Science of Sobriety

Why is alcoholism so hard to overcome? Eli Lilly and others are scouring the brain for elusive, lucrative answers
Willpower, counseling, twelve steps, for decades, these have been the front-line treatments for alcoholics.
But now -- more than 70 years after a New York stockbroker and an Ohio surgeon founded Alcoholics Anonymous to treat one of society's most vexing health issues -- researchers are looking to add pills to the treatment options.

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Alcopop Aimed at Kids

They're sweet, they're fruity and they're everywhere. Adults may not have noticed the presence of so-called "alcopops" next to the beer in convenience stores and gas stations. Chances are, however, their kids are aware of colorful concoctions with names like Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Silver and Mike's Hard Lemonade. And, for many young people, such carbonated beverages are already their alcoholic drink of choice.

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Low-Cal Diet Can Give False Positive for Booze

Diet driving: Low-calorie diet produces false positives for alcohol
Swedish researchers have discovered that a low-calorie diet can register a false positive on certain in-car ignition interlock devices that disable a vehicle if alcohol is detected on one's breath. The anomaly was discovered when a non-drinking airplane pilot reported the incident. Turns out the man was on a very restrictive diet that had him losing weight rapidly, which is what may have caused the false reading. As reported in the latest issue of the International Journal of Obesity, motorists on very low-calorie diets may release certain ketones that could be converted into a secondary alcohol known as isopropanol.

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Addiction Doctor Faces Sentencing

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12-Step Program for E-mail Addiction

Alcoholics have one, and so do drug abusers. Now people addicted to e-mail also have a 12-step program designed to tackle their obsession.

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Addiction Shows Have Viewers Hooked

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Gallo's Generosity in Funding Addiction Research

UCSF Acknowledges Generosity of Late Ernest Gallo
In 1980, Gallo founded the Ernest Gallo Clinic & Research Center, a nonprofit multidisciplinary research institution devoted to the study of neuroscience and the effects of alcohol on the brain. Recognizing that alcoholism is a medical condition of the brain, Gallo arranged for the Gallo center to be closely affiliated with the Department of Neurology within the UCSF School of Medicine.

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Burn Off your Cigarette Addiction With Exercise

As little as five minutes of exercise seems to help smokers curb their craving for a cigarette, a review of a dozen studies found.
The research showed that moderate exercise, such as walking, significantly reduced the intensity of smokers' nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

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Alcoholism and Our Genes

Identifying genetic influences on vulnerability to alcohol addiction can lead to more targeted treatments and help those at risk to make informed choices about their own lives

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Have Scientists Finally Discovered the Answer to Addiction?

A ground-breaking trial in Scotland is leading a growing number of experts to think there's a cure for addiction. But what is NeuroElectric Therapy, and does it really work?

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Unlocking the Secrets of Addiction

Trying to unlock the secrets of addiction
Scientists are scanning the brains of smokers and alcoholics to understand cravings.
You might think reaching for that cup of coffee or that cigarette is a simple decision.But scientists think the way we act to satisfy cravings involves a little-understood automated response — one we have no control over — and researchers are using brain scans to unlock its secrets."If there's an automated component to craving, we really want to understand how it works," said Elliot Stein, director of the neuro-imaging lab at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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New Compound May Help Prevent Relapse

A new synthetic compound, known as MTIP, has been found to prevent alcoholic behavior relapse in animals by blocking stress response. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism scientists demonstrated that MTIP blocks chemical signals which are active in the brain's response to stress and therefore stop excessive drinking and prevent relapse.

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Alcoholism Drug Gets a Boost

Addiction Medicine Associates said today it will offer Vivitrol as an option to treat alcohol dependence at some of its locations.
The Boston company provides outpatient services to treat substance dependence at 17 locations in Massachusetts.

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Hearings Begin Concerning Indian Health Care

Hearings on the Indian Health Care Improvement Act took place last week in Washington, D.C., with supporters arguing that reauthorizing the act is essential to counter higher levels of tuberculosis, alcoholism, diabetes and other health-related problems among American Indians.

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Possible Treatment for Alcohol Abuse

Experimental drug curbs excessive alcohol use in rats

A new compound synthesized byEli Lilly & Co. showed such promise in animal tests that "it should be developed for clinical use in alcoholism," according to neuroscientist Markus Heilig, clinical director at the National Institute on Alcoholi Abuse & Alcoholism (NIAA). "We're thrilled, because this has been a dream for over a decade for many of us," says Heilig, who led the team that evaluated the compound's effect in rats

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Talking Beer Mug Emphasizes Alcoholism

St. Patty's Day is coming up, which is yet another excuse to go get obliterated in celebration, and here is a gadget that can assist in the obliteration. This talking beer glass is the perfect for the person who always needs to be told what to do. It is also great if you have previously drunken yourself blind—it will warn of low beer levels. $28. –Travis Hudson

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Man Blames Chewing Tobacco for DUI

Could chewing tobacco make a man legally drunk?
John Daniel Drury Sr. thinks so.
Drury, who faces a drunken driving charge, told Nanticoke police that the brand of chewing tobacco he uses, Red Man Select, contains Tennessee Whiskey.
Police said Drury, 42, of Pine Street in the Hanover Section of Nanticoke, failed a series of field sobriety tests. A breath test Drury took showed an alcohol level of 0.144 percent, police said.
A person in Pennsylvania is considered legally intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent.

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Addiction: Why Can't They Just Stop?

New book, documentary explores brain chemistry behind addictive behaviors.

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Caffeine Boost Myth

'Drinking Caffeine Doesn't Raise Alertness

Drinking caffeine in tea or coffee does not make you more alert, experts have warned.

Peter Rogers, professor of biological psychology at the University of Bristol, said that the idea that your morning cup of coffee gives you a lift is a myth. He says all it does is simply ease symptoms of caffeine withdrawal.

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Boozing Bees

Honeybees are avid drinkers, and this could make them ideal for research into drugs to treat alcoholism, say researchers.
Most animals have to be tricked into drinking alcohol, says Charles Abramson of Ohio State University. But a honeybee will happily drink the equivalent of a human downing 10 litres of wine at one sitting.

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Monkeys Getting High on Millipedes

Monkeys in Florida Get High on Millipede Hallucinogen

A species of millipede which originated in the West Indies but has recently appeared in parts of South Florida seems to have a hallucinogenic effect on Monkeys. The monkeys "bite the millipedes, then reach behind their backs and rub it on their fur."

"Their eyes glaze over and they're completely focused on what they're doing" said the head of the primate conservation group based at the Monkey Jungle, a Miami-Dade tourist attraction. He likens it to the way that cats react to catnip.

Monkeys even pass the bugs around, five members of a monkey family shared a millipede and they turned into a "writhing mass." So now when they see primates rolling around at the bottom of their cage caretakers know they are just under the influence.

LA County Coroner Giftshop

Skeletons in the Closet features a complete line of quality souvenir items, such as beach towels, tee-shirts, tote bags, baseball caps, coroner toe tag key chains, boxer shorts called "undertakers," and more. Each item displays a unique Los Angeles County Coroner design such as a skeleton in Sherlock Holmes attire, a chalked-out body outline or the L.A. County Coroner seal.
The shop, called Skeletons In The Closet, has been operating since September 1993. With the declining tax revenue, other concepts had to be considered to help off-set monetary losses. The intent was to use monies raised to offset the costs associated with the Youthful Drunk Driving Visitation Program (YDDVP), which uses no tax dollars as support.

For more information contact Skeletons in the Closet, (323) 343-0760.

Skeletons in the Closet

Are We Predisposed to Addiction

Some People May Be Predisposed To Addiction – Impulsive People More Likely To Become Addicts – Hereditary Gene Linked
(Best Syndication) Researchers at the University of Cambridge say that drug addiction is a “brain disorder” and that new research may lead to a treatment. They say that changes in the chemistry in the brain is linked with drug addiction in humans, but up until now were not sure whether it was because some people were “predisposed to drug addiction because of these chemical changes or if chronic drug use itself caused the chemical changes in the brain.”

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Sobriety High School

Teens kick dringing habit at Sobriety High.
An alternative school that teaches math, reading and therapy.

Seventeen-year-old Carolyn Burke is excited about her senior prom. Reaching into her closet, she shows off her dress — a white, floor-length number with rhinestone trim to be worn with a pair of sparkly silver sandals.
"I can't walk in these heels," she admitted with a smile.
Unlike most teenagers, her prom date isn't nearly as important as the date she keeps displayed on her cell phone. Flipping the phone open, she said, "I've been sober three years, one month and 18 days."

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Can Alcoholism be Treated With Dietary Supplements

Alcoholism treatment: Can dietary supplements help?
Q
I recently read a book that advocates a nutrition-based approach using supplements to treat alcoholism. The theory is that alcoholism is mainly a physiological problem and not a mental health problem. What is your opinion of this type of alcoholism treatment approach? - No name / No state given
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Daniel Hall-Flavin, M.D., and colleagues answer select questions from readers.
A
Because people with alcoholism tend to eat poorly, a common-sense approach to good nutrition is an important part of alcoholism treatment. But there's no credible scientific evidence that any specific nutritional approach is a cure for alcoholism or even a critical part of the recovery process.

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Anxious Rats Prefer alcohol

Anxious Animals Prefer Alcohol

Rats bred to have a preference for alcohol were more anxious than normal rats and had lower levels of a brain protein linked to emotion, fear, and anxiety,

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Stress and Craving Alcohol

Stress And Alcohol Cues Appear To Target The Brain Differently To Produce Craving

"Alcohol cues" are reminders of drinking. Researchers already know that both stress and alcohol cues can produce cravings and relapse in abstinent alcoholics. New findings indicate that stress and cues work on the brain differently to influence craving, perhaps producing an additive effect, which may in turn decrease the chances of treatment success.

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Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Alcoholics Misread Faces

Alcoholics misread faces

People with severe alcoholism may have more trouble interpreting other's emotions, new research suggests.
Being able to recognise people's emotional facial expressions is a cornerstone of non-verbal communication and can affect how well a person interacts socially. Alcoholics tend to have trouble decoding these expressions, researchers say.

These facial clues "are key features of communication since they convey most information on emotional expression and regulation as well as on social motives," study author Marie-Line Foisy, a researcher at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, said in a prepared statement.How the study was conductedIn a new study in the March issue of Alcoholism:

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Drunk Driving Record

Man Gets Maximum Sentence For 20th DUI Conviction

AKRON, Ohio -- A Barberton man who set a record for drunken driving convictions will be going to prison for a long time.
Jesse Brown, 51, appeared Tuesday in a Summit County courtroom to be sentenced for his 20th drunken driving conviction.

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Judge Cartwheels for Sobriety

Judge flips for commitment to sobriety

Cartwheeling JugdeThis is only the seond time in four years that Judge Lewis has had to live up to the deal.
CHARLOTTE -- District court judge Hugh Lewis typically sits atop his bench in the new Mecklenburg County courthouse imposing his rulings on thousands of defendants. Dawn Beaumont was one of them.
“I got addicted to pain medication and alcohol and my life was spinning out of control,” the alcohol and drug treatment court client said. “I was at the worst of the worst and was knocking on death's door.”

That's when she was put in front of Judge Lewis, and he made a unique deal with her.
“I have a standing pledge to anyone who comes in front of my courtroom -- if they do 90 meetings in 90 days, I will do cartwheels for them,” he said.

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