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PubMed2002

Risk factors for moderate-to-severe chronic graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Among 810 consecutive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients, 679 survived more than 3 months and were evaluated for chronic GVHD. The aim of this study was to find predisposing factors increasing the risk of development of moderate-to-severe chronic GVHD. Many of the donors were HLA-identical siblings or related (n = 435), 185 were HLA-matched unrelated, and 59 were mismatched related or unrelated donors. Most of the patients had a hematological malignancy (n = 568), but 111 patients with a nonmalignant disease were included. Two hundred twenty-three patients (33%) developed mild, 41 (6%) moderate, and 15 (2.2%) severe chronic GVHD. The 5-year probability of development of moderate-to-severe chronic GVHD was 10%. We analyzed 30 potential risk factors for chronic GVHD. In the multivariate analysis, acute GVHD) grades II to IV (relative hazard [RH], 2.30; 95% CI, 1.29-4.10; P = .005), CML diagnosis (RH, 2.37; CI, 1.38-4.08; P = .002) and transplantation from an immunized female donor to a male recipient (RH, 2.16; CI, 1.14-4.11; P = .02) were independent risk factors for moderate-to-severe chronic GVHD. Recipient age also was significant (RH, 2.42; CI, 1.23-4.77; P = .01) if CML was not included in the analysis. In patients with no risk factors, the 5-year probability of development of moderate-to-severe chronic GVHD was 5%. In patients with 1 risk factor, the probability was 13%; 2 risk factors, 23%; and 3 risk factors, 45%. Among patients who developed chronic GVHD (n = 279), acute GVHD grades II to IV (RH, 2.18; CI, 1.23-3.86; P < .01) was the only predictive factor for moderate-to-severe chronic GVHD versus mild disease. Patients with previous acute GVHD grades II to IV may benefit from more aggressive initial treatment. This possibility would have to be examined in clinical trials.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Dietary fat: assessing the evidence in support of a moderate-fat diet; the benchmark based on lipoprotein metabolism.

There is a growing database that has evaluated the effects of varying amounts of total fat on risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and overweight and obesity. The evidence clearly suggests that extremes in dietary fat should be avoided, and instead a diet moderate in total fat (25-35 % energy) is preferable for the majority of individuals. Moreover, we now appreciate the importance of individualizing dietary fat recommendations within this range of total fat. With respect to cardiovascular disease, a diet higher in total fat (30-35 % energy) affects the lipid and lipoprotein risk profile more favourably than a lower-fat diet; this is also the case for individuals with diabetes, with the added benefit of better glycaemic control. Dietary fibre (> or = 25 g/d) attenuates and even prevents the potentially adverse lipid and lipoprotein effects of a lower-fat diet. With respect to weight control, a moderate-fat diet can be as, or even more, effective than a lower-fat diet, because of advantages with long-term adherence and potentially favourable effects on lipids and lipoproteins. Thus, there is now a convincing scientific basis to advocate a diet moderate in total fat for the majority of individuals. Implicit to this position is that unsaturated fat has numerous beneficial health effects. However, because fat is energy dense, moderation in fat intake is essential for weight control. Consequently, a simple message to convey is to avoid diets that are very low and very high in fat. Moreover, within the range of a moderate-fat diet it is still important to individualize the total fat prescription. Nonetheless, the guiding principle is that moderation in total fat is the defining benchmark for a contemporary diet that reduces risk of chronic disease.

Benchmarking↗

PubMed1983

Control, desirability, and anticipation as moderating variables between life change and illness.

A growing body of literature supports a relationship between life change events and illness. The present study is an investigation of cognitive processes which moderate the life change-illness relationship. The moderator variables chosen for this study were perceived control, desirability, and anticipation of life change events. One hundred and twenty-six subjects (65 males, 61 females) reported illness using the Seriousness of Illness Rating Scale, and life change events using the Schedule of Recent Experiences, adapted to collect data on the moderator variables. Correlation coefficients were computed for all conditions reflecting the presence of positive and negative moderator variables. Each of the negative moderator variables was related to significant changes (p less than .05 and p less than .01) in the strength of the life change-illness relationship, with perceived control emerging as a variable with the greatest impact in all cases. Two unexpected findings emerged: (1) The relationship between life change and illness was much stronger for females than for males in all comparisons, and (2) for females only, desirable events were positively related to illness. The evidence of this study supports the contention that stress management strategies should include considerations of cognitive variables which moderate the life change-illness relationship.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1997

Monte Carlo design study of a moderated 252Cf source for in vivo neutron activation analysis of aluminium.

The Monte Carlo computer code MCNP has been used to design a moderated 252Cf neutron source for in vivo neutron activation analysis of aluminium (Al) in the bones of the hand. The clinical motivation is the need to monitor Al body burden in subjects with renal dysfunction, at risk of Al toxicity. The design involves the source positioned on the central axis at one end of a cylindrical deuterium oxide moderator. The moderator is surrounded by a graphite reflector, with the hand inserted at the end of the moderator opposing the source. For a 1 mg 252Cf source, 15 cm long x 20 cm radius moderator and 20 cm thick reflector, the estimated minimum detection limit is 0.5 mg Al for a 20 min irradiation, with an equivalent dose of 16.5 mSv to the hand. Increasing the moderator length and/or introducing a fast neutron filter (for example silicon) further reduces interference from fast-neutron-induced reactions on phosphorus in bone, at the expense of decreased fluence of the thermal neutrons which activate Al. Increased source strengths may be necessary to compensate for this decreased thermal fluence, to allow measurements to be made within an acceptable time limit for the comfort of the patient.

Aluminum↗

PubMed2005

Relations of moderate and vigorous physical activity to fitness and fatness in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear how moderate and vigorous intensities of physical activity (PA) are associated with cardiovascular fitness (CVF) and percentage of body fat (%BF) in adolescents. OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that vigorous PA, to a greater degree than moderate PA, would be associated with better CVF and lower %BF. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study of 421 black and white high school students (x age: 16 y). PA was measured with 5 d of accelerometry and expressed in min/d of moderate or vigorous PA. CVF was measured with a multistage treadmill test and was expressed as the oxygen consumption at a heart rate of 170 bpm. %BF was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Multiple regressions were used to determine the degree to which variance in CVF and %BF was explained by PA, after control for age, sex, race, and the sex x race interaction. RESULTS: A higher index for CVF was associated with higher amounts of moderate and vigorous PA; more variance was explained by vigorous than by moderate PA. Lower %BF was associated with higher amounts of vigorous PA but not with the amount of moderate PA. CONCLUSION: Black and white adolescents who engaged in relatively large amounts of free-living vigorous exercise were likely to be relatively fit and lean.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

PubMed1999

Pleiotropic effects of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 on biological aging: inferences from moderate caloric-restricted animals.

Moderate caloric restriction (60% of ad libitum intake) is an important model to investigate potential mechanisms of biological aging. This regimen has been reported to decrease the number of pathologies and increase life span in all species tested to date. Although moderate caloric restriction induces a wide range of physiological changes within the organism, adaptive changes within the endocrine system are evident and serve to maintain blood levels of glucose. These alterations include an increase in growth hormone secretory dynamics and a decline in plasma levels of IGF-1. These endocrine compensatory mechanisms can be induced at any age, and we have proposed that these alterations mediate some of the beneficial aspects of moderate caloric restriction. Numerous studies indicate that growth hormone and IGF-1 decrease with age and that administration of these hormones ameliorates the deterioration of tissue function evident in aged ad libitum-fed animals, suggesting that the absence of these hormones contributes to the phenotype of aging. Nevertheless, IGF-1 is an important risk factor in age-related pathologies including lung, breast, and prostate cancer. From these studies, we propose that endocrine compensatory mechanisms induced by moderate caloric restriction (including increased growth hormone and decreased IGF-1) decrease the stimulus for cellular replication, resulting in a decline in pathologies and increased life span observed in these animals. These findings have important implications for potential mechanisms of moderate caloric restriction and suggest that neuroendocrine compensatory mechanisms exert a key role on the actions of moderate caloric restriction on life span.

Aging↗

PubMed1997

The effects of diet, overfeeding and moderate dietary restriction on Sprague-Dawley rat survival, disease and toxicology.

Overfeeding by ad libitum (AL) food consumption is the most significant, uncontrolled variable affecting the outcome of the current rodent bioassay. The correlation of food consumption, the resultant adult body weight and the 2-y survival in Sprague-Dawley rats is highly significant. Feeding natural ingredient diets that varied in protein, fiber and metabolizable energy content did not improve low 2-y survival if Sprague-Dawley rats were allowed AL food consumption. Moderate dietary restriction (DR) of all diets tested significantly improved survival and delayed the onset of spontaneous degenerative disease (i.e., nephropathy and cardiomyopathy) and diet-related tumors. By 2 y, moderate DR resulted in an incidence of spontaneous tumors similar to that seen with AL consumption; however, the tumors were more likely to be incidental and did not result in early mortality. There was a decreased age-adjusted incidence in pituitary and mammary gland tumors, but tumor volume and growth time were similar in the AL and DR groups, indicating a similar tumor progression with a delay in tumor onset. Moderate DR did not significantly alter drug-metabolizing enzyme activities or the toxicologic response to five pharmaceuticals tested at maximum tolerated doses (MTD). However, moderate DR did require higher doses of compounds to be given before classical MTD were produced with four pharmaceutical drug candidates. Toxicokinetic studies of two of these compounds demonstrated steady-state systemic exposures that were equal or higher in moderate DR-fed rats. These and other data indicate that moderate DR is the most appropriate method of dietary control for rodent bioassays used to assess human safety of candidate pharmaceuticals.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Phase advance in moderately sleepy and alert normals.

Phase advanced sleep (by 4 hours) was studied in 28 healthy, normal men and women, aged 21-50 years, without nocturnal sleep or daytime sleepiness complaints. Eleven subjects (6 men and 5 women) with moderately short (< or = 10 minutes) average daily sleep latencies on the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) were compared to 17 (11 men and 6 women) with relatively long (> or = 12 minutes) latencies. Nocturnal sleep on both a baseline and a shift night differed between the groups. The moderately "sleepy" group had shorter sleep latencies and less wakefulness during sleep than the moderately "alert" group. The phase advanced sleep schedule reduced sleep efficiency in both groups, but the moderately sleepy group showed a lessened effect of the shift. Additionally, sleep efficiency was reduced in the moderately sleepy group only during the first 2 hours of the sleep period, while sleep efficiency was uniformly disturbed in the moderately alert group throughout the night during the phase advance.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

The effects of moderate hypothermia and intrathecal tetracaine on glutamate concentrations of intrathecal dialysate and neurologic and histopathologic outcome in transient spinal cord ischemia in rabbits.

UNLABELLED: The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of intrathecal tetracaine (a sodium channel blocker) with those of moderate hypothermia on glutamate concentrations of intrathecal dialysate, hindlimb motor functions, and histopathology in spinal cord ischemia. New Zealand White rabbits implanted with an intrathecal dialysis probe were assigned to one of the three groups (seven in each): control (temperature 38 degrees C), tetracaine (tetracaine 0.5%, 0.6 mL, given intrathecally 30 min before ischemia, 38 degrees C), or moderate hypothermia (32 degrees C). Spinal cord ischemia (20 min) was produced by occlusion of the abdominal aorta during isoflurane (1%) anesthesia. Glutamate concentrations significantly increased during ischemia in all groups, but the levels in the moderate hypothermia group were significantly lower than those in the control and tetracaine groups. Neurologic status (24 and 48 h after reperfusion) and histopathology (48 h) in the moderate hypothermia group were significantly better than in the other two groups. There were no significant differences between the tetracaine and control groups in either glutamate concentrations, neurologic status, or histopathology. We conclude that intrathecal tetracaine does not provide any protection against ischemic spinal cord injury, whereas moderate hypothermia does. IMPLICATIONS: Sodium channel blockers, including local anesthetics, have been shown to reduce glutamate release in brain ischemia and have a neuroprotective effect. However, in the present study, intrathecal tetracaine did not attenuate either glutamate release or the neurologic or histopathologic outcome in spinal cord ischemia, whereas moderate hypothermia did.

Anesthetics, Local↗

PubMed2000

Mild or moderate hypothermia, but not increased oxygen breathing, increases long-term survival after uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that, for uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock (UHS) in rats, mild hypothermia, compared with normothermia, would increase long-term survival as well as moderate hypothermia, oxygen breathing would increase survival further, and hypothermia and oxygen would mitigate visceral ischemia (dysoxia) during UHS. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized study. SETTING: Animal research laboratory. SUBJECTS: A total of 54 male Sprague-Dawley rats. INTERVENTIONS: Under light anesthesia and spontaneous breathing, rats underwent UHS phase I of 75 mins, with initial withdrawal of 3 mL/100 g of blood over 15 mins, followed by UHS via tail amputation and limited fluid resuscitation to maintain mean arterial pressure at > or =40 mm Hg; resuscitation phase II of 60 mins (from 75 mins to 135 mins) with hemostasis and aggressive fluid resuscitation to normalize hemodynamics; and observation phase III to 72 hrs. Rats were randomly divided into nine groups (n = 6 each) with three rectal temperature levels (38 degrees C [normothermia] vs. 34 degrees C [mild hypothermia] vs. 30 degrees C [moderate hypothermia]) by surface cooling; each with 3 FIO2 levels (0.25 vs. 0.5 vs. 1.0). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Hypothermia increased blood pressure compared with normothermia. Increased FIO2 had no effect on blood pressure. Additional blood loss from the tail cut was small, with no differences among groups. Hypothermia and FIO2 of 0.5 decreased visceral hypoxia, as measured by the difference between visceral (liver and jejunum) surface Pco2 and PaCO2 during UHS. Compared with normothermia, mild hypothermia increased the survival time and rate as well as moderate hypothermia (p < .01 by life table), without a significant difference between mild and moderate hypothermia. Increased FIO2 had no effect on survival time or rate. CONCLUSIONS: After severe UHS and resuscitation in rats, mild hypothermia during UHS, compared with normothermia, increases blood pressure, survival time and 72-hr survival rate as well as moderate hypothermia. Mild hypothermia is clinically more feasible and safer than moderate hypothermia. Increased FIO2 seems to have no significant effect on outcome.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Reversible hypophosphatemia during moderate hypothermia therapy for brain-injured patients.

OBJECTIVE: Because plasma potassium, which may similarly change as plasma phosphate (P), decreases during moderate hypothermia, plasma P, a requisite electrolyte for the cell function, may alter during therapeutic moderate hypothermia for brain-injured patients. In 22 such patients who underwent moderate hypothermia or were treated with normothermia, plasma concentrations of P and other chemicals were examined. DESIGN: A prospective study. SETTING: The intensive care unit of a medical university hospital. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: In 15 consecutive patients with brain injury who underwent moderate hypothermia and 7 serial patients treated with normothermia, plasma concentrations of P, potassium, glucose, blood gas tension and pH, daily urine volume, and water balance were examined. Inequality in the numbers of patients of the two groups was the result of patient exclusion because of multiple trauma, aluminum hydroxide administrations, hyperventilation, preexisting diabetes mellitus, or administration of insulin. Daily blood sampling was done around 8 am. Inclusion criteria included a Glasgow Coma Scale score assessment < or = 8 at admission to the emergency room and evidence of injury on computerized tomography scanning of the brain. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: Hypothermia decreased plasma P levels as compared with those of normothermia within 4 days after the injury (this period was similar to the duration of the hypothermic phase in the hypothermia group). Such reduction related to changes in blood glucose levels, but not to any in the urine volume, or water balance. The P decrease occurred during the hypothermic phase, but subsequently there was a recovery of P after the rewarming phase. The changes in plasma potassium levels were similar to those in plasma P concentrations during the course. Such changes were accompanied by a recovery of decreased heart rate that occurred during the hypothermic phase. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that moderate hypothermia of 32-33 degrees C decreases plasma P levels. Further studies are required to examine whether P repletion may overcome certain hemodynamic derangements during moderate hypothermia in brain-injured patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Maintained autonomic responses to moderate exercise in hypertensive patients treated with lacidipine.

OBJECTIVE: Excessive adrenergic responses have been reported in hypertensive patients treated with short-acting dihydropiridine calcium channel antagonists that might worsen cardiovascular risk. In this study we addressed whether lacidipine, a long-acting dihydropiridine, increases the sympathetic excitation produced by moderate dynamic exercise. DESIGN: Because of the wide changes in autonomic drive during everyday life, the possible influence of antihypertensive regimens should be assessed not only at rest but also during spontaneous, behaviourally induced alterations of sympathovagal balance. This study was designed to test whether treatment with lacidipine might alter the autonomic response to supine moderate dynamic exercise. METHODS: We studied 16 moderate hypertensive patients (arterial pressure 151/102 mmHg) at rest and during 30% of nominal maximum recumbent bicycle exercise. The low frequency spectral component of RR interval and of systolic variability (Finapres) furnished markers of sympathetic modulation of the sinoatrial node and of the vasculature, respectively. Studies were performed during placebo and active treatment (lacidipine 4 mg per day). RESULTS: Lacidipine treatment significantly reduces arterial pressure values at rest and during moderate dynamic exercise, without affecting RR interval and systolic arterial pressure variabilities, both at rest and during moderate exercise. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, spectral analysis of RR interval and systolic arterial pressure variabilities indicate that antihypertensive treatment with lacidipine is not associated to an excessive sympathetic drive during moderate exercise.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed1997

Familial determinants of moderate and intense physical activity: a twin study.

This twin study estimates familial clustering of moderate and intense leisure-time physical activity and investigates quantitatively its genetic and environmental components. Study subjects are 3,344 male twin pairs aged 33-51 yr. Moderate activity levels were assessed with six questions about discretionary walking or stair climbing for exercise. Five questions assessed regular participation in specific, intense athletic activities (running, bicycling, swimming, racquet, and other sports). Familial aggregation is estimated by odds ratio of one twin engaging in an activity when his co-twin does. Monozygotic and dizygotic twin correlations were compared to estimate genetic and nongenetic sources of phenotypic variation. For each activity, the familial aggregation odds ratio was statistically significant with values between 2.9 to 4.6 for intense activities and between 1.4 to 1.9 for all moderate activities but one. Monozygotic twin correlations were higher than dizygotic, suggesting genes play a role in the observed phenotypic variation. For four questions, and a compromise scale of moderate activity, the difference between correlations was statistically significant (P < 0.05). In this cohort, much of the phenotypic variability for both moderate and intense activities is a result of familial effects. Genes may influence regular participation in specific intense exercises more than moderate activity, such as walking for exercise.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Kinetics of HDL cholesterol and paraoxonase activity in moderate alcohol consumers.

BACKGROUND: The inverse association between moderate drinking and coronary heart disease mortality is well established. This study was performed to investigate the kinetics of the alcohol-induced increases in apo A-1, HDL cholesterol, and paraoxonase (PON) activity, as well as to study whether the alcohol-induced increases in PON activity differ within different PON polymorphisms, and to investigate whether moderate alcohol consumption has similar effects on the outcome measures in postmenopausal women as in middle-aged men. METHODS: In a randomized, diet-controlled, crossover study, 10 middle-aged men and 9 postmenopausal women, all apparently healthy, nonsmoking, and moderate alcohol drinkers, consumed beer or no-alcohol beer (control) with evening dinner during two successive periods of 3 weeks. During the beer period, alcohol intake equaled 40 and 30 g/day for men and women, respectively. The total diet was supplied to the subjects and had essentially the same composition during these 6 weeks. Before each treatment was a 1-week washout period, in which the subjects were not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages. RESULTS: Moderate alcohol consumption significantly increased serum apo A-I level after 5 days (3.7%, p < 0.05); after 10 days, serum HDL cholesterol level was increased (6.8%, p < 0.001), and after 15 days serum PON activity was increased (3.7%, p < 0.05), all compared with no alcohol consumption. Gene polymorphisms did not modulate the alcohol effect on PON. CONCLUSIONS: Serum apo A-I, HDL cholesterol, and PON activity were significantly increased during 3 weeks of moderate alcohol consumption as compared with no alcohol consumption. Moreover, the results suggest that there is a sequence in induction of these parameters. After an increase in apo A-I, HDL cholesterol is increased followed by an increase in PON activity. Increased serum HDL cholesterol level and PON activity may be a mechanism of action not only in healthy middle-aged men but also in postmenopausal women, underlying the reduced coronary heart disease risk in moderate drinkers.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed2003

Discriminative-stimulus effects of triazolam in light and moderate drinkers.

BACKGROUND: The results of previous laboratory experiments with humans suggest that light and moderate drinkers respond differentially to the effects of benzodiazepines. The aim of this study was to further assess the behavioral effects of a benzodiazepine in light and moderate drinkers. METHODS: To accomplish this aim, 12 volunteers (6 light drinkers and 6 moderate drinkers) learned to discriminate 0.375 mg of triazolam, a triazolobenzodiazepine hypnotic. After they learned this discrimination, a test-of-novel-doses phase was conducted in which a range of doses of triazolam (0, 0.06, 0.125, 0.25, and 0.375 mg) was tested in both groups of volunteers. The subject-rated and performance-impairing effects of triazolam were assessed concurrently. RESULTS: There was not a significant difference between the groups in terms of the number of trials needed to learn the discrimination, nor did the proportion of light and moderate drinkers who learned to accurately discriminate 0.375 mg of triazolam differ significantly. The discriminative-stimulus, subject-rated, and performance-impairing effects of triazolam were an orderly function of dose but did not differ across the light and moderate drinkers. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should examine the discriminative-stimulus effects of a lower dose of triazolam (e.g., 0.25 mg) in light and moderate drinks or use a fading procedure to determine differences in terms of the lowest discriminable dose.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Effect of moderate alcohol consumption on parameters of reverse cholesterol transport in postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is associated with increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. One of the main antiatherogenic functions of HDL is reverse cholesterol transport. Three early steps of reverse cholesterol transport are (1) cellular cholesterol efflux, (2) plasma cholesterol esterification (EST), and (3) cholesteryl ester transfer (CET) to apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins. Our previous study in healthy middle-aged men showed that moderate alcohol consumption increases cellular cholesterol efflux and EST. This study investigated the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on three early steps of reverse cholesterol transport in postmenopausal women. METHODS: In a randomized crossover study, 18 postmenopausal women--all apparently healthy, non-smoking, and moderate alcohol drinkers--consumed white wine or white grape juice with evening dinner during 2 successive periods of 3 weeks. During the white wine period, alcohol intake equaled 24 g/day. At the end of each of the two experimental periods, blood samples were collected. RESULTS: Three weeks of alcohol consumption increased serum HDL cholesterol levels (5.0%; p < 0.05), serum HDL phospholipid levels (5.8%; p < 0.05), and the ex vivo cellular cholesterol efflux capacity of plasma, measured with Fu5AH cells (3.4%; p < 0.05). Plasma EST and CET did not change. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate alcohol intake increases serum HDL cholesterol level and stimulates cellular cholesterol efflux in postmenopausal women. Moderate alcohol consumption does not seem to affect two other early steps of reverse cholesterol transport at this level of alcohol intake. Our data suggest that the relative protection of moderate alcohol consumption against cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women may involve the stimulation of reverse cholesterol transport through increased HDL.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

PubMed2005

Associations between alcohol intake and brain volumes in male and female moderate drinkers.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol-dependent individuals have brain volume loss. Possibly, moderate drinkers who are not alcohol dependent have similar but less prominent brain damage. The authors investigated whether current or lifetime alcohol intake is related to volumes of total brain, cerebellum, ventricles, peripheral cerebrospinal fluid, and cerebral gray and white matter in moderate drinkers. METHODS: The relation between current or lifetime alcohol intake and brain volumes of 47 male moderate drinkers (current alcohol intake 20 drinks per week, lifetime alcohol intake 240 kg) and 44 female moderate drinkers (current alcohol intake 15 drinks per week, lifetime alcohol intake 170 kg), all without a personal or family history of alcohol dependence, was determined using high-resolution magnetic resonance images, corrected for intracranial volume, age, and sex. RESULTS: In males, mean lifetime alcohol intake was positively associated with cerebral white matter volume, particularly in the frontal region. In females, mean lifetime alcohol intake was not associated with brain volumes. Current alcohol intake was unrelated to brain volumes in either males or females. CONCLUSIONS: Neither current nor lifetime alcohol intake is associated with decreases in brain volumes in male or female moderate drinkers. Because all participants had a negative personal and family history of alcohol dependence, the current results relatively purely concern the effects of moderate alcohol intake on brain volumes.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Health risks of chronic moderate and heavy alcohol consumption: how much is too much?

This article presents the proceedings of a symposium held at the meeting of the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA) in Mannheim, Germany, in October 2004. Most of what we know about the deleterious effects of alcohol in vivo has been gleaned from studies in sober alcoholics recruited from substance abuse treatment programs. Little is known about effects of chronic drinking in the moderate or heavy range encountered in a much larger fraction of modern society. Extrapolation of information on the adverse effects of chronic drinking on organ function from clinical samples to social drinkers in the general population has to be met with great skepticism, as it may lead to wrong conclusions about the chronic effects of alcohol in social drinkers. Several recent studies suggest that moderate alcohol consumption has certain beneficial health effects, whereas heavy social alcohol consumption has recently been associated with organ abnormalities and cognitive deficits. These social drinking effects have attracted great public interest; reports of benefits of moderate drinking have also inspired inappropriate publications by the media, including misleading advertisements by the alcohol producing and distributing industry. Although adverse effects of moderate to heavy drinking on heart, liver, and cancer development have attracted attention by clinicians and researchers for some time, its compromising effects on brain and cognition have only recently been studied. This symposium brought together researchers from different disciplines, who reviewed and presented new data on consequences of social drinking in the areas of clinical neuropsychology and behavior (Drs. Nixon and Meyerhoff), neurophysiology (Dr. Nixon, Ms. De Bruin), neuroimaging (Ms. de Bruin, Dr. Meyerhoff), hepatic disease (Dr. Bode), and cancer (Dr. Seitz). The symposium aimed to clarify both the potential health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption and risks of moderate and heavy drinking on proper organ function and to provide insights and new data to practicing physicians and public health authorities for education on problem drinking.

Alcohol Drinking↗