National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
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...
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) today announces the start of Combining Medications and Behavioral Interventions (COMBINE), a nationwide study that targets persons with the diagnosis alcohol dependence, commonly known as alcoholism. COMBINE is the first national study to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral treatments alone and in combination with medications. It begins at a time when...
Bernice Porjesz, Ph.D., will present the Jack Mendelson, M.D., Honorary Lecture on May 20, 2014. The lecture is titled: “Neurophysiological Endophenotypes in the Search for Genes for Alcoholism.” The event will take place at the National Institutes of Health from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, in Lipsett Amphitheater, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland. The lecture is free and open to...
WHAT: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, announces that Craig J. McClain, M.D. will deliver the 19th Annual Mark Keller Honorary Lecture. Dr. McClain is an internationally distinguished clinician and scientist in the fields of gastroenterology, alcohol abuse, nutrition, cytokine research, and hepatic drug metabolism. The title of his talk...
Purpose To provide grant applicants with guidance and information on the development of data and safety monitoring plans (DSMP) for NIH-defined clinical trials funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Introduction In June 1998, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a policy on data and safety monitoring requiring oversight and monitoring of all NIH funded...
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, is the primary U.S. agency for conducting and supporting research on the causes, consequences, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of alcohol use disorder. Each year, NIAAA submits its budget request to NIH. This request is incorporated into the full NIH budget request, which is sent...
The Research Society on Alcoholism has selected NIAAA deputy director Dr. Kenneth R. Warren to receive the RSA Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes a person with a long, balanced career whose contributions to alcohol research, training, service and advocacy have had a lasting impact on the field. Warren is a distinguished scientific administrator and a foremost expert on the...
Analyses of a national sample of individuals with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) reveal five distinct subtypes of the disease, according to a new study by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Our findings should help dispel the popular notion of the ‘typical alcoholic,’” notes first author Howard B...
The brains of alcohol-dependent individuals are affected not only by their own heavy drinking, but also by genetic or environmental factors associated with their parents’ drinking, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Researchers found reduced brain growth among alcohol-dependent individuals with...
NIH-funded study says five-marker genotype panel can guide ondansetron use An experimental treatment for alcohol dependence works better in individuals who possess specific combinations of genes that regulate the function and binding of serotonin, a brain chemical affected by the treatment, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health. A report of the finding appears online in...
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism welcomes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement of an indication for use of the pharmacologic agent naltrexone (REVIA tm) as a safe and effective adjunct to psychosocial treatments for alcoholism. Naltrexone offers new hope for preventing relapse in many of the more than 1 million Americans treated each year for the...