Alcoholism
Family Dinners Help Teens Stay Sober
If parents want to keep their teens clean and sober, they may need to look no further than the family dinner table, according to a new study shown in the I B Times. CASA recently released a report that shows the importance of having family dinners. Joseph A. Califano, Jr., with CASA, says that parental involvement is key to raising drug-free teens and that family dinners are one of the basic acts of being engaged with your children.
Depression Worsens Over Time for High-Risk Women
Researchers at the University of Michigan’s Health System have released the latest developments of their ongoing longitudinal study on women in their 30s and early 40s who are considered to be at high-risk for alcohol abuse, antisocial behavior, and depression.
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New Compound Could Become Important Antidepressant
Chemists at Oregon State University have discovered and synthesized a new compound that in laboratory and animal tests appears to be similar to, but may have advantages over, one of the most important antidepressant medications in the world. A patent has been applied for on the compound, and findings on it published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Continued animal studies and human clinical trials will be necessary before the compound could be approved for human medical use, researchers say.
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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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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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Depression, Substance Abuse, and Mental Illness in the Military
By Colin Gilbert
A 2007 CBS News story recounted the life of a soldier, Staff Sgt. Daniel Shannon, who had been injured in combat and subsequently suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Shannon was prone to violent outbursts, where he would find himself destroying furniture in fits of rage. Sadly, stories like his are common; as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have lingered on, rates of mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, suicide, and PTSD have steadily climbed.
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Childhood Adversities, including Parental Alcoholism, Play a Role in Peptic Ulcers
New research shows that childhood adversities such as long-lasting financial difficulties, serious family conflicts, and a seriously or chronically ill family member have a predictive role in peptic ulcer. Adjusting for smoking, heavy drinking, stress, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use had no further influence.
Science Daily reports that smoking and NSAID use are the most important risk factors for peptic ulcer, and alcohol intake may also play a role in the development of gastric ulcers. Psychological stress can also have an impact on the onset and course of ulcer disease. However, very little is known as to whether childhood adversities involving financial problems, conflicts in the family, problems with alcohol, and matters of personal security are associated with peptic ulcer.
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Alcoholism: Its Ties to Domestic Violence and the Disruption of Families
By Catherine H. Knott, Ph.D.
Sue and Tom* were married less than a year before Tom’s alcoholism began to have a negative effect on their marriage. Tom was eight years older than Sue, a graduate student at a prestigious university; she was an at-home mom for their first child, but would shortly start graduate school herself. The drinking problem was insidious at first. Tom’s three or four beers every evening hardly seemed something to worry about. When he added a shot of whiskey every night, he excused it by saying he was under a lot of pressure from the difficult classes he was taking. But without making the link to the drinks at first, Sue became more and more upset by Tom’s unpredictable and often angry and out-of-control behavior.
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Gender Plays a Role in Perception of Depression
There are many elements that can play into whether or not a person will suffer from mental-health problems such as depression. Genetics and environment have long been known to be major contributors. Now, scientists are looking at the role that gender plays in this illness, how it contributes to the way it is treated, and how the public reacts.
According to a recent Science Daily release, it is assumed that women are much more likely to be caricatured as depressed than men. As depression is considered to be a stereotype of mental illness, psychologists James Wirth of Purdue and Galen Bodenhausen of Northwestern set out to determine if stereotypes play into the public’s reaction to those with mental-health problems.
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