Alcohol Dependence News and Research

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Alcohol ranks as the number one health risk in all but two countries

Alcohol ranks as the number one health risk in all but two countries – Canada and the United States – in the Americas, according to a publication of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

16 Mar 2005

College students not at a greater risk for alcohol dependence problems

Although college students had higher rates of yearly, monthly, and weekly alcohol use than their peers not attending college, they did not appear to be at a greater risk for alcohol dependence problems, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Mar 2005

Risky injection behaviors are established at the onset of injection drug use

The circumstances surrounding the first injection experience of young injection drug users are significantly linked to future injection behavior, according to a new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions.

7 Mar 2005

Naltrexone helps alcoholics moderate their drinking

A little-known drug called naltrexone provides a “meaningful benefit” in helping alcoholics moderate their drinking, according to the latest review of evidence from 29 studies on four continents.

20 Feb 2005

Survey finds that many recover from alcoholism

More than one-third (35.9 percent) of U.S. adults with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) that began more than one year ago are now in full recovery, according to an article in the current issue of Addiction.

19 Jan 2005

Campral, first new treatment for alcoholism in ten years

Forest Laboratories announced that Campral (acamprosate calcium) Delayed- Release Tablets are now available to physicians, patients and pharmacies nationwide.

12 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

Prenatal alcohol exposure has effects far beyond fetal alcohol syndrome

Numerous studies have documented IQ deficits in children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Little research, however, has found IQ deficits in children with alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), who generally exhibit less severe neurobehavioral deficits than children with FAS.

14 Nov 2004

After stopping drinking, the brain grows back - significant implications for treatment of alcoholism during recovery

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have reported - for the first time - a burst in new brain cell development during abstinence from chronic alcohol consumption.

8 Nov 2004

Certain people are born with an increased risk of developing alcohol problems

The Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital have determined that although alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence are closely related, the causes of susceptibility are not necessarily the same.

16 Sep 2004

Men with sweet tooths more prone to alcoholism

Men who have a sweet tooth and who have trouble controlling their behavior are more prone to alcoholism, and these factors combined were better predictors of the disease than any single individual trait, a recent analysis has found.

15 Sep 2004

Gene linked to both alcoholism and depression

A national team of investigators led by psychiatric geneticists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a gene that appears to be linked to both alcoholism and depression.

8 Sep 2004

Topiramate help patients with alcohol dependence

The drug topiramate helps reduce drinking and improves overall quality of life among patients with alcohol dependence, according to an article in the September issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Sep 2004

Research suggests that victimisation in childhood increases risk of psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia or manic depression

People with psychosis report a marked excess of victimising experiences, many of which occurred during childhood, according to a new study.

2 Sep 2004

Tablets which help recovering alcoholics stay off the drink

The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Campral (acamprosate calcium) tablets which help recovering alcoholics to stay of the drink. Campral is manufactured by Forest Laboratories and Merck of Darmstadt, Germany.

29 Jul 2004

American alchohol abuse continues to rise

The number of American adults who abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent rose from 13.8 million (7.41 percent) in 1991-1992 to 17.6 million (8.46 percent) in 2001-2002, according to results from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a study directed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

10 Jun 2004

Screening for alcohol problems in hospitals needs improvement

Many people admitted to hospitals in the U.S. have alcohol use disorders that go undetected, according to a new study by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

12 Apr 2004