OBJECTIVES: In order to provide useful data for the further clinical studies with Korean alcohol-dependent patients, enrollment and non-relapse rates were investigated while alcohol-dependent patients were followed up for 24 weeks. METHODS: The subjects of this study were alcohol-dependent male patients who, for the first time, visited a hospital among 3 groups of hospitals, University Hospital, General Hospital or Mental Hospital, or those who needed to be followed up after discharge from those hospitals. After assigning 12 subjects to each hospital, we investigated enrollment and non-relapse rates while cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy were provided. RESULTS: 1) Forty-eight patients were enrolled and the rate of enrollment was 36.4%. The enrollment rate in the University Hospital group was 52.1%, in the General Hospital group 50.0%, and in the Mental Hospital group 10.4%. 2) In 48 patients, non-relapse rate was 27.1% at 12 week and 18.8% at 24 weeks after starting follow-up. It was 24.4% and 20.0% at 12 and 24 weeks, repectively, in the University Hospital group while the General Hospital group showed 33.3% and 16.7%, respectively, and the Mental Hospital Group showed 20.0% at both 12 and 24 weeks. CONCLUSION: These results provide important data for further clinical studies of Korean alcohol-dependent patients.
Alcoholism ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Hospitals, General ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Male*

This review focused on the pharmacological treatment of alcoholism, especially alcoholism-related mental disorder. The pharmacological agent for alcoholism can be divided into the following categories : anticraving agent, aversive agent, agent to treat acute alcohol withdrawal, agent to diminish drinking by treating associated psychiatric pathology, agent to induce sobriety in intoxicated individuals. Following trends are included in new trends of pharmacological treatment of alcoholism. What are precise conditions amenable to pharmacological intervention? : How can psychosocial and behavioral intervention be integrated with pharmacotherapy to enhance treatment outcome?: Is the concept of "matching" specific pharmacotherapy treatment to different aspect of alcoholism more efficacious than a more generalized medicational approach to treatment? One of the most important factors for alcoholics treatment is good and proper therapeutic relationship with patients and setting up individually specialized treatment program is also important.
Alcoholics ; Alcoholism* ; Drinking ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Mental Disorders ; Pathology ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo examine the effect of acupuncture on Zhubin (KI9) in reducing alcohol craving in alcohol-dependent patients.

METHODSTwenty male alcohol-dependent patients were randomly assigned to two groups, a treatment group (10 cases, age 43.0±6.8 years) and a placebo group (10 cases, age 44.5±7.9 years). The treatment group was treated with real needle acupuncture on Zhubin (KI9) twice a week for 4 weeks, and the control group was treated with placebo needle acupuncture. Both groups were given acupuncture treatment using Park Sham Device (PSD). Alcohol craving was measured by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before treatment to establish a baseline, and after 1, 2, and 4 weeks of treatment. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine the main and interaction effects of time and on the outcome measure (VAS).

RESULTSThere was a significant effect of time on VAS score (df=3, F=13.3, P<0.01). Main effect of group on VAS score was significant (df=1, F=10.9, P<0.01) and the time×group interaction was also significant (df=3, F=4.7, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSReal-needle acupuncture therapy on Zhubin (KI9) showed effectiveness in reducing alcohol craving. These results strongly suggest the usefulness of acupuncture therapy on Zhubin (KI9) in preventing a relapse in alcohol dependent patients.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; Adult ; Alcoholism ; therapy ; Craving ; drug effects ; Ethanol ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Placebos ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the enhancing effect of crystal sugar-vinegar solution on the tolerance of alcohol consumption in mice and rabbits.

METHODCrystal sugar-vinegar solution was given to mice or rabbits 30 min before feeding a dose of alcohol. The toxic behavior and percentage of animal death in 24 hours were observed. Meanwhile, blood alcohol levels in the rabbits were measured.

RESULTCrystal sugar-vinegar solution could prolong the latent period of righting reflex disappearing of the drunk mice(P < 0.01) and decrease death percentage of drunk mice in 24 hours(P < 0.01). Crystal sugar-vinegar could also decrease blood alcohol levels in the drunk rabbits, especially 30 min(P < 0.01) and 180 min(P < 0.05) after administration of alcohol.

CONCLUSIONCrystal sugar-vinegar solution has an evident sober-up effect on drunk model animal.

Acetic Acid ; therapeutic use ; Alcoholic Intoxication ; blood ; drug therapy ; Alcoholism ; blood ; drug therapy ; Alcohols ; blood ; Animals ; Carbohydrates ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Crystallization ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Male ; Mice ; Rabbits

Although miliary tuberculosis is uncommon during pregnancy. it is often associated with a maternal history of intravenous drug abuse, malignancy, alcoholism, or human immunodeficiency virus infection, and it is difficult to diagnose when associated with pregnancy. There is no solid evidence that pregnancy has an adverse effect on tuberculosis, thus routine therapeutic abortion is not indicated. If the early diagnosis and promptly adequate chemotherapy was done, the outcome of pregnancy in a women with miliary tuberculosis is likely to be good. Recently we have experienced a case of miliary tuberculosis at 20 weeks gestation without any risk factors of tuberculosis. So we report this case with a brief review of literature.
Abortion, Therapeutic ; Alcoholism ; Drug Therapy ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; HIV ; Humans ; Pregnancy* ; Risk Factors ; Substance Abuse, Intravenous ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Miliary*

Chylous effusion is an unusual complication of malignant neoplasm, usually lymphoma. In cases with cancer, the tumor was usually extensive, and the prognosis was invariably poor with a one year mortality rate of 80%. It was also reported that chylous effusion could also result from liver cirrhosis. The incidence of this complication was reported to be 0.5% in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites. Here we report a case of 62 year old male with chronic alcoholism history who presented with abdom-inal distension and right cervical mass. He was subsequently diagnosed as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chylous ascites with liver cirrhosis and treated with chemotherapy. In spite of treatment, lymphoma progressed and the patient expired.
Alcoholism ; Ascites ; Chylous Ascites* ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Prognosis

A series of chemotherapeutic drugs that induce DNA damage, such as cisplatin (DDP), are standard clinical treatments for ovarian cancer, testicular cancer, and other diseases that lack effective targeted drug therapy. Drug resistance is one of the main factors limiting their application. Sensitizers can overcome the drug resistance of tumor cells, thereby enhancing the antitumor activity of chemotherapeutic drugs. In this study, we aimed to identify marketable drugs that could be potential chemotherapy sensitizers and explore the underlying mechanisms. We found that the alcohol withdrawal drug disulfiram (DSF) could significantly enhance the antitumor activity of DDP. JC-1 staining, propidium iodide (PI) staining, and western blotting confirmed that the combination of DSF and DDP could enhance the apoptosis of tumor cells. Subsequent RNA sequencing combined with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) pathway enrichment analysis and cell biology studies such as immunofluorescence suggested an underlying mechanism: DSF makes cells more vulnerable to DNA damage by inhibiting the Fanconi anemia (FA) repair pathway, exerting a sensitizing effect to DNA damaging agents including platinum chemotherapy drugs. Thus, our study illustrated the potential mechanism of action of DSF in enhancing the antitumor effect of DDP. This might provide an effective and safe solution for combating DDP resistance in clinical treatment.
Female ; Male ; Humans ; Cisplatin/pharmacology* ; Disulfiram/pharmacology* ; Testicular Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Fanconi Anemia/drug therapy* ; Alcoholism/drug therapy* ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome/drug therapy* ; Apoptosis ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Cell Proliferation

Alcoholism, a major public health problem throughout the world, causes enormous damage to health and quality of life and undermines the well-being of families and society. It is associated with liver disease, cancer, cardiovascular problems, accidental Over the last 20 years, rational drug treatment have arisen from better understanding of the neurobiological substrates of alcohol dependence, including adaptive changes in amino acid neurotransmitter systems, stimulation of dopamine and opioid peptide systems, and, possibly, changes in serotonergic activity. Disulfiram, naltrexone and acamprosate are currently the only treatments approved for the management of alcohol dependence. Data from studies of ondansetron and topiramate in alcohol dependence are somewhat promising, but it appears that these drugs have not yet demonstrated evidence of efficacy in large controlled clinical trials. Trials with SSRIs and some antipsychotics have yielded disappointing results. Because the biological basis of alcohol dependence appears to be multifactorial, the future of management of alcoholism may be combination therapy, using drugs acting on different neuronal pathways, such as acamprosate and naltrexone. Pharmacotherapy should be used in association with appropriate psychosocial support and specific treatment provided for any underlying psychiatric comorbidities.
Alcoholism ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Comorbidity ; Disulfiram ; Dopamine ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; Naltrexone ; Neurons ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Ondansetron ; Opioid Peptides ; Public Health ; Quality of Life

Psoas abscess is caused by primary or secondary and most commonly results from direct extension of intraabdominal infections. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common organism for psoas abscess secondary to vertebral osteomyelitis. Tuberculosis, malnutrition, alcoholism, diabetes mellitus, bone marrow failure, and steroid use are responsible for compromise in host defense and consequent increase in the relative risk of psoas abscess. We report here a case of bilateral poas abscess developed in a 58 year old patient with relapsed plasmacytoma in pelvic cavity during chemotherapy.
Abscess ; Alcoholism ; Bone Marrow ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Intraabdominal Infections ; Malnutrition ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma* ; Osteomyelitis ; Plasmacytoma ; Poa ; Psoas Abscess* ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Tuberculosis

Alcoholism, a major public health problem throughout the world, causes an enormous damage to health and quality of life and undermines the well being of families and society. It is associated with liver disease, cancer, cardiovascular problems, accidental deaths, suicides, and homicides. Over the last 20 years, a significant progress has been made in the pharmacological treatment of alcoholism owing to the better understanding of the neurobiological substrates of alcohol dependence, including adaptive changes in amino acid neurotransmitter systems, stimulation of dopamine and opioid peptide systems, and, possibly, changes in serotonergic activity. Disulfiram, naltrexone and acamprosate are the only pharmacological agents currently approved for the management of alcohol dependence. Data from studies of ondansetron and topiramate in alcohol dependence are somewhat promising, but it appears that the evidence of efficacy of these drugs in large controlled clinical trials are still lacking. Trials with SSRIs and some antipsychotics have shown disappointing results. Because the biological basis of alcohol dependence appears to be multifactorial, the future of management of alcoholism would involve combination therapy, using drugs acting on different neuronal pathways, such as acamprosate and naltrexone. Pharmacotherapy should be used in association with appropriate psychosocial support and specific treatment for any underlying psychiatric comorbidities.
Alcoholism* ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Comorbidity ; Disulfiram ; Dopamine ; Drug Therapy ; Homicide ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; Naltrexone ; Neurons ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Ondansetron ; Opioid Peptides ; Public Health ; Quality of Life ; Suicide