symptomatic non-neoplastic non-parasitic simple hepatic cysts were subjected to ultrasonographically guided percutaneous aspiration and temporary injection of 99% ethanol into the cyst. Small cysts were treated twice, the large ones three times at the same sitting. The volume of alcohol per injection varied from 20 to 100 ml, depending on the size of the cyst. A cure was usually achieved with one ethanol sclerotherapy treatment. Only minor side effects such as transient pain and temperature elevation occurred. Forty-seven of the 49 cysts could be treated adequately, and did not recur during a follow-up period af 12–40 months. The results indicate that aspiration an and ethanol sclerotherapy is the treatment of choice in patients with symptomatic non-neoplastic simple hepatic cysts or polycystic liver disease. Correspondence to: A. Leinonen     

Substitution of the 5-HT1 agonist trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP) for the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol: effect of training dose

The role of the ethanol training dose on the ability of the selective 5-HT¹ agonist TFMPP (m-trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine) to produce ethanol-like discriminative stimulus effects was evaluated in three groups of rats trained to discriminate 1.0 g/kg (n=5), 1.5 g/kg (n=6) or 2.0 g/kg (n=7) ethanol (IG) from water using a two-lever procedure with food reinforcement available under a fixed ratio 20 (FR 20) schedule. Ethanol generalization gradients were comparable in the three groups, indicating few potency differences in the ethanol stimulus across training dose. However, the ability of TFMPP (0.1–1.7 mg/kg; IP) to substitute for ethanol was dependent on the training dose. TFMPP resulted in partial substitution in the 1.0 g/kg group, complete substitution for 1.5 g/kg group and no substitution in the 2.0 g/kg ethanol training group. The results indicate a serotonergic component to the discriminative stimulus effects of an intermediate dose of ethanol that is not prominent as the dose of ethanol is raised. These data add further support for the hypothesis that ethanol produces a mixed discriminative cue, the components of which are not uniformly amplified when the dose of ethanol is increased.     

Divided attention performance in cannabis users and non-users following alcohol and cannabis separately and in combination

The effect of 9-tetrahydrocannabinol ( 9-THC) and alcohol, singly and in combination, on divided attention performance was investigated in cannabis users and non-users who were matched for alcohol use. Both cannabis and alcohol produced decrements in central and peripheral signal detections. Drug and alcohol effects were greater for signal presentations in the periphery. Cannabis users were less impaired in peripheral signal detection than non-users while intoxicated by cannabis and/or alcohol. These findings suggest the development of tolerance and cross-tolerance in regular cannabis users and/or the ability to compensate for intoxication effects.     

国内六地区饮酒情况及相关问题调查 Ⅲ.四种特殊职业人群饮酒情况及相关问题

目的：描述我国六地区四种特殊职业人群的饮酒情况及与饮酒相关问题发生率，并与普通人群相比较。方法：抽样调查，使用定式问卷及ＤＳＭ－ＩＩ－Ｒ诊断标准向９８００名受试者（１８－６５岁）调查饮酒情况、饮酒相关的社会、心理和躯体问题。结果：男女及总饮酒率分别为８６．２％、４４．１％和７４．１％，年平均饮酒量分别为８．２５、０．５６及６．００升纯酒精。酒依赖的男性、女性和总的时点患病率分别为１０．５４５％、０．１４１％和７．５６１％，急性酒中毒的半年患病率分别为７．９１６％、０．０７１％和５．６６８％。与普通人群相比，四种特殊职业人群的饮酒率、年饮酒量和与饮酒相关的损害均较高。结论：职业环境是影响饮酒的重要因素之一，处于特殊环境的人群是出现酒问题的高危人群。     

Alcohol and the Psychophysiological Detection of Deception

Psychophysiological detection of deception examinations were conducted on 40 subjects. Of these, 32 were “guilty” of a mock crime and 8 were innocent. Sixteen guilty subjects committed the crime while intoxicated and the remaining 16 committed the crime sober. These two groups of guilty subjects were subdivided such that half of each group was examined with the polygraph while intoxicated and the other half was examined while sober. Two questioning techniques were used in the examination, a Control Question Test and the Guilty Knowledge Test. Measures of skin resistance, heart rate and respiration were recorded. The principal findings were that alcohol intoxication during the crime reduced detectability with detection scores derived from the measurement of skin resistance responses on the Control Question Test and on the Guilty Knowledge Test. The analyses of guilt/innocent classifications, based on the detection scores, showed these classifications to be affected by alcohol intoxication.     

新鲜组织块标本经乙醇直接固定二年的流式细胞术DNA分析

本文报道了一种实体组织用于DesoxyribonucleicAcid(DNA)分析的Flowcy tometry(FCM) )样品保存新方法 ,即新鲜组织块乙醇直接固定法。所用样品为头颈部肿瘤手术切除的新鲜标本 3 0例 ,每例标本重约 0 5～ 1 g ,均等分为两份 ,1份置 70 %乙醇直接固定 ,室温放置 ,待两年后FCM检测。另一份置生理盐水中立即行流式细胞术DNA分析。两组样品经机械法制成单细胞悬液 ,PI染色后上机检测。结果显示 :从两组样品的DNA直方图分析 ,CV(coefficiencyofvariation)值、GO/G1、S及G2 /M各期比率无显著差异 (P >0 0 5)。我们认为在样品收集短期内难以完成 ,需积累保存 ,或需保存半年以上者 ,且不具备低温冷冻设备的条件下 ,新鲜组织块乙醇直接固定法是优于将组织块先制备成单细胞悬液再行乙醇固定的流式细胞术DNA样品保存方法