Alcohol Dependence News and Research

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Anti-smoking drug Chantix works for alcohol too

According to researchers a popular anti-smoking pill may also curb the urge to drink alcohol.

10 Jul 2007

30 percent of Americans report having some form of alcohol use disorder

About 30 percent of Americans report having some form of alcohol use disorder at some point in their lifetimes, including 17.8 percent with alcohol abuse and 12.5 percent with alcohol dependence, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Jul 2007

Targeted nalmefene with simple medical management in the treatment of heavy drinkers

Problem drinkers who took a craving-curbing drug whenever they felt the desire to imbibe reported fewer heavy drinking days each month than drinkers who took a look-alike placebo pill, but both groups reported marked reductions in heavy drinking days.

4 Jul 2007

Alcohol abuse a problem for one in every three Americans

According to the latest study on alcohol abuse, as many as one in three Americans abuse or become dependent on alcohol over the course of their lives, and most of them never receive treatment for the problem.

3 Jul 2007

Five distinct subtypes of alcoholism identified

Analyses of a national sample of individuals with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) reveal five distinct subtypes of the disease, according to a new study by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

29 Jun 2007

Smoking may interfere with alcoholics neurocognitive recovery from abstinence

Alcoholics frequently smoke. Anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of individuals in North America who seek alcoholism treatment are also chronic smokers.

26 Jun 2007

Researchers use 'genomic pathway' to predict Parkinson's

A new Mayo Clinic study provides strong evidence that the joint effects of common DNA variations in several genes that encode proteins within a well-defined biological pathway largely explain why some persons get Parkinson's disease while others don't, and even predict with great accuracy at what age people might develop their first symptoms.

17 Jun 2007

Appetite-regulating hormones and peptides may be involved in the neurobiology of alcohol craving

Defined as a powerful urge to drink, or intense thoughts about alcohol, is an important contributor to the development and maintenance of alcoholism.

28 May 2007

Men and women at risk for alcohol dependence are more likely to choose a mate who also is at risk

Alcoholism is more common among partners of alcoholics than among partners of non-alcoholics, but it isn't as common as it might be. The researchers found that in some cases, one spouse's excesses with alcohol actually could help protect the other from alcohol dependence.

4 May 2007

Women might be slipping through the cracks with early drinking problem diagnosis

Men are more likely than women to experience many of the problems commonly associated with nondependent drinking, according to a new study.

24 Apr 2007

Spousal choices can influence alcohol dependence

Alcohol dependence (AD) is more common among partners of alcoholics than among partners of non-alcoholics.

24 Apr 2007

Brief meetings with healthcare workers curb excessive drinking in men

Between one and four standard appointments with a general practitioner or nurse can reduce a patient's alcohol consumption by an average of five standard drink units a week, according to a Cochrane Review.

19 Apr 2007

More guns more suicides!

In the first nationally representative study to examine the relationship between survey measures of household firearm ownership and state level rates of suicide in the U.S., researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found that suicide rates among children, women and men of all ages are higher in states where more households have guns.

11 Apr 2007

Substantial need for mental health services in the general population

First large-scale assessment of the general population shows nearly 30 percent need mental health care and about one-third of them get it.

3 Apr 2007

Protein alpha synuclein plays important role in regulation of dopamine function

SNCA mutations can lead to significant problems, such as the neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson's disease, which is caused by a substantially reduced production of dopamine.

3 Apr 2007

Reduced brain growth in alcoholics with family drinking history

The brains of alcohol-dependent individuals are affected not only by their own heavy drinking, but also by genetic or environmental factors associated with their parents- drinking, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

21 Feb 2007

Genetic tendency toward suicide linked to genome on chromosome 2

A Johns Hopkins-led study has found evidence that a genetic tendency toward suicide has been linked to a particular area of the genome on chromosome 2 that has been implicated in two additional recent studies of attempted suicide.

20 Feb 2007

Two glasses of red a day may prevent Alzheimer's

According to a new study those couple of glasses red wine each day may be enjoyable but might also help prevent Alzheimer's disease.

28 Sep 2006

Drinking during pregnancy linked to offspring's risk of alcohol disorders in early adulthood

Individuals whose mothers drink three or more glasses of alcohol at any one occasion in early pregnancy have an increased risk of developing alcohol disorders by 21 years of age, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Sep 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