Alcohol News and Research

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Binge drinkers responsible for most alcohol-impaired driving on U.S. roads

New findings show that most AI driving is due to binge drinkers rather than heavy or alcohol-dependent drinkers. Researchers say effective strategies must address both excessive drinking as well as impaired driving.

4 Apr 2008

Aripiprazole has potential for treating alcohol dependence

Aripiprazole is currently approved to treat bipolar disorder as well as schizophrenia. A new study has found that it significantly and dose-dependently increases the sedative effects of alcohol and, to a lesser degree, decreases the euphoric effects of alcohol. Future research will need to examine the beneficial versus the side effects of aripiprazole for treatment of alcohol dependence.

4 Apr 2008

Alcohol and malt liquor availability and promotion higher in African American inner cities

It appears that living in a poor neighborhood with a high concentration of African Americans is associated with greater alcohol availability and promotion - especially malt liquor - according to a recent study by University of Minnesota researchers.

4 Apr 2008

Alcohol alters prefrontal cortex activity through ion channel disruption

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) region of the brain is involved in decision making. New rodent findings show that PFC neuron N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors are especially sensitive to concentrations of alcohol achieved during drinking.

4 Apr 2008

HDAC inhibitors show potential as therapeutic agents in treating alcoholism

Reshaping of the DNA scaffolding that supports and controls the expression of genes in the brain may play a major role in the alcohol withdrawal symptoms, particularly anxiety, that make it so difficult for alcoholics to stop using alcohol.

3 Apr 2008

How to reduce fibromyalgia pain

Pain all over, fatigue and difficulty sleeping -- and no measurable answer for what could be wrong.

3 Apr 2008

Smoking bans push up drink-driving fatalities

According to researchers in the United States the number of fatal accidents from drink-driving has escalated because of smoking bans in bars.

3 Apr 2008

Stimulant treatment for ADHD does not contribute to substance abuse later in life

Treating children as early as age six or seven with stimulants for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not likely to increase risk of substance abuse as adults, according to two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

2 Apr 2008

Illicit drug use increasingly glamorized in rap music

Rap music has gone from an art form that largely warned against the dangers of substance abuse to one that often glorifies illegal drug use, according to the first systematic social science study of the genre covering nearly two decades.

2 Apr 2008

Health survey reveals interesting facts about NSW residents

A population survey by the NSW Department of Health has revealed a number of interesting facts.

1 Apr 2008

Fatality rates increase with repeal of helmet laws

Since 1975, more than 100,000 motorcycle riders in America have died in crashes.

1 Apr 2008

Post-traumatic stress disorder associated with more, longer hospitalizations

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with more hospitalizations, longer hospitalizations and greater mental healthcare utilization in urban primary care patients.

31 Mar 2008

Hospitality industry worst for alcohol-related problems

A new analysis of government data finds that 15 percent of employees in the hospitality industry suffer from serious alcohol-related problems.

26 Mar 2008

Middle-age women alerted to link between alcohol and breast cancer

A new study by the Department of Health in the UK, yet to be published, has linked drinking alcohol to breast cancer.

25 Mar 2008

Severe psoriasis linked to serious medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, depression and cancer

It has long been known that psoriasis, a chronic skin condition characterized by thick, red, scaly plaques that itch and bleed, can have a significant negative impact on a patient's overall quality of life.

25 Mar 2008

Blacks with family history less likely than whites to get colonoscopy

African Americans who have multiple first-degree relatives with colon cancer are less likely than whites with affected relatives to undergo recommended screening procedures, according to a report in the March 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

25 Mar 2008

Some moms quit cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol during pregnancy, but dads don't

Despite public health campaigns, a surprising number of women continue to use substances such as tobacco, marijuana and alcohol during pregnancy and their usage rebounds to pre-pregnancy levels within two years of having a baby, according to a new University of Washington study.

24 Mar 2008

Cigarette smokers treated for brain aneurysm with coil embolization at higher risk of recurrence

Cigarette smokers who were treated for cerebral aneurysms with coil embolization (blocking of a blood vessel) are at greater risk of developing another aneurysm, say neurological surgeons at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience in Philadelphia in the first-known study of its kind.

24 Mar 2008

Toxic organophosphates appear to contribute to motor neuron disease

Motor neuron disease is a rare, devastating illness in which nerve cells that carry brain signals to muscles gradually deteriorate.

24 Mar 2008

Chronic insomnia and its negative consequences for adolescents

Documenting a "twofold to fivefold" increase in personal problems among adolescents with persistent sleeplessness, public health researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston say they have completed the first prospective study demonstrating the negative impact of chronic insomnia on 11 to 17 year olds.

24 Mar 2008