Alcohol News and Research

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New rules for hospital visitors in the UK

A major hospital group in the UK has banned visitors from sitting on patients' beds in hospital in an attempt to curb the spread of the superbug MRSA.

2 Aug 2006

Innovative approach for creating a cytomegalovirus vaccine

Each year, about 40,000 children are born infected with human cytomegalovirus, or CMV, and about 8,000 of these children suffer permanent disabilities due to the virus - almost one an hour.

2 Aug 2006

Getting high on mothballs lands teens in hospital

Doctors were mystified when an 18-year-old French woman appeared at a hospital with scaly skin on her legs and hands, and was unsteady and mentally sluggish.

30 Jul 2006

Blair threatens food and drinks industry with legislation

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has virtually given the food and drinks industry in the UK an ultimatum saying unless the "junk food" industry can sort itself out it will be forced to restrict advertising to children next year.

27 Jul 2006

A tipple a day keeps heart attacks away

Researchers say that seniors who have a drink each day may live longer and suffer fewer heart problems than teetotalers do, but they are not sure why.

27 Jul 2006

Poor sense of smell among alcoholics associated with prefrontal cognitive dysfunction

Prior research has shown that chronic alcoholism is associated with numerous olfactory deficits in odor judgment, odor identification, odor sensitivity, and the ability to qualitatively discriminate between odors.

26 Jul 2006

Naltrexone may increase the urge to drink

Naltrexone (NTX) is able to reduce drinking and craving among many alcoholics and heavy drinkers, but not all of them.

25 Jul 2006

Mechanism linking alcohol to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease may be related to inflammation

Older adults who consume one to seven alcoholic beverages a week may live longer and have a reduced risk for cardiac events than those who do not drink - an association that appears independent of the anti-inflammatory effects of alcohol.

25 Jul 2006

Cigarette smoking appears to promote the consumption of alcohol

Nicotine can reduce blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at dosage levels that could be achieved by human smokers.

25 Jul 2006

Birch bark compound may be potent prostate cancer fighter

A compound found in the bark of the white birch tree - betulonic acid, a derivative of betulinol - may finally have been rendered a water-soluble, bio-available drug, and is already showing the potential to be a possible agent against prostate cancer - in cell culture and in an animal model.

25 Jul 2006

New training technique is proving successful in helping excessive drinkers curb their alcohol abuse

Researchers funded by the Economic and Social Research Council have experimentally tested a computer-based training programme which helps abusive drinkers pay less attention to alcohol, feel more in control of their drinking and drink less.

24 Jul 2006

Alcohol consumption quadruples risk of injury

People who drink alcohol are up to four times more likely than non-drinkers to be hurt from physical injuries such as a fall or punch, new research shows.

21 Jul 2006

Psychotherapeutic interventions for cannabis abuse

Marijuana dependence and abuse can be moderately improved by various psychotherapy treatments - but reduced use rather than abstinence may be the best clinicians can hope for at this time, a new review finds.

21 Jul 2006

Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programmes for alcohol dependence

Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs, while effective, are not the be-all and end-all in psychosocial treatments for alcohol dependence, according to new review of studies.

19 Jul 2006

Women who are overweight at the age of 18 have a higher risk of dying young

Children and adolescents in the U.S. and around the world are becoming more overweight and according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) there may be serious consequences to that trend.

18 Jul 2006

Men and women respond very differently to working long hours

Researchers in the UK say that women who work long hours are more likely than men to snack, smoke, drink coffee and exercise less.

13 Jul 2006

Morning sickness - a form of protection for mother and baby

As many as 90% of mothers experience nausea during pregnancy, and about half that number vomit.

12 Jul 2006

Type 2 diabetes is associated with primary open angle glaucoma in women

A 20-year study of women in the Nurses' Health Study has shown that Type 2 diabetes is associated with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common form of glaucoma, accounting for about 60 to 70% of all glaucomas.

12 Jul 2006

Female stroke risk reduced by healthy living

Researchers in America say that women can significantly reduce their risk of a stroke by adopting a healthy lifestyle.

12 Jul 2006

Hallucinogen in mushrooms creates mystical/spiritual experiences

Using unusually rigorous scientific conditions and measures, Johns Hopkins researchers have shown that the active agent in "sacred mushrooms" can induce mystical/spiritual experiences descriptively identical to spontaneous ones people have reported for centuries.

11 Jul 2006