http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Thanks to a rare bacteria that grows only on rocks in the Swiss Alps, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the Pasteur Institute in France have been the first to identify how alcohol might affect key brain proteins. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-rare-alpine-bacteria-alcohol-key.html Medical research Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:11:40 EST news286114290 Alcohol consumption affects the brain in multiple ways, ranging from acute changes in behavior to permanent molecular and functional alterations. The general consensus is that in the brain, alcohol targets mainly neurons. However, recent research suggests that other cells of the brain known as astrocytic glial cells or astrocytes are necessary for the rewarding effects of alcohol and the development of alcohol tolerance. The study, first-authored by Dr. Leonardo Pignataro, was published in the February 6th issue of the scientific journal Brain and Behavior. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-alcohol-consumption-brain-cells.html Neuroscience Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:32:20 EST news282817900 The European Union has given the green light for the sale of a medication that will help quench the urge for alcoholics to drink, the companies behind the new treatment said Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-eu-medication-quenches-urge-alcohol.html Addiction Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:55:38 EST news281278531 Chronic drinking is known to have detrimental health effects such as cardiac and liver problems, cognitive impairments, and brain damage. Binge drinking in particular is known to increase the risk of developing dementia and/or brain damage, yet little is known about an exact threshold for the damaging effects of alcohol. A study using rodents to examine various markers of neurodegeneration has found that brain damage can occur with as little as 24 hours of binge-like alcohol exposure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-brain-protein-vimentin-hippocampus-binge.html Health Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:00:01 EST news278091368 The impact on children of alcohol and fast-food advertising in sports sponsorship is concerning health experts at The University of Western Australia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-kids-sport-ads-alcohol-fast.html Health Tue, 22 Jan 2013 07:31:52 EST news278062306 One in eight women in the U.S. participates in binge drinking, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate among high school-age women is even higher—one in five—according to the report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-women-binge-expert.html Health Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:03:44 EST news277628616 A new study from the Journal of Marketing Management suggests that the UK's alcohol problem will continue to worsen until the availability and cultural presence of alcohol is subject to stricter controls. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-binge-approach.html Addiction Fri, 04 Jan 2013 09:04:03 EST news276512616 Scientists have shown how the common fruit fly Drosophila, which possess similar electrophysiological and pharmacological properties as humans, could now be used to screen and develop new therapies for alcohol-related behavioural disorders and some genetic diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-common-fruit-scientists-alcohol-related-disorders.html Medical research Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:13:43 EST news275228014 (Medical Xpress)—Alcohol misuse in young people causes significant changes in their brain function and structure. This and other findings were recently reviewed by Dr Daniel Hermens from the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Research Institute in the journal Cortex. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-excessive-alcohol-youre-young-impacts.html Health Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:17:09 EST news275041020 Prior research has shown that sensitivity to the stimulating effects of alcohol and other drugs is a risk marker for heavy or problematic use of those substances. Prior research has also shown that the personality trait of negative emotionality can have an effect on substance use. A new study examining how the response to an amphetamine interacts with negative emotionality to influence alcohol and drug use has found that a high level of negative emotionality may lead to problem drinking when it occurs together with sensitivity to a drug-based reward. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-negative-emotionality-people-prone-alcohol.html Addiction Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:00:14 EST news274696118 Children exposed to alcohol during fetal development exhibit changes in brain structure and metabolism that are visible using various imaging techniques, according to a new study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-fetal-alcohol-exposure-affects-brain.html Neuroscience Sun, 25 Nov 2012 00:00:04 EST news272811222 (HealthDay) -- You've seen those commercials with fun-loving people sharing a laugh over a cold brew. Now, a new study lends scientific support to the notion of alcohol as a social icebreaker. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-alcohol-social-lubricant.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:17:37 EST news262891052 (HealthDay) -- Mirroring so much of life, alcohol consumption comes with plusses and minuses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-health-benefits-alcohol.html Health Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:50:06 EST news262003432 (HealthDay) -- People who have certain chronic medical conditions, such as type 1 diabetes, are even more susceptible than most to the ill effects of alcohol, though they may not be aware of how potentially dangerous alcohol can be. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-alcohol-poses-diabetes.html Diabetes Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:30:01 EST news262003376 (Medical Xpress) -- Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol as part of a healthy lifestyle may benefit women's bone health, lowering their risk of developing osteoporosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-moderate-alcohol-consumption-bone-loss.html Health Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:47:29 EST news261218843 A new study led by University of Pittsburgh researchers reveals that moderate amounts of alcohol--consumed in a social setting--can enhance positive emotions and social bonding and relieve negative emotions among those drinking. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-reveals-moderate-doses-alcohol-social.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 29 Jun 2012 14:59:02 EST news260200706 Data from a nationally representative sample of 5,404 community-dwelling Canadians ages 50 and older at baseline (1994/1995) was used to estimate the effects of alcohol drinking patterns on quality of life when subjects were aged =50 years and after a follow-up period. Health-related quality of life was assessed with the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3). The authors report that most participants showed stable alcohol-consumption patterns over 6 years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-higher-quality-life-regular-moderate.html Addiction Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:39:33 EST news259591162 Low and moderate weekly alcohol consumption in early pregnancy is not associated with adverse neuropsychological effects in children aged five, suggests a series of papers published today in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. However, high levels of alcohol per week were linked with a lower attention span among five year olds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-lowmoderate-early-pregnancy-adverse-effects.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:00:07 EST news259347778 Researchers at The Miriam Hospital say interventions targeting what college students often see as the pleasurable effects of alcohol – including loosened inhibitions and feeling more bold and outgoing – may be one way to stem the tide of dangerous and widespread binge drinking on college campuses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-curbing-college-binge-role-alcohol.html Addiction Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:34:09 EST news253967641 (HealthDay) -- Teenage girls and young adult women who drink even moderate amounts of alcohol appear to increase their risk of developing breast changes that can lead to cancer, according to a large new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-teen-boost-odds-precancerous-breast.html Health Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:50:01 EST news253186016 Subjects in a cohort in Sweden, some of whom had been exposed to a community intervention program to prevent diabetes, were evaluated 8-10 years after baseline for the presence of diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose metabolism ("pre-diabetes") in relation to a baseline report of alcohol consumption. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-association-alcohol-diabetes.html Diabetes Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:46:45 EST news252236796 Brain scans of two strains of mice imbibing significant quantities of alcohol reveal serious shrinkage in some brain regions - but only in mice lacking a particular type of receptor for dopamine, the brain's "reward" chemical. The study, conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and published in the May 2012 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, now online, provides new evidence that these dopamine receptors, known as DRD2, may play a protective role against alcohol-induced brain damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-alcohol-critical-brain-regions-genetically.html Medical research Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:00:09 EST news248541266 A medication commonly used to help people stop smoking may have an unanticipated positive side effect for an entirely different vice: drinking alcohol. A new study by University of Chicago researchers finds that varenicline, sold as Chantix, increases the negative effects of alcohol and therefore could hold promise as a treatment for alcoholism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-cessation-aide-alcoholism-treatment.html Health Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:00:03 EST news248541211 Drivers who consume cannabis within three hours of driving are nearly twice as likely to cause a vehicle collision as those who are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol claims a paper published today in the British Medical Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-cannabis-chances-vehicle.html Health Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:30:01 EST news248007972 (Medical Xpress) -- Drinking alcohol leads to the release of endorphins in areas of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward, according to a study led by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-clue-alcohol-addicting-brain-endorphins.html Neuroscience Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:00:01 EST news245509528 (Medical Xpress) -- Alcohol consumption can lead to those dreaded hangovers and even alcohol dependence. However, a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience has found a natural ingredient in the Asian tree Hovenia dulcis that seems to produce anti-alcohol effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-herbal-drug-effects-alcohol.html Neuroscience Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:22:55 EST news244984952 When you think about your immune system, you probably think about it fighting off a cold. But new research from the University of Adelaide suggests that immune cells in your brain may contribute to how you respond to alcohol. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-alcohol-related-behavior-blame-immune.html Health Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:28:30 EST news236489301 An excellent study among experimental mice has reported very dramatic differences between the effects of alcohol administered in moderation on a daily basis and the same total weekly amount of alcohol administered on only two days of the week: (replicating binge drinking). The mice used in the study that were given regular moderate amounts of alcohol showed no weight gain, improved lipid values, and much less development of atherosclerosis than did control animals. However, those given alcohol in a binge-drinking pattern showed worse outcomes than control animals, and much worse outcomes than those given regular moderate doses of alcohol. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-differences-effects-atherosclerosis-regular-moderate.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:05:23 EST news235739113 Alcohol has become an important cause of death among patients with type 1 diabetes since the 1980s, concludes a study published on BMJ website today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-alcohol-deaths-patients-diabetes.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:38:34 EST news234758306 This paper provides an extensive analysis of the proportion of the risk of upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) cancers in the population (the population attributable risk) that may be due to alcohol consumption and/or smoking. The analyse provides strong evidence that smoking is the most important factor in the risk of these cancers, and the risk is enhanced among those who smoke and also consume 2 or more drinks per day. Alcohol alone (i.e., among non-smokers) has little effect on the risk (less than 1%). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-role-alcohol-intake-upper-aerodigestive.html Cancer Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:19:08 EST news234537511