Alcohol News and Research

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IOM report: Military needs to do more to treat, prevent drug and alcohol abuse

The Institute of Medicine found that the military's programs don't keep up with standard medical practices used in civilian life and that health care providers aren't adequately trained at all levels.

19 Sep 2012

Light alcohol consumption may increase risk of certain cancers

The majority of observational studies have shown that alcohol intake, especially heavy drinking, increases a number of upper-aero-digestive tract (UADT) and other cancers, and even moderate drinking is associated with a slight increase in the risk of breast cancer.

19 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 19, 2012

Today's headlines include a series of reports detailing who makes up Romney's so-called "47 percent" who get tax breaks and what federal assistance they receive -- whether it is Medicare, Medicaid or another entitlement program.

19 Sep 2012

Self-harmers are three times as likely to die prematurely

People who have a history of self-harm are more than three times as likely to die prematurely as the general population, and not just from the obvious causes, with deaths due to natural causes at least two times greater than anticipated and the risk also much higher for individuals living in socially deprived areas, according to a UK study published Online First in The Lancet.

18 Sep 2012

Cancer surpasses heart disease as leading cause of death among U.S. Hispanics

A new report from American Cancer Society researchers finds that despite declining death rates, cancer has surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the U.S. In 2009, the most recent year for which actual data are available, 29,935 people of Hispanic origin in the U.S. died of cancer, compared to 29,611 deaths from heart disease.

18 Sep 2012

Water mineral content link to alcoholic liver disease

Low magnesium content in water supplies may contribute to the development of alcoholic liver disease, say the authors of a UK study.

17 Sep 2012

Heavy drinking risks early severe stroke

Heavy alcohol drinkers are at high risk for suffering intracerebral hemorrhage at a relatively young age, say researchers.

14 Sep 2012

Cessation of drinking may reduce risk of oesophageal cancer

Cancer of the oesophagus is becoming more common in Europe and North America. Around 7,800 people in the UK are diagnosed each year. The exact causes of this cancer aren't fully understood. It appears to be more common in people who have long-term acid reflux (backflow of stomach acid into the oesophagus).

14 Sep 2012

New links between ghrelin and brain cells involved in development of alcoholism

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have found new links between a protein that controls our urge to eat and brain cells involved in the development of alcoholism. The discovery points to new possibilities for designing drugs to treat alcoholism and other addictions.

14 Sep 2012

Men with divorced parents more likely to develop stroke

Men with divorced parents are significantly more likely to suffer a stroke than men from intact families, shows a new study from the University of Toronto.

14 Sep 2012

SAMHSA announces STOP ACT grant program to prevent underage drinking

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Pamela S. Hyde today announced the award and anticipated future funding of 81 new grants, totaling up to $15.1 million over four years, to prevent underage drinking through the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act (STOP ACT) grant program.

14 Sep 2012

Alcohol douses the blood pressure benefit of red wine

Alcohol-free red wine Is more effective at lowering blood pressure than traditional red wine or gin, a study shows.

13 Sep 2012

Brigham Young University scientists discover cellular cause of birth defects

The cellular cause of birth defects like cleft palates, missing teeth and problems with fingers and toes has been a tricky puzzle for scientists. Now Professor Emily Bates and her biochemistry students at Brigham Young University have placed an important piece of the developmental puzzle. They studied an ion channel that regulates the electrical charge of a cell. In a new study published by the journal Development, they show that blocking this channel disrupts the work of a protein that is supposed to carry marching orders to the nucleus.

13 Sep 2012

Young smokers face psychological difficulties of quitting as adults

Abstinence from smoking seems to affect teens differently than adults in a couple ways, but a new study provides evidence that most of the psychological difficulties of quitting are as strong for relatively new, young smokers as they are for adults who have been smoking much longer.

13 Sep 2012

Public health symposium targets smokers most in need

Australia has one of the lowest smoking rates in the world at 15 per cent of the population but there remains a need to further cut rates in prisons, among the mentally ill and ethnic communities, researchers will argue at a public health symposium in Sydney.

13 Sep 2012

Angiopoietin-like protein 2 level linked to incident diabetes

Elevated angiopoietin-like protein 2 levels are associated with the development of Type 2 diabetes, show findings from a Japanese study.

12 Sep 2012

SUDs common in youth at high risk for bipolar disorder

Around a quarter of young people at high risk for mood disorders have a substance use disorder, results from a Canadian study suggest.

12 Sep 2012

Exercise and health: An interview with Professor Karim Khan

I’ll quote from the ‘7 investments’ document (see below) as I don’t believe we need to reinvent the wheel to argue for the benefits of exercise. I am very keen to move to the issue of ‘how can we help people exercise’. But for the record:

12 Sep 2012

Serum-concentration of antioxidants is significantly lower in patients with mild dementia

Forgetfulness, lack of orientation, cognitive decline… about 700, 000 Germans suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD). Now researchers from the University of Ulm, among them the Epidemiologist Professor Gabriele Nagel and the Neurologist Professor Christine von Arnim, have discovered that the serum-concentration of the antioxidants vitamin C and beta-carotene are significantly lower in patients with mild dementia than in control persons.

12 Sep 2012