National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has issued the “Wearable Alcohol Biosensor” Challenge in the search for a wearable or otherwise discreet device capable of measuring blood alcohol levels in real time. An improved wearable biosensor would aid researchers and clinicians by providing more accurate data on how much study participants and patients are drinking. The winning prototype...

A new study finds that several state-level policies targeting alcohol and drug use during pregnancy lead to greater numbers of low birthweight and preterm births, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars more in public health spending each year. The study—a collaboration between the Alcohol Research Group (ARG) a program of the Public Health Institute, and Advancing New Standards in...

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...

NIAAA has issued the following RFA for the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research Dynamic Neuroimmune Interactions in the Transition from Brain Function to Dysfunction RFA-AA-18-007, R01 https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AA-18-007.html The goal of this NOFO is to transform our understanding of how dynamic interactions among multiple cell types involved in neuroimmune interactions (e.g., neurons, glia cells, neurovascular units, or other neuroimmune components) mediate...

A team of NIH-supported researchers today report that alcohol increases replication of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in human cells and, by so doing, may contribute to the rapid course of HCV infection. The researchers tested the actions of alcohol in HCV replicon--viral HCV-ribonucleic acid or HCV-RNAs that, when introduced into human liver cell lines, replicate to high levels. In...

Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia report in today's Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research that children between the ages of 3 and 6 years are likely to dislike the smell of beer if their parents report drinking to escape feelings of unhappiness. The findings extend earlier knowledge that young children acquire sensory learning about alcohol and suggest...

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), components of the National Institutes of Health, have collaborated with HBO to create an eye-opening documentary, ADDICTION, to air on Thursday, March 15 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT). The documentary, developed with funding support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, seeks to help Americans understand...

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...

Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., today called on American adults who drink alcohol to participate in free screenings to be offered April 8 at more than 5000 sites nationwide. The " Alcohol and Your Health--Where Do You Draw the Line?" screenings are offered free as part of National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD). "National Alcohol Screening Day can...

Increases were larger among females than males, providing more evidence of narrowing gender gaps in alcohol-related harms in the U.S. The rate of alcohol-related visits to U.S. emergency departments (ED) increased by nearly 50 percent between 2006 and 2014, especially among females and drinkers who are middle-aged or older, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the National...

NIH-supported study finds coordinated efforts limit the impact of high-risk drinking Coordinated strategies that address alcohol availability, alcohol policy enforcement and drinking norms can help colleges and their communities protect students from the harms of high-risk drinking, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health. In the Study to Prevent Alcohol Related Consequences (SPARC), researchers found...

The National Institutes of Health announced today that enrollment for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is now complete and, in early 2019, scientists will have access to baseline data from all ABCD Study participants. There are 11,874 youth, ages 9-10, participating in the study, including 2,100 young people who are twins or triplets. All will be followed through...

Alcohol produces a wide range of pharmacological effects on the nervous system through its actions on ion channels. The molecular mechanism underlying ethanol modulation of ion channels is poorly understood. NIAAA scientists used a unique method of alcohol-tagging to demonstrate that alcohol activation of a G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK or Kir3) channel is mediated by a defined alcohol pocket...

Researchers have identified a blood test that may help predict how severely a baby will be affected by alcohol exposure during pregnancy, according to a study published November 9 in the journal PLOS ONE. The study authors, from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Texas A&M College of Medicine and the Omni-Net Birth Defects Prevention Program in...

The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse recently published a special edition devoted to NIH-funded research in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. The driving force behind this collection of 24 articles was a 2010 conference that brought together experts and stakeholders from across academic institutions, native communities and government to discuss research findings and research opportunities in AI/AN substance...

NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM Summary of the 128th Meeting The National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) convened for its 128th meeting at 3:00 p.m. on September 12, 2011, at Building 1, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, in closed session for a review of grant applications. The meeting recessed at 4:00 p.m. The...

NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM Summary of the 118th Meeting June 4-5, 2008 The National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism convened for its 118th meeting at 5:30 p.m. on June 4, 2008, at the FishersLaneConferenceCenter in Rockville, Maryland, in a closed session. Dr. Abraham Bautista presided over the closed review of grant applications. Dr. Ting-Kai...

Join us for a webinar on Apr 10, 2019 at 2:00 PM EDT. Register now! Among adults 18 and older, alcohol use is increasing, particularly for females. Alcohol use among middle- and high-school students is declining, but primarily for young males. Previously large gaps in alcohol use for teen males and females have disappeared. These changing patterns are concerning given...

Join us for a webinar on Apr 10, 2019 at 2:00 PM EDT. Register now! Among adults 18 and older, alcohol use is increasing, particularly for females. Alcohol use among middle- and high-school students is declining, but primarily for young males. Previously large gaps in alcohol use for teen males and females have disappeared. These changing patterns are concerning given...

A new study released today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), estimates that the economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse was $246 billion in 1992, the most recent year for which sufficient data were available. This estimate represents $965 for every man...