• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.42-50
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• 1999

Alexithymia refers to a specific disturbance in psychic functioning characterized by difficulties in the capacity to verbalize affect and to elabolate fantasies. Although it was initially described in the context of psychosomatic illness, alexithymic charateristics may be observed in patients with a wide range of medical and psychiatric disorders. This study was designed to investigate alexithymic characteristics in the patients with alcoholism using Scored Archetypal 9 Test(SAT9) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 Korea version(TAS-20K). Twenty patients with alcoholism and twenty-four normal controls completed these tests. The results were as follows. 1) Patient group with alcoholism were significantly more alexithymic than normal control group in both SAT9 and TAS-20K. 2) No significant difference in the alexithymic measures was found between genders of both group. 3) No significant correlation was found between alexithymic measures and age or education level in both group. 4) Measures between SAT9 and TAS-20K showed significant correlation in the patient group.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.111-115
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• 2001

An association study with Korean alcoholic patients(n=50) and normal controls(n=53) was performed to find the relationship between catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT) gene polymorphism and alcoholism using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. When we compared the allele and genotype frequencies of Nla III COMT gene polymorphism in alcoholism and normal controls, there was no significant difference between two groups. Our results do not support an association between the Nla III polymorphism of COMT gene and alcoholism.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.172-184
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the subjective relapse experiences of patients with alcohol use disorder in one's life context. Methods: A Q methodology was used to analyze the subjectivity of relapse experiences among 55 participants with alcohol use disorder. Fifty-five Q-statement were derived from interviews and literature review. Q-statements were classified into normally distributed shapes using a 9-point scale. Data were analyzed using the QUANL program. Results: Four types of relapse experiences were identified: failure to self-regulation drinking cravings, fear of relapse and awareness of the need for treatment, drinking as a coping mechanism and defensive coping, and lack of motivation to change drinking behavior. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that patients with alcohol use disorder need a differential approach based on four types of relapse experiences in the recovery process.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.194-203
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• 2022

Purpose: This study investigated the factors influencing the risk of relapse in community-dwelling adults with alcohol use disorder. Methods: This study included 122 community-dwelling individuals with alcohol use disorder who were receiving outpatient treatment at a mental health treatment hospital or were enrolled in a treatment program at the Community Addition Management Center in Gyeonggi Province. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires from July to August 2020. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS 25.0. Results: Abstinence self-efficacy (𝛽=-.56, p<.001), social support (𝛽=-.35, p=.009), female sex (𝛽=11.29, p=.015), and a family history of alcoholism (𝛽=9.41, p=.026) were significant predictors of relapse risk, accounting for 56% of the variance (F=12.68, p<.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that abstinence self-efficacy and social support are pivotal in reducing risk of relapse in individuals with alcohol use disorder. Therefore, relevant and effective interventions focusing on enhancing abstinence self-efficacy and social support are required.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.204-210
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• 2008

Objectives : The Alcohol Urge Questionnaire(AUQ) has been used in alcohol dependence treatment and research. The goal of this study is to develop of the Korean Alcohol Urge Questionnaire(AUQ-K). Methods : To examine the AUQ-K's psychometric properties, responses from 104 patients admitted in alcohol dependence treatment facility were investigated. Results : The internal consistency of the 8-item AUQ-K, measured by coefficient ${\alpha}$, was high(Cronbach's ${\alpha}$=0.78). AUQ-K scores showed significant correlation when the retest interval was 1 day(p<0.01). The AUQ-K's validity was investigated using correlational analyses with two other craving scales[the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale(OCDS) and the Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)]. The high correlations were obtained between total AUQ-K scores and total OCDS scores, and between total AUQ-K scores and the VAS scores(p<0.01, respectively). Conclusion : The AUQ-K is a reliable and valid short scale for measurement of self-reported alcohol craving. This scale may offer significant advantages over existing single-item measures of alcohol craving in the fields of alcohol dependence treatment and research.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.34-45
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• 1998

We provide the reader with a brief introduction to the neurobiology of neuropeptides. Several comprehensive reviews of the distribution and neurochemical, neurophysiological, neuropharmacological and behavioral effects of the major neuropeptides have recently appeared. In reviews of the large number of neuropeptides in brain and their occurance in brain regions thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of major psychiatric disorders, investigators have sought to determine whether alternations in neuropeptide systems are associated with schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, alcoholism and neurodegenerative disease. There is no longer any doubt that neuropeptide-containing neurons are altered in several neuropsychiatric disorders. One of the factors that has hindered neuropeptide research to a considerable extent is the lack of pharmacological agents that specifically alter the synaptic availability of neuropeptides. With the exception of naloxone and naltrexone, the opiate-receptor antagonists, there are few available neuropeptide- receptor antagonists. Two independent classes of neuropeptide-receptor antagonists has been expected to be clinically useful. Naltrexone, a potent ${\mu}$-receptor antagonist, has been used successfully to reduce the need for alcohol consumption. And cholecycstokinin antagonists are now in development as a new class of anxiolytics, which would be expected to be free from tolerance and physical dependence and lack of sedation. In this review, we deal with these two kinds of neuropeptide system, the opioid system and cholesystokinins in the brain. The role of opioid systems in the reinforcement after alcohol consumtion and that of cholesystokinins in the pathogenesis of anxiety will be discussed briefly. As we know, the future for neuropeptides in psychiatry remains bright indeed.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1576-1581
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• 2007

Dopamine reward pathway projecting from ventral tegmental area to nucleus accumbens is well known as playing an important role in alcohol dependence. It is supposed that this dopamine pathway is modulated by $5-HT_3$ nervous system, and it was reported that ondansetron (OND), $5-HT_3$ receptor antagonist, reduced drinking amount and increased abstinence rate in alcohol-dependent patients. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of combination of OND and naltrexone (NTX), non-specific opioid receptor antagonist, on alcohol intake in C57BL/6 mice. In 40 C57BL/6 mice in the state of alcohol dependence, vehicle, while OND 0.01 mg/kg, or NTX 1.0 mg/kg administrated respectively, or OND 0.01 mg/kg and NTX 1.0 mg/kg administrated simultaneously for ten days, medication effects on 2-hr alcohol, 22-hr water, 24-hr food intake and body weight were studied. When vehicle group was compared with 3 medication groups respectively, using a repeated measure ANOVA, NTX alone and vehicle groups showed a significant medication by time interaction (p=0.042) in 2-hr alcohol intake, but in the other 2 groups, OND and NTX combination group and OND alone group, there was no significant interaction with vehicle group in 2-hr alcohol intake. From these results, it is suggested that there is no effect on alcohol intake in mice treating with OND, and naltrexone#s suppression effect on alcohol intake in mice is attenuated when treating with OND and NTX simultaneously. It is supposed that a further study looking at the interactions of serotonin, dopamine and opioid nerves systems will be needed.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2007

Objetives : Identification of target genes for ethanol in neurons is important for understanding its molecular and cellular mechanism of action and the neuropathological changes seen in alcoholics. The purpose of this study is to identify of altered gene expression after acute treatmet of ethanol in rat gliom cells. Methods : We used high density cDNA microarray chip to measure the expression patterns of multiple genes in cultured rat glioma cells. DNA microarrays allow for the simultaneous measurement of the expression of several hundreds of genes. Results : After comparing hybridized signals between control and ethanol treated groups, we found that treatment with ethanol increased the expression of 15 genes and decreased the expression of 12 genes. Upregulated genes included Orthodenticle(Drosophila) homolog 1, procollagen type II, adenosine A2a receptor, GATA bindning protein 2. Downregulated genes included diacylglycerol kinase beta, PRKC, Protein phosphatase 1, clathrin-associated protein 17, nucleoporin p58, proteasome. Conclusion : The gene changes noted were those related to the regulation of transcription, signal transduction, second messenger systems. modulation of ischemic brain injury, and neurodengeneration. Although some of the genes were previously known to be ethanol responsive, we have for the most part identified novel genes involved in the brain response to ethanol.