http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Men who are heavy drinkers and homeless for long periods of time have 400 times the number of head injuries as the general population, according to a new study by researchers who said they were shocked by their findings. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-statistics-injuries-people-homeless.html Health Thu, 16 May 2013 13:12:18 EST news287928725 (Medical Xpress)—Teen-age college students are significantly more likely to abstain from drinking or to drink only minimally when their parents talk to them before they start college, using suggestions in a parent handbook developed by Robert Turrisi, professor of biobehavioral health, Penn State. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-pre-college-parents-teens-lessen-college.html Health Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:09:41 EST news282913775 Do you ever wake up with a raging hangover and picture the row of brain cells that you suspect have have started to decay? Or wonder whether that final glass of wine was too much for those tiny cells, and pushed you over the line? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-alcohol-braincells-medical-myth.html Health Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:25:18 EST news282299086 In addition to its well-known effects on the CNS, alcohol consumption has a significant impact on metabolism. After consumption, the body rapidly begins converting ethanol to acetate, which can serve as an energy source for the brain and other organs. Lihong Jiang and colleagues at Yale University used a brain imaging technique, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, to track acetate uptake and metabolism in the brains of heavy drinkers (consumed at least 8 drinks/week) and light drinkers (consumed less than 2 drinks/week). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-brain-acetate-metabolism-reward-heavy.html Addiction Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:00:02 EST news281963455 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists may be better able to study how heavy drinking damages the liver using a new mouse model of alcohol drinking and disease developed by researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The model incorporates chronic and binge drinking patterns to more closely approximate alcoholic liver disease in humans than any existing method. A report of the new model appears in the March issue of the journal Nature Protocols. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nih-mouse-alcoholic-liver-disease.html Medical research Fri, 01 Mar 2013 08:40:01 EST news281348528 Prior studies have shown that a low subjective response (SR) to alcohol is a risk factor for alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Research on moderate drinkers has shown that acquired tolerance is different from initial response, and is also significantly associated with drinking problems. A new study of linkages among early SR, acquired tolerance, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems among problem drinkers has found that a low, early subjective response –an ability to "hold one's liquor" - may protect against problems in the short term, but likely becomes a risk factor for longer-term problems as tolerance to alcohol develops. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-ability-liquor-alcohol-problems.html Health Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:00:07 EST news278091541 More than a third of the adult population in Indiana who consume alcohol admit to regular binge drinking, a habit that may cause severe neurological and physiological damage, says a new report from Ball State University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hoosiers-alcohol-bingeing.html Addiction Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:00:01 EST news277116095 Previous research had identified an individual's subjective response to alcohol as a marker of alcoholism risk. The A118G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the mu opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene had also been previously associated with subjective response to alcohol in heavy drinkers. A new study extends this research, showing that the OPRM1 genotype seems to moderate the pleasant and stimulating effects to alcohol among alcohol-dependent (AD) individuals but not its unpleasant and sedative effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-mu-opioid-receptor-genotype-marker.html Addiction Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:00:05 EST news274695807 New research helps explain why some teenagers are more prone to drinking alcohol than others. The study, led by King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) provides the most detailed understanding yet of the brain processes involved in teenage alcohol abuse. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-teenagers-prone-binge.html Genetics Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:00:22 EST news273755226 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Liverpool have developed a computer-based test that could help heavy drinkers reduce their alcohol consumption. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-heavy-drinkers-alcohol-intake.html Addiction Tue, 27 Nov 2012 06:50:02 EST news273220514 Relatively small levels of exposure to alcohol while in the womb can influence a child's IQ, according to a new study led by researchers from the universities of Bristol and Oxford using data from over 4,000 mothers and their children in the Children of the 90s study (ALSPAC) and published today in PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-moderate-pregnancy-affect-child-iq.html Health Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:10:22 EST news272130198 A new study published online today in Nature Genetics reveals a genetic link between chronic pancreatitis and alcohol consumption. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and more than 25 other health centers across the United States found a genetic variant on chromosome X near the claudin-2 gene (CLDN2) that predicts which men who are heavy drinkers are at high risk of developing chronic pancreatitis. This finding enables doctors to identify people with early signs of pancreatitis or an attack of acute pancreatitis who are at very high risk for progressing to chronic pancreatitis, allowing them to take preventative action to slow the development of the disease, and give the pancreas a chance to heal. Once an individual develops pancreatitis it takes several years for the pancreas to deteriorate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-genetic-link-pancreatitis-alcohol-consumption.html Genetics Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:41:14 EST news271942866 An analysis of the association of alcohol consumption with the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) among subjects with coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or other manifestations of cardiovascular disease (CVD) was based on subjects in two large antihypertensive drug treatment trials. Previous research in the general population has suggested an increase in the risk of the development of AF for heavy drinkers, and the present study shows such an association among subjects who already have CVD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-moderate-alcohol-intake-atrial-fibrillation.html Cardiology Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:35:22 EST news269260515 Some people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods may be at increased risk of problem drinking—though much may depend on race and gender, according to a new study in the November issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Researchers found that of nearly 14,000 U.S. adults surveyed, those living in low-income neighborhoods were generally more likely to be non-drinkers than were people in affluent neighborhoods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-problem.html Addiction Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:20:02 EST news268914218 Those who smoke and drink heavily may develop pancreatic cancer at an earlier age than those who don't, according to a study led by a University of Michigan Health System gastroenterologist. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-heavy-linked-earlier-onset-pancreatic.html Cancer Mon, 01 Oct 2012 02:33:17 EST news268277577 A new study shows that people who have three or more alcoholic drinks per day may be at higher risk for experiencing a stroke almost a decade and a half earlier in life than those who do not drink heavily. The research is published in the September 11, 2012, print issue of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-heavy-earlier-life.html Neuroscience Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:00:11 EST news266501085 A new 'traffic light' test devised by Dr Nick Sheron and colleagues at University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital could be used in primary care to diagnose liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in high risk populations more easily than at present. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-traffic-earlier-diagnosis-liver-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:05:54 EST news265457144 Heavy drinking is known to affect teenagers' developing brains, but certain patterns of brain activity may also help predict which kids are at risk of becoming problem drinkers, according to a study in the September issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-brain-teens-heavy.html Addiction Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:20:01 EST news263569223 (HealthDay) -- Past research has suggested that a glass or two of wine -- or another form of alcohol -- each evening may lower your risk of dementia in old age. But two new studies challenge that theory by suggesting that you might actually harm your brain by changing your drinking habits in later life -- or drinking heavily. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-alcohol-kind-aging-brain.html Health Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:10:01 EST news261827591 (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 French health authorities have approved the use of a drug, originally designed to treat nervous spasms, for the treatment of alcoholism on a "case by case" basis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-anti-alcoholism-drug-france.html Medications Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:40:01 EST news254560560 (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 The new UK alcohol strategy includes a plan to ensure that General Practitioners (GPs) advise heavy drinkers to cut down. There is good evidence that this can reduce how much people drink. The big question is, what should GPs say to their patients? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-gps-drinkers-daily.html Health Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:09:39 EST news252155370 A drug designed to treat nervous spasms has cleared an important early test in a project to see whether it can also cure alcoholism, French doctors said on Tuesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-anti-alcoholism-drug-key-hurdle.html Addiction Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:18:11 EST news251457481 (HealthDay) -- The emergency room costs of treating college students with injuries associated with alcohol-induced blackouts can be more than half a million dollars a year at a university with 40,000 or more students, a new study found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-excessive-colleges-millions-annually.html Health Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:20:01 EST news251383230 Most studies have found that binge drinking is associated with a loss of alcohol's protective effect against ischemic heart disease (IHD) and most studies have found an increase of coronary risk among binge drinkers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-effect-occasional-binge-heart-disease.html Addiction Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:29:20 EST news247400952 The first few weeks of college are a critical time in shaping students' drinking habits. Now Penn State researchers have a tailored approach that may help prevent students from becoming heavy drinkers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-early-intervention-curb-dangerous-college.html Health Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:34:40 EST news247149269 (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 Some gravely ill alcoholics who need a liver transplant shouldn't have to prove they can stay sober for six months to get one, doctors say in a study that could intensify the debate over whether those who destroy their organs by drinking deserve new ones. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-debate-transplants-alcoholics.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:00:47 EST news240084037 Doctors who drink more themselves are more liberal in their advice to patients on alcohol consumption. They set higher thresholds for what is harmful, and while men who are heavy drinkers get to continue drinking, women are often advised to stop altogether, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-doctors-alcohol-consumption-advice-patients.html Health Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:37:00 EST news239283414