Active clinical trials for "Alcoholism"

Investigation of inpatients with alcoholism after detoxification with simultaneous Electroencephalography (EEG) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).

In order to determine whether the 'incubation of craving' phenomenon also occurred in alcoholics, investigators employed an experimental approach to investigate the time course of cue-induced craving in alcoholism. Eighty male participants were randomly divided into Four groups, and they were assessed at 7, 14, 30, and 60 days of abstinence for cue-induced alcohol craving . Another group including 19 patients was repeatedly tested for the cue-induced alcohol craving at the above abstinence days. Other psychological and physiological measures were administered at the four abstinence time points.

The aim of the present study is to conduct a human trial of [C-11]OMAR, a new PET imaging agent for the brain cannabinoid type 1 receptors (CB1), to determine its pharmacokinetics and binding characteristics.

The aim of the study is to compare the hospitalisation period in ORL surgery for two groups of patients. One of them will be treated for alcohol addiction to weaning them before the surgery ORL. The other group will be treated with usual methods.

Alcoholism is among the top three causes of preventable death and disease in the US (Mokdad et al., 2004; Room et al., 2005). Stress plays an important role in the development of alcoholism and in high vulnerability to alcohol relapse. This study will provide a greater understanding of the mechanism by which stress and alcohol consumption interacts to influence development of compulsive alcohol seeking and vulnerability to stress-induced drinking, and the results will have significant implications for the development of new prevention and treatment interventions for alcoholism.

In adolescents, mental health problems are frequently associated with substance misuse, even considered a risk factor for alcohol abuse and dependence. This dual diagnosis tends to complicate the patient's treatment and prognosis by increasing, among others, substance use problems, reckless behaviours, relationships and school problems and suicidal thoughts. It is therefore critical to invest time and effort into developing an efficient approach to prevent and reduce substance use problems and offer these children a more global and optimal treatment. A brief personality-targeted intervention was developed with students of Canadian and English high schools based on four personality factors known to be implicated in the vulnerability to adolescent alcohol misuse (Impulsivity, Anxiety Sensitivity, Negative Thinking and Sensation Seeking) (Conrod et al., 2006,2008, O'Leary-Barrett 2010). By helping the adolescents to develop better adaptive behaviours, this cognitive-behavioural intervention proved to reduce binge drinking, quantity and frequency of use and substance use problems (Conrod et al., 2006,2011). The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of this intervention if combined to a regular treatment in a youth psychiatric population. 60 patients aged 14-17 years of a Child and Adolescent psychiatric department will be screened for personality risk with self-report assessments including the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale. Participants will be randomly assigned to a personality matched cognitive-behavioural intervention or a no-intervention control. The main outcome measures of this study are alcohol and illicit drug outcomes. Secondary measures include mental health symptoms.

The alcohol problem affects 7.5% of the population in Europe and represents a major public health problem. Alcoholism is also a major cause of undernutrition. Diet is a major factor influencing the composition of the intestinal microbiota and previous studies, carried out at Saint-Luc clinics and catholic university of Louvain, show that alcoholic patients suffer from dysbiosis, that is a significant alteration of the gut microbiota. The investigator's preliminary studies, carried out at the Integrated Unit of Hepatology of Saint-Luc Clinics, have shown that alcohol represents more than 40% of total caloric intake in alcohol-dependent patients. In addition, alcoholic patients have an insufficient intake of dietary fiber, that is to say a contribution lower than the Belgian nutritional recommendations. Indeed, the Conseil Supérieur de la Santé recommends a total amount of dietary fiber equal to or greater than 25 grams per day to ensure correct intestinal function. Fructan-type dietary fiber (inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides) is found naturally in many fruits and vegetables (Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, artichokes, onions, garlic, chicory roots, bananas). They are neither absorbed nor digested by human enzymes but fermented selectively by intestinal bacteria. A good digestive tolerance to dietary fiber supplementation has been observed in healthy subjects as well as in obese patients, in previous studies conducted at catholic university of Louvain and Saint-Luc clinics. However, a nutritional rebalance via fiber supplementation and digestive fiber tolerance have never been tested in an alcohol-dependent population. The primary objectives of this academic research project in nutrition, carried out in alcohol-dependent patients, are as follows: restore a nutritional balance as recommended by the Conseil Supérieur de la Santé via a dietary fiber intake to study digestive tolerance to fibers to study the intestinal and psychological well-being related to a fiber intake Depending on the results obtained during the achievement of the primary objectives, the biological samples (blood, stool) collected during the study will be used to analyze the composition of the intestinal microbiota and the plasma markers associated with intestinal function.

The hyper- or hypo-attribution of risks is deeply related to the core pathological mechanisms of mental disorders and at the same time engaging in risky behaviors influences their course and outcomes. The investigators study risk perception, risk behaviors and underlying brain mechanisms in a longitudinal design in three groups of psychiatric patients who participate in a psychological intervention that is aimed to reduce risk behavior and increase risk perception. Patients with schizophrenia (SZ), alcohol use disorder (AUD) and both disorders (SZ + AUD) are recruited during psychiatric in-patient treatment and participate in a combined face-to-face and mobile intervention that starts before release and ends four weeks after discharge. The standardized 4-session face-to-face group intervention that is based on motivational interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2013) and relapse prevention (Marlatt & Donovan, 2005) and addresses the reduction of disorder-specific risk behaviors, i.e. alcohol use for AUD and SZ+AUD and medication non-adherence for SZ. After discharge, a 4-week ecological momentary intervention (EMI) supports participants to maintain abstinence from risk behaviors and to strengthen coping in high-risk situations relying on mental contrasting and implementation intentions (Oettingen & Gollwitzer, 2011). Participants will be assessed in fMRI and behavioral measurements and by self-report pre and post interventional phase, furthermore they participate in an ecological momentary assessment during the post-discharge phase which assesses risk behaviors, high-risk situations and risk perception in real life contexts.

It is hypothesized, that local retinoic acid (RA) homeostasis is functionally involved in the pathophysiology of depression. In a cross-sectional (and partly longitudinal) analysis, serum RA status will be assessed in healthy controls and subjects with Major Depression, Alzheimer's disease, alcoholism and in subjects with schizophrenia.

Peripheral neuropathy is a frequent neurological complication of chronic alcoholism. Most studies evaluated large-fiber involvement by nerve conduction studies (NCS). Since previous studies document the predominant injury of small myelinated and unmyelinated fibers in patients with alcoholic neuropathy, it will be imperative to know their prevalence and clinical significance. Moreover, the pathogenesis of alcoholic neuropathy, especially the roles of ethanol and its metabolites and thiamine, remains elusive. This proposal will be designed to understand the extent and clinical significance of cutaneous nerve degeneration in the skin of alcoholic patients and to investigate its pathogenesis. We will investigate cutaneous innervation by 3 mm punch skin biopsies with immunohistochemistry for protein gene product 9.5 and quantifying epidermal nerve density (END) in alcoholic patients. Patients will undergo clinical evaluation, quantitative sensory testing (QST), nerve conduction studies (NCS), and tests of sympathetic skin response (SSR) and beat-to-beat RR interval variability (RRIV). The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in chronic alcoholic patients with emphasis on small-fiber involvement will be first evaluated. The sensitivity of punch skin biopsy, QST, SSR and RRIV tests, and NCS will be compared, and the correlations between END and psychophysic and electrodiagnostic parameters will be discussed. Subsequently, we will elucidate the clinical significance of END reduction in alcoholic patients. Patients with evidences of involvement of central nervous system will be excluded, and END will be correlated with clinical manifestations and neurological deficits. Finally, the role of ethanol and thiamine in alcoholic neuropathy will be further studied. To clarify the role of thiamine in alcoholic neuropathy, we will examine whether it has influences on small-fiber degeneration. This may provide important information in understanding the pathogenesis and designing optimal treatment for alcoholic neuropathy.