An argument for choice. An alternative women's treatment program.

Current substance abuse treatment strategies tend to be relatively narrow and not empirically based. This is a result of a general failure on the part of practitioners to keep abreast of current research, which would direct them toward more effective models. Substance abuse treatment, usually based on a "one size fits all" philosophy, is often not particularly effective. Substance abuse research is often limited to the measurement of a single outcome--abstinence--and research on alternative models is scarce. This article argues for more flexible models of treatment that are based on research. A substance abuse treatment program that uses an empirically based model is described. The program incorporates broader outcomes research, which is yielding encouraging results. The suppositions that directed the research are discussed.

Varying effect of dietary lipids and azoxymethane on early stages of colon carcinogenesis: enumeration of aberrant crypt foci and proliferative indices.

Animal models have been used extensively to study the role of diet in the etiology and prevention of colon cancer. It is recognized that several experimental variables affect disease modulation and outcome. Our objective was to determine whether an interaction between the dose of carcinogen used and dietary factors exist, using aberrant crypt foci (ACF) as a biological end point. Sprague-Dawley male rats were injected with a low or a high dose of azoxymethane (AOM, 5 mg or 20 mg per kg s.c.) or saline (0.2 ml/animal s.c.), and randomly allocated to four diet groups (N = 8/group) 1 week later. Diets varied with respect to type of fat (corn or olive oil) and levels of fat: normal (5 g/100 g) corn or olive oil (CO or OO), or high (23.5 g/100g) corn or olive oil (HCO or HOO). After 8 weeks of dietary treatment animals were injected with colchicine (1 mg/kg). Two and a half hours later they were killed and their colons assessed for number of ACF, number of crypt/focus (crypt multiplicity), and the size of ACF as well as the number of cells in metaphase and their location in the crypt section. The low dose of AOM induced fewer ACF and ACF with higher crypt multiplicity than did the high dose of AOM. Dietary fats exerted a variable effect on ACF, depending on the dose of AOM. In low-dose AOM groups, both CO diets exerted a growth-enhancing effect on ACF compared with OO diets.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of dietary fat on colonic protein kinase C and induction of aberrant crypt foci.

A major objective of the present study was to determine whether a high-fat diet affects early events during colon carcinogenesis. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with saline or azoxymethane (20 mg/kg) and fed either a normal (5% corn oil w/w) or a high (5% corn oil and 15% beef tallow w/w) fat diet. To assess the effect of a known tumor-promoting diet on the early events of neoplastic transformation, Study 1 examined the induction and growth of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) as well as of proliferative indices. The total number of ACF were similar in both groups even after 8 wk of dietary treatment; however, ACF with accelerated growth characteristics (> or = 4 crypts/focal lesion) were more prevalent (P < or = 0.05) in the colons of animals fed the high-fat diet. Metaphase arrest cells and 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine labelled cells showed no appreciable response to dietary changes. To determine whether changes in colonic signal transduction pathways represent an early response to dietary modification, Study 2 evaluated the activity of protein kinase C (PKC), proliferative indices and changes in phospholipid fatty acid profiles. In comparison to the normal fat group, the colons of high-fat fed animals exhibited higher (P < or = 0.05) membranes and lower soluble PKC activity; however, proliferation patterns of these colons were not altered. Changes in the membrane lipid composition were minor; however, an increase in the phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylethanolamine ratio and in 20:4n-6 was noted.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)