O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar e comparar os tipos fundamentais das impressões digitais em indivíduos comprovadamente alcoolistas e não alcoolistas. A pesquisa avaliou 152 doentes alcoolistas internados para desintoxicação alcoólica no Hospital Dr. Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes - São José Rio Preto - São Paulo ( Brasil ), comparando-os com 144 indivíduos não alcoolistas, integrantes do Exército Brasileiro na ativa, que constituíram o grupo-controle. Todos os resultados foram submetidos à criteriosa análise estatística pelos testes adequados a este estudo. Os tipos fundamentais de maior frequência nos alcoolistas foram as presilhas internas, seguidas de presilhas externas, verticilos e arcos. No grupo-controle foram as presilhas internas, seguidas de verticilos, presilhas externas e arcos. Constatou-se uma predominância das presilhas internas na mão esquerda e de presilhas externas na mão direita em ambos os grupos. Os padrões datiloscópicos encontrados em todos os dedos, analisados em conjunto e isoladamente foram concordantes com os dados da literatura mundial nos estudos de indivíduos da população normal e, parcialmente, concordantes com a literatura específica de dermatóglifos e alcoolismo. Não se encontrou um padrão datiloscópico característico que pudesse ser sugestivo ou considerado fator de risco para alcoolismo / The aim of this study was to identify and compare the main types of fingerprints between established alcoholic and non-alcoholic individuals. In this study, 152 patients who were admitted for alcohol detoxification at the Hospital Dr. Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes, São José Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brasil, were evaluated in comparison with the control group, which constituted 144 non-alcoholic individuals who were on active duty in the Brazilian Army. All the results were subjected to thorough statistical analysis using appropriate tests. The main fingerprint patterns with the highest frequencies were ulnar loops, followed by radial loops, whorls, and arches among the alcoholics; and ulnar loops, followed by whorls, radial loops, and arches among the controls. In both groups, inner loops predominated in the left hand; and radials loops, in the right hand. The dactyloscopic patterns found on the fingers analyzed together and separately were consistent with published data from studies with healthy individuals and partially concordant with specific studies on dermatoglyphics and alcoholism. No characteristic dactyloscopic pattern was found that could be suggestive of or considered as a risk factor of alcoholism

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Doris W. Carroll / According to SAMHSA statistics, about 22 million people in the US meet the criteria for a Substance Use Disorder (SUD), with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) being the most prevalent form of SUD. Of those with SUDs, only 10% or two million receive formal treatment. It is estimated that 64% of those completing treatment for SUDs relapse within the first year of sobriety. However, for individuals who manage to make it five years without relapsing, the risk of relapse reduces to 14%, suggesting that the needs of individuals in short-term recovery differ from those in long-term recovery. It has also been found that family involvement in the treatment and recovery process is beneficial to individuals in recovery. However, SUDs contribute to elevated levels of stress and dissatisfaction in couples and families, which puts them at high risk for divorce or dissolution prior to individuals seeking treatment. For families who remain intact until the individual completes treatment, the transition to a recovery lifestyle that supports the individual’s recovery presents a different set of challenges. Additionally, lingering frustrations and resentments from the period of active addiction may also serve to destabilize the couple or family, contributing to the high levels of divorce among those recovering from SUDs. In short, few couples are able to sustain their partnerships through active addiction, and the transition to recovery. While these couples are in the minority, their successful experiences can provide valuable insight into the recovery process. The present study examines the successful transition from active addiction to long-term recovery for one such couple. In particular, the study investigates the shifting narratives related to family roles, couple-hood, communication, alcohol, alcoholism, and recovery. The data is presented in the form of an ethnodramatic script. Ethnodrama is used to engage audiences both on emotional as well as informational levels. While ethnodrama may not provide specific answers, it is intended to provoke awareness, insight, and discussion by allowing audiences to vicariously experience the represented lives of the participants. Following the ethnodrama, an analysis of the script is presented, incorporating narrative theoretical frameworks so that the ways in which narratives function to facilitate (or frustrate) change within the individuals as well as the dynamics of the couple relationship can be expanded. The result of this analysis is the production of a Narrative Change Model, which can be useful in understanding the ways that narratives operate within the transition from active addiction to long-term sobriety and may have broader implications in explaining the narrative mechanisms behind other, more subtle change processes.

Alcoholism has been linked to cognitive, behavioral, and emotional defects, and damage to the cerebellum has been associated with aspects of these impairments. However, little is known about the role of damage to specific cerebellar subregions in the deficits, nor about possible gender differences in alcoholism-related cerebellar abnormalities. In this study, volumetric analyses of specific cerebellar regions were performed in relation to the interactions of alcoholism, gender, and measures of drinking history. Structural brain scans of 44 alcoholics (23 men) and 39 nonalcoholic controls (18 men) were obtained using T1 magnetic resonance imaging at 3T. Scans were manually labeled according to cerebellar features, using methodology developed at the Center for Morphometric Analyses, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. Each lobule was parcellated and mediolateral divisions were delineated. In addition to measuring total cerebellar gray and white matter, along with the anterior and posterior lobes, we also measured volumes for a priori regions of interest that have been shown to correspond to functions impaired in alcoholism: emotion, executive functions, working memory, motor abilities, and spatial abilities. Total cerebellar white matter volume was observed to be smaller in alcoholic than in nonalcoholic participants, but this difference was not observed for total gray matter volume. Moreover, the volumes of the cortical parcellation units we selected varied with drinking history, including negative associations between (a) years of heavy drinking, and (b) volumes of the anterior and flocculonodular lobes, and of the spinocerebellar region. The negative association between anterior volume and years of heavy drinking was driven primarily by alcoholic men. Additionally, we observed that white and gray cerebellar volumes for alcoholic women were significantly larger than for alcoholic men, but this pattern of gender differences was not significant for the control group. The identification of drinking-related abnormalities in cerebellar subregions builds upon prior findings in other regions of the brain, and lays a foundation that can be utilized to inform how cerebro-cerebellar networks are perturbed in this pathological condition. The results also provide estimates of how individual differences in drinking history can predict cerebellar volumes, and how the impact of drinking differs for men and women.

Orientador: Yasmin Rodarte Carvalho / Banca: Camila Porto de Deco / Banca: Naira Correia Cusma Pelógia / Banca: Luana Marotta Reis de Vasconcellos / Banca: Luciane Dias de Oliveira / Resumo: O consumo excessivo de álcool constitui importante problema de saúde pública e possui ainda relação direta com a perda óssea mediante desequilíbrio da remodelação óssea, diminuição das taxas de reabsorção e também da osteogênese. A deficiência estrogênica também está diretamente associada à osteoporose, pois leva ao aumento da formação de osteoclastos e diminuição da síntese de osteoblastos, gerando um desequilíbrio no processo de remodelação óssea. A combinação de osteoporose e consumo de álcool pode ter efeito sinérgico e deletério sobre o tecido ósseo e tem sido objeto de estudos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar possíveis alterações no metabolismo ósseo em fêmures de ratas submetidas ao alcoolismo crônico e deficiência estrogênica induzida por ovariectomia, por meio de análise histomorfométrica e imunoistoquímica. Foram utilizadas 90 ratas (Rattus norvegicus, variação albinus, Wistar) com 3 meses de idade, divididas em 6 diferentes grupos de igual número (15), conforme o tipo de dieta e quanto à presença ou ausência hormonal: Grupo 1: ovariectomia simulada (Sham), água e dieta livre; Grupo 2: Sham tratado com doses diárias de solução alcoólica a 20%; Grupo 3: Sham e alimentação isocalórica aos grupos associados ao álcool, fornecida por meio de solução aquosa de sacarose e dieta sólida; Grupo 4: ovariectomia, água e dieta sólida livre; Grupo 5: ovariectomia tratado com doses diárias de solução alcoólica a 20%; Grupo 6: ovariectomia e alimentação isocalórica semelhan... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Excessive alcohol consumption is an important public health problem and also has direct relation with bone loss by imbalancing bone turnover. Estrogen deficiency is directly associated with osteoporosis, because it leads to an unequal bone resorption and formation by increased osteoclast formation and decreased synthesis of osteoblasts. The combination of osteoporosis and consumption of alcohol can have deleterious and synergistic effect on bone tissue and has been the subject of several studies. The objective of this study will be to investigate possible changes in bone metabolism in femurs of rats submitted to chronic alcoholism and estrogen deficiency induced by ovariectomy. We used 90 rats (Rattus norvegicus, Albinus variation, Wistar) with 3 months old. The animals were divided into six different groups of equal number, according to the type of diet and the presence or absence of hormones: Group 1: sham ovariectomized (sham), water and free diet, Group 2: Sham treated daily with alcoholic solution of 20% and feed ad libitum; Group 3: Sham isocaloric nutritional control group - treated with liquid diet containing sucrose with the same average calories ingested on the eve by the alcohol group and solid diet; Group 4: ovariectomy, water and solid diet free; Group 5: ovariectomy treated daily with alcoholic solution of 20% and feed ad libitum; Group 6: ovariectomy isocaloric nutritional control group like group 3. After 8 weeks from the beginning of the diet, all animals were sacrificed and femurs were removed. Diet analysis showed that the Ovx ad libitum was the group that ingested more feed and gained more weight, showing significant differences with the other groups. The animals of alcohol groups, consuming on average 16 grams of alcohol per day, Sham alcohol group consumed more alcohol, as compared to OVZ alcohol. Femurs were evaluated by histomorphometric ...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso / Doutor

O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar e comparar os tipos fundamentais das impressões digitais em indivíduos comprovadamente alcoolistas e não alcoolistas. A pesquisa avaliou 152 doentes alcoolistas internados para desintoxicação alcoólica no Hospital Dr. Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes - São José Rio Preto - São Paulo ( Brasil ), comparando-os com 144 indivíduos não alcoolistas, integrantes do Exército Brasileiro na ativa, que constituíram o grupo-controle. Todos os resultados foram submetidos à criteriosa análise estatística pelos testes adequados a este estudo. Os tipos fundamentais de maior frequência nos alcoolistas foram as presilhas internas, seguidas de presilhas externas, verticilos e arcos. No grupo-controle foram as presilhas internas, seguidas de verticilos, presilhas externas e arcos. Constatou-se uma predominância das presilhas internas na mão esquerda e de presilhas externas na mão direita em ambos os grupos. Os padrões datiloscópicos encontrados em todos os dedos, analisados em conjunto e isoladamente foram concordantes com os dados da literatura mundial nos estudos de indivíduos da população normal e, parcialmente, concordantes com a literatura específica de dermatóglifos e alcoolismo. Não se encontrou um padrão datiloscópico característico que pudesse ser sugestivo ou considerado fator de risco para alcoolismo / The aim of this study was to identify and compare the main types of fingerprints between established alcoholic and non-alcoholic individuals. In this study, 152 patients who were admitted for alcohol detoxification at the Hospital Dr. Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes, São José Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brasil, were evaluated in comparison with the control group, which constituted 144 non-alcoholic individuals who were on active duty in the Brazilian Army. All the results were subjected to thorough statistical analysis using appropriate tests. The main fingerprint patterns with the highest frequencies were ulnar loops, followed by radial loops, whorls, and arches among the alcoholics; and ulnar loops, followed by whorls, radial loops, and arches among the controls. In both groups, inner loops predominated in the left hand; and radials loops, in the right hand. The dactyloscopic patterns found on the fingers analyzed together and separately were consistent with published data from studies with healthy individuals and partially concordant with specific studies on dermatoglyphics and alcoholism. No characteristic dactyloscopic pattern was found that could be suggestive of or considered as a risk factor of alcoholism

PrediXcan is a recent software for the imputation of gene expression from genotype data alone. Using an overlapping set of transcriptome datasets from postmortem brain tissues of donors with alcohol use disorder and neurotypical controls, which were generated by two different platforms (e.g., Arraystar and Affymetrix), and an additional unrelated transcriptome dataset from lung tissue, we sought to evaluate PrediXcan’s ability to impute gene expression and identify differentially expressed genes. From the Arraystar platform, 1.3% of matched genes between the measured and imputed expression had a Pearson correlation ≥ 0.5. Our attempt to replicate this finding using the expression data from the Affymetrix platform also lead to a similarly poor outcome (2.7%). Our third attempt using the transcriptome data from lung tissue produced similar results (1.1%) but performance improved markedly after filtering out genes with a low predicted R2, which was a model metric provided by the PrediXcan authors. For example, filtering out genes with a predicted R2 below 0.6 led to 16 genes remaining and a Pearson correlation of 0.365 between the measured and imputed expression. We were unable to reproduce similar performance gains with filtering the Arraystar or Affymetrix alcohol use disorder datasets. Given that PrediXcan can impute a narrow portion of the transcriptome, which is further reduced significantly by filtering, we believe caution is warranted with the interpretation of results derived from PrediXcan.

No description available.

No description available.

Abstract not available

Bibliography: leaves 540-587.