Alcohol Addiction News and Research

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African drug Ibogaine blocks alcohol cravings

A naturally occurring hallucinogen advocated by some clinicians as a potent anti-addiction drug has been rigorously studied for the first time, confirming its ability to block alcohol craving in rodents, and clarifying how it works in the brain.

20 Jan 2005

More evidence that wine helps protect the heart

A recent article in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis determined that drinkers of wine benefit from its cardio-protective effects, more so than those who drink beer or other spirits, and may also live longer.

19 Jan 2005

Weight, fitness and lifestyle are important factors contributing to metabolic syndrome

The metabolic syndrome, a group of several abnormalities, including obesity and high blood pressure, in one individual was identified in 10.4 percent of 36-year-old study participants, according to an article in the January 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

10 Jan 2005

Scientists identify a protein that regulates alcohol-withdrawal seizures

Seizures are the most life-threatening, as well as disconcerting, symptoms of withdrawal in people who are alcoholics and who abruptly stop drinking. Heavy consumption of alcohol, or ethanol, the substance in beer, wine and liquor that is addictive, leads to changes in the brain.

10 Jan 2005

3 or more alcoholic drinks increases risk of ischemic stroke by 45%

A new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has found that heavy drinkers -- men who consume an average of three or more alcoholic beverages per day -- are nearly 45 percent more likely to suffer an ischemic stroke compared with nondrinkers.

4 Jan 2005

Push for mandatory health warnings on all alcohol products

Australian Medical Association President, Dr Bill Glasson, said today the AMA is calling on the Australian Federal Government to legislate for health warnings on all alcohol products.

21 Dec 2004

Polls show more teen girls see "alcopop" ads than women age 31-44

The American Medical Association (AMA) released the results of two nationwide polls today that reveal the extent of underage consumption and marketing exposure to "alcopops" or so-called "girlie drinks." The AMA expressed concern that hard-liquor brands are using these sweet-flavored malt beverages as "gateway" beverages to attract less-experienced drinkers.

20 Dec 2004

Researchers discover clues to cirrhosis

Researchers at the University of Essex have found new biochemical indicators of cirrhosis in blood plasma which could help detect the disease in its early stages.

20 Dec 2004

Model may explain how alcohol stimulates tumor growth

The investigators found that compared to the saline control group, the embryos exposed to ethanol experienced increases in tumor size, tumor blood vessel density, cancer cell infiltration of blood vessels, and VEGF levels.

13 Dec 2004

Peripheral neuropathy in a patient with alcoholic cirrhosis is reversible

Organ damage that goes beyond the liver due to alcoholism is often seen as a barrier to liver transplantation, despite a lack of data on how a transplant affects these complications.

1 Dec 2004

The passive smoking proposals, whilst welcome, do not go far enough

Commenting on the proposals in today's English Public Health White Paper, local hospital consultant and Deputy Chairman of the BMA's Board of Science, Dr Peter Maguire, said: "The passive smoking proposals, whilst welcome, do not go far enough to protect the health and lives of all workers.

16 Nov 2004

Concord grapes increase good cholesterol

Drinking Concord grape juice significantly increased HDL--the good cholesterol--and significantly lowered two markers of inflammation in people with stable coronary artery disease, according to results of a study presented in the November issue of the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

16 Nov 2004

What makes beer taste so darn good to men, but vile to most women?

What makes beer taste so darn good to men, but vile to most women? Some oral sensations are under genetic control and new research suggests that these influences on taste perception could help determine the risk of excess alcohol consumption.

16 Nov 2004

Breast cancer study seeks postmenopausal women

Researchers at RMIT University's Department of Food Science are recruiting healthy, postmenopausal women to volunteer for a study to see if diet and lifestyle can improve the treatment of breast cancer.

16 Nov 2004

New study has found that, even with prolonged sobriety, alcoholics will have difficulties completing tasks such as putting pieces of a puzzle together or map reading

A new study has found that, even with prolonged sobriety, alcoholics show deficits in visuoperception and frontal executive functioning of the brain. Furthermore, alcoholics utilize a more complex higher-order cognitive system, frontal executive functions, to perform the same tasks as individuals without a history of alcoholism. Results are published in the November issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

14 Nov 2004

The brain's dopamine system is key to alcoholism

Among the many genes that may contribute to an individual's susceptibility to alcoholism, those in the dopamine system are of special interest because addictive substances can activate this system.

14 Nov 2004

Heavy drinking after suffering a heart attack doubles risk of dying

Heavily drinking – or binging – even intermittently, almost doubles a person’s risk of dying after a heart attack, compared to that of a moderate drinker, according, to a first-of-its-kind study, reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2004.

11 Nov 2004