We also know that people with a family
history of alcohol dependence show a preference for sweeter foods, suggesting a genetic basis for the connection between alcohol abuse and food cravings.
Despite the pressing need, there are only a few approved drugs for the
treatment of alcohol dependence, but their effects vary from person to person and the prescriptions rates are low.
College students who consume nonalcoholic energy drinks such as Red Bull at least once a week are more than twice as likely as their peers to show
signs of alcohol dependence, according to a new study.
Each therapy session consisted of participants viewing a film with
themes of alcohol dependence, such as Leaving Las Vegas and When a Man Loves a Woman, followed by a one - hour discussion led by a psychologist.
Among those who consume alcohol, a CAGE score of 2 or higher indicates the
presence of alcohol dependence and was found in 6 percent of employees who drank.
«Only a limited number of studies have investigated the interplay between specific robust genes associated with the
development of alcohol dependence and environments during the critical developmental period of adolescence,» said Bierut.
TSRI Research Associate Giordano de Guglielmo, who was the study's first author, spearheaded the experiment in rat
models of alcohol dependence, which were designed to express a special protein to distinguish only the neurons activated by alcohol.
One such medication is the opioid antagonist naltrexone, which has been approved for treatment
of alcohol dependence by the Food and Drug Administration.
In the
case of alcohol dependence, naltrexone can be administered along with psychosocial interventions designed to target addiction (for example, 12 step programmes, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural therapy relapse prevention, contingency management, and so on).
Projects will range from grass - roots community - led prevention, right through to treatment
of alcohol dependence in specialist settings.
Although expectancy research has focused on U.S. populations, there are substantial cultural differences in the effects drinkers expect / experience, extending even to
symptoms of alcohol dependence (Room et al., 1996).
One of the most recent new medications for the
treatment of alcohol dependence is the GABA - B agonist Baclofen, which has shown mixed results which may be explained by this work.
These findings have important policy implications because individuals in the higher - consuming clusters were more likely to have signs
of alcohol dependence, report lower health satisfaction, enjoy alcohol ads, and have purchased alcohol late at night.
Speaking on behalf of the ECNP, Professor Wim van den Brink (Amsterdam), Chair of the Scientific Committee for the Berlin Congress, said: «At the moment, we find that treatment with opioid antagonists such as naltrexone and nalmefene seem to have a positive effect in the treatment of pathological gambling, and that the best results of these medications are obtained in those problem gamblers with a family history
of alcohol dependence.
«People who were tanning - dependent were six times as likely to have a history
of alcohol dependence, and were almost three times as likely to have seasonal affective disorder (SAD),» said study leader Brenda Cartmel.
Sweet preference, sugar addiction and the familial history
of alcohol dependence: shared neural pathways and genes.
Chronic health problems, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder, poverty, family conflict or a family history
of alcohol dependence, mood disorders, antisocial disorders, and schizophrenia are also linked to the disorder.