NIH issues online course on screening youth for alcohol problems
Endocannabinoids trigger inflammation that leads to diabetes
NIH scientists identify possible treatment target for type 2 diabetes Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have clarified in rodent and test tube experiments the role that inflammation plays in type 2 diabetes, and revealed a possible molecular target for treating the disease. The researchers say some natural messenger chemicals in the body are involved in an inflammatory chain...
Gene Therapy Technique Reduces Alcohol Consumption in Rats
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory report in the current Journal of Neurochemistry (Volume 78, Number 5) that they used gene therapy techniques to increase levels of dopamine D2 (DRD2) receptors and reduce drinking in rats previously trained to self-administer alcohol. Panayotis Thanos, Ph.D., Nora Volkow, Ph.D., and colleagues used a partially inactivated virus as a...
Marijuana-Like Substances Linked to Cirrhosis Complications
Marijuana-like substances (endocannabinoids) intrinsic in animals and humans act at specific receptors on the blood vessel wall to produce vasodilation, the generalized blood vessel dilation seen in many patients with advanced liver cirrhosis, according to an article by George Kunos, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues in the July 1 issue of Nature Medicine (Volume 7, Number 7; Endocannabinoids acting at vascular...
Alcohol Researchers Prove Successful Preventive Intervention
Principal investigator Cheryl L. Perry, Ph.D., co-principal investigator Carolyn L. Williams, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Minnesota report in the July 18 American Journal of Public Health initial findings from Project Northland, a 3-year test in 24 Minnesota school districts of combined classroom and community interventions to prevent alcohol use by young adolescents. The researchers found that Project...
NIH study finds alcohol use disorder on the increase
AUDs often untreated Alcohol use disorder, or AUD, is the medical diagnosis for problem drinking that causes mild to severe distress or harm. A new study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, reports that nearly one-third of adults in the United States have an AUD at some time...
Brief Training Increases Pediatricians’ Use of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Interventions
Two to three brief training sessions can significantly increase pediatricians’ use of techniques for identifying and treating young people with potential alcohol, substance use, and mental health problems, according to a new study in a large pediatric primary care clinic. Collectively known as screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT), such techniques could be important tools for preventing and...
Criminal justice alcohol program linked to decreased mortality
Deaths dropped by 4.2 percent community-wide over six years A criminal justice program that requires offenders convicted of alcohol-related offenses to stop drinking and submit to frequent alcohol testing with swift, certain, and modest sanctions for a violation was linked to a significant reduction in county-level mortality rates in South Dakota. These results came from a study funded by the...
NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator points the way to quality treatment
Dr. Kenneth J. Sher to deliver 22nd Annual Mark Keller Honorary Lecture at the National Institutes of Health
Study reveals central role of endocannabinoids in habit formation
Mouse study advances knowledge of habitual behavior pathophysiology Daily activities involve frequent transitions between habitual behaviors, such as driving home, and goal-directed behaviors, such as driving to a new destination on unfamiliar roads. An inability to shift between habitual and non-habitual behaviors has been implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), addiction, and other disorders characterized by impaired decision-making. In a new...
Researchers identify brain circuits that help people cope with stress
Research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has identified brain patterns in humans that appear to underlie “resilient coping,” the healthy emotional and behavioral responses to stress that help some people handle stressful situations better than others. People encounter stressful situations and stimuli everywhere, every day, and studies have shown that long-term stress can contribute to a broad...
Dr. Michael E. Charness to Deliver 21st Annual Mark Keller Honorary Lecture at the National Institutes of Health
Sex hormone-sensitive gene complex linked to premenstrual mood disorder
[ARCHIVED] NIAAA strategic plan 2017-2021 aims to advance alcohol research across a broad spectrum of areas
Taking Stock of Advancing Technology for Treatment & Prevention of AUD
To listen to this discussion, visit https://nih.webex.com/nih/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec32f727d4423c79ab62e1aac9… Hosted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Taking Stock of Advancing Technology for the Treatment and Prevention of Alcohol Use Disorder Chair - Ian Colrain 9:00 - 9:15 Introductions Discussions 9:15 - 9:40 Alcohol success stories. A good place to start is to review some of the progress that...
New NIH BRAIN Initiative awards accelerate neuroscience discoveries
Scientists have been developing astounding new tools for exploring neural circuits that underlie brain function throughout the first five years of the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies ® (BRAIN) Initiative. Now, the NIH has announced its continued support for these projects by funding over 180 new BRAIN Initiative awards, bringing the total 2019 budget for...