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Improving the Old, Embracing the New: Implications of Alcohol Research for Future Practice
Published in Gary Rosenberg, Weissman Andrew, Behavioral and Social Sciences in 21st Century Health Care: Contributions and Opportunities, 2021
Because alcoholism is a complex disease, there are likely to be many genes involved in increasing an individual’s risk for alcoholism. Scientists are looking for these genes and have found locations on chromosomes where they are likely to be. One important contributor to the study of the genetics of alcoholism is the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), a NIAAA-supported multisite study at six centers. This study, which was begun in 1989, assessed individuals from multigenerational families with a prevalence of alcoholism. Each of these families contained at least three first-degree relatives with alcohol dependence. Using a variety of cutting edge tools and techniques from molecular biology, neurochemistry, statistics, and clinical research, COGA scientists found highly suggestive evidence for chromosomal “hot spots” (areas of potential linkage to alcohol dependence) on chromosomes 1 and 2, and more modest evidence on chromosomes 4 and 7. In addition, locations for the genes involved in the expression of evoked potential responses, a high-risk marker for alcoholism, were also identified. These findings bring us a step closer to finding the genes underlying the genetic vulnerability to this chronic disease.
Nutraceutical Intervention for Treatment of Alcoholism and Drinking Problems
Published in Raj K. Keservani, Anil K. Sharma, Rajesh K. Kesharwani, Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements, 2020
Drunkenness is considered as a desire for liquor and incapability to discontinue consumption. It is conveyed by a bodily addiction and an augmented tolerance for liquor. Drunkenness involves a bodily dependency on liquor, but other prompting features include hereditary, mental, and social motives. The craving for alcohol increases day by day as the person consumes and their body starts developing acceptance and even demands for more to attain the desired effects. As the time progresses, the bodily addiction continues to increase. Even if a person wants to stop his drinking problem, the individual may experience painful indications of withdrawal that cause them to go back to alcohol for relief. As the habit grows, an individual suffering from intoxication will feel as if they need to drink to function and feel any sense of normality. Their health will begin to decline, they may have distress at family or work, there may be confusion of their assets, and they may even face legal difficulties as a result of their actions while drunk. Alcoholism also leads to family and work problems and can also cause grave health complications such as liver diseases (Jones and Dekker, 2000).
Informal Social Controls and the Liberalization of Drug Laws and Policies
Published in Ross Coomber, The Control of Drugs and Drug Users, 2020
In the United States, there is a widespread belief that the current system of drug controls rests on sound scientific evidence about the chemical nature of the drugs being regulated. Caffeine and alcohol are legally available, according to popular opinion, because they are comparatively benign drugs. They are “good” drugs. They possess some potential for harm when used to excess, but they can be used moderately (at least by adults) without significant risk. With alcohol, this view is abetted by the conventional wisdom that alcoholism is a disease, and that people who become alcoholics have some biological or psychological predisposition to its abuse. Put another way, alcoholism is attributed to defects in the drinker rather than the drink. With caffeine, most Americans would be hard pressed to name any harmful effects, and most do not regard it as a psychoactive substance. Few children drink coffee or tea, but this does not seem related to a belief that caffeine might harm them, since there are few qualms about children consuming caffeine in chocolate and carbonated beverages.
The efficacy of neurofeedback for alcohol use disorders – a systematic review
Published in The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 2023
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major public health issue that affects 237 million men and 46 million women worldwide, with high-income nations having the highest prevalence (Global Status Report on alcohol and health 2018). Alcohol is responsible for 5.3% of fatalities (3 million) and 132.6 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), accounting for 5.1% of all DALYs (Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018). Despite significant advances in understanding the central mechanisms underlying alcohol addiction and identifying related risk factors, alcoholism continues to be a serious medical and social concern. Only, 19.8% of individuals with lifelong AUD are ever treated, and 45–75% of those that are treated relapse a year later (Hunt et al. 1971; Grant et al. 2015). Psychotherapies and pharmacological options, such as naltrexone, disulphiram and acamprosate are now approved as recommended treatments; however, they are usually ineffective (Azevedo and Mammis 2018). As a result, improved or adjuvant therapies that may enhance or facilitate alcoholism therapy are urgently needed.
Gene knockdown of HCN2 ion channels in the ventral tegmental area reduces ethanol consumption in alcohol preferring rats
Published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 2022
Catalina Salinas-Luypaert, Felipe Sáez-Cortez, María Elena Quintanilla, Mario Herrera-Marschitz, Mario Rivera-Meza
Alcoholism is a chronic disease that affects several neurotransmitter systems in the Central Nervous System (CNS) (1). One of these systems is the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic pathway, with cell bodies and dendritic tree in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA), projecting their axons toward the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the prefrontal cortex. Under normal conditions, the mesolimbic dopaminergic system plays an essential role in the reinforcement elicited by natural rewards, such as food consumption or sexual activity (2–4). Animal studies have shown that systemic administration of ethanol (and all other drugs of abuse) activates the mesocorticolimbic system, increasing in a dose-dependent manner the dopamine release in the NAc shell (5,6), highlighting the relevance of the dopaminergic neurotransmission in the motivational effects of ethanol.
Resveratrol impairs acquisition, reinstatement and precipitates extinction of alcohol-induced place preference in mice
Published in Neurological Research, 2021
The current treatment approaches commonly used for chronic alcoholism include psychotherapy (e.g. counseling) and pharmacotherapy (i.e. disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate) [21]. Acamprosate is the United States Food and Drug Administration approved drug for the treatment of alcohol addiction that is only effective in certain patients, unfortunately [25]. Acamprosate probably affects the NMDA receptor antagonist and acts as an agonist of GABA receptors [26,27]. However, the most common side effects were listed in patients receiving acamprosate involving headache, diarrhea, nausea, and flatulence [26]. Hence, there is a need to develop new pharmacological agents with low side effect profiles for the treatment of alcohol addiction. Taking into account the considerable side effect potentials of the current drugs, resveratrol could be considered as an adjunct agent for the treatment of alcohol addiction.