PESQUISA DE ALCOOL NA FAMILIA

CELSO DE CASTRO
Methods Mol Biol. 2003;233:555-70. Related Articles,
Alcohol addiction.

Olive MF, Ron D.

There is increasing evidence for a role of individual protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes in the pathology of
various diseases of the brain (1). For example, it was recently demonstrated that a mutation in PKCgamma
results in Parkinson's disease-like symptoms in rats (2). There is also evidence that alterations in the
expression of PKC isoforms may influence alcohol consumption and the behavioral responses to alcohol
and other drugs of abuse (3-7). However, the paucity of pharmacological ligands that selectively modulate
the activity of individual PKC isozymes has compelled scientists to turn to genetic methods, such as viral
gene delivery, antisense oligonucleotide, and targeted gene-deletion techniques to ascertain the function of
individual PKC isoforms in vivo. Alcohol (ethyl alcohol, or ethanol) has been shown to alter the function
and activity of numerous types of voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels in the central nervous system.
However, it is increasingly apparent that ethanol also affects multiple intracellular signaling pathways. Of
these, signaling by the PKC family of enzymes has received considerable attention. In vitro studies have
shown that acute alcohol exposure can directly inhibit or enhance PKC activity and alter the subcellular
distribution of individual PKC isozymes, whereas chronic exposure to ethanol generally leads to an up-
regulation of PKC expression and/or function (8,9). In this chapter, we discuss several methodologies for
determining ethanol consumption patterns and the behavioral effects of ethanol that are suitable for use in
PKC isoform "knockout" mice. First, we discuss two separate methods of determining voluntary ethanol
intake. We then discuss several behavioral assays for the determination of the acute effects of ethanol on
motor behavior.

PMID: 12840534 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles, Links

Sources of distress among women in treatment with their alcoholic

partners.

Kahler CW, McCrady BS, Epstein EE.

Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Box G-BH, 02912,
Providence, RI, USA

We examined sources of psychological and relationship distress among 90

nonalcoholic women with alcoholic male partners seeking outpatient, conjoint
alcohol treatment. Results indicated that greater psychological distress among these
women was most strongly associated with lower satisfaction with the marital
 relationship, presence of domestic violence, lower frequency of male partner's
drinking, lower perceived social support from family, and more frequent attempts to
cope with the partner's drinking. Controlling for psychological distress, greater
marital satisfaction was associated most strongly with greater attempts to reinforce
positively the partner's abstinence and with less effort to detach from the partner's
drinking. Severity of partner's alcohol problems was unexpectedly associated with
greater marital satisfaction in multiple regression analyses, though not in bivariate
analyses. Results highlight the close connection between psychological and
relationship distress and potential relations between alcohol-related coping
behaviors and both psychological and relationship distress.

PMID: 12810147 [PubMed - in process]

Marital Fam Ther. 2003 Jan;29(1):121-46. Related Articles, Links

Alcohol abuse.

O'Farrell TJ, Fals-Stewart W.

Harvard Families and Addiction Program, Harvard Medical School Department of

Psychiatry at the VA Boston Healthcare System, VAMC-116B1, 940 Belmont St.,
Brockton, Massachusetts 02301, USA. timothy_ofarrell@hms.harvard.edu

We reviewed 38 controlled studies of marital and family therapy (MFT) in

alcoholism treatment. We conclude that, when the alcoholic is unwilling to seek
help, MFT is effective in helping the family cope better and motivating alcoholics to
enter treatment. Specifically, (a) Al-Anon facilitation and referral help family
members cope better; (b) Community Reinforcement and Family Training promotes
treatment entry; and (c) the popular Johnson intervention apparently does not
effectively promote treatment entry. Once the alcoholic enters treatment. MFT,
particularly behavioral couples therapy (BCT), is clearly more effective than
individual treatment at increasing abstinence and improving relationship
functioning. BCT also reduces social costs, domestic violence, and emotional
problems of the couple's children. Future studies need to specifically evaluate: MFT
with women and with minority patients, mechanisms and processes of change, and
transportability of evidence-based MFT approaches to clinical practice settings.

Publication Types:

• Review
• Review, Academic

PMID: 12616803 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]