Gastric ethanol metabolism and gastritis: interactions with other drugs, Helicobacter pylori, and antibiotic therapy (1957-1997)--a review

Alcohol-induced hormonal and metabolic alterations in plasma and erythrocytes-a gender-based study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to understand the gender-specific alcohol-induced biochemical changes and TBARS association with the endocrine system.

METHODS

Human male and female subjects ranging from 35 ± 10 years old with an 8-10-year drinking history were included in the study.

RESULTS

The results demonstrated that testosterone levels were lower in male alcoholics and higher in female alcoholics, as well as higher estrogen and cortisol levels in both genders. In addition, we found lower T3, T4, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in alcoholics of both sexes. Furthermore, plasma TBARS, protein carbonyls, nitrite, and nitrate levels increased significantly with concomitant decrease in reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities in both male and female alcoholics. Furthermore, erythrocyte lysate nitrite and nitrate levels membrane total cholesterol, phospholipid and cholesterol/phospholipid (C/P) ratio with lower total membrane proteins in both genders of alcoholics. SDS-PAGE analysis of erythrocyte membrane proteins revealed increased density of band 3, protein 4.1, 4.2, 4.9 and glycophorins, whereas decreases in spectrin (α and β) were observed in both genders of alcoholics. Besides, alcoholics of both sexes had a lower ability to resist osmotic hemolysis. Plasma TBARS was negatively correlated with testosterone, TSH, T3 and T4 in male alcoholics, moreover, estradiol and cortisol were positively correlated in males and females respectively.

CONCLUSION

Female alcoholics may be more susceptible to osmotic hemolysis due to increased erythrocyte membrane lipid peroxidation with decreased antioxidant status, which results in an altered membrane C/P ratio and membrane protein composition.

Relationship between alcohol consumption and active Helicobacter pylori infection

BACKGROUND

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a cause of chronic gastritis and maybe responsible for functional dyspepsia in a subset of patients. Many risk factors, such as alcohol consumption and smoking, may contribute to the colonization and infection of H. pylori in humans. However, studies on the relationship between H. pylori infection and drinking or smoking have produced conflicting results.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine whether consumption of alcohol or smoking is associated with active H. pylori infection in functional dyspepsia patients.

METHODS

H. pylori infection was confirmed by CLOtest and histology on at least two biopsies. Active chronic gastritis was diagnosed using the updated Sydney system. In addition to gender and age, information on drinking and smoking habits was collected using a standard questionnaire. Functional dyspepsia was diagnosed according to the Rome II diagnostic criteria.

RESULTS

H. pylori infection was positive in 27.3% of the 139 functional dyspepsia patients. Both age and gender were not significantly associated with H. pylori infection. A multiple logistic model found that alcohol consumption (OR = 9.05, 95% CI: 1.05-77.98) and pathology (active gastritis) (OR = 595.39, 95% CI: 81.43-4353.33) were associated with H. pylori infection. Active gastritis was associated with alcohol consumption (OR = 2.89, 95% CI: 1.03-8.02), smoking (OR = 2.72, 95% CI: 1.22-6.05) and age (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.06).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with functional dyspepsia, there is no significant association between active H. pylori infection and smoking. However, alcohol consumption appears to be associated with H. pylori infection.

Risks of combined alcohol/medication use in older adults

BACKGROUND

Many older adults (ie, those aged >65 years) drink alcohol and use medications that may be harmful when consumed together.

OBJECTIVE

This article reviews the literature on alcohol and medication interactions, with a focus on older adults.

METHODS

Relevant articles were identified through a search of MEDLINE and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1966-August 2006) for English-language articles. The following medical subject headings and key words were used: alcohol medication interactions, diseases worsened by alcohol use, and alcohol metabolism, absorption, and distribution. Additional articles were identified by a manual search of the reference lists of the identified articles, review articles, textbooks, and personal reference sources.

RESULTS

Many older adults drink alcohol and take medications that may interact negatively with alcohol. Some of these interactions are due to age-related changes in the absorption, distribution, and metabolism of alcohol an medications. Others are due to disulfiram-like reactions observed with some medications, exacerbation of therapeutic effects and adverse effects of medications when combined with alcohol, and alcohol's interference with the effectiveness of some medications.

CONCLUSIONS

Older adults who drink alcohol and who take medications are at risk for a variety of adverse consequences depending on the amount of alcohol and the type of medications consumed. It is important for clinicians to know how much alcohol their older patients are drinking to be able to effectively assess their risks and to counsel them about the safe use of alcohol and medications. Similarly, it is important for older adults to understand the potential risks of their combined alcohol and medication use to avoid the myriad of problems possible with unsafe use of these substances..

Protective effects of green tea polyphenol extracts against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damages in rats: stress-responsive transcription factors and MAP kinases as potential targets

There are multiple lines of compelling evidence from epidemiologic and laboratory studies supporting that frequent consumption of green tea is inversely associated with the risk of chronic human diseases including cancer. The chemopreventive and chemoprotective effects of green tea have been largely attributed to antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of its polyphenolic constituents, such as epigallocatechin gallate. The present study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of green tea polyphenols in protecting against alcohol-induced gastric damage and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Intragastric administration of ethanol to male Sprague-Dawley rats caused significant gastric mucosal damage, which was accompanied by elevated expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as well as transient activation of redox-sensitive transcription factors, such as NF-kappaB and AP-1, and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Oral administration of the green tea polyphenolic extract (GTE) significantly ameliorated mucosal damages induced by ethanol and also attenuated the ethanol-induced expression of COX-2 and iNOS. Inactivation of MAPKs, especially p38 and ERKl/2, by GTE might be responsible for inhibition of ethanol-induced expression of COX-2 and iNOS.

Metabolism of alcohol

Most tissues of the body contain enzymes capable of ethanol oxidation or nonoxidative metabolism, but significant activity occurs only in the liver and, to a lesser extent, in the stomach. Hence, medical consequences are predominant in these organs. In the liver, ethanol oxidation generates an excess of reducing equivalents, primarily as NADH, causing hepatotoxicity. An additional system, containing cytochromes P-450 inducible by chronic alcohol feeding, was demonstrated in liver microsomes and found to be a major cause of hepatotoxicity.