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UrduA study has revealed diverse routes to recovery among people with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders admitted for psychiatric inpatient care, while highlighting that some patients need additional support. Problem drinkers who also have a psychiatric condition — such as major depressive disorder (MDD) — often struggle to sustain long-term recovery following treatment. Mutual health groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) can provide an ongoing source of recovery support for alcohol misuse, and involvement with AA is also linked to improvement in depression. However, it was not known how depression and involvement influence drinking during and after inpatient psychiatric treatment, and how they predict recovery. The new study, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, investigated long-term trajectories of alcohol use, depression, and AA involvement over time among patients with co-occurring diagnoses.
Tag: Alcohol Use Disorder
IU study examines effects of low-level lead exposure and alcohol consumption
A new IU study examining effects of low-level developmental lead exposure in mice could explain why some people dependent on alcohol return to using.
Women and Racial Minorities are Marginalized in Trials of Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder
Women and racial minorities are seriously underrepresented in trials of medicines for alcohol use disorder (AUD) despite evidence that these treatments affect demographic groups differently. This is according to a review in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, which may be the first to evaluate sex and racial representation in studies relating to the three pharmacological treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for AUD. Previous research indicates that sex and race/ethnicity likely influence the prevalence of AUD, its risk of health consequences, and the effectiveness of treatments.
Seekers Versus Non-Seekers of Treatment for Alcohol Dependence: Implications for Drug Development
A new report has highlighted key differences between participants in early and later stages of drug research for alcohol use disorder (AUD), which could affect study findings and confound evaluations of novel treatments. In the US, only 4% of people with diagnosed AUD receive medication to treat their condition, and currently only three drugs are approved for this purpose. Early-stage laboratory studies of new treatments, which often involve controlled alcohol use, usually enroll heavy drinkers who have not sought treatment for their AUD. Later-stage trials, however, typically enroll patients who have sought treatment (and hence better reflect those who might be prescribed an approved treatment in clinical practice). A lower motivation and ‘readiness to change’ of non-treatment seekers compared with treatment seekers could affect drinking behavior and medication adherence in research studies. As such, it is vital to compare these groups and assess for differences that could influence s
Heavy-drinking Rodents Enhance Understanding of Problematic Alcohol Use Patterns
New study findings in mice suggest that repeated binge drinking increases the motivation to consume alcohol to excess. In humans, the pattern of drinking (as well as quantity consumed) can be an important indicator of future drink problems; in adolescents, for example, a binge-drinking pattern can predict development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Studies using laboratory animals that have been selectively bred to drink alcohol (ethanol) in large amounts can provide valuable insights on problematic drinking patterns, using experimental approaches that would be impossible or unethical to apply in humans. Indeed, many important findings on responses to alcohol have been gained from animal studies, conducted to strict welfare guidelines. The latest study, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, examined two behaviors in mice that reflect their motivation to experience alcohol’s rewarding effects on the brain.
Understanding Alcohol-Related Violence: What is its Place and Role in the Wider Context of Aggression?
Aggressive behavior often, but not always, occurs alongside alcohol and drug misuse. Indeed, alcohol and drugs contribute to at least 40% of violent acts. However, despite the importance of substance misuse to understanding aggression, the relationships between alcohol-related, drug-related, and non-substance-related aggression are unclear. In particular, it is not known if these are three different facets of an individual’s overall aggressive tendency, or if they are three distinct and separate entities. A new analysis reported in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has probed this question using statistical modeling.
Challenging Dogma, Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder Can Sometimes Include Heavy Drinking
Recovering from alcohol use disorder (AUD) can sometimes involve drinking reductions that do not come close to abstinence, according to recent research — challenging the dogma that recovery from AUD requires abstinence or infrequent drinking. In a new study, one in five participants achieved stable recovery while occasionally drinking heavily. These participants reported success in various measures of life satisfaction, functioning, and health several years after treatment for AUD, according to the study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Their experience highlights the value of any drinking reduction. This study expands a body of work that is calling into question the longstanding emphasis — in research and recovery programs, including Alcoholics Anonymous — on drinking practices as a primary measure of success. A similar shift is taking place around other psychiatric disorders, with recovery increasingly measured by improved health and functioning over the absence of
Untangling the Effects of Past Adversity and Alcohol Use Disorder on Acute Stress Responses
The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is the body’s key stress response system. By driving production of the stress hormone cortisol, and then ensuring a return to baseline levels, the HPA axis regulates our reaction to stressful events. Chronic alcohol use, however, can lead to persistently elevated cortisol, reducing the body’s capacity to respond appropriately to stress. Among people in treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD), the blunted stress response predicts risk of relapse and a return to drinking. Longer-term life stress, including childhood adversity, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic stress, can also dampen HPA axis function, complicating interpretation of the alterations evident in people with AUD. However, it is not known how stress and trauma intereact with AUD to affect HPA-axis reactivity. A new report in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research by researchers from the universities of Texas, Florida, and Colorado addresses this issue, u
Does estrogen influence alcohol use disorder?
Researchers show that high estrogen levels may make alcohol more rewarding to female mice and reducing the number of estrogen receptors led to decreased drinking behavior, but only in female mice.
Adolescent exposure to anesthetics may cause alcohol use disorder, new research shows
Early exposure to anesthetics may make adolescents more susceptible to developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
Combining Multiple Measures of Alcohol Use Helps Clarify Risky Drinking in People with HIV
Researchers and clinicians can better understand the health risks facing people with HIV through comprehensive measures of alcohol use, including objective biomarkers, according to a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Frequent or heavy alcohol use in people with HIV can affect HIV disease progression and comorbidities. Alcohol use disorder is a barrier to effectively managing HIV and contributes in multiple ways to poor health outcomes. These effects are not well understood, however, owing in part to the limitations of self-report tools (questionnaires) for measuring alcohol use. Researchers at Louisiana State University and Tulane University correlated self-reported alcohol use, measured by multiple questionnaires, with a biomarker of alcohol consumption in people with HIV. This study explores the implications of this multi-faceted approach for understanding the alcohol use of people with HIV and the related risk factors.
Good News for Alcohol Treatment Studies: Drinking in Lab Setting Reflects Real-World Alcohol Use
Rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have risen in the US in recent years. A small number of pharmacotherapies (drug treatments) are available for AUD, but there is an urgent need for more treatments to be evaluated. Increasingly, novel medications, as well as behavioral interventions, are tested in laboratory-based studies, where the impact on participants’ alcohol consumption can be directly assessed. However, it is not known if drinking in the laboratory setting accurately reflects individuals’ real-life drinking behavior and therefore if study findings hold true in the real-world. A new report in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research by researchers from the NIAAA-supported Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism at Yale University addresses this issue, by examining the extent to which individuals’ drinking in a laboratory setting correlates with their (self-reported) alcohol use in the lead-up to the study.
General Anesthetic Exposure During Adolescence Might Contribute to Developing Alcohol Use Disorder
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – General anesthetic exposure during adolescence may be an environmental risk factor contributing to an enhanced susceptibility to developing alcohol use disorders, according to researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York. Adolescent alcohol abuse can lead…
Alcohol, adolescence, and anesthesia: identifying risk factors for alcohol use disorder
Alcohol misuse is common among adolescents, and increases the risk of developing a chronic alcohol use disorder (AUD) in the future. Adolescents respond differently to alcohol compared with adults — they tend to be less sensitive to some of the negative effects of drinking that help protect against excessive intake, but more sensitive to its rewarding and memory-impairing effects. This may contribute to the high rates of alcohol misuse in adolescence, as well as to an elevated risk of developing AUD. However, as not all adolescents who drink alcohol will develop an AUD, it is important to identify factors that may further increase propensity to abuse alcohol in this age-group. Researchers from the State University of New York at Binghamton are interested in the potential impact of having a general anaesthetic, in view of evidence that exposure to anesthesia in adolescence can cause behavioral alterations similar to those induced by alcohol. In a new study published in the journal Alcoh
Associate professor examines telemedicine as tool for alcohol use disorder management
Telemedicine continues to gain traction as an avenue to combat a disorder that kills an estimated 88,000 people annually in the U.S.
To BOLDly Go (or No-go): Brain imaging predicts frequent binge drinking in adolescents
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
Single Dose of Ketamine Plus Talk Therapy May Reduce Alcohol Use
A single infusion of ketamine plus behavioral therapy helped alcohol-dependent individuals reduce their drinking, a new study finds.
Starting drinking young predicts hospital admission for acute intoxication
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.
Cerebellum and cognition: Impact of co-use of alcohol and cigarettes
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.