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More than 80 percent of alcohol problems that occur following disasters are among people with a preexisting or ongoing drinking problem, Internal Medicine News reported Oct. 4.
Researchers at the VA North Texas Health Care System examined data from 10 disaster studies and identified nearly 700 survivors who had undergone both pre- and post-disaster alcohol assessments. All subjects had been directly affected by the disaster: More than one-third had been injured, and 20 percent had disaster-related post-traumatic stress disorder. (Source: Join Together, 10/12/10)

Opponents of a proposed union between the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the smaller National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) worry, in part, that combining these two National Institutes of Health (NIH) agencies as part of a new ‚National Institute on Addictions‘ could result in a lack of focus or funding for alcohol research. However, at least one researcher says the plan could actually result in more funding for alcohol-addiction research. (Source: Join Together, 10/6/10)

The Navy has signed a five-year contract with Hazelden to provide online recovery support services for sailors, the Associated Press reported Oct. 3.
The new, $3.25 million program was developed in partnership with Hazelden for the 10,000 patients in the Navy’s Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation Services program. Although the program is tailored for younger sailors and those on active duty, retired Navy personnel and family members will also be able to access it. (Source: Join Together, 10/04/10)

The original manuscript of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Big Book is being published for the first time, along with edits that changed its references to religion, the Washington Post reported Sept. 22.
The first AA manual, called: „Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism,“ was published in 1939, the Associated Press (AP) reported Sept. 28. (Source: Join Together, 10/1/10)

New government data released demonstrate the continued, urgent need for more Americans to have access to drug and alcohol addiction treatment, according to an analysis by the Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap (CATG) initiative. If implemented properly, federal health care reform legislation could help remove financial barriers to treatment for millions of Americans. (Source: Medical News Today, 9/18/10)

Philadelphia’s Treatment Research Institute (TRI) is launching a new center designed to help parents address alcohol and drug use by their children, TRI announced in a Sept. 14 press release.
The Parents Translational Research Center, funded with a five-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), will conduct research to aid parents and caregivers, and disseminate its findings by collaborating with the Partnership at DrugFree.org (formerly the Partnership for a Drug-Free America). (Source: Join Together, 9/16/10)

Millions of Americans suffer from severe addictions that can ruin lives and are extremely difficult to control. Nearly 2 million enter roughly 12,000 addiction treatment programs in the U.S. each year. And each month, some 15,000 people turn to Adi Jaffe’s All About Addiction websites and at Psychology Today, which provide information, the latest research and answers to readers‘ questions. (Source: Medical News Today, 9/10/10)

Prior research has shown that alcohol abuse and dependence are typically associated with higher rates of obesity, as evidenced by a high body mass index (BMI). Findings from a new study of the relationship between BMI and regional measures of brain structure, metabolite concentrations, and cerebral blood flow suggest that alcohol-related brain injuries may result from a complicated fusion of hazardous drinking, chronic cigarette smoking, and even elevated BMI. (Source: Medical News Today, 9.9.10) Comment: And if some of them become abstainers, they will be misused for research as control group vs. moderate drinkers.

Acamprosate reduces the number of patients being treated for alcoholism who return to drinking, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. The drug showed moderate benefits in trials when used in addition to non-drug treatments. (Source: Medical News Today, 9/08/10)

Patients who receive a liver transplant due to alcoholic liver disease need to demonstrate periods of abstinence and often attend addiction treatment before transplantation. However, alcohol use disorders can recur, as can other diseases requiring transplantation, and thus alcohol use after liver transplantation is not uncommon. A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that those at highest risk to drink alcohol post transplant, especially in patterns that will damage their health, can be identified potentially preventing relapse. (Source: Medical News Today, 8/20/10)