National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Background: Scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) led by CAPT Joseph R. Hibbeln, M.D., teamed with researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Md., to analyze a sample of suicide deaths among U.S. military personnel on active duty between 2002 and 2008. The researchers compared levels of omega-3 fatty...

Ernest Noble, M.D., Ph.D., who served as the second Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) from 1976 to 1978, passed away on October 17, 2017. Dr. Noble was a driving force in expanding NIAAA’s research mission during the Institute’s early years and played a vital role in recognizing the alcohol-related birth defects known today as...

In a recent study, Cindy L. Ehlers, Ph.D., and colleagues examined the clinical course of alcohol use disorder (AUD)—as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM–5)—in a sample of young adult (ages 18–30) individuals of Mexican American (MA) and Native American (NA) descent. Face-to-face interviews using the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism...

What: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, announces that Carlo C. DiClemente, Ph.D., will deliver the 11th Annual Jack Mendelson Honorary Lecture. The title of his presentation is “Is Relapse and Recycling Necessary for Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder?” To watch the video recording, visit https://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=33218&bhcp=1 Who: Carlo C. DiClemente...

What : The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, announces that Laura E. Nagy, Ph.D., will deliver the 24th Annual Mark Keller Honorary Lecture. The title of her presentation is “Inflammation and Cell Death in Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease.” Who : Dr. Nagy is currently a professor of molecular medicine at the...

NIAAA/COGA DATA AND BIOMATERIALS DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT-- WAVE I and WAVE II WHEREAS, the national Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism ("NIAAA") pursuant to its public health mission to identify and characterize the genetic basis of alcohol-related disorders supports research projects in which there is collection by scientific investigators and their relatives; WHEREAS, anonymous blood samples obtained from Wave I and/or...

A study reported in the October issue of Gastroenterology (Volume 177, pages 1-12) shows that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a pro-inflammatory protein, plays an important role in the development of early liver damage associated with alcohol consumption. Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) found that wild-type mice fed alcohol continuously over four weeks exhibited liver...

A single alcohol binge can cause bacteria to leak from the gut and increase levels of bacterial toxins in the blood, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Increased levels of these bacterial toxins, called endotoxins, were shown to affect the immune system, with the body producing more immune cells involved in fever, inflammation, and...

New research supported by the National Institutes of Health shows how elements of the brain’s stress and reward pathways can interact to suppress binge alcohol drinking. The finding, now online in the journal Nature Neuroscience, suggests potential strategies for treating and preventing alcohol use problems. “This study is an important contribution to our knowledge of the neurobiology of alcohol use...

A new grant will help establish a core of post-graduate addiction medicine education programs in academic medical centers throughout the United States. The National Infrastructure for Translating Addiction Research into Clinical Practice grant, awarded last month to the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, will provide about $900,000 over a two-year period. The grant was awarded by...

College students who post references to getting drunk, blacking out, or other aspects of dangerous drinking on social networking sites are more likely to have clinically significant alcohol problems than students who do not post such references, according to a study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers...

Hospitalizations for alcohol and drug overdoses – alone or in combination – increased dramatically among 18- to 24-year-olds between 1999 and 2008, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Led by Aaron M. White, Ph.D. and Ralph W. Hingson, Sc.D., of NIAAA’s division of...

Highly visible cooperative projects, in which colleges and their surrounding communities target off-campus drinking settings, can reduce harmful alcohol use among college students, according to a report by researchers supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. “This innovative, important study is a valuable contribution to the search for solutions...

An experimental compound appears to improve metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity, according to a preliminary study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. A report of the study, which was conducted with obese mice, appears online today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. “This is a promising early step toward a treatment for some of the serious health...

In humans, throwing a ball, typing on a keyboard, or engaging in most other physical activities involves the coordination of numerous discrete movements that are organized as action sequences. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the Gulbenkian Institute in Portugal have identified brain activity in mice that can signal the initiation and termination of newly learned action sequences...

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...

NIH-funded multi-site clinical trial suggests that smokers may also benefit A new medication that targets part of the brain’s stress system may help reduce alcohol use in people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. “Medications have become...

Much of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry’s work revolves around the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). The Laboratory has already conducted the first two waves of the survey, and it is now designing the third wave and analyzing data from the first two. NESARC is based on the criteria of alcohol dependence and abuse used...

What: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, announces that Peter M. Monti, Ph.D., will deliver the 10th Annual Jack Mendelson Honorary Lecture. The title of his presentation is “Alcohol Misuse and HIV: Biology, Beliefs and Behavior.” Who: Peter M. Monti, Ph.D., is an internationally distinguished scientist who has increased our...

The National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) convened for its 126th meeting at 5:30 p.m. on February 16, 2011, at the Fishers Lane Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland, in closed session for a review of grant applications and a Merit Award extension. The meeting recessed at 7:00 p.m. The Council reconvened on February 17, 2011, at 8:00...