Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are the 4th most common psychiatric disorders among young women 18 to 24 in this nation today. Alcohol abuse and social drinking may cause menstrual cycle irregularities, infertility and spontaneous abortion. Yet the 1985 PHS Task Force on Women's Health Issues (198) noted that there has been relatively little research on the health consequences of substance use and recommended """"""""studies of the significant factors related to the onset, continuation and cessation of smoking, drinking and drug-taking by women."""""""" We propose to continue studies of alcohol's effects on reproductive function in women. Alcohol's effects on adrenal cortical hormones and interactions with pituitary gonadotropins and ovarian steroid hormones will also be examined. Provocative tests of hypothalamic, pituitary and ovarian function will be used to evaluate the effects chronic alcohol abuse in alcoholic women during sobriety and the effects of acute alcohol intoxication (compared with placebo) in normal women in double-blind studies under controlled research ward condition. Gonadotropin secretory patterns in amenorrheic alcoholic women will be studied with computerized pulse frequency analysis procedures. Plasma hormone levels will be measured with standard radioimmunoassay procedures. Factors underlying alcohol-related luteal phase dysfunction will be studied by examining the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on LHRH-stimulated FSH, LH and inhibin during the early and mid-follicular phases. Alcohol's stimulatory effect on estradiol under conditions of gonadotropin stimulation will be examined in a paradigm designed to mimic the hormonal milieu of early pregnancy. Endocrine profiles in post-menopausal alcoholic women and alcohol's effects on anterior pituitary and steroid hormones in normal post-menopausal women will be examined. Studies of the neurobehavioral consequences of alcohol intoxication and the effect of alcohol pre-treatment on cigarette smoking are also proposed. Behavioral studies of the effects of alcohol pre-treatment and cigarette deprivation on tobacco acquisition and smoking patterns will be conducted with operant behavioral procedures and automated measures of puff characteristics. Covariance between mood states, EEG activity and ACTH secretion will be examined in neurobehavioral studies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AA006252-06
Application #
3109464
Study Section
(SRCA)
Project Start
1983-09-29
Project End
1992-08-31
Budget Start
1988-09-01
Budget End
1989-08-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
1988
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Mc Lean Hospital (Belmont, MA)
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Belmont
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02478
Lex, B W; Goldberg, M E; Mendelson, J H et al. (1994) Components of antisocial personality disorder among women convicted for drunken driving. Ann N Y Acad Sci 708:49-58
Lex, B W; Rhoades, E M; Teoh, S K et al. (1994) Divided attention task performance and subjective effects following alcohol and placebo: differences between women with and without a family history of alcoholism. Drug Alcohol Depend 35:95-105
Chiu, T M; Mendelson, J H; Woods, B T et al. (1994) In vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy detection of human alcohol tolerance. Magn Reson Med 32:511-6
Lukas, S E; Dobrosielski, M; Chiu, T M et al. (1993) A nonferrous instrumental joystick device for recording behavioral responses during magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 46:781-5
Woods, B T; Douglass, A; Gescuk, B (1991) Is the VBR still a useful measure of changes in the cerebral ventricles? Psychiatry Res 40:1-10
Lex, B W (1991) Some gender differences in alcohol and polysubstance users. Health Psychol 10:121-32
Lex, B W; Ellingboe, J E; Teoh, S K et al. (1991) Prolactin and cortisol levels following acute alcohol challenges in women with and without a family history of alcoholism. Alcohol 8:383-7
Kroft, C L; Gescuk, B; Woods, B T et al. (1991) Brain ventricular size in female alcoholics: an MRI study. Alcohol 8:31-4
Lex, B W; Sholar, J W; Bower, T et al. (1991) Putative type II alcoholism characteristics in female third DUI offenders in Massachusetts: a pilot study. Alcohol 8:283-7
Lex, B W; Teoh, S K; Lagomasino, I et al. (1990) Characteristics of women receiving mandated treatment for alcohol or polysubstance dependence in Massachusetts. Drug Alcohol Depend 25:13-20

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