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SUMMARY: BACKGROUND The Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC) measures overall consequences of drinking and yields five subscale scores. A short form of the DrInC, the Short Index of Problems (SIP), was developed for use when time does not permit completion of the DrInC. This study investigates the psychometric properties of the SIP.METHODS The study sample consisted of 153 problem drinkers who were participants in a placebo-controlled trial of naltrexone and brief counseling.RESULTS The SIP showed good internal consistency, good concurrent validity, and adequate stability. Four of the five SIP subscales contributed unique variance beyond general drinking consequences.CONCLUSIONS The SIP is useful for measuring drinking consequences in a sample of problem drinkers, and the subscale scores can be interpreted clinically. Further research on the SIP in other populations is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: BACKGROUND Serotonergic neurotransmission has been implicated in the pathogenesis of both alcohol dependence and mood disorders and may therefore be important in understanding the pathophysiology of comorbid alcohol dependence and major depression. Studies of the association of these disorders with a functional polymorphism in the promoter region of the gene encoding the serotonin transporter protein (locus SLC6A4) have yielded inconsistent results. Because the convergence of these disorders may provide a refined phenotype, we examined the association of serotonin (5-HT) transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) alleles to comorbid alcohol dependence and major depression.METHODS A sample of 296 European American and 16 African American patients with comorbid alcohol dependence and major depression was recruited from treatment studies. The control group included 260 European Americans and 43 African Americans; all were screened to exclude the presence of a mood or substance use disorder. DNA isolated from whole blood was polymerase chain reaction-amplified, and genotypes were assigned on the basis of agarose gel size fractionation.RESULTS The frequency of the short allele in the patient group was in the range of those previously reported for samples with unipolar depression but was significantly more common than among controls (short allele frequency of cases, 45.8%; controls, 39.8%; χ21 = 4.02; p = 0.045).CONCLUSIONS With respect to the frequency of the short allele at the SLC6A4 locus (5-HTTLPR), major depression in alcoholics is similar to major depression in nonalcoholics. Further efforts to characterize depressed alcoholics and to examine genetic predictors of response to antidepressant treatment seem warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Early-onset alcoholics (EOAs) have a greater familial loading for alcoholism, more severe progression of the disorder, a greater severity of comorbid psychopathology, and a poorer response to treatment than late-onset alcoholics (LOAs). Ondansetron, a 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 antagonist, was found to be superior to placebo in the treatment of EOAs, but not of LOAs. This study compared the tolerability and potential efficacy of an oral solution of ondansetron in EOAs versus LOAs.METHODS Forty outpatients with alcohol dependence (67.5% male; 87.5% European American; 20 EOAs; 20 LOAs) received an oral solution of ondansetron at a dosage of 4 μg/kg twice daily for 8 weeks, together with weekly relapse-prevention therapy.RESULTS EOAs had a significantly greater decrease in drinks per day, drinks per drinking day, and alcohol-related problems than LOAs. Changes in the level of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin were consistent with changes in self-reported drinking behavior.CONCLUSIONS An oral solution of ondansetron seems suitable for the treatment of alcohol dependence, yielding findings consistent with evidence from a placebo-controlled trial that ondansetron, at a dosage of 4 μg/kg twice daily, is of value in the treatment of EOAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND This study examined gustatory measures (intensity and hedonic values of salt and citric acid solutions) that have been reported to differentiate nonalcoholics who are at risk of alcoholism by virtue of having an alcoholic father (PHP) from those with no such paternal history (PHN). The study tested the hypothesis that PHPs perceive salty and sour solutions to be more intense and less pleasurable than do PHNs.METHODS A total of 112 nonalcoholic subjects (44.7% male and 40.2% PHP) provided intensity and pleasantness ratings for a series of salty and sour solutions in varying concentrations.RESULTS PHP subjects rated salty solutions as more unpleasant than PHN subjects. PHP subjects also showed higher mean sour intensity ratings and less preference for sour solutions than PHN subjects.CONCLUSIONS This study replicates and extends prior findings of salty and sour taste differences as a function of paternal history of alcoholism. Further research is needed to replicate these findings in other populations and to examine their implications for the transmission of alcoholism risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]