Feature Channels: Alcohol and Alcoholism

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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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Excessive drinking by workers can place a burden on colleagues, whether through absenteeism, reduced productivity or alcohol-related accidents in the workplace. Research in high-income countries has revealed the high economic cost of co-workers’ drinking, but little is known about alcohol’s harm to others in the workplace in lower- or middle-income countries. Researchers from Australia, Sweden and the USA have published a new report in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research comparing the impact of co-workers’ drinking on working people in 12 countries.

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A Queen’s University Belfast researcher has developed a low cost technique to convert left over barley from alcohol breweries into carbon, which could be used as a renewable fuel for homes in winter, charcoal for summer barbecues or water filters in developing countries.

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Experts from the University of Chicago Medicine Center for Esophageal Diseases share their tips on how to celebrate Thanksgiving without feeling the sting of acid reflux.

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Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey registered dietitian, Kristin Waldron, RD, CSO reminds us about eating healthy this holiday season as part of a cancer preventive lifestyle.

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Dietitians with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health’s Nourish Program offer some advice along with a few recipes to help you kick-start the upcoming holiday season.

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Weekend binge drinking and chronic alcoholism have long been known to contribute to alcoholic liver diseases (ALD). A new study reveals how alcohol affects the liver's circadian rhythm, uncovering a potential new target for ALD treatments.

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Six tips for avoiding holiday headache triggers from Houston Methodist neurologist Bing Liao, M.D., M.Sc.

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Many parents permit their adolescent children to drink alcohol, believing this helps teach them responsible use and avoids the appeal of ‘forbidden fruit’.

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Research from Florida State University is giving physicians a better understanding of ketamine, a potentially useful tool in treating depression that still has unanswered questions. A team of researchers working in the laboratory of Mohamed Kabbaj, a professor of Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience in the College of Medicine, showed that ketamine can decrease alcohol consumption in male rats that previously had consumed high amounts of alcohol when given unrestricted access several times a week.

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Most people think of collagen as a protein used for cosmetic purposes that you get in a jar, but prepare for drinkable collagen. If you think that’s interesting, try going online to order meal kits – full of just-the-right ingredients for the dishes you want to prepare. Those are a couple of the fearless forecasts from UF/IFAS faculty experts as they predict food trends for 2020 – a popular list now in its sixth straight year.

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Intermittent exposure to high levels of alcohol in adolescent animals leads to increased levels of microRNA-137 in the brains of adults; blocking the molecule helps to reverse or reduce the lasting effects of youth drinking, such as increased alcohol use and anxiety.

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A Rutgers New Jersey Poison Control Center expert discusses how children and adults can reduce risks of poisoning

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Advertising budgets and strategies used by beer companies appear to influence underage drinking, according to new research. The findings show that the amount of money spent on advertising strongly predicted the percentage of teens who had heard of, preferred and tried different beer brands.

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There is consistent evidence that having an alcohol use disorder is associated with abnormalities in the cerebellum, a structure attached to the bottom of the brain that is involved in coordinating posture and balance but also in supporting some cognitive functions. Cigarette smoking, which often co-occurs with alcohol use, has also been shown to impact brain structure and function, and co-use of these substances is purported to accelerate aging of the brain. A report published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research examines neuroimaging (MRI) data from 92 people in order to further investigate the impact of smoking and alcohol status on the volume of the cerebellum and related cognitive function.

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Highlights about University Hospitals 2018 community benefit report.

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A new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that in several cities and counties the proportion of high-schoolers who have ever used heroin or misused prescription opioids is much higher than the national average.

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“Nolan, breathe for me, buddy.” It’s been five years since Nolan Burch, a freshman at West Virginia University, was unable to respond to that plea as he lay on a board at the Kappa Sigma house where he had participated in a hazing event held by unsanctioned fraternity that included chugging a bottle of bourbon. A day later, the 18-year-old was taken off life support, and his organs donated to four other individuals – one of whom is now a WVU student.

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Lawmakers across the United States continue to debate the safety of kratom, an opioid-containing plant that has been listed as a "drug of concern" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Kratom is sold over the counter in specialty stores and online.

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UC San Diego researchers linked a gut bacteria toxin to worse clinical outcomes in patients with alcoholic liver disease, and discovered that treatment with bacteriophages clears the bacteria and eliminates the disease in mice.

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Excessive and harmful drinking is a key feature of an alcohol use disorder. The causes of substance use disorders are complex, but deficiences in certain aspects of self-control have been implicated. A tendency to react hastily and seek out risky situations has been linked to the process of addiction, and alterations in certain frontal regions of the brain have been associated both with impulsive and sensation-seeking behavior. In a study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, researchers have used brain imaging to further assess the links between self control and alcohol dependence.

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Drinking in pregnancy can harm a developing baby. The term fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) describes the range of effects that can be caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. Children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), the most severe form, have poor growth, atypical facial features, and central nervous system problems. Less severe forms include partial fetal alcohol syndrome (pFAS) and alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND). However, all three require evidence of neurobehavioral impairment affecting cognition or behavior (or both). A recent study in a US Pacific Southwest city estimated that, at a minimum, 2% of first-grade schoolchildren had an FASD. A new report in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research describes the range of FASD among these children and the characteristics of their mothers.

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Treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) often involves a course of counseling aimed at changing the patient’s drinking behavior. Many studies have explored how alcohol use changes during and after treatment, but few have focused on change that occurs before treatment begins. However, there is evidence that having made the decision to seek professional help, some patients do reduce their drinking before their first treatment session ─ and these changes may be maintained during and after treatment. In a new study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, researchers from the University at Buffalo have identified patterns of pre-treatment change ─ and their relationship with treatment outcomes ─ among people seeking treatment for AUD.

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A new study published in Scientific Reports, a Nature Research journal, shows how a one-time exposure during early pregnancy to cannabinoids (CBs) – both synthetic and natural – can cause growth issues in a developing embryo. This is the first research to show such a connection in mammals.

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Pancreatitis causes more than 360,000 hospitalizations each year. Sajan Nagpal, MD, a medical pancreatologist at the University of Chicago Medicine, answers common questions about this painful condition.

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Most people drink less in situations where there are constraints on alcohol use. The sensitivity of alcohol use to the constraint of drink price can be assessed using an ‘alcohol purchase task’, whereby individuals specify how many drinks they would buy in one drinking episode across a range of prices. The data indicate an individual’s ‘demand’ for alcohol, which correlates with severity of alcohol use and related consequences. A new study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research builds on such research by assessing the constraint of next-day responsibility on alcohol-related consequence in college students.

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Contrary to the belief that drinking can literally shrink one's brain, a new study that includes researchers from Arts & Sciences suggests that a small brain might be a risk factor for heavier alcohol consumption.

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About 41.1 million children in the United States trick-or-treat on Halloween night. Bruce Ruck, managing director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Department of Emergency Medicine, offers advice to avoid the risks of poisoning and allergic reactions.

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Study of mouse models provides clear implications for new targets to treat alcohol use disorder and fetal alcohol syndrome

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A new study, led by researchers at Penn Medicine, revealed a surprising pathway that shows alcohol byproducts travel to the brain to promote addiction memory. The findings are published in Nature.

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Medical marijuana shows early promise to lessen opioid use and potential abuse, suggests a systematic review of published studies being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019 annual meeting.

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While most women of childbearing age understand drinking alcohol while pregnant is harmful, they may be less skeptical about the safety of cannabidiol (CBD), even though there is no evidence to support that belief, suggests a study being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019 annual meeting.

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In recent weeks, presidential candidates pledged billions of dollars to bring broadband and internet access to rural America. That’s a good start, but the issue that the candidates need to address goes far beyond technology. It’s troubling that no candidate has begun to identify a strategy to concentrate on a more sweeping problem: More and more young people in our nation’s rural communities look at their hometowns and realize those places simply can’t support their dreams.

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Bourbon isn’t bourbon without the mighty white oak. Distillers have been aging bourbon in oak barrels as far back as the Roman Empire. Oak barrels give bourbon its unique caramel, vanilla, nutty and toasted flavors. Kentucky distillers rely especially on the white oak. But what if disease hits the species? How would industry professionals protect it? The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is partnering with Maker’s Mark Distillery Inc. in Loretto, Kentucky, and Independent Stave Company to research the DNA of the white oak.

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Fatty liver disease is contributing to an increase in liver cancer and basic scientists at The University of Texas Health Science at Houston (UTHealth) have new insight as to why.

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A growing number of young adults are dealing with a substance use disorder – in some cases, multiple substance use disorders – and not seeking help, according to a study led by an Iowa State University researcher. The results show two in every five young adults reported a past-year SUD.

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The need to prevent and rapidly treat opioid overdoses is in the spotlight. But a new study suggests more focus is needed on the risk of alcohol overdoses among people who use opioids of all kinds, and other drugs. Ninety percent of residential recovery center patients surveyed had overdosed on alcohol at least once, and 80 percent of them said that at the time of their overdose, they had also been taking other drugs.

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The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at University of California San Diego School of Medicine announces $3 million in research grants to explore new applications of cannabis for a number of novel medical applications.

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Only one in five non-fatal alcohol overdoses results from use of alcohol alone, according to a study of patients in a large addiction treatment facility, with most alcohol overdoses involving concomitant use of other drugs. Alcohol can interact with other drugs ─ including marijuana, central nervous system depressants such as opioids, and stimulants such as cocaine ─ in various ways, and using them together is known to increase the likelihood and severity of overdose. Despite this, there is limited research examining the characteristics of alcohol overdose in the context of concomitant drug use. The new study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, provides a clearer understanding of role of other drug use and its impact on outcomes of alcohol overdose.

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Sexual minority women are more likely to smoke cigarettes when drinking alcohol than heterosexual women, according to new University at Buffalo research.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced that Zachary T. Schug, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Molecular & Cellular Oncogenesis Program at Wistar, was awarded the prestigious NIH Director’s New Innovator Award in support of his research on the link between a high sugar/fat diet, alcohol use and cancer.

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Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, and is a proven treatment for alcohol use disorder. However, the training and expert supervision needed to deliver consistent, high-quality face-to-face sessions is costly, limiting the widespread implementation of CBT in clinical practice. Delivering CBT through technology-based platforms, such as web-based programs and mobile apps, has potential to provide widespread and low-cost access to this evidence-based intervention ─ but it’s important to establish that tech-based CBT is as effective for alcohol treatment as the in-person format. A new report published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research systematically examines the evidence for tech-based delivery of CBT for alcohol use by combining data from multiple published studies, using a statistical technique known as meta-analysis.

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Moderate drinking has been linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease in several studies. However, the relationship between alcohol and heart disease remains controversial and is challenging to assess. Most available data are from prospective (forward-looking) studies of people in middle age or older, in whom alcohol intake was assessed at the time of study entry.