Ulf Rydberg

Karolinska Institutet | KI · Department of Clinical Neuroscience

(Da arbeidet presenteres på svensk, vil følgende korte engelske abstakt tjene som orientering for dem som ikke behersker nordiske språk:) The paper discusses the rational use of drugs in protracted alcohol withdrawal. In general, the correct drug in a correct dose on a correct occasion should be administered to the correct patient. Since the acute...

Intrauterine exposure to ethanol causes embryonic and fetal growth retardation and maldevelopment. Oxidative stress in mother and offspring has been suggested to be part of the teratogenic mechanism, and supplementation of antioxidative agents to the pregnant women may therefore be of value in future prophylactic treatment regimen. There is a need...

Maternal alcohol consumption is a major health hazard for the fetus. Sweden has an extensive system of public antenatal care clinics, whose mission is to detect and prevent this type of health hazards. However, very few cases of alcohol consumption during pregnancy are detected. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of hazardous or ha...

Resumen Comúnmente, se hace referencia a una coexistencia de la dependencia química y otros síndromes psiquiátricos como “diagnóstico dual”. Hacen esta categorización por lo general los trabajadores sociales en varios países europeos que tienen asignada la responsabilidad primaria de la asistencia de la dependencia de drogas y alcohol. Examinamos a...

A co-existence of chemical dependence and other psychiatric syndromes is commonly referred to as "dual-diagnosis." This categorization is commonly made by social workers in several European countries assigned the primary responsibility for the care of drug and alcohol dependence. Here, we examined the validity of this categorization through systema...

The serum sialic acid (SA) concentration has been reported to be a potentially useful but nonspecific disease marker. We wanted to study which factors influence SA concentration in a well-characterized healthy population. SA was determined in 97 women and 96 men with a colorimetric Warren method. The mean +/- SD concentrations of SA were 634 +/- 10...

During the spring of 1995, 734 medical students at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm were randomly selected for inclusion in a postal questionnaire study of alcohol and drug habits. The response rate was over 80 per cent. Although both the level of alcohol consumption and the prevalence of hazardous consumption were lower than the corresponding...

During the spring of 1995, 734 medical students at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm were randomly selected for inclusion in a postal questionnaire study of alcohol and drug habits. The response rate was over 80 per cent. Although both the level of alcohol consumption and the prevalence of hazardous consumption were lower than the corresponding...

It is important to develop and evaluate methods of identifying alcohol dependent patients and patients at risk of alcohol problems. The World Health Organisation recommends a 10-item questionnaire, AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), which assesses hazardous alcohol use, dependence symptoms, and harmful alcohol use. The article descr...

It is important to develop and evaluate methods of identifying alcohol dependent patients and patients at risk of alcohol problems. The World Health Organisation recommends a 10-item questionnaire, AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), which assesses hazardous alcohol use, dependence symptoms, and harmful alcohol use. The article descr...

There is a need to compile a national database on drunken driving, since experience from other countries is not necessarily applicable to Swedish conditions. Legislation, drinking habits, and public attitudes to drinking and driving differ markedly from country to country. Since 1990, the driving licence unit of the Magnus Huss Clinic has been coll...

Two regions of the human prodynorphin gene, the exon 4-region coding for the opioid peptides and the putative promotor/exon 1-region were analyzed for possible presence of polymorphisms. No polymorphism was detected in the exon 4-region, whereas a GC/AT base-pair exchange was observed 301 base pairs upstream of the exon 1/intron A boundary. This po...

This is a report on experiences from a trial study, based on normal daily routines, in which the aim was to study the feasibility of a simple method, grounded in behavioural science, of alcohol counselling in primary care, directed towards excessive drinkers. Physicians and nurses were educated in the method in 1-day courses, followed by some tutor...

Associations of polymorphic genetic markers at the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) loci were examined in Scandinavian chronic alcoholics (n = 72) and control subjects (n = 67). Patients were divided into subgroups with regard to the presence of parental alcoholism and age of onset. Neither the TH nor the DRD4 allele distri...

In this paper another review is given about the different fields of empirical research in the field of alcohol and drug addiction since 1960. The focus is set on today’s highlights and fruitful pathways for the future. Especially interesting studies from the Scandinavian countries are represented as examples of a dynamic and interesting research fi...

Though today techniques utilizing molecular methods are emphasized, we must not neglect to put the molecular data into a clinical context. Extrapolations should be handled with great care. The knowledge on alcohol has many levels, and facts are often taken out of context. For a proper report of a clinical state or situation, validity lies both in t...

Alterations in the dopamine system have been hypothesized as a predisposing factor in alcoholism. The presence of the TaqI A1 and B1 alleles adjacent to the dopamine D 2-receptor gene (DRD2) was studied in Scandinavian alcoholic inpatients (n = 74), alcoholics autopsied at a forensic clinic (n = 19) and controls (n = 81). There were no significant...

The 39 chapters in this volume consider subjects ranging from genetics, markers, and molecular biology of alcoholism, to clinical observations and treatment. The aim is to integrate pertinent information from the fields of molecular and cell biology with view to establishing a molecular basis of alcohol use and abuse. An initial preview summarizes...

By means of the Stockholm County inpatient care register we identified all cases treated with a diagnosis of cannabis dependence and psychosis, not necessarily at the same occasion, during 1971-1983. By scrutinizing medical records, we evaluated the diagnosis according to DSM-III-R and we assessed the history of substance abuse as well as the psych...

A group of patients (N = 1630) hospitalized in Stockholm County with a diagnosis of substance abuse during 1971-1972 were followed through 1984 as regards mortality: 446 (296 males and 150 females) patients died. The excess mortality in the cohort was 5.3 (males 5.8, females 4.6) compared to the general population in Stockholm County. The highest m...

To test the hypothesis that opiate addiction in adults might stem partly from an imprinting process during birth when certain drugs are given to the mother. Retrospective study by logistic regression of opiate addicts with siblings as controls. Stockholm, Sweden. 200 Opiate addicts born in Stockholm during 1945-66, comprising 41 identified during i...

In a previous longitudinal study of Swedish conscripts we have shown strong association between level of cannabis consumption at conscription and development of schizophrenia during 15 years of follow-up. In this study we further analysed data from a subsample of the national cohort. Case records for all conscripts residing in Stockholm County who...

ABSTRACT– In a previous longitudinal study of Swedish conscripts we have shown strong association between level of cannabis consumption at conscription and development of schizophrenia during 15 years of follow-up. In this study we further analysed data from a subsample of the national cohort. Case records for all conscripts residing in Stockholm C...

Traditionally, instruction concerning alcohol and drug dependence has been insignificant in medical schools. The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, decided to introduce a special course starting in the academic year of 1983-84. It is given 4 times a year and is of a comprehensive nature. It comprises 2 weeks, 1 week of lectures and 1 week o...

Our purpose was to investigate whether obstetric analgesia, particularly by nitrous oxide, constitutes a risk that the infant might develop amphetamine addiction in later life. Of 200 current amphetamine addicts born between 1945 and 1966 in Stockholm, proportionately more were born at hospitals where pain medication had been administered in large...

The association between level of cannabis consumption and development of schizophrenia during a 15-year follow-up was studied in a cohort of 45,570 Swedish conscripts. The relative risk for schizophrenia among high consumers of cannabis (use on more than fifty occasions) was 6.0 (95% confidence interval 4.0-8.9) compared with non-users. Persistence...

In the present study, the effect of ethanol on central monoamine synthesis in developing and adult male rats was studied by measuring the accumulation of DOPA and 5-hydroxytryptophan after inhibition of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. Before adolescence, ethanol caused a decrease of DOPA accumulation in the whole rat brain, while after adolescen...

The studies in man concerning foetal alcohol damage have mostly covered skid row female alcoholics, and no study has described the outcome of pregnancy of a larger group of women receiving inpatient care for alcoholism. In another study we have described the medical and social characteristics of such a group (n = 92) of women, as well as those of a...

The consumption of alcohol by women in Sweden is strongly increasing, especially in younger individuals. Since the rediscovery of the teratological properties of alcohol most of the studies concerning foetal alcohol damage in man have covered female skid row alcoholics. This investigation describes the medical and social characteristics of a group...

One hundred patients admitted to a surgical clinic with a diagnosis of concussion of the brain were studied regarding the abuse of alcohol and narcotic drugs. 58% of the patients were assessed as intoxicated on admission. Psychiatric evaluation revealed a history of alcohol dependence in 43 of the patients and experience of narcotic drugs in 25. Fo...

Levels of endorphins were determined in CSF from alcoholics while intoxicated or after 1 day, 1 week, and 3 weeks of abstinence, respectively, and from healthy volunteers. The level of endorphins was determined by a radioreceptor assay and two fractions were analyzed. With fraction 1, there were no significant differences between the groups, but th...

Using male Sprague-Dawley rats of different ages, simple motor activity was measured over three 4 min. runs in a square open field after ethanol (EtOH, 2 g/kg, intraperitoneally) or saline. The different groups consisted of 12 animals whose mean ages was 20, 40 and 60 days. Motor activity and blood ethanol levels were measured at 30, 60 and 120 min...

Ethanol, 27.1 mmol/kg, or saline, was administered to rats (n = 120) in classes weighing 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 g. The metabolic rate of ethanol (g/kg X min-1) was more than three times higher in adult animals than in new-born ones. The lactate to pyruvate ratio was unchanged in the lowest weight class, but increased in all the others. Usin...

Ethanol 27.1 mmol/kg body weight, was administered intraperitoneally to rats in the weight classes 25, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 g. Controls were given saline, the total number of animals used being 120. Blood ethanol concentration and performance on the tiling-plane test was determined before and up to six hours after administration. Total ethanol...

Alcohol intoxication and hangover were studied in 12 healthy male subjects who participated in three 18-h experimental sessions; two sessions in which they consumed 1.43 g alcohol/kg body weight as mixed beverages together with food, and one control session when mineral water was substituted for the alcoholic beverages. In one of the alcohol sessio...

A micro method, 20 μl whole blood, for simultaneous determination of lactate, pyruvate, glucose and ethanol had been developed for an automated device, such as an AutoAnalyser. Those methods had shown to have a good reproducibility in a pooled blood sample. The S.D. expressed as a fraction of the mean was for lactate 0.5%, pyruvate 1.0%, lactate/py...

In discussing the effects of alcohol on infants, children and adolescents, it is common to refer first to sociological data and only secondly to medical and biological information, often with scarce experimental support. Recently, however, the genetic, teratological and physiological aspects of the effects of alcohol on the developing organism have...

A substantial knowledge has been collected on the dose-dependent toxic effects of ethanol. Whereas ethanol probably is the chemical substance exerting most toxic effects in many populations, a quantitative estimate of the upper limit of long term safe consumption from a toxicological and public health standpoint has not earlier been performed. It m...

The influence of pyrazole on ethanol-induced incoordination was measured by a modified tilting-plane technique. Pyrazole (1–77 mmol/kg; 120 mg/kg) and/or ethanol (32.6 mmol/kg; 1.5 g/kg) was given intraperitoneally to rats. Impairment of coordination was related to blood ethanol concentrations. The mean maximal impairment was significant in all con...

: The properties of 4-methylpyrazole (4-MP) as an inhibitor of ethanol metabolism were investigated in rats. No effect was seen on enzymatic determination of ethanol. 4-MP in doses of 0.0053–3.0 mmol/kg brought about a competitive inhibition of the metabolism of 32.6 mmol ethanol per kg body weight ranging from 20.8 to 80.5 %. A dose of 0.017 mmol...

It has been demonstrated that the contamination of blood samples with pyrazole will disturb automated enzymatic determinations of ethanol by methods involving the use of YADH, if the sample is not distilled. Determination of ethanol by gas liquid chromatography, the Widmark method or by the ultramicro destination enzymatic method for ethanol analys...

In experiments in rats, the in vivo effect of 4-iodo-pyrazole on ethanol metabolism was studied. An ethanol dose of 32·6 m-mole/kg was administered. Blood samples were withdrawn at regular intervals, and ethanol analyzed by the Widmark method and by gas chromatography. 4-iodo-pyrazole in doses of 0·05 to 1·25 m-mole/kg inhibited the metabolism of e...

In experiments in rats, the in vivo effect of pyrazole on ethanol metabolism was studied. Pyrazole acts as a competitive ADH inhibitor. Ethanol at a dose of 32.6 m-mole/kg was administered. Blood samples were withdrawn at regular intervals, and ethanol analyzed by the automated ADH method and by gas chromatography. Pyrazole in doses of 0.07–8.82 m-...