Researchers have long known that individuals with a positive family history of alcoholism (FHP) are at an increased risk themselves for alcoholism. This increased risk may be due to their different reaction to alcohol than individuals with a negative family history of alcoholism (FHN). This study investigated how sensitive individuals with an FHP of type I form of alcoholism – characterized by a relatively late onset of dependence in socially well-adjusted individuals, low prevalence of familial alcoholism, and a milder course – are to alcohol’s stimulating properties.   Results will be published in the August 2011...

In a systematic review of current evidence published in this week’s PLoS Medicine, the authors—Jim McCambridge from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK, and colleagues—conclude that there is enough evidence to recommend that reducing drinking during late adolescence is likely to be important for preventing long-term adverse consequences of drinking, as well as protecting against more immediate harms. Although there is an urgent need for better studies in this area, research to date provides some evidence that high alcohol consumption in late adolescence often continues into adulthood and is associated...

Binge drinking is prevalent among university students, especially in the United States. One brain structure particularly sensitive to alcohol’s neurotoxicity during development is the hippocampus, which plays a key role in learning and memory. A study of the association between binge drinking and declarative memory — a form of long-term memory — in university students has found a link between binge drinking and poorer verbal declarative memory. Results will be published in the August 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View. “In northern European...

Among women, whites more likely than Hispanics, blacks to down 5 or more drinks a day, study finds (HealthDay News) — Alcohol consumption is on the rise in the United States due to a number of factors, including social, economic and ethnic influences and pressures, a new study has found. Researchers analyzed national alcohol consumption patterns among people who took part in the 1991-1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey and the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Each survey included about 43,000 people. Drinkers were defined as people who had consumed at least 12 drinks that...

The popular, formerly caffeinated, fruity alcoholic beverage, Four Loko, has been blamed for a spike in alcohol-related hospitalizations, especially throughout college campuses. Initially, caffeine was deemed the culprit and the Food and Drug Administration ordered all traces of caffeine to be removed from Four Loko and all other similar beverages. However, according to an upcoming evaluation in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, caffeine might not be the primary cause of the spike in hospitalizations. “Four Loko didn’t have the extraordinary intoxicating effect because...

Researchers showed that human subjects with the 118G variant of the mu-opioid receptor released dopamine from the ventrial striatum of the brain in response to alcohol, while those with the more common 118A variant of this receptor did not

NICE has today published a new clinical guideline that aims to help ensure people diagnosed with a form of psychosis, who also misuse substances, can be identified and treated effectively Around 40% of people who have been diagnosed with psychosis have also misused a substance at some point in their lifetime. This is at least double the rate seen in the general population. Dr Fergus Macbeth, Director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE, said: “When these two conditions co-exist, patients can spend twice as long in hospital, compared with those who do not misuse substances. They experience poorer physical health, are less...

The latest survey of Ontario adults from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows increasing rates of daily drinking and cannabis use and high levels of psychological distress. The results of the 2009 CAMH Monitor survey, the longest running survey tracking mental health and addiction indicators among adults in Ontario, were published 13 June, 2011. Alcohol The proportion of adults reporting daily drinking increased from 5.3% in 2002 to over 9% in 2009. The average number of drinks consumed weekly among drinkers has also increased from 3 drinks to 4.6 drinks, and the proportion of adults exceeding low-risk drinking guidelines...