Alcohol
For alcoholics, new help in abstaining — without thinking about it
Alcoholism is a tough addiction to kick. Eventually, most people return to drinking. But some Dutch and German psychological scientists have tested a short-term regime that promises to help alcoholics stay sober. Their study is published in Psycholo…
Depression symptoms increase over time for addiction-prone women
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Unlike alcohol abuse problems and antisocial behavior, depression doesn’t decline with age in addiction-prone women in their 30s and 40s — it continues to increase, a new study led by University of Michigan Health System rese…
Young rats given polyphenols show less endothelial function deterioration with aging
The endothelium is the inner lining of our blood vessels and normal functions of endothelial cells include enabling coagulation, platelet adhesion and immune function. Endothelial dysfunction is associated with reduced anticoagulant properties an…
Critique 029: What should we advise about alcohol consumption? A debate amongst scientists
A Letter to the Editor entitled “What should we advise about alcohol consumption?” was recently published by Maurizio Ponz de Leon in Intern Emerg Med.1 Dr. de Leon argues that the message of health benefits of moderate drinking “seems to me haz…
Binge drinking: Too prevalent and hazardous
Binge drinking, an activity that many young people engage in, has associated adverse health risks and we need to do a better job of controlling overall alcohol usage, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo li…
Hold the Red Bull: Energy drinks don’t blunt effects of alcohol, study finds
Marketing efforts that encourage mixing caffeinated “energy” drinks with alcohol often try to sway young people to believe that caffeine will offset the sedating effects of alcohol and increase alertness and stamina.
But a new study led by researc…
No change in health gap between England’s richest and poorest
Significant health inequalities still exist between the country’s richest and poorest according to the latest findings from the biggest annual survey of health in England, The Health Survey for England. The survey, conducted by the National Centre f…
Lowering the drinking age is unlikely to curb college binge drinking
Although presidents at some U.S. colleges have argued that lowering the minimum legal drinking age could help curb binge drinking on campuses, a new study in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs suggests such a measu…