Excessive Amounts Of Alcohol Research Articles

Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of vitamin C deficiency in adult hospitalized patients in high-income countries: a scoping review.

Assessment for vitamin C deficiency (VCD) is rarely undertaken in an acute hospital setting in high-income countries. However, with growing interest in VCD in community settings, there is emerging evidence investigating the prevalence and impact of VCD during hospitalization. In this scoping review, the prevalence of VCD in adult hospitalized patients is explored, patient characteristics are described, and risk factors and clinical outcomes associated with VCD are identified. A systematic scoping review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR framework. The Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Scopus, CINAHL Plus, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched for interventional, comparative, and case-series studies that met eligibility criteria, including adult hospital inpatients in high-income countries, as defined by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, that reported VCD prevalence using World Health Organization reference standards. These standards define VCD deficiency as plasma or serum vitamin C level <11.4 µmol/L, wholeblood level <17 µmol/L, or leukocytes <57 nmol/108 cells. Twenty-three articles were included, representing 22 studies. The cumulative prevalence of VCD was 27.7% (n = 2494; 95% confidence interval [CI], 21.3-34.0). High prevalence of VCD was observed in patients with severe acute illness and poor nutritional status. Scurvy was present in 48% to 62% of patients with VCD assessed in 2 studies (n = 71). Being retired (P = 0.015) and using excessive amounts of alcohol and tobacco (P = 0.0003) were independent risk factors for VCD (n = 184). Age was not conclusively associated with VCD (n = 631). Two studies examined nutrition associations (n = 309); results were inconsistent. Clinical outcomes for VCD included increased risk of frailty (adjusted odds ratio, 4.3; 95%CI, 1.33-13.86; P = 0.015) and cognitive impairment (adjusted odds ratio, 2.93; 95%CI, 1.05-8.19, P = 0.031) (n = 160). VCD is a nutritional challenge facing the healthcare systems of high-income countries. Research focused on early identification and treatment of patients with VCD is warranted. Open Science Framework ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/AJGHX ).

Lifestyle and Hepatocellular Carcinoma What Is the Evidence and Prevention Recommendations.

Simple SummaryThe increasing public health burden of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) emphasizes the importance of defining important modifiable risk factors. In the following review, we will discuss the evidence for the relation of major lifestyle risk factors, mostly from large population-based studies. Generally, it is has been shown that healthy lifestyle habits, including minimizing obesity, eating a healthy diet, avoidance of smoking and alcohol, and increasing physical activity, have the potential to prevent HCC. Dietary composition is important beyond obesity. Consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as fish and poultry, vegetables and fiber, are inversely associated with HCC, while red meat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sugar are related to increased risk. Data from multiple studies clearly show a beneficial effect for physical activity in reducing the risk of HCC. Smoking and alcohol can lead to liver fibrosis and liver cancer and jointly lead to an even greater risk.The increasing burden of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) emphasizes the unmet need for primary prevention. Lifestyle measures appear to be important modifiable risk factors for HCC regardless of its etiology. Lifestyle patterns, as a whole and each component separately, are related to HCC risk. Dietary composition is important beyond obesity. Consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as fish and poultry, are inversely associated with HCC, while red meat, saturated fat, and cholesterol are related to increased risk. Sugar consumption is associated with HCC risk, while fiber and vegetable intake is protective. Data from multiple studies clearly show a beneficial effect for physical activity in reducing the risk of HCC. However, the duration, mode and intensity of physical activity needed are yet to be determined. There is evidence that smoking can lead to liver fibrosis and liver cancer and has a synergistic effect with alcohol drinking. On the other hand, an excessive amount of alcohol by itself has been associated with increased risk of HCC directly (carcinogenic effect) or indirectly (liver fibrosis and cirrhosis progression. Large-scale intervention studies testing the effect of comprehensive lifestyle interventions on HCC prevention among diverse cohorts of liver disease patients are greatly warranted.

Серцево-судинні ускладнення при вживанні надмірних доз алкоголю

Серцево-судинні ускладнення при вживанні надмірних доз алкоголю

Associations between quality of life and lifestyle peculiarities in stroke survivors: the results of the EROS study

To determine relations between quality of life and characteristics of lifestyle in stroke patients and control groups. The case group consisted of 508 Kaunas citizens, aged 25-84, who had survived their first stroke. The control group consisted of 508 randomly chosen healthy Kaunas citizens age- and sex-matched to the cases. SF-12 questionnaire on the quality of life has been used for the study. The characteristics of lifestyle (alcohol use, smoking, nutrition) were studied. The effect size of alcohol use in the stroke patients was not large (Cohen's d=0.41) compared to the control group (Cohen's d=0.87). Patients who did not use alcohol had lower estimations in the physical health domain of quality of life compared to those who used alcohol. The number of smoking men was significantly higher (p=0.0005) in the stroke patients (29.0%) than in the control group (19.6%). The physical health was best assessed by men belonging to the control group who never smoked compared to men who had quit smoking (p=0.0005) and in the stroke group - by smoking men compared to men who had quit smoking (p=0.049). Nutrition status had significant effect only on the physical health in the control group: the estimate of physical health of obese individuals was lower when compared to the rest participants (p<0.001). The number of men who used excessive amounts of alcohol and smoked or had quit smoking was higher in the stroke patients group than in the control group. In the stroke patient group, the effect size of alcohol use was not large. Men who had quit smoking prior to stroke presented poorer evaluations of the quality of life in the general health and mental health domains than did those who had smoked before stroke onset.

Habits and attitudes of first-year female students at Warmia and Mazury University: a call for implementing health education programme at universities.

Entering university frequently brings about considerable changes in the students' lifestyle, which often affect negatively their health. Therefore, it seems to be of great importance to promote pro-health habits and attitudes particularly among 1st-year-students and thus, it is necessary to accurately assess their lifestyles and needs in this regard. The aim of the study was to assess the habits and attitudes towards healthy lifestyle of 762 first-year female students enrolled at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn so as to detect health risks and ultimately present the need for remedial measures. Female students were randomly selected from all the groups attending obligatory physical education classes. The students filled in an anonymous questionnaire, which contained questions referring to their physical activity, nutrition, tobacco and alcohol use, and stress. The research demonstrated a worrisome picture of the students' habits and attitudes with regard to health. It showed that the female students took keener interest in daily body care than in proper nutrition and an adequate level of physical activity. What is also alarming is the excessive amount of alcohol they consumed on a regular basis. The research findings call for a specially designed pro-health programme to be implemented during the time of the studies in order to raise the female students' awareness of leading a health-conscious lifestyle.

Moderate, excessive or heavy alcohol consumption: each is significantly associated with increased mortality in patients with chronic hepatitis C

The impact of moderate alcohol consumption on long-term outcomes of chronic hepatitis C (CH-C) infected patients remains controversial. To assess the impact of moderate alcohol consumption on long-term outcomes of CH-C patients using population-based data. Data were obtained from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III)-mortality linked files. Alcohol consumption was estimated as grams/day. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was utilized to assess the effects of CH-C and alcohol consumption on mortality (all causes, cardiovascular disease, and liver disease). A total of 8985 participants were included as the study cohort. Of these, 218 had CH-C. The follow-up time was 162.95months for CH-C and 178.27months for controls. CH-C patients had increased risk for both overall mortality and liver-related mortality. CH-C patients with excessive alcohol consumption had even higher risks for overall mortality and liver-related mortality. The risk of overall mortality associated with CH-C increased with moderate alcohol consumption of 1-19g/day and heavy alcohol consumption ≥30g/day. Although chronic hepatitis C is associated with increased risks for overall and liver-related mortality, these risks are even higher for patients consuming moderate and excessive amounts of alcohol.

Respectable drinkers, sensible drinking, serious leisure: single-malt whisky enthusiasts and the moral panic of irresponsible Others

In the public discourse of policy-makers and journalists, drinkers of (excessive) alcohol are portrayed either as irresponsible, immoral deviants or as gullible victims. In other words, the public discourse engenders a moral panic about alcohol-crazed individuals, who become what Cohen [1972. Folk devil and moral panics. London: Routledge] identifies as folk devils: the Other, abusing alcohol to create anti-social disorder. However, alcohol-drinking was, is and continues to be an everyday practice in the leisure lives of the majority of people in the UK. In this research article, I want to explore the serious leisure of whisky-tasting to provide a counter to the myth of the alcohol-drinker as folk devil, to try to construct a new public discourse of sensible drinking. I will draw on ethnographic work at whisky-tastings alongside interviews and analysis of on-line discourses. I show that participation in whisky-tasting events creates a safe space in which excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed, yet the norms of the particular habitus ensure that such drinking never leads to misbehaviour. In doing so, however, I will note that the respectability of whisky-drinking is associated with its masculine, white, privileged habitus – the folk devil becomes someone else, someone Other.

Correlation between drugs of abuse and alcohol by hair analysis: parents at risk for having children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

The fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) hair test, a biomarker of excessive alcohol exposure, has demonstrated its potential for use in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) diagnosis. FASD may be compounded by polydrug exposure. Our objective was to determine the likelihood of positive FAEE test among parents testing positive for other drugs of abuse. Samples submitted for FAEE hair analysis by Children's Aid Societies between October 2005 and May 2007, also concurrently tested for cocaine, cannabinoids, opiates, methamphetamine, amphetamine, benzodiazepines, methadone, and/or oxycodone, were included in our analysis. Subjects consisted of parents suspected of using excessive amounts of alcohol. Parents testing positive for drugs of abuse had a significantly increased risk for testing positive for high FAEE. Mothers testing positive for heavy chronic alcohol use were found to have a threefold increased risk of testing positive for cocaine (odds ratio = 3.26, 1.1–9.7). Our results suggest that parents abusing stimulants are at risk of high alcohol exposure, which put their unborn children at risk for FASD.

Pure Intelligence: On Intelligence Testing, Puritanism, and the Methods and Burdens of History

At the dawn of the 1960s, the English historian of Soviet Russia E. H. Carr was anything but a non-controversial man. Known to some as 'the Red Professor of Printing House Square' on account of his pro-Stalinist columns for The Times during the Second World War, and already disliked by many others for his approval of appeasement during the 1930s, Carr was about to attract even more opposition on account of his views on the purpose of writing history in the first place. "If Mr. Carr's remaining volumes equal this impressive opening," Isaiah Berlin had written a decade earlier in a review of Carr's first installment of his The Bolshevik Revolution, "they will constitute the most monumental challenge of our time to that idea of impartiality and objective truth and even-handed justice in the writing of history which is most deeply embedded in the European liberal tradition." Now, in what would become his classic book from 1961 What Is History? Carr wrote simply: "the study of history is a study of causes." Carr famously posited the following scenario: Suppose a Mr. Jones ran over a Mr. Robinson on a blind corner, driving a car with defective brakes. Suppose Mr. Robinson had just come out of a party in which he had consumed an excessive amount of alcohol. Suppose further that he has nipped out of the bash to buy a pack of cigarettes. What must we

Role of antiretroviral treatment in prolonging QTc interval in HIV-positive patients

The aims of our study were to assess the prevalence of QTc prolongation in a group of HIV-infected individuals and to evaluate the associated risk factors. All the 650 HIV-infected patients followed up at our outpatient clinic underwent ECG recording. A "nested" case-control study was performed using as cases 64 HIV-infected patients with QTc > 0.44 s and as controls (1:4) 256 HIV-positive subjects matched by gender and age with QTc interval < or = 0.44 s. A prolonged QTc interval was found in 9.8% of HIV-positive individuals (64/650). In the nested case-control study, an increased risk of having a prolonged QTc interval was observed among patients taking nelfinavir, efavirenz, methadone, cotrimoxazole or an excessive amount of alcohol. When a zidovudine (AZT)-containing backbone was associated with nelfinavir-based or efavirenz-based antiretroviral therapy, the risk of having a prolonged QTc interval was about three times higher than in patients taking nelfinavir or efavirenz without AZT. Several drugs administered to HIV-infected patients may cause a QTc interval prolongation increasing the risk of serious arrhythmias. An ECG follow-up for the assessment of QTc seems to be advisable for HIV-infected patients receiving drugs with a QTc prolonging potential.

The role played by a former federal government residential school in a first nation community’s alcohol abuse and impaired driving: Results of a talking circle

Objectives. The study’s objective was to better understand alcohol abuse and impaired driving behaviors in a First Nations community as it reflects systemic issues linked to historical, family and community experiences.Study Design and Methods. Fifteen 18-to 29-year-old drivers participated in an exploratory eight-hour Talking Circle held according to traditional cultural practice. Four First Nations researchers, trained in Talking Circle protocol, and a Band Elder facilitated the data collection, data analysis according to emerging themes, and data verification.Results. Federal government residential schools contribute to intergenerational effects which impact impaired driving in a northern First Nations community. Traditional parental role modeling has changed dramatically. Rather than guide children through a communally shared development process, many parents now expect their children to assume adult roles by expecting them to take care of their guardians when they drink excessive amounts of alcohol. Because a wall of silence exists between the young and old, many young people seek refuge with friends and peers, who subsequently influence them to abuse alcohol and engage in impaired driving. Many older Band members no longer serve as leaders for young people. Instead, they behave like peers and engage in activities that facilitate alcohol abuse and impaired driving.Conclusions. Historical institutions like federal government residential schools have contributed to systemic socio cultural problems which influence alcohol abuse and impaired driving. Hence there is a need for community-based intervention strategies that promote cultural healing. The healing journey can start with First Nations communities providing their people opportunities to share their stresses and traumas in supporting and nurturing environments.(Int J Circumpolar Health 2006; 65(4): 347–356).

Does excessive alcohol use in teenagers affect their everyday prospective memory?

Summary Objectives To investigate everyday memory processes in teenagers who drink excessive amounts of alcohol (drinking above the 14/21 units-per-week recommended for females/males respectively), compared with low-dose controls. To consider what implications putative deficits might have upon prevention and potential treatment issue relating to alcohol misuse in teenagers. Design Existing groups. Setting Testing took place in quiet rooms in colleges in North-East of England. Participants 86 teenagers studying at colleges in the North-East of England were tested, 55 of whom were excessive drinkers and 31 drank below the ‘safe limits’. Main Outcome Measures Self-report measures; Prospective Memory Questionnaire and UEL Drug-Use Questionnaire. Results After controlling for tobacco and strategy use (no other between-group differences were found on the non-memory measures), the excessive alcohol group reported more lapses in memory in their long-term and short-term everyday prospective memory functioning, than the low-dose control group. Conclusions The findings suggest that teenagers who use excessive amounts of alcohol have selective deficits in their ability to engage in day-to-day activities that rely on memory. Identifying such deficits may help in prevention campaigns and the development of strategies to combat these difficulties may be a useful addition to the knowledge and skills in nurse training.

Carbohydrate-deficient Transferrin Isoforms Measured by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis for Detection of Alcohol Abuse

Measurements of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) are used as markers of alcohol abuse. We developed a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method aimed at improving accuracy of CDT testing. We studied 111 alcohol abusers with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores >11 and 50 teetotalers. CZE was performed with a P/ACE 5500, fused-silica capillaries, and a CEofix CDT reagent set. After iron saturation, sera were loaded by low-pressure injection, separated at 28 kV, and monitored at 214 nm. We identified the transferrin isoforms by migration times, treatment with 100 U/L neuraminidase, and immunosubtraction with anti-human transferrin and anti-C-reactive protein antibodies. We compared CZE results with current biological markers of alcohol abuse, including the %CDT turbidimetric immunoassay. Migration times of the isoforms were identical in both populations. Asialotransferrin was missing in teetotalers but present in 92% of alcohol abusers. Disialotransferrin was higher in those who consumed excessive amounts of alcohol, whereas mean trisialotransferrin concentration was not affected by alcohol abuse. At cutoffs to maximize sensitivity and specificity, these values were 0.92 and 1 [mean ROC area (MRa), 0.96; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.93-0.99] for asialotransferrin; 0.84 and 0.94 for the sum of asialo- + disialotransferrin (MRa, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.91-0.98); 0.79 and 0.94 for disialotransferrin (MRa, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84-0.94); 0.62 and 0.53 for trisialotransferrin (MRa, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.49-0.68); 0.79 and 0.82 for a 3% %CDT; and 0.83 and 0.69 for a 2.6% cutoff (MRa, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.81-0.92). Current markers lack sensitivity (<0.65). Transferrins were not significantly correlated with serum enzymes and mean erythrocyte volume. CZE-isolated desialylated transferrin isoforms allowed differentiation between chronic alcohol abusers and teetotalers.

Induction of the estrogen effect-switching phenomenon by ethanol and its correction.

Female rats (aged three months at the start of the study) were kept for four months on drinking water (group 1) or 5% ethanol. Rats drinking ethanol were additionally divided into six groups (groups 2-7). During the next two months of the experiment, animals of group 2 continued to drink only ethanol, while rats of group 3 additionally received N-acetylcysteine, those of group 4 received ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), those of group 5 received melatonin, those of group 6 received carnosine, and those of group 7 swam in the so-called training regime for five days a week. All animals underwent bilateral ovariectomy 2.5 weeks before experiments ended, and were given daily i.m. estradiol (2 microg) during the 11 days before the last experimental day. After treatments, blood estradiol and cholesterol levels were measured, along with progesterone receptor levels, peroxidase activity, the index of proliferation, the proportions of cells in the S and G2/M phases, the thickness of the endometrium, and the extent of DNA damage (using the "comet" technique) in uterine tissue. Liver estradiol 2-hydroxylase activity was also measured. The results led to the conclusion that drinking of 5% ethanol in combination with administration of estrogens was accompanied by induction of genotoxic (G) changes in the uterus and that this was prevented by administration of N-acetylcysteine and melatonin. The combination of vitamins C and E increased some of the manifestations of the hormonal (H) effect of estrogens (uterine weight and induction of progesterone receptors), but weakened others (the index of proliferation). As a result, the combination of N-acetylcysteine and optimum doses of ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol can be recommended for preventing the estrogen effect-switching phenomenon (increases in the G component on the background of weakening of the H component), which is seen particularly in patients consuming excessive amounts of alcohol, increasing the risk that the genotoxic version of hormonal cancerogenesis will develop.

The Production of Low-Alcohol Wines by Aerobic Yeasts

Aerobic yeasts of the genera Pichia and Williopis are commonly regarded as spoilage yeasts of beer and wine by causing turbidity, a surface film of yeast growth and often an excessive estery flavour. However, their ability to utilise sugars oxidatively for cell growth with the production of estery and other flavours of wine with only minimal production of ethanol suggests a method for the production of low-alcohol wines of pleasant “fermented” flavour without the need for additional equipment to remove alcohol by dialysis, reverse osmosis or distillation, or without the excessive sweetness remaining from arrested fermentation. Three strains of Pichia and one of Williopsis were examined for their ability to produce approximately 3%(v/v) ethanol and a good estery and fruity flavour. With normal anaerobic fermentation conditions, or with gentle stirring to prevent formation of a surface film, excessive amounts of alcohol were produced from grape juice of 15% or 20% (w/v) initial sugar concentration. However, an acceptably flavoured wine of alcohol content < 3% was produced by agitation and aeration during fermentation. The ethanol formed in the early stages of culture was oxidised to a final level < 3%, with the production of cell mass and an acceptable flavour.

Serum triglycerides, the liver and the pancreas.

Massive hypertriglyceridaemia associated with fatty liver and abdominal pain or frank pancreatitis (the chylomicronaemia syndrome) is uncommon, but clinically important and under-recognized. It may arise as a result of severe genetic defects in lipolysis or, more commonly, from a moderate primary hypertriglyceridaemia that is exacerbated by a secondary cause. The latter include several drugs, among which the protease inhibitors, used for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection, are increasingly apparent. In the acute situation plasma exchange, fat-free parenteral nutrition and acute insulin treatment, even in nondiabetic persons, may be valuable. A potentially major advance in prophylaxis is the use of high-dose antioxidant therapy, which has been shown to reduce attacks of pancreatitis even in the absence of a reduction in serum triglycerides. Asymptomatic patients with abnormal liver function tests are common in the lipid clinic, and can be a difficult group in which to make management decisions. Among those who are not taking excessive amounts of alcohol, many will have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The care of these patients is discussed, but there remains considerable uncertainty regarding their optimum management and prognosis.

The effect of alkan-1-ols addition on the structural ordering and morphology of mesoporous silicate MCM-41

The effects of adding alkan-1-ols to surfactant-silicate gels during the synthesis of mesoporous silica MCM-41 are reported. Upon adding an optimal amount of medium carbon chain length alkan-1-ols (C m H 2m+1 OH, C m OH; m≥4) to quaternary ammonium halides C n H 2n+1 TMAX (n=10-14, C n TMAX, X=Br or Cl)-silicate systems, a marked improvement in the hexagonal order and the morphology of the synthesized MCM-41 materials was found. The optimal amount of added C m H 2m+1 OH for the formation of well ordered hexagonal structure was found to decrease with increasing carbon chain length of the C n H 2n+1 TMAX surfactant and C m H 2m+1 OH. However, when an excessive amount of alcohol is added, the mesostructure obtained from the longer carbon chain length C n H 2n+1 TMAX-silicate (n≥12) systems becomes lamellar. The addition of C m OH (m≥4) offers a new synthetic approach to form lamellar-hexagonal liquid crystal intermediates necessary for synthesizing tubules-within-tubule (TWT) hierarchical structures whose morphology and size can be controlled by varying the water content and the C m H 2m+1 OH/surfactant ratio.

Enzymatic glucosylation of hydrophobic alcohols in organic medium by the reverse hydrolysis reaction using almond‐β‐D‐glucosidase

Alkyl beta-D-glucosides were synthesized from D-glucose and alcohols by reverse hydrolysis using the commercially available almond beta-D-glucosidase in 9:1 (v/v) acetonitrile-water medium. The main characteristics of this enzyme-catalyzed glucosylation were established by using 2-hydroxybenzyl alcohol. The reaction is entirely regio- and stereoselective. The solvent plays a fundamental role because, by decreasing the water concentration in the medium, the shift of the reaction equilibrium toward synthesis is realized without using an excessive amount of alcohol. Nevertheless, a minimum amount of water is necessary to maintain the enzyme activity. In contrast to the use of the enzyme in aqueous medium, the pH of the added water in acetonitrile did not influence the synthesis. Using this procedure, we have conducted systematic glucosylation of numerous alcohols and we have investigated enzyme specificity and alcohol reactivity. The enzyme has a pronounced affinity for the alcohols containing a phenyl group, and enantioselectivity for the aglycon is obtained with 1-phenylethyl alcohol. Moreover, by using almond beta-D-glucosidase it was also possible to synthesize alkyl beta-D-galactosides. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Psychiatric problems of Turkish labourers in Holland.

A study is made of factors associated with adjustment and neurosis among male Turkish migrants in Amsterdam. A random sample of 180 with a mean age of 34 years were screened with the Cornell Medical Index. Forty-five per cent were deemed to be neurotic. On comparison with the normals it was found that neurosis was associated with high levels of physical illness and complaint. Severe psychiatric symptoms were prominent in the neurotic group and 36% used excessive amounts of alcohol. Psychological difficulties were also prominent among them. Many fear for their families at home and more than a half were unduly suspicious. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Alcohol intoxication and withdrawal--IIIb. Studies in alcohol dependence: introduction to the papers on operant conditioning and alcohol intake.

All alcoholics drink excessive amounts of alcohol. Surely, those interested in the many aspects of alcoholism, regardless of viewpoint, would agree on this simple but general proposition. Researchers who wish to understand the conditions which lead to excessive alcohol intake are often interested in producing such intake in animals so that hypotheses of alcohol abuse can be evaluated with greater freedom than they can be in humans. Efforts taken over the last decade and a half have shown greater promise in producing excessive alcohol Intake in animals than did the early pioneering efforts. Until recently, for example, it was difficult to arrange conditions so that animals would voluntarily consume enough alcohol to produce intoxication as defined behaviorally or biochemically (e.g., Lester, 1966). It is now possible, however, to induce sustained intoxication in animals using a variety of techniques, and to examine analytically the conditions that induce the effects and the sequalae of this sustained intoxication, such as alcohol tolerance and dependence.