Alcoholism
Drunken Fruit Flies Provide Insight into Alcohol Tolerance
Fruit flies are more than just the pesky bugs that appear in later summer and seem to want to swarm your kitchen. Now, researchers at North Carolina State and Boston universities are using these pests to identify entire networks of genes – which are also present in humans – that play a vital role in alcohol drinking behavior.
Science Daily recently posted a release that examined this study, which provides a crucial explanation of why some people seem to tolerate alcohol better than others. The study also provided a potential target for drugs aimed at preventing or eliminating alcoholism. The discovery helps to shine light on many of the negative side effects of drinking.
“Translational studies, like this one, in which discoveries from model organisms can be applied to insights in human biology, can make us understand the balance between nature and nurture, why we behave the way we do, for better or worse, and what makes us tick,” said Robert Anholt, a Professor of Biology and Genetics at North Carolina State University, Director of the W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology.
To conduct the study, Anholt and his colleagues measured the amount of time it took for the fruit flies to lose postural control after exposure to alcohol. The changes in the expressions of the fliers’ genes were also recorded at the same time. Through statistical analysis, the scientists were able to pinpoint specific genes that played a crucial role in adaptation relating to alcohol exposure.
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Study Identifies Clear Link between Alcohol Consumption and Cancer Risk
For years, researchers have been investigating the link between alcohol and cancer. Scientists have assumed that alcohol consumption increases the risk of several types of cancer. That assumption has now been confirmed with new research.
Private MD Labs recently posted a piece that examines a study which is set to be published in January. This study confirms that a passageway, called the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) likely plays a part in the process that causes cancer cells affected by alcohol to spread and grow.
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Chronic Alcohol Consumption Impairs Formation of New Brain Cells
A new study found that chronic alcohol consumption reduces the number of new brain cells that form in the hippocampus of adolescent rhesus monkeys. This finding suggests that these cells are vulnerable to alcohol and their presence may be essential for preventing alcohol dependence.
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Alcohol Abuse May Lead to Overeating and Depression in Women
A new study of young professional women finds that excessive alcohol use can relate to overeating and depression. Researchers surveyed 393 men and 383 women at ages 24, 27, and 30 about their weight, alcohol use, and depression symptoms within the last year. They found that women who had alcohol use disorders at age 24 were more than three times as likely to be obese at age 27, compared to women who did not.
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Drunk Driving Down; Drugged Driving Up
A government survey found that the number of drunk-driving cases has fallen sharply over the last 30 years due to tougher laws and a shift in societal views on alcohol. However, a separate survey showed that for the first time, 16.3 percent of nighttime weekend drivers tested positive for drugs—mainly marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
Study Finds Binge Drinking Linked to Stroke
It is well-known that binge drinking puts a person at risk of accident, brain damage and even death. Now, one report has also linked this dangerous activity to increasing the risk of stroke in men.
UPI Health News reported the findings of a recent study completed in South Korea. This study identified male binge drinkers as those who drank six or more servings of alcohol on one occasion, and women consuming four or more servings. Most of the alcohol consumed as soju, a native Korean distilled liquor similar to vodka that offers a 25 percent alcohol by volume.
“The proportion of Korean adults who drink alcohol is among the world’s highest and heavy drinking is also high,” senior researcher Dr. Heechoul Ohrr of Yonsei University College of Medicine, in Seoul, said in a statement. “About 46 percent of Korean men and 9 percent of Korean women are considered heavy drinkers.”
In this study, researchers examined the association between binge drinking and risks of death from all causes. The instance of a stroke received special attention for those 6,000+ citizens age 55 and older living in the agricultural community. These individuals were tracked for 20 years.
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Studies Examine Importance of Histamine in Alcohol Use
The behavior that is exhibited as a result of alcohol consumption can often be embarrassing or even destructive. The histamine-3 receptor plays an important role in alcohol-related behavior and a drug that can impact this receptor could offer hope.
Science Daily recently reported on a study headed by Pertti Panula that examines whether or not these drugs can make a difference in the effects of alcohol consumption. This study was part of the Substance Use and Addictions research program of the Academy of Finland.
“Whether these histamine-3 receptor drugs help in the treatment of human alcoholism will probably be clear when the results of the currently ongoing clinical trials become public. The drugs are currently being tested for the treatment of conditions such as observation disorders, sleep disorders and narcolepsy,” said Professor Panula, in the Science Daily.
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Higher Drinking Age Has Led to Less Binge Drinking, Except Among College Students
New research has found substantial reductions in binge drinking since the national drinking age was raised to 21 two decades ago, but there is one exception: college students. The rate of binge drinking in male college students remain the same, but the rate of drinking in female students has increased dramatically.
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say that although policy initiatives aimed at lowering underage drinking have generally been successful and that binge drinking is down among young people overall, it remains a problem on college campuses.
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College Drinking Problem Continues to Rise
The consumption of alcoholic beverages is considered by some to be synonymous with the college experience. For some however, it becomes a serious problem. In fact, a new government study has shown that alcohol-related deaths, heavy drinking episodes and drunk driving have all been on the rise on college campuses.
According to a Science Daily release, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has determined that the number of drinking-related accidental deaths among 18- to 24-year old students has been increasing.
The NIAA used figures from government databases and national surveys on alcohol use and found that these deaths increased from 1,440 in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005. At the same time, the proportion of students reporting recent binge drinking rose from 42 percent to 45 percent. Drunk driving also rose from 26.5 percent to 29 percent.
Heavy Alcohol Consumption Linked to Bowel Cancer
The fact that alcohol can cause a variety of problems for an individual when consumed in large quantities is nothing new. But what does tend to be changing is the number of ailments identified that can result from consistent overuse of alcohol in the body.
According to a new study featured in Science Daily, the lifestyle risk factors associated with alcohol consumption include high risk factors for bowel cancer. Research into this area has shown that people who consume the largest quantities of alcohol have a 60 percent greater risk of developing the cancer.
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