Alcoholism, smoking and genetics among Plains American Indians
Alcoholism and smoking have a high rate of co-occurrence in the general population. Yet little is known about the co-morbidity of alcoholism and smoking among American Indians. In the March issue of , researchers examine patterns of alcohol and tobacco use among Plains American Indians, as well as the influence that a catechol-O-methyltrans...Both alcoholism and chronic smoking can damage the brain's prefrontal cortex
University of Utah researchers will receive up to $10.3 million to help develop a new prosthetic arm that would work, feel and look like a real arm. The Utah work is a key part of a U.S. Department of Defense contract worth up to $55 million to develop the new device for soldiers and potentially others whose arms were amputated. "Imagine an artificial arm that moves naturally in response t...Variation in bitter-taste receptor gene increases risk for alcoholism
A team of researchers, led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has found that a gene variant for a bitter-taste receptor on the tongue is associated with an increased risk for alcohol dependence.The research team studied DNA samples from 262 families, all of which have at least three alcoholic individuals. The families are participating in a national study c...LSD treatment for alcoholism gets new look
For the past five years, Dr. Erika Dyck has been unearthing some intriguing facts related to a group of pioneering psychiatrists who worked in Saskatchewan, Canada in the '50s and '60s. Among other things, the University of Alberta history of medicine professor has found records of the psychiatrists' research that indicate a single dose of the hallucinogenic drug LSD, provided in a clinic...Alcoholism Drug Fails To Prevent Drinking Relapses
The Food and Drug Administration approved naltrexone for the treatment of alcoholism in 1994. At that time, the only other drug therapy available was disulfiram, or Antabuse, which provokes a sickening reaction to alcohol.// A new study casts sobering doubts on earlier claims that an alcoholism drug can truly treat the addiction. The government is sponsoring a large trial comparing na...Alcoholism Influenced By Both Genetics & Family Environment
In a study involving identical and non-identical twins, researchers conducted telephone interviews with 1,213 sets of male-male twins, average age 50.// The researchers’ goal was to better understand the hereditary and environmental effects on developing alcoholism -- not by studying the twins themselves, but by interviewing the twins’ children (ages 12 to 26) and the mothers of those children. <...Detrimental Effect Of Chronic Alcoholism On Male Fertility
Impotence, testicular atrophy, gynecomastia, and loss of sexual interest have often been associated with alcoholism in men. Sexual disorders have been reported in men who are long-term alcohol users,// with the prevalence ranging from 8% to 58%. Use of ethanol might cause gonadal disorders, including structural testicular changes and a decrease in testicular and serum levels of T, which might be...Smoking And Its Relation To Neurocognitive Deficits In Alcoholism
Impaired problem solving, visual spatial processing, memory, and cognitive proficiency are consequences of severe alcoholism. Smoking is much more prevalent among alcoholics than the general population,// yet the possible neurocognitive effects of cigarette smoking in alcoholism have not been studied, despite evidence that long-term smoking is associated with neurocognitive deficits....Heavy alcoholism has adverse affects on sex life in healthy males
That alcohol is the culprit in many of the illnesses affecting man was generally known. It has now emerged that addiction to alcohol can adversely affect sex life and the sperm quality in healthy men as well. // A new study by Indian scientists led by Biochemist Koonakapalyam Ramasami Muthusami in Coimbatore has found that chronic alcoholism decreases the level of testosterone in men. T...