Communities can decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes by providing better access to substance abuse treatment while reducing the availability of alcohol in the community, according to a new study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A report of the study appears in the April, 2005 issue of the...

The harm caused by alcohol consumption among college students may exceed previous estimates of the problem. Researchers report that unintentional fatal injuries related to alcohol increased from about 1,500 in 1998 to more than 1,700 in 2001 among U.S. college students aged 18-24. Over the same period national surveys indicate the number of students who drove under the influence of...

The medication naltrexone and up to 20 sessions of alcohol counseling by a behavioral specialist are equally effective treatments for alcohol dependence when delivered with structured medical management, according to results from "Combining Medications and Behavioral Interventions for Alcoholism" (The COMBINE Study). Results from the National Institutes of Health-supported study show that patients who received naltrexone, specialized alcohol counseling, or...

A genetic variant of a receptor in the brain’s reward circuitry plays an important role in determining whether the neurotransmitter dopamine is released in the brain following alcohol intake, according to a study led by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Dopamine is involved in transmitting the euphoria...

Alcohol and your health - where do you draw the line? This is the theme of the 2002 National Alcohol Screening Day, a program of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Screening for Mental Health, Inc., and their partners. Free, anonymous screening for alcohol problems, information on the health consequences...

Bethesda, Maryland. If multiple city departments and private citizens join together to implement comprehensive traffic safety strategies, they can significantly reduce traffic deaths and injuries, according to an article by Ralph Hingson, Sc.D., M.P.H., and colleagues at Boston University in the June American Journal of Public Health (Volume 86, No. 6). The Saving Lives program reduced traffic deaths by 25...

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a naturally-occurring brain molecule that helps regulate emotional behavior, stress responses, and other functions. Much research evidence suggests that NPY also plays an important role in regulating alcohol consumption. Scientists led by NIAAA Clinical Director Markus Heilig, M.D., Ph.D., recently investigated the effect of NPY on stress-induced relapse to alcohol use. Relapse prevention is an important...

Chat with NIAAA experts about the latest in blood alcohol monitoring technology and our $200,000 challenge to design a better wearable alcohol biosensor. # AlcoholBiosensor

This issue of ARCR, Alcohol and the Immune System,reviews a broad range of immune-relevant alcohol research, detailing how alcohol-induced disruption of immune pathways can impair the body’s ability to defend against infection, contribute to organ damage associated with alcohol consumption, impede recovery from tissue injury, and potentially contribute to alcohol use disorder among other issues. You can access the full...

NIAAA-supported researchers at the Duke University and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Centers continue to refine our understanding of how repeated exposure to alcohol during adolescence causes long-lasting structural and functional abnormalities in the brain. Earlier this year, Duke scientists led by Dr. Mary-Louise Risher looked at how alcohol affects the hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with memory and...

Findings also endorse use of NIAAA youth screening guide A single screening question about drinking frequency in the past year could help doctors identify adolescents at risk for alcohol problems, according to a new study funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Conducted by researchers at the University of...

Open Session of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. View the Agenda. Subject to change; a final agenda will be posted closer to the date of the event.

An experimental compound empowers an enzyme to help process acetaldehyde, a toxic metabolite of alcohol, according to new research supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The findings, now online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), might lead to new treatments to help people with impaired ability to metabolize acetaldehyde and other...

April is Alcohol Awareness Month – a good time to learn more about how alcohol use impacts your health and examine your own drinking habits. Bring your health-related questions and come chat with an NIAAA expert. Date: Tuesday, April 28, at 1 p.m. ET. Hashtag: #NIAAAchat

Please join NIAAA and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (@ASAMorg) for a Twitter Chat on adolescent alcohol screening and the findings of a new study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine https://bit.ly/2UHm3Mc. #AlcoholChat

The latest article from Alcohol Research Current Reviews explores links between alcohol use and suicidal behavior. Research on associations of suicidal behavior, including suicide and suicide attempt, with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and acute use of alcohol (AUA) are discussed, with an emphasis on data from meta-analyses. Based on psychological autopsy investigations, results indicate that AUD is prevalent among individuals...

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) announced the 10th annual National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week® (NDAFW), will take place March 30 through April 5, 2020. NDAFW is a week of educational events that annually brings together teens and scientific experts to SHATTER THE MYTHS® about substance use and...

Based on guidance by NIH regarding COVID-19, the CHAT DAY scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, 2020 has been cancelled. Please stay tuned - we will connect with all registrants about the next chat day opportunity. You can still access the 2019 transcript to see if your questions were answered.