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Alcoholism tends to run in families, suggesting that addiction may be related to genetics

The gene the researchers investigated manufactures a protein called CREB, or cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein, which is known to regulate brain function during development and learning.

27 May 2004

Discovery of gene linked to alcohol dependency

Alcoholism tends to run in families, suggesting that addiction, at least in part, has an underlying genetic cause. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a gene linked to alcohol dependency.

26 May 2004

Nonalcoholic beer impart cardiovascular benefits without the negative effects of alcohol

New findings published in the May issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research indicate that nonalcoholic beer may also be able to impart cardiovascular benefits without the negative effects of alcohol, by inhibiting blood coagulation and platelet activation.

14 May 2004

Gene therapy helps alcoholic rats

As a follow up to previous work showing that gene therapy can reduce drinking in rats trained to prefer alcohol, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have used the same technique to cut drinking in rats with a genetic predisposition for heavy alcohol consumption.

5 May 2004

Beer increases risk of gout

The first large epidemiological study to assess the age-old belief that alcohol consumption increases the risk of gout is published in the April 2004 issue of THE LANCET. A prospective study of nearly 50,000 men showed that beer drinking was more likely to be associated with gout than spirits; whereas moderate wine consumption was not linked to a risk of the disease.

16 Apr 2004

Alcohol boosts the pleasurable effects of nicotine

In tests on human volunteers, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that even small amounts of alcohol boost the pleasurable effects of nicotine, inducing people to smoke more when drinking alcoholic beverages. The findings provide a physiological explanation for the common observation that people smoke more in bars. The findings also explain statistics showing that alcoholics tend to smoke more than non-alcoholics, and that smokers are more likely to be alcoholics.

24 Mar 2004