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Aim: To find the ADH3 genotypes in the Polish population likely to be responsible for higher susceptibility to alcohol disease of the liver and chronic alcohol pancreatitis. Method: The ADH3 genotype and ADH3* 1 and ADH3*2 alleles frequencies were examined in 198 patients. Genotyping of the ADH3 was performed using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods on a white cell DNA. Results: The genotype ADH3*1/ADH3*1 was found to be significantly more frequent in alcohol abusers compared with non-drinkers. The examinations of the group of alcohol abusers showed that the genotype ADH3*2/ADH3*2 occurred statistically significantly less frequently in patients with chronic pancreatitis than in those without alimentary lesions (healthy drinkers). The alleles ADH3*1 and genotype ADH3*1/ADH3*1 were significantly more frequent in men than in women, whereas alleles ADH3*2 and genotype ADH3*2/ADH3*2 were more common in women. Conclusions: The genotype ADH3*2/ADH3*2 is likely to be a protective factor for chronic pancreatitis. Variations in ADH3 genotypes may account for some of the differences in prevalence of alcohol dependence between genders in the Polish population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the effects of students' usual levels of alcohol consumption on aspects of mood and anxiety the following morning. Methods: Students were recruited who consumed their usual quantity of any type of alcoholic beverage in their chosen company and then completed assessments of the effects the following day. The timing of drinking was restricted to the period between 22:00 and 02:00 h the night before testing as these are the most popular hours for consuming alcohol in the population under investigation. The testing included an assessment of mood and anxiety; testing was also performed after an evening of abstinence (no hangover condition), following a counterbalanced repeated measure design, with time of testing and order of testing as 'between participant' factors. Forty-eight student social drinkers (33 women, 15 men) aged between 18 and 43 years were tested, with a 1 week interval between test sessions. Results: Males reported consuming on average 14.7 units and females 10.5 units the night before testing. On the morning after alcohol consumption, ratings of alertness and tranquility were lower than the ratings the morning following an evening of abstinence at both 11:00 and 13:00 h and the post intoxication physical symptoms, emotional symptoms and symptoms of fatigue persisted throughout the morning. Conclusion: Heavy alcohol consumption lowers mood, disrupts sleep, increases anxiety and produces physical symptoms, emotional symptoms and symptoms of fatigue throughout the next morning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Hypertension is an established risk factor in chronic alcoholics, but little is known about the relationship between blood pressure (BP), severity of their alcohol abuse, and severity of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Method: BP was assessed daily for 18 days in a series of chronic alcoholics on early alcohol withdrawal (AW), while also assessing the severity of their AWS on the CIWA-Ar scale. Results: A sharp and sustained decrease in BP was observed after AW; at T0, BP had increased in 55% of patients, and at T18 in 21%. The variation of BP is partially explained by years of at-risk drinking and AWS severity, but other factors may play a role in hypertension in alcoholics, as a large amount of BP variation was not explained by the alcohol-abuse-related parameters that we studied. BP values were not correlated with cigarette smoking, anxiety, or depression. Hypertension found in 'detoxified' alcoholics (∼20%) may be related to alcohol-independent hypertension or to a long-lasting alcohol-induced derangement of the BP regulating mechanisms. Further research is needed in these patients to elucidate the mechanisms of persistent hypertension and to set up a treatment protocol. At present, careful monitoring is advisable, as well as pharmacological treatment for moderate or severe hypertension; often a modification of life-style is needed which includes physical activity and possibly sodium (Na) restriction, since hypertension in detoxified alcoholics seems to be Na sensitive. Conclusion: Complete alcohol abstinence must be recommended to all hypertensive alcoholics, as AW-induced transient hypertension was found to be harmless in all our subjects, and abstinence leads to a complete recovery from hypertension in most cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]