TY  - JOUR
A1  - Paelecke-Habermann, Yvonne
A1  - Paelecke, Marko
A1  - Mauth, Juliane
A1  - Tschisgale, Juliane
A1  - Lindenmeyer, Johannes
A1  - Kübler, Andrea
T1  - A comparison of implicit and explicit reward learning in low risk alcohol users versus people who binge drink and people with alcohol dependence
JF  - Addictive Behaviors Reports
N2  - Chronic alcohol use leads to specific neurobiological alterations in the dopaminergic brain reward system, which probably are leading to a reward deficiency syndrome in alcohol dependence. The purpose of our study was to examine the effects of such hypothesized neurobiological alterations on the behavioral level, and more precisely on the implicit and explicit reward learning. Alcohol users were classified as dependent drinkers (using the DSM-IV criteria), binge drinkers (using criteria of the USA National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) or low-risk drinkers (following recommendations of the Scientific board of trustees of the German Health Ministry). The final sample (n = 94) consisted of 36 low-risk alcohol users, 37 binge drinkers and 21 abstinent alcohol dependent patients. Participants were administered a probabilistic implicit reward learning task and an explicit reward- and punishment-based trial-and-error-learning task. Alcohol dependent patients showed a lower performance in implicit and explicit reward learning than low risk drinkers. Binge drinkers learned less than low-risk drinkers in the implicit learning task. The results support the assumption that binge drinking and alcohol dependence are related to a chronic reward deficit. Binge drinking accompanied by implicit reward learning deficits could increase the risk for the development of an alcohol dependence.
KW  - Alcohol dependence
KW  - Binge drinking
KW  - Low risk alcohol use
KW  - Implicit and explicit reward learning
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201406
VL  - 9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Steinmann, Diana
A1  - Paelecke-Habermann, Yvonne
A1  - Geinitz, Hans
A1  - Aschoff, Raimund
A1  - Bayerl, Anja
A1  - Bölling, Tobias
A1  - Bosch, Elisabeth
A1  - Bruns, Frank
A1  - Eichenseder-Seiss, Ute
A1  - Gerstein, Johanna
A1  - Gharbi, Nadine
A1  - Hagg, Juliane
A1  - Hipp, Matthias
A1  - Kleff, Irmgard
A1  - Müller, Axel
A1  - Schäfer, Christof
A1  - Schleicher, Ursula
A1  - Sehlen, Susanne
A1  - Theodorou, Marilena
A1  - Wypior, Hans-Joachim
A1  - Zehentmayr, Franz
A1  - van Oorschot, Birgitt
A1  - Vordermark, Dirk
T1  - Prospective evaluation of quality of life effects in patients undergoing palliative radiotherapy for brain metastases
JF  - BMC Cancer
N2  - Background: Recently published results of quality of life (QoL) studies indicated different outcomes of palliative radiotherapy for brain metastases. This prospective multi-center QoL study of patients with brain metastases was designed to investigate which QoL domains improve or worsen after palliative radiotherapy and which might provide prognostic information. 
Methods: From 01/2007-01/2009, n=151 patients with previously untreated brain metastases were recruited at 14 centers in Germany and Austria. Most patients (82 %) received whole-brain radiotherapy. QoL was measured with the EORTC-QLQ-C15-PAL and brain module BN20 before the start of radiotherapy and after 3 months. 
Results: At 3 months, 88/142 (62 %) survived. Nine patients were not able to be followed up. 62 patients (70.5 % of 3-month survivors) completed the second set of questionnaires. Three months after the start of radiotherapy QoL deteriorated significantly in the areas of global QoL, physical function, fatigue, nausea, pain, appetite loss, hair loss, drowsiness, motor dysfunction, communication deficit and weakness of legs. Although the use of corticosteroid at 3 months could be reduced compared to pre-treatment (63 % vs. 37 %), the score for headaches remained stable. Initial QoL at the start of treatment was better in those alive than in those deceased at 3 months, significantly for physical function, motor dysfunction and the symptom scales fatigue, pain, appetite loss and weakness of legs. In a multivariate model, lower Karnofsky performance score, higher age and higher pain ratings before radiotherapy were prognostic of 3-month survival. 
Conclusions: Moderate deterioration in several QoL domains was predominantly observed three months after start of palliative radiotherapy for brain metastases. Future studies will need to address the individual subjective benefit or burden from such treatment. Baseline QoL scores before palliative radiotherapy for brain metastases may contain prognostic information.
KW  - breast cancer
KW  - brain tumours
KW  - survival
KW  - validation
KW  - symptoms
KW  - EORTC-QLQ-C15-PAL
KW  - EORTC-BN20
KW  - whole-brain radiotherapy
KW  - partitioning analysis RPA
KW  - cancer patients
KW  - lung cancer
KW  - prognostic index
KW  - radiation oncology
KW  - clinical trials
Y1  - 2012
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-135254
VL  - 12
IS  - 283
ER  -