Feature Channels: Alcohol and Alcoholism

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Released: 28-Jan-2020 4:05 PM EST
Connection Between Alcohol Use and Depression Could Aid Treatment
Michigan State University

For people with psychiatric disorders, comorbidity — or the presence of two or more disorders in a single patient — is quite common. One of the most common comorbidities is alcohol use disorder and major depressive disorder. In fact, people with alcohol use dependence are almost four times more likely to also have a major depressive disorder.

22-Jan-2020 10:25 AM EST
Recognize an overdose, save a life
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)

Every day nearly 200 people die from an overdose of drugs or from alcohol poisoning, with opioids responsible for the majority. Recognizing the signs and knowing how to respond to medical emergencies, including carrying and administering naloxone in cases of opioid overdose, can save lives says the ASA.

Released: 17-Jan-2020 4:55 PM EST
Scurvy is still a thing in Canada
McMaster University

McMaster University researchers surveyed the data of patients of Hamilton’s two hospital systems over nine years and found 52 with low Vitamin C levels. This included 13 patients who could be diagnosed as having scurvy, and an additional 39 who tested positive for scurvy but did not have documented symptoms. Among those with scurvy, some were related to alcohol use disorder or to bariatric surgery but the majority were related to other causes of malnutrition such as persistent vomiting, purposeful dietary restrictions, mental illness, social isolation and dependence on others for food.

Released: 14-Jan-2020 4:50 PM EST
In Mice, Alcohol Dependence Results in Brain-Wide Remodeling of Functional Architecture
UC San Diego Health

Using novel imaging technologies, researchers produce first whole-brain atlas at single-cell resolution, revealing how alcohol addiction and abstinence remodel neural physiology and function in mice.

9-Jan-2020 5:05 PM EST
Beyond the binge: Extreme drinking common among working-age adults
Research Society on Alcoholism

Binge drinking is a common and harmful pattern of alcohol use, often defined as consuming at least four (for women) or five (for men) drinks in one drinking episode. However, some people drink well beyond this, consuming two or even three times the binge threshold, putting them at very high risk of acute harm. Previous research on such ‘high-intensity drinking’, or ‘HID’, has been mostly limited to college-age youth, with less known about HID in the mid-adult age group. A new study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research has evaluated the prevalence, consequences, and influences of HID among Australian adults of working age.

     
9-Jan-2020 5:05 PM EST
Drinking among sport-playing college students is strongly influenced by peer perceptions
Research Society on Alcoholism

Alcohol misuse among college students remains a major public health concern. Students’ perceptions of how much their peers are drinking, and of peers’ attitudes to alcohol, are known to be a key influence on their own alcohol use. Two distinct types of social norms that can shape students’ drinking are recognized – ‘injunctive’ norms, namely perceptions of peers’ attitudes about how much a college student should drink, and ‘descriptive’ norms, which are perceptions of how much their peers do drink.

     
8-Jan-2020 8:05 PM EST
Maturing Out of Alcohol Use in Young Adulthood
Research Society on Alcoholism

Rates of heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder peak in the late adolescent and early adult age-group (19-25 years), before decreasing from around age 26. This supports the notion that many young people ‘mature out’ of heavier drinking behavior. However, changes in young adults’ alcohol consumption vary widely, and depend on a range of factors including role transitions (e.g. marriage, parenthood), social networks, and personality. Dr. Michael Windle from Emory University, Georgia, assessed the variation in ‘maturing out’ by evaluating trajectories of alcohol use from adolescence through young adulthood, up to around 33 years of age. The study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, also explored whether different alcohol use trajectories were associated with other indicators of young-adult functioning, relating to health, sleep, and social and occupational functioning.

     
Released: 8-Jan-2020 2:45 PM EST
Could pancreatitis be a stress hormone deficiency?
UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern researchers find that humans and mice with pancreatitis are deficient in a stress hormone called FGF21.

Released: 8-Jan-2020 8:45 AM EST
Researchers Surprised by High Levels of Alcohol Consumption among Cancer Survivors
National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)

New research JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, using data from NHIS to examine self-reported drinking habits among people reporting a cancer diagnosis, finds 56.5% were current drinkers, 34.9% exceeded moderate drinking levels, and 21% engaged in binge drinking.

4-Jan-2020 7:05 AM EST
To BOLDly Go (or No-go): Brain imaging predicts frequent binge drinking in adolescents
Research Society on Alcoholism

A study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research could inform efforts to prevent adolescents from escalating to harmful patterns of drinking. Binge drinking in adolescence has many short- and long-term heath consequences, including risk of future alcohol use disorder and potential for harm to the developing brain. The risks are greatest for those who binge frequently – at least once a week. A hallmark of binge drinking is a reduced capacity to control one’s alcohol intake, related to a neurological process of ‘inhibitory control’ involving several regions of the brain. In adolescents who have not yet started drinking, specific alterations in these brain responses have been linked to an increased risk of future alcohol and drug use; however, it was not known if there are changes that could predict escalation of alcohol use among those already drinking. Therefore, researchers from the University of California investigated whether abnormal brain patterns co

   
Released: 2-Jan-2020 2:15 PM EST
How MSU helped reduce high-risk drinking among students
Michigan State University

A university-wide social norms marketing campaign has reduced high-risk drinking and adverse outcomes of drinking, according to a new study from Michigan State University in the Journal of American College Health. MSU's social norms campaign was created to educate MSU students about actual drinking behavior on campus. When misperceptions are corrected, behavior will change to be more consistent with the actual norm, said Dennis Martell, director of MSU Health Promotion.

Released: 11-Dec-2019 3:10 PM EST
Forensic Chemist Proposes Sweat Testing Strip as Breathalyzer Replacement
University at Albany, State University of New York

Jan Halámek and his team of researchers at the University at Albany, led by Department of Chemistry graduate student Mindy Hair, are developing a sensing strip that can detect a person’s blood alcohol content (BAC) based on ethanol levels in a small sweat sample.

Released: 9-Dec-2019 4:20 PM EST
Cornell certificate program develops understanding of beer selection
Cornell University

Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration has launched a Beer Essentials certificate program to help hospitality industry professionals develop the end-to-end understanding of beer production, tasting and selection necessary for establishing an effective beer program.

Released: 9-Dec-2019 12:05 PM EST
Even light alcohol consumption linked to higher cancer risk in Japan
Wiley

In a study conducted in Japan, even light to moderate alcohol consumption was associated with elevated cancer risks. In the study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the overall cancer risk appeared to be the lowest at zero alcohol consumption.

Released: 5-Dec-2019 3:05 PM EST
Nearly one-third of participants drop out of psychosocial substance use disorder treatments
University of Alabama at Birmingham

People who abuse cigarettes, alcohol and/or heroin are less likely to drop out of a substance use disorder treatment than those who are addicted to cocaine, according to a new study led by a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The study found that approximately 30 percent of participants in psychosocial substance use disorder treatments do not finish the programs. This is the first time a study of this kind has been published.

Released: 4-Dec-2019 12:20 PM EST
Single Dose of Ketamine Plus Talk Therapy May Reduce Alcohol Use
Columbia University Irving Medical Center

A single infusion of ketamine plus behavioral therapy helped alcohol-dependent individuals reduce their drinking, a new study finds.

Released: 3-Dec-2019 11:30 AM EST
Interest in UF/IFAS Hops Experiment Grows
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Tampa Bay microbreweries have a hankering for hops, and some see a University of Florida experimental farm as a source for the crop that will help quench their customers’ thirsts.

Released: 2-Dec-2019 2:15 PM EST
Program to address opioid prescribing for lung, head and neck cancer patients
University of Illinois Chicago

The University of Illinois at Chicago has received a grant from the Coleman Foundation to develop a screening process for prescribing opioids and managing opioid use disorders in cancer patients who receive care at UI Health, UIC’s clinical health enterprise.

27-Nov-2019 5:05 AM EST
Starting drinking young predicts hospital admission for acute intoxication
Research Society on Alcoholism

In studies, younger age at first alcohol use has been associated with later alcohol problems in adult life, including heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder. That is the reason why around the world, as in the Netherlands, a key aim of alcohol policy is to postpone the age at first alcohol use. In a report published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, researchers from the Netherlands have investigated whether age of drinking onset is a risk factor for alcohol intoxication among adolescents aged under 18 years.

     


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