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A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found that a specific stress hormone, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in animal models. Chemically blocking the stress factor also blocked the signs and symptoms of addiction, suggesting a potentially promising area for future drug development. (Source: Google Alkohol Alert, 1/26/10) innovations-report.de, 1/26/10 // (Source: Medical News Today, 1/26/10)

Words Used To Describe Substance-Use Patients Can Alter Attitudes, Contribute To Stigma
Changing the words used to describe someone struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction may significantly alter the attitudes of health care professionals, even those who specialize in addiction treatment. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have found that health professionals‘ answers to survey questions about a hypothetical patient varied depending on whether he was described as a „substance abuser“ or as „having a substance use disorder.“ Their study will appear in the International Journal of Drug Policy and has been released online. (Source: Medical News Today, 1/14/10)

A recent evaluation by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows that online interventions for problem alcohol use can be effective in changing drinking behaviours and offers a significant public health benefit. (Source: Medical News Today, 1/7/10)

A massive rise in the numbers of people drinking heavily and the cost of treating them is creating an unsustainable burden on NHS hospitals but more could be done to ease existing pressures, says an NHS Confederation report published recently. Too Much of the hard stuff: What alcohol costs the NHS, from the NHS Confederation and the Royal College of Physicians shows that the cost to the NHS of excess drinking has doubled in just five years, with most of the cost being spent on hospital and ambulance services. (Source: Medical News Today, 1/6/10)

Excessive sway during quiet standing is a common and significant consequence of chronic alcoholism, even after prolonged sobriety, and can lead to fall-related injury and even death. A new study of residual postural instability in alcohol-abstinent men and women shows that alcoholics improve with prolonged sobriety, but the improvement may not fully erase the problem of instability. (Source: Medical News Today, 12/21/09)

The U.S. healthcare system has some remarkable treatment success stories but efforts to prevent illnesses caused by smoking and other unhealthy behaviors have stalled, according to the annual America’s Health Rankings report. „Over the past 20 years, our national health care system has helped extend the length of life, but not the quality of life,“ said Reed Tuckson, M.D., executive vice president and chief of medical affairs at UnitedHealth Group, who added, „Making progress against smoking and obesity is a critical step to successfully tackling the health reform our nation wants to achieve.“ (Source: Join Together, 12/10/09) Comment: Not to forget the reduced quality of life and the social costs related to alcohol.

The document consists of three parts: The report by the secretariat, including a draft resolution for consideration by the WHO Executive Board; Annex 1 – the draft strategy itself; and Annex 2 – a two page summary of the evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions. In addition there is also a Bibliography on evidence on harmful use of alcohol published as a separate document on the WHO-web page: Follow the process for implementing the WHA 61.4 resolution and preparing a draft global strategy to reduce harmful use of alcohol Comment: One of the most important papers on alcohol politics.

The association between alcohol use, alcohol use disorders and tuberculosis (TB). A systematic review.
In 2004, tuberculosis (TB) was responsible for 2.5% of global mortality (among men 3.1%; among women 1.8%) and 2.2% of global burden of disease (men 2.7%; women 1.7%). The present work portrays accumulated evidence on the association between alcohol consumption and TB with the aim to clarify the nature of the relationship. (Source: BMC Public Health 2009, 9:450doi:10.1186/1471-2458-9-450, 12/5/09)

The rigors of medical training sharpen a doctor’s ability to diagnose and treat a wide variety of human afflictions. However, drug abuse and addiction are often insufficiently covered in medical school curricula, despite the fact that drug use affects a wide range of health conditions and drug abuse and addiction are themselves major public health issues.
To improve drug abuse and addiction training of future physicians, the National Institute on Drug Abuse(NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, unveiled a series of new teaching tools, through its Centers of Excellence for Physician Information Program (NIDA CoEs), at the Association of American Medical Colleges 2009 Annual Meeting’s „Innovations in Medical Education“ Exhibit in Boston. (Source: Join Together, 12/1/09)

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been linked to a wide array of developmental deficits, including significant impairments in social skills. An examination of a social- skills intervention called Children’s Friendship Training found that it led to a decrease in hostile attributions or perceptions of children with PAE. (Source: Medical News Today, 11/21/09)