alcohol consumption
Privatizing Sweden’s retail alcohol sales will increase alcohol-related violence and other harms
A study published today in the scientific journal Addiction argues that privatising Sweden’s government monopoly on the sale of alcohol will significantly increase alcohol-related violence and other harms. Depending on the type of privatisation, exp…
Study identifies factors which predict alcohol use after liver transplantation
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 t…
Fragmentary blackouts help some drinkers remember the good times that weren't
Research shows that people who experience fragmentary blackouts (FBs) are more likely to misremember drinking experiences after alcohol is consumed. These same individuals report strong positive expectations about future alcohol consumption. Researchers believe that some memory-impaired drinkers ‘fill in the gaps’ with information that conforms to an existing belief system, which may in turn lead to heavier drinking.
This just in: More drinks may lead to severe barroom brawls
Drinking does not necessarily lead to barroom brawling, but the amount of alcohol consumed by participants in an aggressive situation can make a difference in how severe or injurious the brawl turns out to be, according to new research.
Mouse model links alcohol intake to marijuana-like brain compounds
Brain molecules similar to the active compound in marijuana help to regulate alcohol consumption, according to new reports by scientists. In studies conducted with a strain of mice known to have a high preference for alcohol, the scientists found greatly reduced alcohol intake in mice specially bred to lack CB1, the brain receptor for innate marijuana-like substances known as endocannabinoids. The effect was age dependent, the Bethesda group found. The New York scientists showed that the endocannabinoid system activates a brain region known as the nucleus accumbens, which plays a major role in mediating the rewarding effects of alcohol.
Health benefits of moderate drinking may not apply to African Americans
The widely reported health benefits of drinking a moderate amount of alcohol do not extend to African-Americans, according to a new study. These findings follow a widely reported Jan. 9 New England Journal of Medicine article saying that moderate daily or near-daily alcohol consumption could decrease a man’s risk of heart disease. The researchers in the new study, published in the January issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, suggest that the difference in protective benefits of alcohol for black men could also be a result of not how much people drink but how they do it.