Alcohol exposure

The reported risk factors for HIV-associated sensory neuropathy are varied and may have changed since the availability of HAART. In the pre-HAART era, age, nutritional deficiencies, alcohol exposure, higher HIV viral load, and low CD4 counts (Moyle and Sadler 1998 Childs et al. 1999), as well as mood, other neurologic disorders and functional abnormalities (Schifitto et al. 2002) were neuropathy risk factors. In the HAART era, the use of NRTI (Cherry et al. 2006 Pettersen et al. 2006) and exposure to protease inhibitor (PI) medication (Pettersen et al. 2006 Smyth et al. 2007) are considered additional risk factors. Although hepatitis C mono-infection has been associated with peripheral nerve disease, and there is... 

Baer, J. S., Sampson, P. D., Barr, H. M., Connor, P. D., Streissguth, A. P. (2 003). A 21 -year longitudinal analysis of the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on young adult drinking. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 377-385. 

Caldeira JC, Wu Y, Mameli M, Purdy RH, Li P-K, Akwa Y, Savage DD, Engen JR, Valenzuela CF. 2004. Fetal alcohol exposure alters neurosteroid levels in the developing rat brain. J Neurochem 90 1530-1539. 

Barron, S., Gagnon, W. A., Mattson, S. N., etal. (1988). The effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on odor associative learning in rats. Neurotoxicology and Taatology 10,333-340. 

The mechanism of action of acamprosate in the maintenance of alcohol abstinence is not completely understood. Chronic alcohol exposure is hypothesized to alter the normal balance between neuronal excitation and inhibition. Studies suggest acamprosate may interact with glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter systems centrally, and have led to the hypothesis that acamprosate restores this balance. 

Most of the alcohol distributes into body water, but like most solvents and anesthetics some distributes into fat. It is excreted in the urine and breath, hence the utility of taking breath samples to evaluate alcohol exposure. The majority of alcohol is metabolized in the liver. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) metabolizes alcohol to acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is toxic, with elevated levels causing flushing, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Acetaldehyde is in turn quickly metabolized to the less toxic acetate by acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) (Figure 3.1). 

Ohashi, Y, Nakai. Y, Koshimo, H., Esaki, Y, Ikeoka, H., Horiguchi, S.. Teramoto, K. Nakaseko. H. (1988) Toxicity of isopropyl alcohol exposure on the nasal mucociliary system in the guinea pig. Environ. Res., 46, 25-38... 

Howland, J. et al., Effects of low-dose alcohol exposure on simulated merchant ship piloting by maritime cadets, Accid. Anal. Prevent., 33, 257, 2001. 

Hilakivi (ref. 128) found that in rats prenatal alcohol exposure during the entire period of pregnancy resulted in less active sleep, more wake and a more frequent interruption of the quiet sleep state by waking episodes on neonatal age. Human newborns with FAS may show abnormal EEG profiles and sleep disturbances such as reduced REM sleep (ref. 25). 

J.R. Vest and K.M. Hamre, Effects of alcohol exposure during different periods of development Changes in hippocampal mossy fibers, Develop. Brain res., 17 (1985) 280-284. 

L. Hilakivi, Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neonatal sleep-wake behaviour and adult alcohol consumption in rats, Acta pharmacol. et toxicol., 59 (1986) 36-42. 

N.V. Bond, Postnatal alcohol exposure in the rat Its effects on avoidance conditioning, Hebb-Williams maze performance, maternal behavior, and pup development, Physiol. Psychol., 8(4) (1980) 437-443. 

Highly sensitive to friction when dry. It is stored under alcohol. Exposure to acid may generate hydrazoic acid, and exposure to lead drains may generate lead azide.2... 

Baer JS, Sampson PD, Barr HM, Connor PD, Streissguth AP (2003) A 21-year longitudinal analysis of the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on young adult drinking. 

Carter RC, Jacobson SW, Molteno CD, Chiodo LM, Viljoen D, Jacobson JL (2005) Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on infant visual acuity. J Paediatr, 147(4) 473-479. 

Jacobson JL Jacobson SW (2002b) Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on child development. Alcohol Res Health, 26(4) 282-286. 

Lee KT, Mattson SN, Riley EP (2004) Classifying children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure using measures of attention. J Int Neuropsychol Soc, 10(2) 271-277. 

It appears likely that the distinctive FAS facial dysmorphology is related to first-trimester alcohol exposure. The clinical data are derived from cases of FAS in populations of women reporting heavy alcohol consumption during this period. This is alarming since a majority of women who abuse alcohol may not know they are pregnant for the first 4 to 6 weeks of gestation. 

In the second study the same group evaluated the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on child behavior in 506 African-American mother-child pairs (363). The mothers were identified as cocaine users and non-users during the initial prenatal visits with urine screen confirmation. Offspring behavior was assessed 6-7 years later using caregiver reports with the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Analyses stratified by sex and prenatal alcohol exposure showed that behaviors in girls without prenatal alcohol exposure but with prenatal cocaine exposure were adverse 6.5% of the unique variance in behavior was related to prenatal cocaine... 

ALCOHOL BETA-CAROTENE (a precursor to vitamin A and a popular antioxidant supplement) t risk of liver damage Alcohol combined with beta-carotene led to more liver damage than was produced by alcohol exposure alone Be aware... 

Rema, V., Ebner, F.F. (1999). Effect of enriched environment rearing on impairments in cortical excitability and plasticity after prenatal alcohol exposure. J. Neurosci. 19 10993-11006. 

Cronin CM, Brown DR, Ahdab-Barmada M. Risk factors associated with kernicterus in the newborn infant importance of benzyl alcohol exposure. Am J Perinatol 1991 8(2) 80-5. 

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