Keywords Archives: alcoholism

Researchers using stem cells to treat alcoholism

Could human stem cells hold the key to successfully treating alcohol use disorder? A new study by Chilean scientists, using laboratory rats selectively bred to prefer alcohol over water, found that injecting stem cells caused the rats to reduce their alcohol consumption within 48 hours after treatment. According to their findings,only 48 hours after a […]
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Florida lawmakers want to limit opioid pain med prescriptions

The Florida legislature is considering legislation that would limit opioid prescriptions for acute pain to a three-day supply, or seven days if a physician deems it medically necessary. Bills including that stipulation were filed in October by Gov. Rick Scott, along with Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto and Jim Boyd, Republicans who represent southwest Florida. The bill […]
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New online tool helps navigate universe of alcoholism treatment providers

People who need to find a quality alcoholism treatment provider have a new, online resource. It’s an Alcohol Treatment Navigator, designed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), which is part of the National Institutes of Health. “A lot of people struggling with alcohol problems do not know where to turn,” said […]
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Implants: a new way to deliver medication-assisted treatment

In recent years, subcutaneous (under the skin) implantable devices have been developed to deliver a number of medications for various health conditions, in a sustained release method. One of the newest implant applications is treatment of addiction and alcoholism. Implantable drug delivery devices offer several advantages over conventional oral or parenteral dosage methods, useful in […]
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Scientists working to develop ‘safe’ alcohol

A British psychiatrist and addiction specialist has developed a new synthetic alcohol (alcosynth) he says can deliver most of the enjoyable effects of alcohol, without hangovers or any of the other, negative consequences of over-use. David Nutt, who teaches at Imperial College London in the UK, hopes to market a drink called Alcarelle. “Alcohol kills […]
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Canadian alcoholism clinic claims success with naltrexone method

A new, Canadian-based company that treats alcoholics using a controlled-drinking, medication-assisted model plans to open its third clinic on December 11 in Calgary, Alberta. Using a Finnish treatment which employs the drug naltrexone to block the pleasurable effects of alcohol, Vancouver-based Alavida claims a success rate of 78 percent. An opioid antagonist which blocks the […]
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Alanon: offering a way out of co-dependency

It has been well-documented that addiction is a family disease. Alcohol and drug abuse impact not only the user, but family members, friends, co-workers and others who have a relationship with the user. Since it was founded in 1951 by the wives of two Alcoholics Anonymous members, Al-Anon has offered free and confidential support for […]
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Senators question drug-marketing tactics

Two members of the U.S. Senate’s primary investigative body have raised questions about the marketing tactics used by companies to promote their opiate addiction treatment drugs.  Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California), a former California attorney general, recently wrote a letter to Alkermes CEO Richard Pops demanding documents about its efforts to market Vivitrol, its drug used […]
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No more playing God: When is my sponsorship off track?

It is a well-known fact that most people who enter the doors of AA fair much better in sobriety if they choose to have a sponsor. However, most of the direction in regards to sponsorship are given to the folks looking for a sponsor and not a lot of information is given to the sponsor […]
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Am I really powerless to stop my loved one’s drug use?

There is nothing that makes a person feel more helpless than watching a loved one suffer from drug addiction, especially when it seems they don’t want help. Al-Anon teaches that we are powerless over alcoholism and while that may be true to some extent, there are steps we can take that will help an addict […]
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Montana putting treatment in reach of more addicts

One of the factors often cited as helping fuel the recent opiate epidemic is lack of access to addiction treatment services in rural areas of the United States. In Montana, one of the country’s lowest population-density states, lawmakers and other officials have been taking steps to make it easier for addicts to access treatment in […]
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Step Three – Handing Over Control

Step three, according to the AA Big Book is “made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understood him.” When I first went to AA and Al-Anon meetings, I was an absolute mess. I pretty much cried the whole time and I remember someone saying to […]
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The Sinclair Method: Drink your way to sober living

Dr. David Sinclair initially got inspired about a new method of alcohol treatment from the experiments of Nobel-prize winner, Ivan Pavlov. Most people are familiar with Pavlov’s experiment using dogs, providing them with a treat after sounding a bell and eventually, the dogs would salivate merely with the bell alone. Sinclair’s interest lay in the […]
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Spirituality: build your own definition

When the subject of addiction recovery is discussed and debated, one topic that often comes up is spirituality, and what it means. How spirituality is defined is a very personal choice, and one each individual makes for him or herself. It has often been said that addiction is a disease that not only affects the […]
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Study could lead to “personalized” alcoholism treatment

A new study focusing on the differences between alcohol-dependent and non-dependent brains could bring scientists closer to developing more personalized treatments for alcoholism and alcohol-use disorder. Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute, led by TSRI Prof. Marisa Roberto, had previously discovered that alcohol increases neuronal activity in an area of the brain called the central […]
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Study: hormone may help cause alcoholism

Scientists have known for years that heavy alcohol consumption can lead to imbalances and malfunctions in the hormones that regulate many bodily functions. Now, researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism have identified a hormone which may help cause alcohol use disorder, aka alcoholism. The hormone is  aldosterone, a hormone produced in […]
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Russia’s Biggest Problem ISN’T Putin

For all his meddling, threats and imperious rhetoric, Putin has certainly cast a pall over what it must be like to be a Russian in today’s political climate. But average Russians, the same as average Americans, probably aren’t nearly as concerned with politics as they are with day to day pressing issues. Russia is home […]
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