Several months ago, 52 smokers embarked on an FDA-approved, 12-week clinical study of a new smoke-cessation device called Smoke-Break. The results of the study were released today with 71 percent of the study participants smoke-free after 12 weeks.
Smoke-Break is a "liquid nicotine cigarette" that resembles an unlit cigarette in size and shape. The clear tube contains a cherry-flavored gel along with 1.5 milligrams of nicotine, about as much as in a light cigarette. Users consume the liquid by lifting the tube to their mouths, and sipping through a mouthpiece, much like they would draw on a cigarette.
Approved by the FDA for clinical study in 2007, the study sought to determine whether Smoke-Break would help smokers stop smoking, while avoiding the side effects seen in other smoke-cessation products. The answer is yes, and that's promising news to study sponsor Dr. Carl E. Olson, Chairman of the Radiation Oncology Department at Columbia St. Mary's in Milwaukee.
"There were no serious adverse events during the study," Dr. Olson said, "and only a few minor events, such as sore throat or heartburn. The real surprise for me was the rate of smoke cessation. It is unprecedented."
Smoke-Break inventor Brett J. Roth created Smoke-Break in 2004 to kick his own two-pack-per-day habit. Roth hopes that Smoke-Break will soon be able to help smokers nationwide, now that his invention has shattered the previous record for an FDA clinical study, set by Chantix, which achieved a 44 percent quit rate after 12 weeks. Chantix, however, has recently been scrutinized for a number of potentially dangerous side effects.
"I'm happy with the results," stated Roth, "but I'm most excited for the participants, many of whom have expressed gratitude at finally being able to kick this deadly habit."
Roth and Dr. Olson were joined by Study Coordinator and nurse Deb Baumgarten, and Principal Investigator Dr. Nicholas Geimer, another cancer specialist. "I don't think we're doing our jobs as clinicians," Dr. Olson said, "unless we try to prevent cancer in the first place."
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 400,000 individuals in the U.S. die each year, prematurely, as a result of smoking. Thousands more are negatively afflicted with various respiratory and other smoke-related illnesses.
For more information about Smoke-Break, visit liquidcigarette. Additional information can be found at ClinicalTrials, by searching "Smoke-Break."
Smoke-Break
View drug information on Chantix.
суббота, 30 апреля 2011 г.
пятница, 29 апреля 2011 г.
Medical Therapy For Restless Legs Syndrome May Trigger Compulsive Gambling
Compulsive gambling
with extreme losses -- in two cases, greater than $100,000 -- by people
without a prior history of gambling problems has been linked to a class of
drugs commonly used to treat the neurological disorder restless legs
syndrome (RLS). A new Mayo Clinic study is the first to describe this
compulsive gambling in RLS patients who are being treated with medications
that stimulate dopamine receptors in the brain. The Mayo Clinic report
appeared in the Jan. 23 issue of "Neurology" (neurology).
The extent of this problem is unknown. Apparently, it occurs only in a
small number of RLS patients treated with drugs called dopamine agonists.
Considering this potential side effect of dopamine agonists, the Mayo
Clinic authors suggest that physicians screen all RLS patients for
compulsive behaviors while taking a thorough medical history prior to
prescribing dopamine agonists. Patients should be monitored closely for
signs of compulsive behaviors once dopamine agonist treatment has begun.
The report suggests that the compulsion to gamble worsened with increasing
doses of the dopamine agonists.
Current Report Builds on Earlier Findings
Pathological gambling is an impulse control disorder. In 2005, Mayo
Clinic physicians reported this disorder as a side effect of dopamine
agonist therapy in 11 Parkinson disease patients. "Although pathologic
gambling has already been recognized in patients with Parkinson disease who
often took high doses of dopamine agonists, the current report suggests
that pathological gambling is not restricted to patients with Parkinson
disease -- and also can occur at low dosages" explains Maja
Tippmann-Peikert, M.D., the lead author of the Mayo Clinic report on
restless legs syndrome. "Physicians should not only monitor Parkinson
disease patients for this behavior but also screen their RLS patients who
may be on much lower doses of dopamine agonists." This includes encouraging
the patient, family members and friends to report negative behaviors to the
patient's physician.
Fortunately, pathological gambling seems to be reversible when the dose
of the dopamine agonist is reduced or the patient is transitioned to an
alternative medication. It is crucial that these adjustments are initiated
before significant gambling debts develop, and relationships and careers
are damaged.
Significance of the Mayo Clinic Report
This preliminary Mayo Clinic report is the first to link pathologic
gambling to use of dopamine agonists in a disease other than Parkinson. It
is based on the experience of three patients who have RLS. Their gambling
problems were discovered during their medical evaluations at the Mayo
Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. Although three patients is a small sample
and larger studies are needed to validate these observations, the Mayo
Clinic authors believe that the possible link between dopamine agonists and
pathologic gambling behavior should be brought to physicians' attention
immediately due to the social and financial consequences resulting from the
behavior.
The Mayo Clinic neurologists found that gambling problems began, on
average, about nine months after the patients began taking one of two
dopamine agonists, pramipexole or ropinirole. Speculation is that the
gambling problems are emerging now because the newer generation of dopamine
agonists -- including pramipexole and ropinirole -- are targeting receptors
located in brain structures involved in motivation, emotion and reward
behaviors. Researchers theorize that, in some people, such strong and
specific stimulation in these neuronal pathways can prompt compulsive,
pleasure-seeking behaviors such as pathological gambling.
Patient Example
One patient, a woman seen in the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center,
had a five-year history of regular nighttime creeping-crawling sensations
in her legs, accompanied by the strong urge to move her legs. Two and a
half years prior to her Mayo Clinic visit, she had been diagnosed with RLS
and treatment with pramipexole was begun.
Her symptoms improved, however, a problematic behavior developed soon
after she started taking the medication. She developed an uncontrollable
urge to gamble when visiting the nearby casino. As the dose increased, her
gambling compulsion grew stronger. The transition of her therapy to another
dopamine agonist, ropinirole, further increased her compulsion to gamble.
Prior to her treatment for RLS, she had no history of gambling and viewed
gamblers as "unfortunate individuals," the authors report. The patient lost
more than $140,000 from gambling.
Mayo Clinic physicians discontinued the dopamine agonist therapy and
her urge to gamble completely disappeared, but the troublesome leg
sensations returned. Her RLS is now successfully treated with a
non-dopamine agonist, gabapentin, and she has no side effects, according to
the authors.
Collaboration
The Mayo Clinic team also included: John Park, M.D.; Bradley Boeve,
M.D.; John Shepard, M.D.; and Michael Silber, M.B.Ch.B.
To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to
mayoclinic/news. MayoClinic (mayoclinic)
is available as a resource for your health stories.
Mayo Clinic
mayoclinic
View drug information on Pramipexole.
with extreme losses -- in two cases, greater than $100,000 -- by people
without a prior history of gambling problems has been linked to a class of
drugs commonly used to treat the neurological disorder restless legs
syndrome (RLS). A new Mayo Clinic study is the first to describe this
compulsive gambling in RLS patients who are being treated with medications
that stimulate dopamine receptors in the brain. The Mayo Clinic report
appeared in the Jan. 23 issue of "Neurology" (neurology).
The extent of this problem is unknown. Apparently, it occurs only in a
small number of RLS patients treated with drugs called dopamine agonists.
Considering this potential side effect of dopamine agonists, the Mayo
Clinic authors suggest that physicians screen all RLS patients for
compulsive behaviors while taking a thorough medical history prior to
prescribing dopamine agonists. Patients should be monitored closely for
signs of compulsive behaviors once dopamine agonist treatment has begun.
The report suggests that the compulsion to gamble worsened with increasing
doses of the dopamine agonists.
Current Report Builds on Earlier Findings
Pathological gambling is an impulse control disorder. In 2005, Mayo
Clinic physicians reported this disorder as a side effect of dopamine
agonist therapy in 11 Parkinson disease patients. "Although pathologic
gambling has already been recognized in patients with Parkinson disease who
often took high doses of dopamine agonists, the current report suggests
that pathological gambling is not restricted to patients with Parkinson
disease -- and also can occur at low dosages" explains Maja
Tippmann-Peikert, M.D., the lead author of the Mayo Clinic report on
restless legs syndrome. "Physicians should not only monitor Parkinson
disease patients for this behavior but also screen their RLS patients who
may be on much lower doses of dopamine agonists." This includes encouraging
the patient, family members and friends to report negative behaviors to the
patient's physician.
Fortunately, pathological gambling seems to be reversible when the dose
of the dopamine agonist is reduced or the patient is transitioned to an
alternative medication. It is crucial that these adjustments are initiated
before significant gambling debts develop, and relationships and careers
are damaged.
Significance of the Mayo Clinic Report
This preliminary Mayo Clinic report is the first to link pathologic
gambling to use of dopamine agonists in a disease other than Parkinson. It
is based on the experience of three patients who have RLS. Their gambling
problems were discovered during their medical evaluations at the Mayo
Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. Although three patients is a small sample
and larger studies are needed to validate these observations, the Mayo
Clinic authors believe that the possible link between dopamine agonists and
pathologic gambling behavior should be brought to physicians' attention
immediately due to the social and financial consequences resulting from the
behavior.
The Mayo Clinic neurologists found that gambling problems began, on
average, about nine months after the patients began taking one of two
dopamine agonists, pramipexole or ropinirole. Speculation is that the
gambling problems are emerging now because the newer generation of dopamine
agonists -- including pramipexole and ropinirole -- are targeting receptors
located in brain structures involved in motivation, emotion and reward
behaviors. Researchers theorize that, in some people, such strong and
specific stimulation in these neuronal pathways can prompt compulsive,
pleasure-seeking behaviors such as pathological gambling.
Patient Example
One patient, a woman seen in the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center,
had a five-year history of regular nighttime creeping-crawling sensations
in her legs, accompanied by the strong urge to move her legs. Two and a
half years prior to her Mayo Clinic visit, she had been diagnosed with RLS
and treatment with pramipexole was begun.
Her symptoms improved, however, a problematic behavior developed soon
after she started taking the medication. She developed an uncontrollable
urge to gamble when visiting the nearby casino. As the dose increased, her
gambling compulsion grew stronger. The transition of her therapy to another
dopamine agonist, ropinirole, further increased her compulsion to gamble.
Prior to her treatment for RLS, she had no history of gambling and viewed
gamblers as "unfortunate individuals," the authors report. The patient lost
more than $140,000 from gambling.
Mayo Clinic physicians discontinued the dopamine agonist therapy and
her urge to gamble completely disappeared, but the troublesome leg
sensations returned. Her RLS is now successfully treated with a
non-dopamine agonist, gabapentin, and she has no side effects, according to
the authors.
Collaboration
The Mayo Clinic team also included: John Park, M.D.; Bradley Boeve,
M.D.; John Shepard, M.D.; and Michael Silber, M.B.Ch.B.
To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to
mayoclinic/news. MayoClinic (mayoclinic)
is available as a resource for your health stories.
Mayo Clinic
mayoclinic
View drug information on Pramipexole.
четверг, 28 апреля 2011 г.
Alcohol vulnerability linked to action of insulin
Drunken fruit flies have led to the discovery that insulin may determine susceptibility to alcohol. If confirmed in
humans -- and the two species share about two-thirds of their genes -- the finding suggests a promising way to treat
alcoholism using drugs that control insulin activity.
The finding by scientists at UCSF was published online Sunday (December 12) by Nature Neuroscience in advance of publication
in the journal.
The UCSF researchers showed that when the normal function of insulin-like molecules in the brain of fruit flies is reduced,
the intoxicating effect of alcohol increases. Earlier research has demonstrated that the flies and humans display many of the
same vulnerabilities and behavioral responses to alcohol.
"This finding opens promising new avenues for the treatment of alcoholism," said Ulrike Heberlein, PhD, UCSF professor of
anatomy and senior author on the paper. "Insulin is already known to act in the nervous system to regulate food intake, so it
makes sense that it would influence the response to other substances the body senses as rewards, such as alcohol or drugs of
abuse."
Insulin functions in the brains of animals from worms to mammals, and the pathway by which it influences behavior has been
conserved throughout millions of years of evolution, Heberlein said, and research has recently revealed that insulin reduces
the presence of the molecule that transports dopamine in the brain.
"In animals and humans, dopamine in the brain affects the response to both food and drugs. We are starting to see that in
addition to its importance in sugar metabolism, insulin regulates release of neurotransmitters and may be crucial in
determining the response to addictive drugs."
In her pioneering 10-year research effort to determine the genetic basis of alcohol-induced behavior, Heberlein has employed
an apparatus she calls the inebriometer, in which normal flies and those with known mutations are placed at the top of a
four-foot high column and exposed to ethanol. The genetic influence of alcohol sensitivity is measured by how quickly the
different genetic types of flies lose their grip and fall to the bottom of the device.
Heberlein has observed that the flies' behavior mimics many of the hallmarks of inebriated humans: heightened activity at
first, then faltering coordination, followed by sluggish behavior, and, eventually, passing out if they are exposed to too
much alcohol.
She and her colleagues showed earlier that a molecule in the body known as Protein Kinase A modulates sensitivity to alcohol.
When its activity is inhibited, the amount of alcohol needed to cause inebriation decreases. The scientists had also examined
different regions of the fly brain to determine where the Protein Kinase had its effect. In the new research they zeroed in
on a small group of neurons in the brain, specifically cells producing so-called insulin-like peptides, or DILPs.
The scientists also tested flies with genetic defects in the brain receptors that docks with the insulin molecule to trigger
the normal signaling function. They found that in all cases, the mutant flies showed increasing alcohol sensitivity, leaving
little doubt that the insulin pathway normally functions to regulate the degree of alcohol intoxication.
The key part of the insulin signaling pathway that affects alcohol sensitivity could be the insulin molecule itself, its
receptor or processes "upstream" or "downstream" of the insulin-receptor interaction, the scientists pointed out. Drugs
already exist that could modify the signaling in the pathway and thereby modify the response to alcohol.
The scientists now want to study whether insulin acts in the brains of mice to affect the rewarding properties of abused
drugs. If this turns out to be the case, it would make a compelling case for studying the potential connection between brain
insulin and drug addiction in humans, Heberlein says.
Significantly for potential therapy against alcoholism, the increased alcohol sensitivity brought on by changes in brain
insulin activity did not affect other behavior, suggesting that interfering with the brain insulin pathway may not pose any
serious side effects.
Lead author on the paper is Ammon Corl, a PhD student in Heberlein's lab. Aylin D. Rodan, MD and PhD, a former PhD student in
the lab was a collaborator on the research and co-author on the paper.
The research is supported by the National Institutes of Health and the McKnight Foundation for Neuroscience.
Contact: Wallace Ravven
wravvenpubaff.ucsf
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
humans -- and the two species share about two-thirds of their genes -- the finding suggests a promising way to treat
alcoholism using drugs that control insulin activity.
The finding by scientists at UCSF was published online Sunday (December 12) by Nature Neuroscience in advance of publication
in the journal.
The UCSF researchers showed that when the normal function of insulin-like molecules in the brain of fruit flies is reduced,
the intoxicating effect of alcohol increases. Earlier research has demonstrated that the flies and humans display many of the
same vulnerabilities and behavioral responses to alcohol.
"This finding opens promising new avenues for the treatment of alcoholism," said Ulrike Heberlein, PhD, UCSF professor of
anatomy and senior author on the paper. "Insulin is already known to act in the nervous system to regulate food intake, so it
makes sense that it would influence the response to other substances the body senses as rewards, such as alcohol or drugs of
abuse."
Insulin functions in the brains of animals from worms to mammals, and the pathway by which it influences behavior has been
conserved throughout millions of years of evolution, Heberlein said, and research has recently revealed that insulin reduces
the presence of the molecule that transports dopamine in the brain.
"In animals and humans, dopamine in the brain affects the response to both food and drugs. We are starting to see that in
addition to its importance in sugar metabolism, insulin regulates release of neurotransmitters and may be crucial in
determining the response to addictive drugs."
In her pioneering 10-year research effort to determine the genetic basis of alcohol-induced behavior, Heberlein has employed
an apparatus she calls the inebriometer, in which normal flies and those with known mutations are placed at the top of a
four-foot high column and exposed to ethanol. The genetic influence of alcohol sensitivity is measured by how quickly the
different genetic types of flies lose their grip and fall to the bottom of the device.
Heberlein has observed that the flies' behavior mimics many of the hallmarks of inebriated humans: heightened activity at
first, then faltering coordination, followed by sluggish behavior, and, eventually, passing out if they are exposed to too
much alcohol.
She and her colleagues showed earlier that a molecule in the body known as Protein Kinase A modulates sensitivity to alcohol.
When its activity is inhibited, the amount of alcohol needed to cause inebriation decreases. The scientists had also examined
different regions of the fly brain to determine where the Protein Kinase had its effect. In the new research they zeroed in
on a small group of neurons in the brain, specifically cells producing so-called insulin-like peptides, or DILPs.
The scientists also tested flies with genetic defects in the brain receptors that docks with the insulin molecule to trigger
the normal signaling function. They found that in all cases, the mutant flies showed increasing alcohol sensitivity, leaving
little doubt that the insulin pathway normally functions to regulate the degree of alcohol intoxication.
The key part of the insulin signaling pathway that affects alcohol sensitivity could be the insulin molecule itself, its
receptor or processes "upstream" or "downstream" of the insulin-receptor interaction, the scientists pointed out. Drugs
already exist that could modify the signaling in the pathway and thereby modify the response to alcohol.
The scientists now want to study whether insulin acts in the brains of mice to affect the rewarding properties of abused
drugs. If this turns out to be the case, it would make a compelling case for studying the potential connection between brain
insulin and drug addiction in humans, Heberlein says.
Significantly for potential therapy against alcoholism, the increased alcohol sensitivity brought on by changes in brain
insulin activity did not affect other behavior, suggesting that interfering with the brain insulin pathway may not pose any
serious side effects.
Lead author on the paper is Ammon Corl, a PhD student in Heberlein's lab. Aylin D. Rodan, MD and PhD, a former PhD student in
the lab was a collaborator on the research and co-author on the paper.
The research is supported by the National Institutes of Health and the McKnight Foundation for Neuroscience.
Contact: Wallace Ravven
wravvenpubaff.ucsf
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
среда, 27 апреля 2011 г.
Healthier Future Begins When You Quit Tobacco Use - Deb Murray, Respiratory Care Practitioner And Tobacco Cessation Coach
It's common knowledge that smoking is bad for you. But really, how bad is it?
Tobacco is responsible for more than 430,000 deaths each year - about 50 deaths per hour. Tobacco use increases risk of high blood pressure and blood clots, which can lead to stroke or heart attack. Tobacco use and smoking increases the workload on the heart, contributing to heart disease - the No. 1 killer of Americans. It can contribute to peripheral artery disease, or blockages in the arteries and stomach ulcers. Smoking leads to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and emphysema. Smoking is blamed in 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men, and 80 percent in women. Each year, some 213,000 people die of lung cancer - 115,000 of which are men.
Other effects aren't deadly, but they impact your quality of life. For example, male smokers have a 60 percent higher chance of experiencing erectile dysfunction. Tobacco use can cause gum disease, premature aging i.e. wrinkles and discoloration of the teeth, skin and even hair. Nicotine depletes Vitamin C in your body, making you more susceptible to colds and other illnesses.
Why do people keep smoking or using tobacco even though they know it's bad for them?
Nicotine is very addictive. As soon as the chemical hits the bloodstream, it goes to the brain within 7 seconds, releasing adrenaline and dopamine which create feelings of excitement and pleasure. It only takes five to seven days to get nicotine out of the system, but it's also hard to break that habit of always having a cigarette with a cup of coffee, on a break or after a meal.
Would it help to switch from cigarettes to smokeless tobacco, or change the type of cigarettes I smoke?
Smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking. In fact, it has more nicotine than cigarettes, can be more addictive, and greatly increases your risk of oral cancer. There is no safe way to smoke, no safe amount to smoke and no safe cigarette.
What works when it comes to quitting?
Some 70 percent of smokers want to quit, but when they try it on their own, their success rate is only about 7 percent. Studies show that adding a couple of resources to your quit plan, such as counseling, nicotine replacements or other medications, can increase that success rate significantly. Accountability is also important.
How do nicotine replacement products work?
Over-the-counter products include nicotine gum or lozenges, and patches. These products release nicotine into your body, through the tissue in the mouth or skin. There are also nicotine nasal sprays and inhalers available by prescription. You start using these products instead of tobacco, decreasing the strength with time. Antidepressant medications like Zyban or Wellbutrin can help reduce cravings. There is also a new cessation medication, Chantix, which blocks nicotine receptors in the brain, so you may not want a cigarette at all, or if you do, the pleasurable effects are gone.
Can I use nicotine replacement products long term?
Nicotine replacement products are tools for quitting - they are not intended for continued use. While certainly less harmful than cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, these products still carry the harmful effects of nicotine, which include increased heart and breathing rate and damage to blood vessels. If you are still using them after six to 12 weeks, you need to re-evaluate your quit plan.
Will I experience withdrawal symptoms when quitting?
While the patches or gum will lessen symptoms, most quitters will experience one or more withdrawal symptoms, such as dry mouth, cough, dull headache, irritability or restless sleep.
I've been a smoker for years - can I still help my health by quitting?
No matter how much, how often or how long you've smoked, the day you quit, it starts having a positive effect on your body.
Where can I go for help?
You can reach the Avera Heart Hospital's Quit for Good program at (605) 977-7000. Other great resources include South Dakota's Quit Line at 1-866-737-8487, the American Lung Association at lungusa, the American Cancer Society at cancer or the American Heart Association at americanheart.
Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center
View drug information on Chantix; Zyban Sustained-Release Tablets.
Tobacco is responsible for more than 430,000 deaths each year - about 50 deaths per hour. Tobacco use increases risk of high blood pressure and blood clots, which can lead to stroke or heart attack. Tobacco use and smoking increases the workload on the heart, contributing to heart disease - the No. 1 killer of Americans. It can contribute to peripheral artery disease, or blockages in the arteries and stomach ulcers. Smoking leads to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and emphysema. Smoking is blamed in 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men, and 80 percent in women. Each year, some 213,000 people die of lung cancer - 115,000 of which are men.
Other effects aren't deadly, but they impact your quality of life. For example, male smokers have a 60 percent higher chance of experiencing erectile dysfunction. Tobacco use can cause gum disease, premature aging i.e. wrinkles and discoloration of the teeth, skin and even hair. Nicotine depletes Vitamin C in your body, making you more susceptible to colds and other illnesses.
Why do people keep smoking or using tobacco even though they know it's bad for them?
Nicotine is very addictive. As soon as the chemical hits the bloodstream, it goes to the brain within 7 seconds, releasing adrenaline and dopamine which create feelings of excitement and pleasure. It only takes five to seven days to get nicotine out of the system, but it's also hard to break that habit of always having a cigarette with a cup of coffee, on a break or after a meal.
Would it help to switch from cigarettes to smokeless tobacco, or change the type of cigarettes I smoke?
Smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking. In fact, it has more nicotine than cigarettes, can be more addictive, and greatly increases your risk of oral cancer. There is no safe way to smoke, no safe amount to smoke and no safe cigarette.
What works when it comes to quitting?
Some 70 percent of smokers want to quit, but when they try it on their own, their success rate is only about 7 percent. Studies show that adding a couple of resources to your quit plan, such as counseling, nicotine replacements or other medications, can increase that success rate significantly. Accountability is also important.
How do nicotine replacement products work?
Over-the-counter products include nicotine gum or lozenges, and patches. These products release nicotine into your body, through the tissue in the mouth or skin. There are also nicotine nasal sprays and inhalers available by prescription. You start using these products instead of tobacco, decreasing the strength with time. Antidepressant medications like Zyban or Wellbutrin can help reduce cravings. There is also a new cessation medication, Chantix, which blocks nicotine receptors in the brain, so you may not want a cigarette at all, or if you do, the pleasurable effects are gone.
Can I use nicotine replacement products long term?
Nicotine replacement products are tools for quitting - they are not intended for continued use. While certainly less harmful than cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, these products still carry the harmful effects of nicotine, which include increased heart and breathing rate and damage to blood vessels. If you are still using them after six to 12 weeks, you need to re-evaluate your quit plan.
Will I experience withdrawal symptoms when quitting?
While the patches or gum will lessen symptoms, most quitters will experience one or more withdrawal symptoms, such as dry mouth, cough, dull headache, irritability or restless sleep.
I've been a smoker for years - can I still help my health by quitting?
No matter how much, how often or how long you've smoked, the day you quit, it starts having a positive effect on your body.
Where can I go for help?
You can reach the Avera Heart Hospital's Quit for Good program at (605) 977-7000. Other great resources include South Dakota's Quit Line at 1-866-737-8487, the American Lung Association at lungusa, the American Cancer Society at cancer or the American Heart Association at americanheart.
Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center
View drug information on Chantix; Zyban Sustained-Release Tablets.
вторник, 26 апреля 2011 г.
Study Profiles Rural Individuals Most Likely To Have Recurrent Trauma Center Admissions
About 3.4 percent of patients treated in rural trauma centers appear to be recidivists, meaning that they have visited the facility more than once for separate injuries, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Substance abuse appears to be the common feature among urban and rural recurrent trauma patients.
Trauma is the leading cause of death and disability for individuals age 40 and younger, according to background information in the article. Historically, trauma centers have focused on reducing death and disability following injury; however, it is now recognized that like other diseases, trauma affects certain individuals in high-risk groups. "Correspondingly, the primary prevention of injury has become implicit in the development of integrated trauma systems," the authors write. "The identification of individuals at risk for injury has led to the development of preventative measures to reduce predisposing behavior." Recurrent injury, or trauma recidivism, has been recognized as a behavior that is costly and leads to additional illness in trauma centers.
Eric A. Toschlog, M.D., and colleagues at The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, Greenville, assessed 15,370 consecutive patients admitted to one rural, university, level I trauma center between 1994 and 2002. A national trauma registry was used to identify patients who were admitted for distinct injuries two, three, four and five times during the study period. Demographic and clinical information, including blood alcohol levels and toxicology results, were obtained from the same database.
A total of 528 patients (3.4 percent) were admitted to the trauma center a second time for a different injury; the total cost for these admissions was more than $7 million. Compared with patients admitted only once, patients with recurrent admissions for trauma (recidivists):
* Were older (55.9 years vs. 39.7 years)
* Were disproportionately white (65.2 percent vs. 56.5 percent)
* Were more often female (49.1 percent vs. 37.3 percent)
* Had a higher percentage of positive blood alcohol screening results (58.7 percent vs. 39.9 percent)
* Had higher average blood ethanol levels (132.1 milligrams per deciliter vs. 69.5 milligrams per deciliter)
* Had higher rates of cocaine use (6.4 percent vs. 4.1 percent)
* Were more likely to be injured in a fall (63.8 percent of those admitted three to five times and 47.2 percent of those admitted twice vs. 24.4 percent of those admitted only once)
* Were less likely to be injured in a vehicle accident (10.3 percent of those admitted three to five times and 28.4 of those admitted twice vs. 48.1 percent of non-recidivists)
The rate of recurrent injury was lower than that in urban trauma centers (which range from 6.4 percent to 52 percent), and many of these characteristics differ from those found in studies of trauma recidivists in urban populations, who tend to be young, male and injured by violent means, the authors write. "The common feature seems to be substance abuse," they conclude. "Correspondingly, prevention strategies for recidivism must be considerably different among rural and urban populations."
(Arch Surg. 2007;142:77-81.)
Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Contact: Doug Boyd
JAMA and Archives Journals
Trauma is the leading cause of death and disability for individuals age 40 and younger, according to background information in the article. Historically, trauma centers have focused on reducing death and disability following injury; however, it is now recognized that like other diseases, trauma affects certain individuals in high-risk groups. "Correspondingly, the primary prevention of injury has become implicit in the development of integrated trauma systems," the authors write. "The identification of individuals at risk for injury has led to the development of preventative measures to reduce predisposing behavior." Recurrent injury, or trauma recidivism, has been recognized as a behavior that is costly and leads to additional illness in trauma centers.
Eric A. Toschlog, M.D., and colleagues at The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, Greenville, assessed 15,370 consecutive patients admitted to one rural, university, level I trauma center between 1994 and 2002. A national trauma registry was used to identify patients who were admitted for distinct injuries two, three, four and five times during the study period. Demographic and clinical information, including blood alcohol levels and toxicology results, were obtained from the same database.
A total of 528 patients (3.4 percent) were admitted to the trauma center a second time for a different injury; the total cost for these admissions was more than $7 million. Compared with patients admitted only once, patients with recurrent admissions for trauma (recidivists):
* Were older (55.9 years vs. 39.7 years)
* Were disproportionately white (65.2 percent vs. 56.5 percent)
* Were more often female (49.1 percent vs. 37.3 percent)
* Had a higher percentage of positive blood alcohol screening results (58.7 percent vs. 39.9 percent)
* Had higher average blood ethanol levels (132.1 milligrams per deciliter vs. 69.5 milligrams per deciliter)
* Had higher rates of cocaine use (6.4 percent vs. 4.1 percent)
* Were more likely to be injured in a fall (63.8 percent of those admitted three to five times and 47.2 percent of those admitted twice vs. 24.4 percent of those admitted only once)
* Were less likely to be injured in a vehicle accident (10.3 percent of those admitted three to five times and 28.4 of those admitted twice vs. 48.1 percent of non-recidivists)
The rate of recurrent injury was lower than that in urban trauma centers (which range from 6.4 percent to 52 percent), and many of these characteristics differ from those found in studies of trauma recidivists in urban populations, who tend to be young, male and injured by violent means, the authors write. "The common feature seems to be substance abuse," they conclude. "Correspondingly, prevention strategies for recidivism must be considerably different among rural and urban populations."
(Arch Surg. 2007;142:77-81.)
Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Contact: Doug Boyd
JAMA and Archives Journals
понедельник, 25 апреля 2011 г.
Four Loko Maker Phusion Projects To Remove Caffeine From Alcoholic Drinks
Phusion Projects, the manufacturer of the caffeinated alcoholic beverage (CAB) Four Loko, announced on Tuesday that it will
be removing caffeine and two other stimulants from its products throughout the US.
The Chicago-based company told the press that it will be reformulating its products to remove caffeine, guarana and taurine and
will in future produce only non-caffeinated versions of Four Loko.
The company, which specializes in alcoholic beverages, currently makes two CAB products, Four Loko and Four MaXed in a
variety of flavors. The drinks combine alcohol with caffeine, guarana and taurine, the "four" ingredients that gave the products
their name. The company also makes Earthquake, which it describes as a "non-caffeinated High Gravity Lager".
Phusion's co-founders and current managing partners, Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman, said:
"We are taking this step after trying - unsuccessfully - to navigate a difficult and politically-charged regulatory environment at
both the state and federal levels."
They said they have been "more than willing" over the last several months to "talk with regulators and policymakers on the
national, state and local levels" and that:
"We hoped that clear, consistent, industry-wide standards regulating pre-packaged caffeinated alcoholic beverages would be the
outcome of these conversations".
The news coincides with an announcement that Charles E Schumer, Senator for New York, also made on Tuesday, stating that
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be ruling that adding caffeine to alcoholic beverages is unsafe, "effectively making
products such as Four Loko, Joose, and others like them, prohibited for sale in the United States".
In November 2009, the FDA sent letters to nearly 30 manufacturers, demanding that they furnish evidence that their CAB products
were safe and that they would take regulatory action, including product seizures, if there was inadequate proof of
safety.
Federal officials have been under pressure to take action against CAB products after several incidents were reported in the press
where college students have been taken ill after consuming CAB products. In one incident last month, nine students from Central
Washington University (CWU) ended up in the emergency room after drinking Four Loko. Some of the students were treated for
alcohol poisoning.
Part of the pressure from critics of CAB products like Four Loko, sometimes referred to as "blackout in a can", is that they do
not carry enough warning to explain their potential effects.
They argue that when they drink them, young people don't realize how drunk they are from the alcohol, and the caffeine makes
them feel more alert and capable than they really are. Experts suggest this makes them more likely to drive while drunk, become
involved in a fight, or fall victim to sexual assault.
Schumer, who says he has been campaigning for months to have CAB products banned because of "serious risks to consumer
health and safety" said that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will also be notifying manufacturers that they are "engaged in
the potential illegal marketing of unsafe alcoholic drinks".
However, Phusion Projects' Hunter, Wright and Freeman contend that they believe, "as do many people throughout the country"
that alcohol combined with caffeine is safe.
"If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years
would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced," they stressed, adding that if their products were unsafe, then
surely the federal agency responsible for approving them, the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), would not have
approved them.
"Yet, all of our product formulas and packaging were reviewed and approved by the TTB before being offered to consumers",
they added.
The company says it has also sent an open letter to regulators this month, welcoming the chance to work with them toward
"uniform standards for all liquor and malt-based caffeinated alcoholic beverages".
In the meantime, the company, together with the New York State Beer Wholesalers Association, has reached an agreement with
the New York State Liquor Authority to voluntarily discontinue selling caffeinated alcohol beverages in the state from this
Friday, 19 November.
As part of the agreement, Phusion Projects will also support New York State's alcohol education and awareness
programs.
Sources: Phusion Projects press release, Charles E Schumer press release, MNT Archives.
, PhD
be removing caffeine and two other stimulants from its products throughout the US.
The Chicago-based company told the press that it will be reformulating its products to remove caffeine, guarana and taurine and
will in future produce only non-caffeinated versions of Four Loko.
The company, which specializes in alcoholic beverages, currently makes two CAB products, Four Loko and Four MaXed in a
variety of flavors. The drinks combine alcohol with caffeine, guarana and taurine, the "four" ingredients that gave the products
their name. The company also makes Earthquake, which it describes as a "non-caffeinated High Gravity Lager".
Phusion's co-founders and current managing partners, Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman, said:
"We are taking this step after trying - unsuccessfully - to navigate a difficult and politically-charged regulatory environment at
both the state and federal levels."
They said they have been "more than willing" over the last several months to "talk with regulators and policymakers on the
national, state and local levels" and that:
"We hoped that clear, consistent, industry-wide standards regulating pre-packaged caffeinated alcoholic beverages would be the
outcome of these conversations".
The news coincides with an announcement that Charles E Schumer, Senator for New York, also made on Tuesday, stating that
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be ruling that adding caffeine to alcoholic beverages is unsafe, "effectively making
products such as Four Loko, Joose, and others like them, prohibited for sale in the United States".
In November 2009, the FDA sent letters to nearly 30 manufacturers, demanding that they furnish evidence that their CAB products
were safe and that they would take regulatory action, including product seizures, if there was inadequate proof of
safety.
Federal officials have been under pressure to take action against CAB products after several incidents were reported in the press
where college students have been taken ill after consuming CAB products. In one incident last month, nine students from Central
Washington University (CWU) ended up in the emergency room after drinking Four Loko. Some of the students were treated for
alcohol poisoning.
Part of the pressure from critics of CAB products like Four Loko, sometimes referred to as "blackout in a can", is that they do
not carry enough warning to explain their potential effects.
They argue that when they drink them, young people don't realize how drunk they are from the alcohol, and the caffeine makes
them feel more alert and capable than they really are. Experts suggest this makes them more likely to drive while drunk, become
involved in a fight, or fall victim to sexual assault.
Schumer, who says he has been campaigning for months to have CAB products banned because of "serious risks to consumer
health and safety" said that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will also be notifying manufacturers that they are "engaged in
the potential illegal marketing of unsafe alcoholic drinks".
However, Phusion Projects' Hunter, Wright and Freeman contend that they believe, "as do many people throughout the country"
that alcohol combined with caffeine is safe.
"If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years
would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced," they stressed, adding that if their products were unsafe, then
surely the federal agency responsible for approving them, the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), would not have
approved them.
"Yet, all of our product formulas and packaging were reviewed and approved by the TTB before being offered to consumers",
they added.
The company says it has also sent an open letter to regulators this month, welcoming the chance to work with them toward
"uniform standards for all liquor and malt-based caffeinated alcoholic beverages".
In the meantime, the company, together with the New York State Beer Wholesalers Association, has reached an agreement with
the New York State Liquor Authority to voluntarily discontinue selling caffeinated alcohol beverages in the state from this
Friday, 19 November.
As part of the agreement, Phusion Projects will also support New York State's alcohol education and awareness
programs.
Sources: Phusion Projects press release, Charles E Schumer press release, MNT Archives.
, PhD
воскресенье, 24 апреля 2011 г.
Binge-drinking costing UK ??20 billion a year
The UK government is becoming alarmed at the spiralling costs of binge-drinking. The health bill for the NHS (national health service) is becoming a serious concern. The social costs - crime and the disruption to family life are rising dramatically.
The government is going to propose having wardens at taxi ranks at weekends at night. They said they are also going to bear down on pubs that serve alcohol to under 18s.
The problem is a cultural one, say many experts. Many of Britain's youth go out on Friday and Saturday nights with just one aim - to get blind drunk.
Two groups of people in the UK are beginning to become a serious problem to themselves and those around them.
The first group consists of people aged 18-25. They go out just to get as drunk as they can. Their behaviour causes serious problems of crime, disorder and the clogging up of emergency rooms in hospitals (A&E Departments).
The second group consists of older people who are chronic drinkers. They are drinking more often and more heavily. The NHS is seeing a rise in cases of cirrhosis and heart disease among this older group.
The government says it would like to see more of a continental European cafe-bar culture. Britons are the biggest binge-drinkers in Europe. Binge-drinking basically means going out on the town to get blind drunk.
The government's new plan called Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England involves voluntary action by alcohol producers and retailers, and action on the part of the government, police and councils. The actions include:
-- A plan to target pubs and shops suspected of selling alcohol to under-18s; including police sting operations
-- Greater use of exclusion orders and fixed-penalty fines for alcohol-related anti-social behaviour
-- Police urged to use more community wardens to patrol areas such as taxi ranks at night
-- Simpler 'sensible drinking' messages from the government and better alcohol education in schools
-- Review of the code of practice for TV advertising to ensure it does not target young drinkers or glamorise drinking
-- 'Social responsibility charter' for drinks producers which includes providing clear product information and health warnings
-- 'Code of good conduct' schemes for shops, pubs and clubs, again including providing information on alcohol
-- National audit of alcohol treatment services; better training for medical staff
A government spokesman said that if these actions do not work they will bring in legislation to make sure it does. This could include forcing pubs to pay for policing costs.
The police say that until people realise that anti-social behaviour is punishable nothing will change. They say that the chances of being punished for anti-social drinking were remote.
Many town centres in the UK have become kids drinking areas at weekends (nights). They are full of pubs and clubs and not much else (at night). Unlike continental European towns, weekend nightlife in UK towns is not designed for family outings. In fact, many young Brits out on a Friday night binge would be horrified to see their mothers in the town centre.
Opinion of the Editor of :
I live in a town on the South East coast of England. I have given up taking my family to restaurants in the town centre. I have two sons, one is ten and the other is 17. The last time I took them out we saw three people vomiting in the streets. This was not a group. We were walking to the car, we first saw one young man holding on to a lamp post and throwing up his dinner, fifty yards further on there was a woman of about 20 doing the same. The last one was about ten yards from our car, he was sitting on the ground with a massive bottle of super-strength cider, throwing up everywhere. He could not have been more than about 15. When we go out in the evening now we tend to go to country pubs and restaurants. This is a great pity. Apart from the health implications for the people who are doing this, it restricts the freedoms of those who do not want to get blind drunk.
The government is going to propose having wardens at taxi ranks at weekends at night. They said they are also going to bear down on pubs that serve alcohol to under 18s.
The problem is a cultural one, say many experts. Many of Britain's youth go out on Friday and Saturday nights with just one aim - to get blind drunk.
Two groups of people in the UK are beginning to become a serious problem to themselves and those around them.
The first group consists of people aged 18-25. They go out just to get as drunk as they can. Their behaviour causes serious problems of crime, disorder and the clogging up of emergency rooms in hospitals (A&E Departments).
The second group consists of older people who are chronic drinkers. They are drinking more often and more heavily. The NHS is seeing a rise in cases of cirrhosis and heart disease among this older group.
The government says it would like to see more of a continental European cafe-bar culture. Britons are the biggest binge-drinkers in Europe. Binge-drinking basically means going out on the town to get blind drunk.
The government's new plan called Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England involves voluntary action by alcohol producers and retailers, and action on the part of the government, police and councils. The actions include:
-- A plan to target pubs and shops suspected of selling alcohol to under-18s; including police sting operations
-- Greater use of exclusion orders and fixed-penalty fines for alcohol-related anti-social behaviour
-- Police urged to use more community wardens to patrol areas such as taxi ranks at night
-- Simpler 'sensible drinking' messages from the government and better alcohol education in schools
-- Review of the code of practice for TV advertising to ensure it does not target young drinkers or glamorise drinking
-- 'Social responsibility charter' for drinks producers which includes providing clear product information and health warnings
-- 'Code of good conduct' schemes for shops, pubs and clubs, again including providing information on alcohol
-- National audit of alcohol treatment services; better training for medical staff
A government spokesman said that if these actions do not work they will bring in legislation to make sure it does. This could include forcing pubs to pay for policing costs.
The police say that until people realise that anti-social behaviour is punishable nothing will change. They say that the chances of being punished for anti-social drinking were remote.
Many town centres in the UK have become kids drinking areas at weekends (nights). They are full of pubs and clubs and not much else (at night). Unlike continental European towns, weekend nightlife in UK towns is not designed for family outings. In fact, many young Brits out on a Friday night binge would be horrified to see their mothers in the town centre.
Opinion of the Editor of :
I live in a town on the South East coast of England. I have given up taking my family to restaurants in the town centre. I have two sons, one is ten and the other is 17. The last time I took them out we saw three people vomiting in the streets. This was not a group. We were walking to the car, we first saw one young man holding on to a lamp post and throwing up his dinner, fifty yards further on there was a woman of about 20 doing the same. The last one was about ten yards from our car, he was sitting on the ground with a massive bottle of super-strength cider, throwing up everywhere. He could not have been more than about 15. When we go out in the evening now we tend to go to country pubs and restaurants. This is a great pity. Apart from the health implications for the people who are doing this, it restricts the freedoms of those who do not want to get blind drunk.
Iron Overload: An Important Co-Factor In The Development Of Liver Disease In Alcoholics
Alcohol and iron are believed to have a synergistic effect in the development of liver injury. Furthermore, alcohol enhances iron absorption. Primary hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder, mostly resulting from mutations in the HFE gene, with a disturbance in the iron metabolism which leads to iron accumulation that may eventually result in liver disease. However, data regarding an association between iron metabolism, HFE mutations and alcoholic liver disease are inconclusive at present.
A research article published on January 7, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. A research team led by Professor Helena Cortez-Pinto, from Hospital Santa Maria in Lisbon, studied a group of heavy drinkers with and without liver disease. A high prevalence of iron overload was found in alcoholics, which appeared to be related to the development of liver disease [odds ration for having liver disease in alcoholics with transferrin saturation greater than 45% was 2.2 (95% CI 1.37-3.54)]. Regarding HFE mutations, only H63D was found to be associated with alcoholic liver disease [odds ratio 1.57 (95% CI 1.02-2.40)]. Alcoholics who were heterozygotes for H63D mutation and had evidence of iron overload, showed an even greater risk of developing liver disease [odds ratio 2.17 (95% CI 1.42-3.32)].
Based on these findings, it appears that iron overload is an important co-factor in the development of liver disease in alcoholics. Even heterozygotes for H63D mutation, who classically do not develop liver disease, had an increased susceptibility to liver disease, in the presence of excessive alcohol consumption.
Reference: Machado MV, Ravasco P, Martins A, Almeida MR, Camilo ME, Cortez-Pinto H. Iron homeostasis and H63D mutations in alcoholics with and without liver disease. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(1): 106-111
wjgnet/1007-9327/15/106.asp
Correspondence to: Helena Cortez-Pinto, Professor, Servi?§o de Gastrenterologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-035, Lisboa, Portugal.
Source: Lin Tian
World Journal of Gastroenterology
A research article published on January 7, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. A research team led by Professor Helena Cortez-Pinto, from Hospital Santa Maria in Lisbon, studied a group of heavy drinkers with and without liver disease. A high prevalence of iron overload was found in alcoholics, which appeared to be related to the development of liver disease [odds ration for having liver disease in alcoholics with transferrin saturation greater than 45% was 2.2 (95% CI 1.37-3.54)]. Regarding HFE mutations, only H63D was found to be associated with alcoholic liver disease [odds ratio 1.57 (95% CI 1.02-2.40)]. Alcoholics who were heterozygotes for H63D mutation and had evidence of iron overload, showed an even greater risk of developing liver disease [odds ratio 2.17 (95% CI 1.42-3.32)].
Based on these findings, it appears that iron overload is an important co-factor in the development of liver disease in alcoholics. Even heterozygotes for H63D mutation, who classically do not develop liver disease, had an increased susceptibility to liver disease, in the presence of excessive alcohol consumption.
Reference: Machado MV, Ravasco P, Martins A, Almeida MR, Camilo ME, Cortez-Pinto H. Iron homeostasis and H63D mutations in alcoholics with and without liver disease. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(1): 106-111
wjgnet/1007-9327/15/106.asp
Correspondence to: Helena Cortez-Pinto, Professor, Servi?§o de Gastrenterologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Av. Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-035, Lisboa, Portugal.
Source: Lin Tian
World Journal of Gastroenterology
Alcohol, Tobacco And Genetics
Alcohol and smoking can be harmful, if not deadly. While the desire for these substances can be due to environmental cues, genomic factors also play an important role. The etiology of these desires is multifactorial and a result of complex interactions with the environment.
Adoption and twin studies have shown that the use of these substances is likely to be inherited. Such studies have provided evidence that one's sex can influence the genetic factors for alcohol and tobacco use.
In an attempt to find the genomic determinants underlying alcohol and tobacco use, researchers examined 120 families (approximately 900 individuals). The researchers identified an area relating to alcohol and tobacco use on chromosome 1. They found another area relating to alcohol on chromosome 3. On chromosome 4, they uncovered an area relating to smoking and found sex-specific loci inside some of these areas.
The results are based on the study entitled, "Genome-wide Scan for Genomic Determinants of Alcohol and Tobacco Use in French Canadian Families." It was conducted by Majid Nikpay, O. Seda, Johanne Tremblay and Pavel Hamet, of the Research Centre CHUM, University of Montreal; Ettore Merlo, ?‰cole Polytechnique de Montr?©al, Montr?©al; D. Gaudet, Department of Medicine, University of Montreal Community Genomic Medicine Center and Lipid Clinic, Chicoutimi, CN; and Theodore Kotchen and Alan Cowley, of the Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Mr. Nikpay will discuss his team's work at the conference, Sex and Gender in Cardiovascular-Renal Physiology and Pathophysiology. The meeting, sponsored by the American Physiological Society (APS; The-APS), is being held August 9-12, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Austin on Town Lake, Austin, TX.
The Study
The researchers investigated the genomic factors underlying alcohol and tobacco use in a cohort of 120 families with at least one sibling pair was affected by hypertension (high blood pressure) and dyslipidemia (high lipids levels in the blood). (These variables were important because the excessive use of alcohol and tobacco may cause cardiovascular disorders like hypertension, so finding the genomic determinants behind alcohol and tobacco use may point to novel mechanisms for blood pressure modification by these substances.) The volunteers were from the Saguenay-Lac-St. Jean region of Quebec, Canada. The locale, which is relatively isolated, somewhat genetically homogenous, and has kept genealogical records of its citizens since the 17th-century, makes the study of complex genomic traits like these easier.
Phenotyping for alcohol and tobacco use was conducted using questionnaires. The researchers used a dense map (three haplotypes per cM; r2>0.4), generated by merging 58000 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and 437 microsatellite markers, to identify sex-specific and non-specific linked and associated areas.
Summary of Results
The researchers reported the following results:
using the information from the questionnaires, the researchers found sex differences in prevalence of alcohol (17.3% in females and 38.3% in males) and tobacco (22.2% in females and 28% in males) use
a common locus (an identifiable location on a chromosome) for alcohol and tobacco was found on chromosome (chr) 1. Also on chr 1, in an area believed to be involved with diastolic blood pressure (DBP), they found a locus for smoking.
on chr 3, in the area identified as being involved with pre-math stress DBP, they found a locus for alcohol
on chr 4, inside gene GRID2, researchers found linked and associated SNPs for smoking moreover they found associated SNPs inside these gene for alcohol in males
female-specific candidate SNPs were found inside the HTR2C gene for smoking.
Conclusions
According to Mr. Nikpay, the lead author of the research, "We have found evidence of linkage and association for several genomic regions harboring genes with potential pathophysiological functions relating to alcohol and smoking. Our sex specific findings may also play a role in the sex differences related to alcohol and tobacco use."
The American Physiological Society (APS; The-APS) has been an integral part of the scientific discovery process since it was established in 1887. Physiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create health or disease.
American Physiological Society (APS)
9650 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20814
United States
the-aps
Adoption and twin studies have shown that the use of these substances is likely to be inherited. Such studies have provided evidence that one's sex can influence the genetic factors for alcohol and tobacco use.
In an attempt to find the genomic determinants underlying alcohol and tobacco use, researchers examined 120 families (approximately 900 individuals). The researchers identified an area relating to alcohol and tobacco use on chromosome 1. They found another area relating to alcohol on chromosome 3. On chromosome 4, they uncovered an area relating to smoking and found sex-specific loci inside some of these areas.
The results are based on the study entitled, "Genome-wide Scan for Genomic Determinants of Alcohol and Tobacco Use in French Canadian Families." It was conducted by Majid Nikpay, O. Seda, Johanne Tremblay and Pavel Hamet, of the Research Centre CHUM, University of Montreal; Ettore Merlo, ?‰cole Polytechnique de Montr?©al, Montr?©al; D. Gaudet, Department of Medicine, University of Montreal Community Genomic Medicine Center and Lipid Clinic, Chicoutimi, CN; and Theodore Kotchen and Alan Cowley, of the Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Mr. Nikpay will discuss his team's work at the conference, Sex and Gender in Cardiovascular-Renal Physiology and Pathophysiology. The meeting, sponsored by the American Physiological Society (APS; The-APS), is being held August 9-12, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Austin on Town Lake, Austin, TX.
The Study
The researchers investigated the genomic factors underlying alcohol and tobacco use in a cohort of 120 families with at least one sibling pair was affected by hypertension (high blood pressure) and dyslipidemia (high lipids levels in the blood). (These variables were important because the excessive use of alcohol and tobacco may cause cardiovascular disorders like hypertension, so finding the genomic determinants behind alcohol and tobacco use may point to novel mechanisms for blood pressure modification by these substances.) The volunteers were from the Saguenay-Lac-St. Jean region of Quebec, Canada. The locale, which is relatively isolated, somewhat genetically homogenous, and has kept genealogical records of its citizens since the 17th-century, makes the study of complex genomic traits like these easier.
Phenotyping for alcohol and tobacco use was conducted using questionnaires. The researchers used a dense map (three haplotypes per cM; r2>0.4), generated by merging 58000 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and 437 microsatellite markers, to identify sex-specific and non-specific linked and associated areas.
Summary of Results
The researchers reported the following results:
using the information from the questionnaires, the researchers found sex differences in prevalence of alcohol (17.3% in females and 38.3% in males) and tobacco (22.2% in females and 28% in males) use
a common locus (an identifiable location on a chromosome) for alcohol and tobacco was found on chromosome (chr) 1. Also on chr 1, in an area believed to be involved with diastolic blood pressure (DBP), they found a locus for smoking.
on chr 3, in the area identified as being involved with pre-math stress DBP, they found a locus for alcohol
on chr 4, inside gene GRID2, researchers found linked and associated SNPs for smoking moreover they found associated SNPs inside these gene for alcohol in males
female-specific candidate SNPs were found inside the HTR2C gene for smoking.
Conclusions
According to Mr. Nikpay, the lead author of the research, "We have found evidence of linkage and association for several genomic regions harboring genes with potential pathophysiological functions relating to alcohol and smoking. Our sex specific findings may also play a role in the sex differences related to alcohol and tobacco use."
The American Physiological Society (APS; The-APS) has been an integral part of the scientific discovery process since it was established in 1887. Physiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create health or disease.
American Physiological Society (APS)
9650 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20814
United States
the-aps
Illegal drugs getting into Japan via international mail
Due to a recent increase in illegal drugs sent by international mail to unsuspecting third parties, Osaka Customhouse has advised caution if people receive international packages on behalf of acquaintances.
According to customhouse officials, members of drug-trafficking organizations dupe acquaintances into receiving illegal drugs by asking them to receive international packages as a favor.
At a post office in Kansai Airport in March, customhouse officials discovered about 300 grams of cocaine inside a wooden mural decoration and another 200 grams of cocaine inside a cookbook. The packages, which were shipped from Brazil, were addressed to a woman in Kanazawa and a woman in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, respectively.
The packages were then sent to the women, and after the officials confirmed that they had accepted them, the two were questioned. They said they were asked by a Nigerian man in Kanazawa to receive international packages on his behalf.
Osaka Customhouse officials and the Osaka and Ishikawa prefectural police arrested the man on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Law.
According to the investigation, the women became acquainted with the man after he approached them on the street. They said they knew nothing about the contents of the packages, adding that they did not think the request was unusual. CONTINUES...............yomiuri.co.jp
According to customhouse officials, members of drug-trafficking organizations dupe acquaintances into receiving illegal drugs by asking them to receive international packages as a favor.
At a post office in Kansai Airport in March, customhouse officials discovered about 300 grams of cocaine inside a wooden mural decoration and another 200 grams of cocaine inside a cookbook. The packages, which were shipped from Brazil, were addressed to a woman in Kanazawa and a woman in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, respectively.
The packages were then sent to the women, and after the officials confirmed that they had accepted them, the two were questioned. They said they were asked by a Nigerian man in Kanazawa to receive international packages on his behalf.
Osaka Customhouse officials and the Osaka and Ishikawa prefectural police arrested the man on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Law.
According to the investigation, the women became acquainted with the man after he approached them on the street. They said they knew nothing about the contents of the packages, adding that they did not think the request was unusual. CONTINUES...............yomiuri.co.jp
Drink Moderately And Stay Safe, Australia
Christmas and New Year are great times to share one or two drinks with friends, but the AMA is urging people to avoid binge drinking if they want to stay clear of the emergency department this holiday season.
AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said many Australians associated heavy drinking with the festive season, but that people could still have a good time without putting their health at risk.
"Excess alcohol consumption is responsible for billions of dollars worth of illness and tragedy in Australia each year," Dr Capolingua said.
"Alcohol abuse is the cause of many chronic health problems including cardiovascular disease, obesity, liver disease, and brain damage, and can lead to serious health risks such as acute alcohol poisoning.
"In addition to what it's doing to your body, excessive drinking can be the cause of all kinds of accidents, and no one wants to spend any time in a hospital emergency department."
Dr Capolingua said there were a number of simple steps people could follow to ensure they have a fun night and a safe night.
"If you are going to be drinking during the holiday season, drink responsibly, don't exceed the recommended number of standard drinks, and arrange for a lift from a taxi or designated driver."
The National Health and Medical Research Council currently recommends an average of four standard drinks per day for men and two per day for women, and everyone should have one or two alcohol free days each week.
Dr Capolingua said it was important for people to check what a standard drink is so they can properly moderate their drinking. 100 mls is the standard drink for wine and 30mls for a spirit.
"Most people measure their drinking by how many glasses they've had, how long they have been drinking for, or how drunk they feel," Dr Capolingua said.
"A standard drink is smaller than many people think, and this creates the danger that people might think they are more sober than they are.
"Pre-mixed cans or bottles can be misleading because they can contain varying amounts of alcohol, and you should always check the label to know how much alcohol you're consuming."
Australian Medical Association
AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said many Australians associated heavy drinking with the festive season, but that people could still have a good time without putting their health at risk.
"Excess alcohol consumption is responsible for billions of dollars worth of illness and tragedy in Australia each year," Dr Capolingua said.
"Alcohol abuse is the cause of many chronic health problems including cardiovascular disease, obesity, liver disease, and brain damage, and can lead to serious health risks such as acute alcohol poisoning.
"In addition to what it's doing to your body, excessive drinking can be the cause of all kinds of accidents, and no one wants to spend any time in a hospital emergency department."
Dr Capolingua said there were a number of simple steps people could follow to ensure they have a fun night and a safe night.
"If you are going to be drinking during the holiday season, drink responsibly, don't exceed the recommended number of standard drinks, and arrange for a lift from a taxi or designated driver."
The National Health and Medical Research Council currently recommends an average of four standard drinks per day for men and two per day for women, and everyone should have one or two alcohol free days each week.
Dr Capolingua said it was important for people to check what a standard drink is so they can properly moderate their drinking. 100 mls is the standard drink for wine and 30mls for a spirit.
"Most people measure their drinking by how many glasses they've had, how long they have been drinking for, or how drunk they feel," Dr Capolingua said.
"A standard drink is smaller than many people think, and this creates the danger that people might think they are more sober than they are.
"Pre-mixed cans or bottles can be misleading because they can contain varying amounts of alcohol, and you should always check the label to know how much alcohol you're consuming."
Australian Medical Association
Examining The Effects Of Ecstasy Use In Young Adults: UC Researchers Awarded Federal Grant
A so-called "club drug" - typically not used all that often by those who take it - can still have the potential to cause a lot of damage among some users, say University of Cincinnati researchers. Trials are underway to trace the effects of ecstasy and to see who's most at risk. The study is supported by $471,000 in federal stimulus funds awarded by the National Institutes of Health and spread out over two years.
The researchers will be examining individual genetics as well as conducting high-resolution brain imaging at UC's Center for Imaging Research, as they examine drug use among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25. They say they're researching an understudied area, as they narrow in on how ecstasy use leads to consequences in brain structure and cognition.
The interdisciplinary research is led by principal investigator Krista Lisdahl Medina, a UC assistant professor of psychology in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), and co-investigator Judith Strong, a research associate professor for the Department of Cell and Cancer Biology, UC College of Medicine.
"Most of these young adults would have started using these drugs during adolescence," explains Medina. "Among ecstasy and marijuana users, we want to see - during this ongoing time of peak usage and human development - what's going on in terms of cognition, mood and brain structure.
"So, our first goal is to characterize the effects of these drugs. Our second goal is to see if individual genetics actually moderate the negative effects," Medina says.
Medina says the researchers will be examining whether ecstasy users will show significantly poorer memory function as well as a smaller hippocampus - the part of the brain responsible for mood and memory - compared with marijuana users, non-drug-using adolescents and young adults.
They're also examining genetics to see if drug users who carry low serotonin levels are more severely affected by ecstasy use than users with high serotonin levels.
Serotonin is a key neurotransmitter in the brain that is known for regulating mood and for playing a role in cognitive functions such as memory. Low levels of serotonin have been linked to anxiety and depression.
Ecstasy, a man-made drug that is part hallucinogen and part stimulant, affects the serotonin system. Users report a sense of euphoria and increased sensation, as ecstasy brings on a rush of serotonin levels. "People tend not to be daily or even regular users. They'll plan for it, perhaps for a special occasion," Medina says.
Medina says she has conducted previous research that found long-term use of ecstasy was linked to poor verbal memory. Other research has linked ecstasy to poor executive function, such as attention, problem-solving and planning. Men have been found to have an increased risk of impacting executive function with ecstasy use.
"It's not used all that often, but it can cause a lot of damage," Medina says. "We'll also be exploring what happens when people are combined drug users, such as combining marijuana or alcohol with ecstasy."
Medina says ecstasy use continues to be a major public health problem among adolescents and young adults. The researchers want their findings to aid biologically-based treatments for drug users.
The NIH award is issued under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Source:
Dawn Fuller
University of Cincinnati
The researchers will be examining individual genetics as well as conducting high-resolution brain imaging at UC's Center for Imaging Research, as they examine drug use among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25. They say they're researching an understudied area, as they narrow in on how ecstasy use leads to consequences in brain structure and cognition.
The interdisciplinary research is led by principal investigator Krista Lisdahl Medina, a UC assistant professor of psychology in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), and co-investigator Judith Strong, a research associate professor for the Department of Cell and Cancer Biology, UC College of Medicine.
"Most of these young adults would have started using these drugs during adolescence," explains Medina. "Among ecstasy and marijuana users, we want to see - during this ongoing time of peak usage and human development - what's going on in terms of cognition, mood and brain structure.
"So, our first goal is to characterize the effects of these drugs. Our second goal is to see if individual genetics actually moderate the negative effects," Medina says.
Medina says the researchers will be examining whether ecstasy users will show significantly poorer memory function as well as a smaller hippocampus - the part of the brain responsible for mood and memory - compared with marijuana users, non-drug-using adolescents and young adults.
They're also examining genetics to see if drug users who carry low serotonin levels are more severely affected by ecstasy use than users with high serotonin levels.
Serotonin is a key neurotransmitter in the brain that is known for regulating mood and for playing a role in cognitive functions such as memory. Low levels of serotonin have been linked to anxiety and depression.
Ecstasy, a man-made drug that is part hallucinogen and part stimulant, affects the serotonin system. Users report a sense of euphoria and increased sensation, as ecstasy brings on a rush of serotonin levels. "People tend not to be daily or even regular users. They'll plan for it, perhaps for a special occasion," Medina says.
Medina says she has conducted previous research that found long-term use of ecstasy was linked to poor verbal memory. Other research has linked ecstasy to poor executive function, such as attention, problem-solving and planning. Men have been found to have an increased risk of impacting executive function with ecstasy use.
"It's not used all that often, but it can cause a lot of damage," Medina says. "We'll also be exploring what happens when people are combined drug users, such as combining marijuana or alcohol with ecstasy."
Medina says ecstasy use continues to be a major public health problem among adolescents and young adults. The researchers want their findings to aid biologically-based treatments for drug users.
The NIH award is issued under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Source:
Dawn Fuller
University of Cincinnati
UCLA Researchers Discover How Drug Binds To Neurons To Stop Drunken Symptoms Of Alcohol
UCLA researchers discovered how an experimental drug, called Ro15-4513, binds to specific receptors on brain neurons, which helps explain how this drug stops the drunken behavioral symptoms of alcohol such as impaired motor coordination, memory loss and drowsiness.
The team showed in the lab that Ro15-4513 binds to and blocks alcohol action on these highly alcohol-sensitive receptors. The UCLA group previously found that these receptors are specific subtypes of Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA-A) receptors that play a role in impairing motor coordination caused by alcohol in experimental animals.
IMPACT: These studies are the first to show how the alcohol antidote drug Ro15-4513 binds to these GABA-A receptors. The research may lead to a better understanding of how alcohol works in the brain as well as help develop drugs that prevent alcohol actions such as a sober-up pill, and alcohol addiction medications and treatments. UCLA researchers also suggest in the future that it may be possible to harness the beneficial effects of alcohol on the body, including inducing sleep, enhancing mood or mirroring the positive effects of moderate alcohol consumption on the heart and brain.
AUTHORS: Richard W. Olsen, Ph.D., professor and Martin Wallner, Ph.D., researcher, both in the UCLA Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, are available for interviews.
JOURNAL: The research appears in the May 8 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A PDF of the full study is available.
FUNDING: The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation, and the State of California for medical research on alcohol and substance abuse.
Contact: Rachel Champeau
University of California - Los Angeles
The team showed in the lab that Ro15-4513 binds to and blocks alcohol action on these highly alcohol-sensitive receptors. The UCLA group previously found that these receptors are specific subtypes of Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA-A) receptors that play a role in impairing motor coordination caused by alcohol in experimental animals.
IMPACT: These studies are the first to show how the alcohol antidote drug Ro15-4513 binds to these GABA-A receptors. The research may lead to a better understanding of how alcohol works in the brain as well as help develop drugs that prevent alcohol actions such as a sober-up pill, and alcohol addiction medications and treatments. UCLA researchers also suggest in the future that it may be possible to harness the beneficial effects of alcohol on the body, including inducing sleep, enhancing mood or mirroring the positive effects of moderate alcohol consumption on the heart and brain.
AUTHORS: Richard W. Olsen, Ph.D., professor and Martin Wallner, Ph.D., researcher, both in the UCLA Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, are available for interviews.
JOURNAL: The research appears in the May 8 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A PDF of the full study is available.
FUNDING: The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation, and the State of California for medical research on alcohol and substance abuse.
Contact: Rachel Champeau
University of California - Los Angeles
Study Links Effects Of Withdrawal To Compulsive Drug Use And Craving - Finding Could Lead To New Addiction Therapies
The study, led by Paul Kenny, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Scripps Research's campus in Jupiter, Florida, and Scott Chen, Ph.D., of the National Institutes of Health Animal Center, appears in the Wednesday, May 31 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.
The research fills many gaps in our understanding of how the brain changes during drug addiction. While scientists had previously shown that drugs such as heroin stimulate the brain's pleasure centers and thereby motivate drug consumption, the role of withdrawal-associated inhibitory effects on brain pleasure centers in motivating drug intake had been more difficult to quantify.
"This is a missing piece of the puzzle that scientists have been interested in for many years," Kenny said. "Withdrawal was important anecdotally, but there had been no solid empirical data demonstrating an instrumental role of withdrawal in addiction-like behaviors."
Kenny and colleagues now provide strong evidence that withdrawal contributes to the development of compulsive drug consumption in addicts. During the study, rodents were permitted to self-administer various levels of heroin. Those receiving the highest levels showed withdrawal-like decreases in the activity of the brain's reward systems. Crucially, as this withdrawal effect got worse, their drug intake became greater.
"As levels of drug consumption increase, the withdrawal state becomes more profound," Kenny said. "Taking more of the drug alleviates withdrawal, but also makes the underlying condition worse. You set up a vicious cycle where you're taking more of the drug to relieve a progressively worsening withdrawal."
Importantly, the researchers also identified a previously unknown source of drug craving, provoked by stimuli linked to withdrawal through Pavlovian conditioning. In the study, cues in the environment-a buzzer and light-repeatedly paired with drug withdrawal by themselves came to precipitate a withdrawal-like state and to prompt drug seeking.
"Through classical conditioning, these cues alone could precipitate drug-seeking behaviors," said Kenny. "Thus, in addition to memories of the pleasurable effects of drugs, memories of aversive drug withdrawal may also drive drug craving and relapse."
This line of research has the potential to aid in the development of new therapies for addiction. "If we understand the underlying biology, we may be able to block it to eliminate craving and prevent relapse among drug addicts," Kenny said.
Other authors of the study, titled "Conditioned withdrawal drives heroin consumption and decreases brain reward sensitivity," include: Scott A. Chen, Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies, NIH Animal Center, Poolesville, MD; Osamu Kitamura, Institute of Health Biosciences, University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan; and Athina Markou and George Koob, Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA.
The work was supported by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, National Institute of Drug Addiction (NIDA), and a NIDA National Research Service Award.
About The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute, headquartered in La Jolla, California, in 18 buildings on 40 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, is one of the world's largest independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations. It stands at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. Scripps Research is internationally recognized for its research into immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, and synthetic vaccine development. Established in its current configuration in 1961, it employs approximately 3,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, scientific and other technicians, doctoral degree graduate students, and administrative and technical support personnel. Scripps Florida, a 364,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art biomedical research facility, will be built in Palm Beach County. The facility will focus on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. Palm Beach County and the State of Florida have provided start-up economic packages for development, building, staffing, and equipping the campus. Scripps Florida now operates with approximately 160 scientists, technicians, and administrative staff at 40,000 square-foot lab facilities on the Florida Atlantic University campus in Jupiter.
Keith McKeown
kmckeownscripps
Scripps Research Institute
scripps
The research fills many gaps in our understanding of how the brain changes during drug addiction. While scientists had previously shown that drugs such as heroin stimulate the brain's pleasure centers and thereby motivate drug consumption, the role of withdrawal-associated inhibitory effects on brain pleasure centers in motivating drug intake had been more difficult to quantify.
"This is a missing piece of the puzzle that scientists have been interested in for many years," Kenny said. "Withdrawal was important anecdotally, but there had been no solid empirical data demonstrating an instrumental role of withdrawal in addiction-like behaviors."
Kenny and colleagues now provide strong evidence that withdrawal contributes to the development of compulsive drug consumption in addicts. During the study, rodents were permitted to self-administer various levels of heroin. Those receiving the highest levels showed withdrawal-like decreases in the activity of the brain's reward systems. Crucially, as this withdrawal effect got worse, their drug intake became greater.
"As levels of drug consumption increase, the withdrawal state becomes more profound," Kenny said. "Taking more of the drug alleviates withdrawal, but also makes the underlying condition worse. You set up a vicious cycle where you're taking more of the drug to relieve a progressively worsening withdrawal."
Importantly, the researchers also identified a previously unknown source of drug craving, provoked by stimuli linked to withdrawal through Pavlovian conditioning. In the study, cues in the environment-a buzzer and light-repeatedly paired with drug withdrawal by themselves came to precipitate a withdrawal-like state and to prompt drug seeking.
"Through classical conditioning, these cues alone could precipitate drug-seeking behaviors," said Kenny. "Thus, in addition to memories of the pleasurable effects of drugs, memories of aversive drug withdrawal may also drive drug craving and relapse."
This line of research has the potential to aid in the development of new therapies for addiction. "If we understand the underlying biology, we may be able to block it to eliminate craving and prevent relapse among drug addicts," Kenny said.
Other authors of the study, titled "Conditioned withdrawal drives heroin consumption and decreases brain reward sensitivity," include: Scott A. Chen, Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies, NIH Animal Center, Poolesville, MD; Osamu Kitamura, Institute of Health Biosciences, University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan; and Athina Markou and George Koob, Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA.
The work was supported by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, National Institute of Drug Addiction (NIDA), and a NIDA National Research Service Award.
About The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute, headquartered in La Jolla, California, in 18 buildings on 40 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, is one of the world's largest independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations. It stands at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. Scripps Research is internationally recognized for its research into immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, and synthetic vaccine development. Established in its current configuration in 1961, it employs approximately 3,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, scientific and other technicians, doctoral degree graduate students, and administrative and technical support personnel. Scripps Florida, a 364,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art biomedical research facility, will be built in Palm Beach County. The facility will focus on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. Palm Beach County and the State of Florida have provided start-up economic packages for development, building, staffing, and equipping the campus. Scripps Florida now operates with approximately 160 scientists, technicians, and administrative staff at 40,000 square-foot lab facilities on the Florida Atlantic University campus in Jupiter.
Keith McKeown
kmckeownscripps
Scripps Research Institute
scripps
UK Government's alcohol strategy will fail because of partnership approach with drinks industry
The UK Government's strategy on alcohol will do nothing to tackle problem drinking in Britain, because it "embraces the industry's diagnosis and preferred remedies", says an editorial in this week's BMJ.
Current policy accepts the industry view that those who endanger their health through drinking and take part in anti-social behaviour are a minority, and should be targeted through education campaigns, treatment, better policing and self-regulation from the industry.
But these are exactly the policies least likely to reduce problem drinking according to the evidence, says the author.
The rise in drinking in Britain is probably the result of lowering the cost of alcohol while increasing its availability, mixed with heavy promotion of alcohol in British cities, he argues.
Alcohol abuse is now thought to cost the British economy ?30bn a year, and alcohol dependency rates in the UK are amongst the highest in Europe, at 7.5% of British men and 2.1% of British women.
The most effective policy to reduce problem drinking is to increase taxes on drinks with the highest alcohol concentration - a policy which the Government has snubbed, rejecting the views of the world's leading researchers on alcohol.
In Australia, a country with liberal licensing laws, alcohol consumption has fallen per head by 24% in twenty years, while at the same time rising by 31% in the UK. A policy of lowering taxes on low alcohol drinks, reducing the drink-driving limit to 0.05% (rather than the UK's 0.08%) with vigorous enforcement, has been effective. Low alcohol beer now accounts for 40% of all beer consumed in Australia.
The two alcohol reduction treatments evaluated in this week's BMJ - motivational enhancement treatment and social network therapy - are cost-effective, and ministers should also look at investing in these to increase access for those affected.
If the Government wants to prevent a "worsening epidemic" of alcohol misuse, it should replace its current policies with some that "have a chance of reducing (rather than merely preventing further rises in) alcohol related harm," concludes the author.
Editorial: British drinking: a suitable case for treatment? BMJ Volume 331, pp 527-8
Emma Dickinson
edickinsonbmj
44-20-7383-6529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
bmj
Current policy accepts the industry view that those who endanger their health through drinking and take part in anti-social behaviour are a minority, and should be targeted through education campaigns, treatment, better policing and self-regulation from the industry.
But these are exactly the policies least likely to reduce problem drinking according to the evidence, says the author.
The rise in drinking in Britain is probably the result of lowering the cost of alcohol while increasing its availability, mixed with heavy promotion of alcohol in British cities, he argues.
Alcohol abuse is now thought to cost the British economy ?30bn a year, and alcohol dependency rates in the UK are amongst the highest in Europe, at 7.5% of British men and 2.1% of British women.
The most effective policy to reduce problem drinking is to increase taxes on drinks with the highest alcohol concentration - a policy which the Government has snubbed, rejecting the views of the world's leading researchers on alcohol.
In Australia, a country with liberal licensing laws, alcohol consumption has fallen per head by 24% in twenty years, while at the same time rising by 31% in the UK. A policy of lowering taxes on low alcohol drinks, reducing the drink-driving limit to 0.05% (rather than the UK's 0.08%) with vigorous enforcement, has been effective. Low alcohol beer now accounts for 40% of all beer consumed in Australia.
The two alcohol reduction treatments evaluated in this week's BMJ - motivational enhancement treatment and social network therapy - are cost-effective, and ministers should also look at investing in these to increase access for those affected.
If the Government wants to prevent a "worsening epidemic" of alcohol misuse, it should replace its current policies with some that "have a chance of reducing (rather than merely preventing further rises in) alcohol related harm," concludes the author.
Editorial: British drinking: a suitable case for treatment? BMJ Volume 331, pp 527-8
Emma Dickinson
edickinsonbmj
44-20-7383-6529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
bmj
Medical Marijuana Advocates Bypassing Traditional Approval, Effectiveness Regulations
Most Popular Articles For Alcohol
These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Alcohol Is Most Harmful Drug, Followed By Heroin And Crack
01 Nov 2010
Alcohol is the most damaging drug to the drinker and others overall, heroin and crack are the second and third most harmful, Professor David Nutt and colleagues wrote in the medical journal The Lancet today...
Giving Up Smoking Linked To Greater Happiness And Elevated Mood
05 Dec 2010
Energy Drinks: Is It Time To Tighten Regulation?
02 Nov 2010
USA's Drunkest Cities Are Milwaukee, Fargo And San Francisco
31 Dec 2010
Lock Up The Liquor; Parents Giving Children Alcohol
19 Feb 2011
_uacct = "UA-849615-1";
urchinTracker();
These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Alcohol Is Most Harmful Drug, Followed By Heroin And Crack
01 Nov 2010
Alcohol is the most damaging drug to the drinker and others overall, heroin and crack are the second and third most harmful, Professor David Nutt and colleagues wrote in the medical journal The Lancet today...
Giving Up Smoking Linked To Greater Happiness And Elevated Mood
05 Dec 2010
Energy Drinks: Is It Time To Tighten Regulation?
02 Nov 2010
USA's Drunkest Cities Are Milwaukee, Fargo And San Francisco
31 Dec 2010
Lock Up The Liquor; Parents Giving Children Alcohol
19 Feb 2011
_uacct = "UA-849615-1";
urchinTracker();
Mass. Senate Delays Vote On Bill That Would Allow Nonprescription Sale Of Hypodermic Needles
The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday postponed a vote on bill S 1312 that would authorize the nonprescription sale of syringes to people age 18 and older to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and other bloodborne diseases, after Senate Minority Leader Brian Lees (R) objected to the legislation, the Boston Globe reports (Ebbert, Boston Globe, 5/5). The bill is sponsored by Sen. Robert O'Leary. The state House in November 2005 voted to approve similar legislation (H 4176) that would require pharmacists dispensing the needles to provide consumers with a brochure created by the state Department of Public Health. The brochure includes information about the proper use and disposal of syringes and needles, the risk of contracting bloodborne diseases through such devices and the state's toll-free number for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C information (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/2). Lees' objection will delay a vote on the bill for at least a week and possibly up to several weeks because the Legislature is about to consider the state budget. Lees objected to the measure on procedural grounds, saying it would help illicit drug users break the law. He said that he would suggest amendments to the bill when it returns to the agenda (Boston Globe, 5/5). The state health department supports the measure. About 39% of HIV cases in Massachusetts are linked to injection drug use (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/2).
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Researchers 'See' Structure Of Open Nicotinic Acetylcholine Ion Channels
The neurotransmitter acetylcholine is an essential chemical communicator, carrying impulses from neurons to skeletal muscle cells and many parts of the nervous system. Now researchers at the University of Illinois have painstakingly mapped the interior of a key component of the relay system that allows acetylcholine to get its message across. Their findings, which appear in the current issue of Nature Structure & Molecular Biology, reveal how the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor responds to a burst of acetylcholine on the surface of a cell.
The muscle nicotinic receptor is a neurotransmitter-gated ion channel. This "gate" regulates the flow of information, in the form of charged particles, or ions, across the cell membrane. Although normally closed, when the ion channel encounters acetylcholine - or nicotine - on the surface of the cell the interaction causes the gate to open, allowing positively charged ions (called cations) to flow into the cell.
Scientists have tried for decades to understand the mechanism that allows these channels to open. Using cryo-electron microscopy, in which samples frozen at extremely low temperatures are examined under an electron microscope, some researchers obtained images of the closed ion channel. More recently, others used X-ray crystallography to image the closed-channel conformation. This technique involves crystallizing the protein, creating a lattice that reveals many details of its three-dimensional structure.
But until the Illinois team developed a new method for probing the interior of the open channel, no studies had been able to infer the structure of the open channel conformation in a living cell. The Illinois team was able to do this by exploiting electrical properties of these membrane proteins.
Much like the flow of electrons through an electrical wire, the flow of ions through a cell membrane is a current. In the 1970s, two German researchers developed a technique for measuring the current through a single ion channel, an innovation (known as the patch-clamp technique) that won them a Nobel Prize in 1991. Claudio Grosman, a professor of molecular and integrative physiology at Illinois, and Gisela D. Cymes, a postdoctoral associate in his lab, adopted this technique, and predicted that they could use it as a tool for what they call "in vivo, time-resolved structural biology."
In a study published in 2005, the Grosman lab showed that ionizable amino acids (that is, those that may alternately be charged or neutral) can be engineered into the inner lining of the channel pore. These changes to the amino acid sequence alter the current, revealing the structure of the open-channel conformation in unprecedented detail.
"As the ionizable amino acids bind and release protons from the watery environment, the pore gains or loses a positive charge that interferes with the normal flow of cations through the channel," Grosman said.
After analyzing the data, Grosman's team demonstrated that the discrete changes in current reflect the position of each mutated amino acid in the channel and the extent to which water molecules penetrate the membrane protein.
This approach allowed Grosman's team to map the relative position of every amino acid that formed the ion channel.
The new study extends this work to more distant portions of the protein.
After comparing these findings to direct studies of the structure of the closed channel, Grosman concluded that the conformational changes that allow the channel to open are quite subtle. The five subunits that make up the protein channel do not rotate or pivot dramatically when opening the gate.
"There are many good reasons why I think a subtle conformational change is advantageous from an evolutionary point of view," Grosman said.
Muscle nicotinic receptors must respond to acetylcholine with staggering speed, opening within microseconds of their exposure to the neurotransmitter.
"These ion channels are meant to be quick," he said. "If they are too slow, we have disease."
Grosman said that the approach developed in his lab is the first to allow scientists to infer the structure of an ion channel in its open conformation as it functions in a living cell.
"I know when the protein is open, because in single-molecule experiments the distinction between open and closed conformations is simple; the channel either passes a current or not," he said.
In a living cell the protein responds, in measurable ways, to changes in its structure and environment, he said. "It's not frozen at super low temperatures. It's not in a crystalline lattice. The cells are alive at the beginning of the experiment and when we finish the experiment, the cells keep living."
Source: Diana Yates
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The muscle nicotinic receptor is a neurotransmitter-gated ion channel. This "gate" regulates the flow of information, in the form of charged particles, or ions, across the cell membrane. Although normally closed, when the ion channel encounters acetylcholine - or nicotine - on the surface of the cell the interaction causes the gate to open, allowing positively charged ions (called cations) to flow into the cell.
Scientists have tried for decades to understand the mechanism that allows these channels to open. Using cryo-electron microscopy, in which samples frozen at extremely low temperatures are examined under an electron microscope, some researchers obtained images of the closed ion channel. More recently, others used X-ray crystallography to image the closed-channel conformation. This technique involves crystallizing the protein, creating a lattice that reveals many details of its three-dimensional structure.
But until the Illinois team developed a new method for probing the interior of the open channel, no studies had been able to infer the structure of the open channel conformation in a living cell. The Illinois team was able to do this by exploiting electrical properties of these membrane proteins.
Much like the flow of electrons through an electrical wire, the flow of ions through a cell membrane is a current. In the 1970s, two German researchers developed a technique for measuring the current through a single ion channel, an innovation (known as the patch-clamp technique) that won them a Nobel Prize in 1991. Claudio Grosman, a professor of molecular and integrative physiology at Illinois, and Gisela D. Cymes, a postdoctoral associate in his lab, adopted this technique, and predicted that they could use it as a tool for what they call "in vivo, time-resolved structural biology."
In a study published in 2005, the Grosman lab showed that ionizable amino acids (that is, those that may alternately be charged or neutral) can be engineered into the inner lining of the channel pore. These changes to the amino acid sequence alter the current, revealing the structure of the open-channel conformation in unprecedented detail.
"As the ionizable amino acids bind and release protons from the watery environment, the pore gains or loses a positive charge that interferes with the normal flow of cations through the channel," Grosman said.
After analyzing the data, Grosman's team demonstrated that the discrete changes in current reflect the position of each mutated amino acid in the channel and the extent to which water molecules penetrate the membrane protein.
This approach allowed Grosman's team to map the relative position of every amino acid that formed the ion channel.
The new study extends this work to more distant portions of the protein.
After comparing these findings to direct studies of the structure of the closed channel, Grosman concluded that the conformational changes that allow the channel to open are quite subtle. The five subunits that make up the protein channel do not rotate or pivot dramatically when opening the gate.
"There are many good reasons why I think a subtle conformational change is advantageous from an evolutionary point of view," Grosman said.
Muscle nicotinic receptors must respond to acetylcholine with staggering speed, opening within microseconds of their exposure to the neurotransmitter.
"These ion channels are meant to be quick," he said. "If they are too slow, we have disease."
Grosman said that the approach developed in his lab is the first to allow scientists to infer the structure of an ion channel in its open conformation as it functions in a living cell.
"I know when the protein is open, because in single-molecule experiments the distinction between open and closed conformations is simple; the channel either passes a current or not," he said.
In a living cell the protein responds, in measurable ways, to changes in its structure and environment, he said. "It's not frozen at super low temperatures. It's not in a crystalline lattice. The cells are alive at the beginning of the experiment and when we finish the experiment, the cells keep living."
Source: Diana Yates
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Genes may be central to cocaine addiction
Two related genes that help control signaling between brain cells may be central components of the biological machinery that causes cocaine addiction, researchers have found. Peter Kalivas and his colleagues found that deleting either of two genes in the Homer family in mice produced the same symptoms seen in withdrawal from cocaine. The researchers said that their findings could open a new research pathway to understanding how genetic susceptibility to addiction interacts with environmental factors to cause addiction.
Studies by other researchers had suggested that the proteins produced by the Homer genes might play a role in cocaine addiction. Members of the family were known to be activated by cocaine, and reduction of activity in the genes had been linked to cocaine withdrawal.
So, to unequivocally test the involvement of the Homer genes in cocaine addiction, Kalivas and his colleagues individually knocked out the genes in mutant mice and tested the behavioral and biological effects. In one behavioral test, they placed the knockout mice in one of two linked chambers after cocaine administration. One was a "comfortable" darkened chamber with nesting material, and the other was an "uncomfortable" bare, white, brightly lit chamber. The researchers found that the mice lacking Homer1 or Homer2 genes showed greater preference for the chamber that they associated with receiving cocaine, compared to normal controls. The knockout mice also showed hyperactivity characteristic of withdrawal.
The Homer2 knockout animals also showed a greater motivation to self-administer cocaine by pressing a lever than did normal mice. Also, the knockout animals showed neurochemical changes associated with cocaine addiction, including reduced base levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the region of the brain known to be involved in addiction. They also showed increased levels when receiving cocaine. Such brain chemical changes are characteristic of addiction, since glutamate is known to be a key neurochemical in cocaine response.
Finally, the knockout animals could be restored to an essentially normal condition by reintroduction of the Homer2 gene.
The Homer genes appear to be specific for cocaine, found Kalivas and his colleagues. When they tested the effects of heroin or caffeine on the knockout mice, the animals did not respond behaviorally as they did with cocaine.
"While it can be anticipated that additional genetic models may be discovered that mimic or block behaviors associated with cocaine addiction, the striking concordant neurochemical phenotype between Homer2 deletion and withdrawal from chronic cocaine treatment indicates that Homer is a particularly good candidate to play a central role in cocaine addiction," wrote the researchers.
Since the Homer proteins are known to be regulated by cocaine and the proteins are known to rise or fall in response to environmental cues and distress "not only does Homer provide an important window to understand cocaine-induced neuroplasticity and addiction, but also to study the molecular basis of the important link between environmental stress and cocaine addiction," they wrote.
Karen K. Szumlinski, Marlin H. Dehoff, Shin H. Kang, Kelly A. Frys, Kevin D. Lominac, Matthias Klugmann, Jason Rohrer, William Griffin III, Shigenobu Toda, Nicolas P. Champtiaux, Thomas Berry, Jian C. Tu, Stephanie E. Shealy, Matthew J. During, Lawrence D. Middaugh, Paul F. Worley, and Peter W. Kalivas: "Homer Proteins Regulate Sensitivity to Cocaine"
Publishing in Neuron, Volume 43, Number 3, August 5, 2004, pages 401-413.
Contact: Heidi Hardman
hhardmancell
617-397-2879
Cell Press
Studies by other researchers had suggested that the proteins produced by the Homer genes might play a role in cocaine addiction. Members of the family were known to be activated by cocaine, and reduction of activity in the genes had been linked to cocaine withdrawal.
So, to unequivocally test the involvement of the Homer genes in cocaine addiction, Kalivas and his colleagues individually knocked out the genes in mutant mice and tested the behavioral and biological effects. In one behavioral test, they placed the knockout mice in one of two linked chambers after cocaine administration. One was a "comfortable" darkened chamber with nesting material, and the other was an "uncomfortable" bare, white, brightly lit chamber. The researchers found that the mice lacking Homer1 or Homer2 genes showed greater preference for the chamber that they associated with receiving cocaine, compared to normal controls. The knockout mice also showed hyperactivity characteristic of withdrawal.
The Homer2 knockout animals also showed a greater motivation to self-administer cocaine by pressing a lever than did normal mice. Also, the knockout animals showed neurochemical changes associated with cocaine addiction, including reduced base levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the region of the brain known to be involved in addiction. They also showed increased levels when receiving cocaine. Such brain chemical changes are characteristic of addiction, since glutamate is known to be a key neurochemical in cocaine response.
Finally, the knockout animals could be restored to an essentially normal condition by reintroduction of the Homer2 gene.
The Homer genes appear to be specific for cocaine, found Kalivas and his colleagues. When they tested the effects of heroin or caffeine on the knockout mice, the animals did not respond behaviorally as they did with cocaine.
"While it can be anticipated that additional genetic models may be discovered that mimic or block behaviors associated with cocaine addiction, the striking concordant neurochemical phenotype between Homer2 deletion and withdrawal from chronic cocaine treatment indicates that Homer is a particularly good candidate to play a central role in cocaine addiction," wrote the researchers.
Since the Homer proteins are known to be regulated by cocaine and the proteins are known to rise or fall in response to environmental cues and distress "not only does Homer provide an important window to understand cocaine-induced neuroplasticity and addiction, but also to study the molecular basis of the important link between environmental stress and cocaine addiction," they wrote.
Karen K. Szumlinski, Marlin H. Dehoff, Shin H. Kang, Kelly A. Frys, Kevin D. Lominac, Matthias Klugmann, Jason Rohrer, William Griffin III, Shigenobu Toda, Nicolas P. Champtiaux, Thomas Berry, Jian C. Tu, Stephanie E. Shealy, Matthew J. During, Lawrence D. Middaugh, Paul F. Worley, and Peter W. Kalivas: "Homer Proteins Regulate Sensitivity to Cocaine"
Publishing in Neuron, Volume 43, Number 3, August 5, 2004, pages 401-413.
Contact: Heidi Hardman
hhardmancell
617-397-2879
Cell Press
Prisoners Benefit From NJDOC Programs But Readjustment Remains Difficult
While re-entry and skill-building programs offered by the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) at its 11 prisons are heavily used and generally viewed favorably by inmates, many anticipate a difficult return to society due to their underlying health conditions and concerns about finances and support systems.
To improve their chances for success in the community, a Rutgers researcher recommends that NJDOC adopt a policy of universal re-entry preparedness during each inmate's mandatory minimum term and a reallocation of funding to increase skill-building capacity on-site rather than in ultimately more costly halfway house programs.
Rutgers Professor Nancy Wolff, director of the Center for Behavioral Health Services and Criminal Justice Research, reaches those conclusions in a new study, Re-entry Readiness of Men and Women Leaving New Jersey Prisons. "Approximately 10,000 men and women leave New Jersey prisons each year. Many of them return to jail and prison for parole violations or new convictions within days, months or years post-release," Wolff observed. She added that the criminal justice system's current emphasis to "stop the revolving prison door" is on re-entry preparedness, with special funding under the federal Second Chance Act set aside to improve re-entry services around the country.
"While re-entry-related funding is flowing into states, its target efficiency and ultimate effectiveness in terms of public safety depend on whether it goes to the right people in the right places and in the right ways," Wolff explained. "For this, it is critical to know the population - its needs, strengths and resources."
Wolff conducted a Re-entry Readiness Survey from June through August 2009 of 4,000 men and women in the state's prisons due for release within 24 months. Among the findings:
"A sizable minority" of soon-to-be-released respondents had chronic health and/or mental health problems or chronic pain that would require follow-up treatment.
A majority would be released with drug-related convictions that will constrain their ability to receive cash assistance, food stamps and public housing.
More than one-third had no one helping them find housing or a job.
More than one-quarter reported their ability to manage money, work for a living, be a responsible adult and control drug or alcohol problems as fair or poor.
Despite these impediments to success upon release, many respondents viewed favorably and utilized NJDOC re-entry and skill-building programs:
Nearly 70 percent reported receiving needed behavioral health services.
Nearly 70 percent knew about the STARS (Successful Transition and Re-entry Series) program; 80 percent of STARS enrollees or graduates rated the experience good or higher and would encourage a peer to enroll.
More than 80 percent admitted to social functioning skill programs rated instruction and materials good or higher.
More than 87 percent of participants in educational and vocational programs rated instruction and materials good or higher.
To meet the twin goals of effectively preparing soon-to-be-released prisoners to "make good" and to protect the public, the department must re-examine how it spends limited funds dedicated to re-entry-related services, Wolff said. The report recommends that the skill-preparedness of inmates be maximized during their mandatory minimum terms.
Currently, NJDOC provides less than half the functioning, educational and vocational skill-building services needed by the soon-to-be-released population. To reduce recidivism and chances of compromising public safety, Wolff recommends creating a Re-entry Preparedness Checklist at all prisons that would measure key skills and resources expected upon release and monitor the progress of individual inmates toward these goals. Results would be posted on the department's website.
She also advocates for increased funding and skill-building capacity within NJDOC to the scale of need of prisoners during their mandatory minimum sentence, and to establish re-entry preparedness standards to determine if an inmate is eligible for parole consideration upon completion of his or her mandatory minimum term.
The research also finds that by keeping more re-entry-related services on site, rather than outsourced to halfway houses that provide community-based residential treatment for a minority of released inmates, NJDOC can accrue considerable savings. The FY 2009 budget allocated about $61 million for residential services that support an average daily halfway house population of more than 2,600 people.
"While it is often argued that a community-based halfway house bed is cheaper than a prison bed, this is true only if the services provided by the halfway house could not be provided by the Corrections Department while the inmate was serving the mandatory minimum term," Wolff said. "Adding off-site re-entry preparedness costs to the back end of a mandatory minimum sentence term adds $23,000 per year per inmate."
Wolff added that reduced reliance on residential service providers will free up additional funds for on-site re-entry preparedness programming and pay for a Re-entry Preparedness Performance Monitoring System. She also called for a Community Service Vouchering program that will enable parolees to buy residential, vocational and treatment services as needed in the communities to which they are returning.
"Contracting for residential rehabilitation services has resulted in a concentration of services in such urban areas as Camden, Newark and Trenton," Wolff said. "A vouchering system is consistent with community reinvestment strategies and goals to distribute service capacity more evenly across the state."
A copy of the report can be found at cbhs-cjr.rutgers/announcements.html.
Source:
Steve Manas
Rutgers University
To improve their chances for success in the community, a Rutgers researcher recommends that NJDOC adopt a policy of universal re-entry preparedness during each inmate's mandatory minimum term and a reallocation of funding to increase skill-building capacity on-site rather than in ultimately more costly halfway house programs.
Rutgers Professor Nancy Wolff, director of the Center for Behavioral Health Services and Criminal Justice Research, reaches those conclusions in a new study, Re-entry Readiness of Men and Women Leaving New Jersey Prisons. "Approximately 10,000 men and women leave New Jersey prisons each year. Many of them return to jail and prison for parole violations or new convictions within days, months or years post-release," Wolff observed. She added that the criminal justice system's current emphasis to "stop the revolving prison door" is on re-entry preparedness, with special funding under the federal Second Chance Act set aside to improve re-entry services around the country.
"While re-entry-related funding is flowing into states, its target efficiency and ultimate effectiveness in terms of public safety depend on whether it goes to the right people in the right places and in the right ways," Wolff explained. "For this, it is critical to know the population - its needs, strengths and resources."
Wolff conducted a Re-entry Readiness Survey from June through August 2009 of 4,000 men and women in the state's prisons due for release within 24 months. Among the findings:
"A sizable minority" of soon-to-be-released respondents had chronic health and/or mental health problems or chronic pain that would require follow-up treatment.
A majority would be released with drug-related convictions that will constrain their ability to receive cash assistance, food stamps and public housing.
More than one-third had no one helping them find housing or a job.
More than one-quarter reported their ability to manage money, work for a living, be a responsible adult and control drug or alcohol problems as fair or poor.
Despite these impediments to success upon release, many respondents viewed favorably and utilized NJDOC re-entry and skill-building programs:
Nearly 70 percent reported receiving needed behavioral health services.
Nearly 70 percent knew about the STARS (Successful Transition and Re-entry Series) program; 80 percent of STARS enrollees or graduates rated the experience good or higher and would encourage a peer to enroll.
More than 80 percent admitted to social functioning skill programs rated instruction and materials good or higher.
More than 87 percent of participants in educational and vocational programs rated instruction and materials good or higher.
To meet the twin goals of effectively preparing soon-to-be-released prisoners to "make good" and to protect the public, the department must re-examine how it spends limited funds dedicated to re-entry-related services, Wolff said. The report recommends that the skill-preparedness of inmates be maximized during their mandatory minimum terms.
Currently, NJDOC provides less than half the functioning, educational and vocational skill-building services needed by the soon-to-be-released population. To reduce recidivism and chances of compromising public safety, Wolff recommends creating a Re-entry Preparedness Checklist at all prisons that would measure key skills and resources expected upon release and monitor the progress of individual inmates toward these goals. Results would be posted on the department's website.
She also advocates for increased funding and skill-building capacity within NJDOC to the scale of need of prisoners during their mandatory minimum sentence, and to establish re-entry preparedness standards to determine if an inmate is eligible for parole consideration upon completion of his or her mandatory minimum term.
The research also finds that by keeping more re-entry-related services on site, rather than outsourced to halfway houses that provide community-based residential treatment for a minority of released inmates, NJDOC can accrue considerable savings. The FY 2009 budget allocated about $61 million for residential services that support an average daily halfway house population of more than 2,600 people.
"While it is often argued that a community-based halfway house bed is cheaper than a prison bed, this is true only if the services provided by the halfway house could not be provided by the Corrections Department while the inmate was serving the mandatory minimum term," Wolff said. "Adding off-site re-entry preparedness costs to the back end of a mandatory minimum sentence term adds $23,000 per year per inmate."
Wolff added that reduced reliance on residential service providers will free up additional funds for on-site re-entry preparedness programming and pay for a Re-entry Preparedness Performance Monitoring System. She also called for a Community Service Vouchering program that will enable parolees to buy residential, vocational and treatment services as needed in the communities to which they are returning.
"Contracting for residential rehabilitation services has resulted in a concentration of services in such urban areas as Camden, Newark and Trenton," Wolff said. "A vouchering system is consistent with community reinvestment strategies and goals to distribute service capacity more evenly across the state."
A copy of the report can be found at cbhs-cjr.rutgers/announcements.html.
Source:
Steve Manas
Rutgers University
Newly Released Prisoners At High Risk For Death
Prisoners who have been recently released from prison have a high death rate, especially in the first two weeks after release, a new study finds. The findings will be published in the Jan. 11 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The study was conducted by Ingrid Binswanger, MD, of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center's School of Medicine, Marc Stern, MD, health services director of the Washington State Department of Corrections, and other researchers at the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Binswanger conducted the research while taking part in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Washington and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.
In the first study of its kind in the U.S., Binswanger analyzed data from 30,237 inmates released from prison between 1999 and 2003 in Washington state. The sample represented almost all prisoners released during that time. Of those individuals, 443 died during an average follow-up time of 1.9 years.
The death rates of the released prisoners were compared to the death rates of other Washington residents of the same age, gender, and race. The study found that newly released prisoners were 12.7 times as likely to die in the two weeks following their release compared to other state residents in the same demographic groups. Over the whole study, the former inmates were 3.5 times more likely to die than other state residents. The death rate among former inmates was considerably higher than the death rate among inmates in prison.
"These striking findings suggest that former inmates are at high risk for death following their release from prison," said Binswanger. "These results, along with findings from studies done in other countries, underscore the need for novel programs to reduce the risk of death in former inmates."
The leading causes of death were drug overdose, cardiovascular disease, homicide and suicide. Nearly one quarter of the deaths were a result of drug overdose, and half of these deaths resulted from cocaine. After cocaine, most overdose deaths were caused by methamphetamine and opiates like heroin. Lung cancer represented half of all the cancer deaths in this population.
Younger individuals tended to die from overdose, homicide and suicide, whereas older individuals tended to die from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Binswanger recommends programs targeted by age to address this difference.
"The U.S. has exceptionally high rates of incarceration," said Binswanger. "When a released prisoner dies, it may have an impact beyond his own life, affecting families and communities. These findings suggest that we need programs and policies targeted at decreasing the risk of death as former inmates transition back into their communities."
Binswanger is a physician researcher and an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at UCDHSC's School of Medicine. Her research focuses on health, the criminal justice system, and vulnerable populations.
The School of Medicine faculty work to advance science and improve care as the physicians, educators and scientists at University of Colorado Hospital, The Children's Hospital, Denver Health, National Jewish Medical and Research Center and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. The School is part of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. For more information, visit the Web site at uchsc or the UCDHSC Newsroom at uchsc/news.
University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center
Mail Stop F-413 PO Box 6508
Aurora, CO 80045-0508
United States
uchsc/
The study was conducted by Ingrid Binswanger, MD, of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center's School of Medicine, Marc Stern, MD, health services director of the Washington State Department of Corrections, and other researchers at the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Binswanger conducted the research while taking part in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Washington and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.
In the first study of its kind in the U.S., Binswanger analyzed data from 30,237 inmates released from prison between 1999 and 2003 in Washington state. The sample represented almost all prisoners released during that time. Of those individuals, 443 died during an average follow-up time of 1.9 years.
The death rates of the released prisoners were compared to the death rates of other Washington residents of the same age, gender, and race. The study found that newly released prisoners were 12.7 times as likely to die in the two weeks following their release compared to other state residents in the same demographic groups. Over the whole study, the former inmates were 3.5 times more likely to die than other state residents. The death rate among former inmates was considerably higher than the death rate among inmates in prison.
"These striking findings suggest that former inmates are at high risk for death following their release from prison," said Binswanger. "These results, along with findings from studies done in other countries, underscore the need for novel programs to reduce the risk of death in former inmates."
The leading causes of death were drug overdose, cardiovascular disease, homicide and suicide. Nearly one quarter of the deaths were a result of drug overdose, and half of these deaths resulted from cocaine. After cocaine, most overdose deaths were caused by methamphetamine and opiates like heroin. Lung cancer represented half of all the cancer deaths in this population.
Younger individuals tended to die from overdose, homicide and suicide, whereas older individuals tended to die from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Binswanger recommends programs targeted by age to address this difference.
"The U.S. has exceptionally high rates of incarceration," said Binswanger. "When a released prisoner dies, it may have an impact beyond his own life, affecting families and communities. These findings suggest that we need programs and policies targeted at decreasing the risk of death as former inmates transition back into their communities."
Binswanger is a physician researcher and an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at UCDHSC's School of Medicine. Her research focuses on health, the criminal justice system, and vulnerable populations.
The School of Medicine faculty work to advance science and improve care as the physicians, educators and scientists at University of Colorado Hospital, The Children's Hospital, Denver Health, National Jewish Medical and Research Center and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. The School is part of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. For more information, visit the Web site at uchsc or the UCDHSC Newsroom at uchsc/news.
University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center
Mail Stop F-413 PO Box 6508
Aurora, CO 80045-0508
United States
uchsc/
Drinking Pattern And Preferences Of Hispanics In US
Despite the considerable and growing numbers of Hispanics living in the United States, little is known about their alcohol-beverage preferences. A new study of U.S. Hispanics belonging to four national groups - Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, and South/Central American - has found that beer is their beverage of choice.
Results will be published in the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
"Currently, there is not much information about beverage preference among Hispanics and how that differs across national groups," said Raul Caetano, professor of epidemiology and regional dean (Dallas) at The University of Texas School of Public Health, as well as the study's corresponding author. "This is important to know because once we can identify a type of beverage that is more associated with risky drinking - such as binge drinking - then prevention policies can be developed to target that beverage and that type of drinking."
"'A drink' is not just 'a drink,'" added Sarah Zemore, associate scientist at the Alcohol Research Group. "Individuals who prefer wine, beer, and liquor have different drinking patterns and, hence, drinking problems. Moreover, physiological and psychological reactions can differ across beverage type. Some fascinating research ??¦ has shown that the body reacts differently to beer and liquor: at equivalent levels of pure alcohol, liquor results in a higher blood alcohol content (BAC) on an empty stomach, whereas beer produces a higher BAC on a full stomach. Finally, people who prefer wine, beer, or liquor may actually be drinking different amounts of pure ethanol in a typical single 'drink.'"
"While previous federal surveys interviewed a larger number of Hispanics than we did," said Caetano, "our survey was unique in that it was designed to examine differences across national groups. Thus the sample is evenly divided across these groups with about 1,300 respondents in each of the four groups."
Caetano and his colleagues surveyed 5,224 adults, evenly divided between genders, from households in five cities: Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston and Los Angeles. During face-to-face interviews in respondents' homes that lasted one hour on average and were conducted in either English or Spanish, study participants were asked about their drinking habits, including their choices of wine, beer and/or liquor.
"In the end there were more similarities than differences in beverage preference across the four Hispanic national groups," said Caetano. "Beer was the preferred beverage of all Hispanics." More specifically, among Hispanic men who drank beer, it constituted 52 to 72 percent of their total alcohol consumption. Among Hispanic women who drank beer, it constituted 32 to 64 percent of their total consumption.
"One difference we found was that wine was closely associated with binge drinking among Cuban American and South/Central American women, more so than beer," said Caetano. "Furthermore, Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans seemed to drink more than the other two groups, and thus would be more at risk for alcohol-related problems."
"The findings were different for men and women," added Zemore. "Ethnic subgroup seems to have little impact on beverage preference among men. Hispanic women's beverage preferences do depend on their ethnicity. Puerto Rican and Mexican American women seem to drink more beer than wine or liquor, whereas wine is the preferred beverage among Cuban American and South/Central American women. I was interested to see that the rate of binge drinking among Puerto Rican beer drinkers was higher among women than men (40% versus 35%); I'm curious about this extreme beer drinking among Puerto Rican women."
Neither Caetano nor Zemore were overly surprised that beer was the beverage of choice, given that beer is generally preferred by the U.S. population, and American men in particular.
"I think it is important for people to realize that beer is not a safer or less harmful beverage than wine and hard liquor," cautioned Caetano. "The popular sentiment is that hard liquor is bad for you but that beer is 'weaker' and therefore less dangerous. It is true that the alcohol content is beer is lower than that of liquor, but what the study showed is that beer is the beverage most associated with binge drinking, which is a dangerous way to drink alcohol because of the impairment associated with such high number of drinks: five for men and four for women. Even the federal government sees beer in a different way from wine and liquor; the federal excise tax rate per gallon is $13.50 for spirits, $1.07 for wine but only $.58 for beer."
Both Caetano and Zemore believe that not only do U.S. Hispanics closely resemble the general U.S. population in terms of their drinking choices, but that more prevention efforts should be focused on beer drinking.
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER) is the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. Co-authors of the ACER paper, "The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Alcoholic beverage preference across Hispanic national groups," were: Patrice A. C. Vaeth, Suhasini Ramisetty-Mikler, and Lori A. Rodriguez of The University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus. The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Source:
Raul Caetano, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
The University of Texas School of Public Health
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Results will be published in the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
"Currently, there is not much information about beverage preference among Hispanics and how that differs across national groups," said Raul Caetano, professor of epidemiology and regional dean (Dallas) at The University of Texas School of Public Health, as well as the study's corresponding author. "This is important to know because once we can identify a type of beverage that is more associated with risky drinking - such as binge drinking - then prevention policies can be developed to target that beverage and that type of drinking."
"'A drink' is not just 'a drink,'" added Sarah Zemore, associate scientist at the Alcohol Research Group. "Individuals who prefer wine, beer, and liquor have different drinking patterns and, hence, drinking problems. Moreover, physiological and psychological reactions can differ across beverage type. Some fascinating research ??¦ has shown that the body reacts differently to beer and liquor: at equivalent levels of pure alcohol, liquor results in a higher blood alcohol content (BAC) on an empty stomach, whereas beer produces a higher BAC on a full stomach. Finally, people who prefer wine, beer, or liquor may actually be drinking different amounts of pure ethanol in a typical single 'drink.'"
"While previous federal surveys interviewed a larger number of Hispanics than we did," said Caetano, "our survey was unique in that it was designed to examine differences across national groups. Thus the sample is evenly divided across these groups with about 1,300 respondents in each of the four groups."
Caetano and his colleagues surveyed 5,224 adults, evenly divided between genders, from households in five cities: Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston and Los Angeles. During face-to-face interviews in respondents' homes that lasted one hour on average and were conducted in either English or Spanish, study participants were asked about their drinking habits, including their choices of wine, beer and/or liquor.
"In the end there were more similarities than differences in beverage preference across the four Hispanic national groups," said Caetano. "Beer was the preferred beverage of all Hispanics." More specifically, among Hispanic men who drank beer, it constituted 52 to 72 percent of their total alcohol consumption. Among Hispanic women who drank beer, it constituted 32 to 64 percent of their total consumption.
"One difference we found was that wine was closely associated with binge drinking among Cuban American and South/Central American women, more so than beer," said Caetano. "Furthermore, Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans seemed to drink more than the other two groups, and thus would be more at risk for alcohol-related problems."
"The findings were different for men and women," added Zemore. "Ethnic subgroup seems to have little impact on beverage preference among men. Hispanic women's beverage preferences do depend on their ethnicity. Puerto Rican and Mexican American women seem to drink more beer than wine or liquor, whereas wine is the preferred beverage among Cuban American and South/Central American women. I was interested to see that the rate of binge drinking among Puerto Rican beer drinkers was higher among women than men (40% versus 35%); I'm curious about this extreme beer drinking among Puerto Rican women."
Neither Caetano nor Zemore were overly surprised that beer was the beverage of choice, given that beer is generally preferred by the U.S. population, and American men in particular.
"I think it is important for people to realize that beer is not a safer or less harmful beverage than wine and hard liquor," cautioned Caetano. "The popular sentiment is that hard liquor is bad for you but that beer is 'weaker' and therefore less dangerous. It is true that the alcohol content is beer is lower than that of liquor, but what the study showed is that beer is the beverage most associated with binge drinking, which is a dangerous way to drink alcohol because of the impairment associated with such high number of drinks: five for men and four for women. Even the federal government sees beer in a different way from wine and liquor; the federal excise tax rate per gallon is $13.50 for spirits, $1.07 for wine but only $.58 for beer."
Both Caetano and Zemore believe that not only do U.S. Hispanics closely resemble the general U.S. population in terms of their drinking choices, but that more prevention efforts should be focused on beer drinking.
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER) is the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. Co-authors of the ACER paper, "The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Alcoholic beverage preference across Hispanic national groups," were: Patrice A. C. Vaeth, Suhasini Ramisetty-Mikler, and Lori A. Rodriguez of The University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus. The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Source:
Raul Caetano, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
The University of Texas School of Public Health
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
The National Institute On Drug Abuse Offers Summer Internship Opportunities
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced that kicks off the application period for summer research training opportunities at its Intramural Program (IRP) facility in Baltimore, Maryland. The internship program - now in its 21st year - is part of NIDA's commitment to introducing the science of addiction to some of the best and brightest young scientists in America.
Students who are accepted to the program will work closely with some of the world's leading addiction scientists in an environment devoted exclusively to state of the art biomedical research. The IRP facility includes numerous basic research laboratories, a brain imaging facility, and an outpatient treatment clinic. Examples of research projects include: drug-seeking behavior in rats, smoking cessation, genomic studies for nicotine dependence, and the effects of methamphetamine and cocaine on the brain.
"NIDA's program offers students the opportunity to obtain hands-on training and experience that most would not otherwise receive through their high school or college curriculum," said Stephen J. Heishman, associate director for education and training at the IRP and coordinator of the NIH Summer Internship Program. In addition to their research projects, students attend seminars about the various facets of drug abuse research and participate in a poster session at the conclusion of the internship in which they present their findings to NIH scientists.
The Summer 2008 Internship Program is for students aged 16 years or older who are enrolled at least half-time in high school, have finished high school, or are attending an accredited U.S. college or university. All internships pay monthly stipends based upon education levels, but housing costs are not paid. To be eligible, candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The internships run a minimum of eight weeks, with students generally arriving at the NIH in May or June.
Like many of the research training programs at the NIH, the Summer Internship Program is very selective. NIDA is particularly interested in recruiting students who are from disadvantaged backgrounds and from ethnic groups whose participation in science has been traditionally limited. Information about the Minority Research Training Program at the NIDA IRP can be obtained from Christie Brannock at 410-550-2953 ext. 372 or cbrannintra.nida.nih .
Prospective candidates should apply electronically via the Internet - the application deadline is March 1. For more information, visit this link .
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at drugabuse .
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The Nation's Medical Research Agency - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit nih.
Students who are accepted to the program will work closely with some of the world's leading addiction scientists in an environment devoted exclusively to state of the art biomedical research. The IRP facility includes numerous basic research laboratories, a brain imaging facility, and an outpatient treatment clinic. Examples of research projects include: drug-seeking behavior in rats, smoking cessation, genomic studies for nicotine dependence, and the effects of methamphetamine and cocaine on the brain.
"NIDA's program offers students the opportunity to obtain hands-on training and experience that most would not otherwise receive through their high school or college curriculum," said Stephen J. Heishman, associate director for education and training at the IRP and coordinator of the NIH Summer Internship Program. In addition to their research projects, students attend seminars about the various facets of drug abuse research and participate in a poster session at the conclusion of the internship in which they present their findings to NIH scientists.
The Summer 2008 Internship Program is for students aged 16 years or older who are enrolled at least half-time in high school, have finished high school, or are attending an accredited U.S. college or university. All internships pay monthly stipends based upon education levels, but housing costs are not paid. To be eligible, candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The internships run a minimum of eight weeks, with students generally arriving at the NIH in May or June.
Like many of the research training programs at the NIH, the Summer Internship Program is very selective. NIDA is particularly interested in recruiting students who are from disadvantaged backgrounds and from ethnic groups whose participation in science has been traditionally limited. Information about the Minority Research Training Program at the NIDA IRP can be obtained from Christie Brannock at 410-550-2953 ext. 372 or cbrannintra.nida.nih .
Prospective candidates should apply electronically via the Internet - the application deadline is March 1. For more information, visit this link .
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at drugabuse .
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The Nation's Medical Research Agency - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit nih.
West Australian Women: Drinking Before, And During, Pregnancy
* In a survey of non-indigenous West Australian women, 79.8 percent reported drinking alcohol in the three months before becoming pregnant.
* Nearly half of the women (46.7%) surveyed reported that their pregnancy was unplanned.
* More than half (58.7%) drank alcohol during pregnancy despite recommendations of abstinence.
Complications due to drinking during pregnancy can range from the very serious Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to the less severe and possibly greater-occurring Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. The timing of alcohol consumption, its frequency, the beverage size and type, all appear to be crucial elements of identifying risk. A new survey has found that nearly 80 percent of non-Indigenous West Australian women consumed alcohol during the three months before pregnancy; nearly half had not planned their pregnancies; and more than half drank alcohol during pregnancy despite recommendations of abstinence.
Results are published in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
"There is a lack of information as it relates to the measurement of alcohol consumption during the periconceptional period of pregnancy," said Lyn Colvin, a researcher at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at The University of Western Australia and corresponding author for the study. "In particular, information on specific alcoholic beverage consumed, frequency, timing during pregnancy, and volume in standard drinks are rare."
Colleen O'Leary, a research associate at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, concurs. "The most vulnerable period for the fetus is during the first trimester," she said, "although there is potential risk to the baby from drinking throughout pregnancy. It is important to know how much alcohol women are drinking both during the periconceptional period and throughout pregnancy, as well as more about the relationship between alcohol consumption during the periconceptional period and unplanned pregnancy. This information is important for women and men, policy makers and researchers."
Researchers analyzed data from a survey of 4,839 women 12 weeks after delivery. The women had agreed to participate in the 1995 - 1997 West Australian Pregnancy and Infancy Survey, created from a 10-percent random sample of all non-Indigenous women giving birth in Western Australia. Each participant was asked questions about alcohol consumption during four time periods: the periconceptional period, and each trimester of pregnancy. Questions were designed to measure the volume and type of alcoholic beverage consumed, as well as frequency of consumption.
* Nearly 80 percent reported drinking alcohol in the three months before becoming pregnant.
"Of those 3,860 women consuming alcohol in the three months before pregnancy," said Colvin, "the majority (55.6%) drank more than one type of alcoholic beverage. Once pregnant, the majority (65.5%) drank only one type of alcoholic beverage."
* Nearly half of the women (46.7%) surveyed had not planned their pregnancy.
"These data are in agreement with other Australian studies, and studies from the United States and Britain," said O'Leary. "It is concerning, however, that with the range of contraceptive options available to women that such a high proportion of pregnancies are unplanned." Furthermore, she added, the women who had planned their pregnancies were significantly less likely to drink alcohol during the first trimester than women who did not plan their pregnancy. "This would indicate that many pregnancies may be exposed to high levels of alcohol during the periconceptional period, prior to pregnancy awareness."
* More than half of the women (58.7%) drank alcohol during pregnancy despite the recommendation at the time of the study (1995-1997) of abstinence.
"It is interesting to note that the number of women who consumed alcohol during the 2nd trimester (42.4%) was similar to the number during the 1st trimester (42.1%)," said Colvin. "This probably indicates that the pregnant women were unaware of the recommendation of abstinence."
"Until 2001," added O'Leary, "the Australian guideline for alcohol consumption during pregnancy was abstinence. However, to my knowledge, there was no health promotion campaign in WA to educate women of this policy during or prior to the period these data were collected. Furthermore, a survey of health professionals conducted in WA during 2002 - 2003 found that fewer than half of health professionals surveyed routinely provided information to pregnant women about alcohol consumption during pregnancy."
'Despite what initially appears alarming, said Colvin, "it is actually encouraging that many women who drank alcohol reduced their consumption in the first trimester of pregnancy. With appropriate information, they and others may be able to further reduce or abstain from consuming alcohol when they are pregnant or might soon become pregnant. The challenge is to develop effective health promotion messages to reach women of child-bearing age before they consider pregnancy so they can make informed decisions." She added that involving health-promotion practitioners, medical practitioners and obstetricians would be key.
Both Colvin and O'Leary were concerned about "binge" drinking among women of childbearing age. "The findings that 14.2 percent of women surveyed consumed five or more standard drinks per occasion during the three months prior to pregnancy, and that almost half of the pregnancies were unplanned pregnancies, indicate that many women may have exposed their babies to high levels of alcohol before they were aware of their pregnancy," said O'Leary. In addition, she observed, "the percentage of Australian teenagers who binge drink has increased over the past decade since these data were collected. We need to find ways to reduce the very culture of binge drinking which is particularly concerning in young people as this is when drinking patterns are established."
O'Leary spoke of the need to educate both men and women. "We need to be careful how we frame our health-promotion messages since many women may have consumed alcohol prior to pregnancy awareness and unintentionally exposed their baby to alcohol," she said. "It is important not to generate undue fear and/or guilt. In addition, it is important not to place all the responsibility onto women alone: both women and men need to know about the risks to the baby from the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy; and many women and men need to take better precautions to prevent unplanned pregnancies."
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER) is the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. Co-authors of the ACER paper, "Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy in Non-Indigenous West Australian Women," were: Jan Payne, Deborah E. Parsons, and Carol Bower of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at The University of Western Australia; and Jennifer J. Kurinczuk of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford. The study was funded by the Health Promotion Foundation of Western Australia.
Contact:
Lyn Colvin, M.P.H.
Colleen O'Leary, M.P.H.
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
* Nearly half of the women (46.7%) surveyed reported that their pregnancy was unplanned.
* More than half (58.7%) drank alcohol during pregnancy despite recommendations of abstinence.
Complications due to drinking during pregnancy can range from the very serious Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to the less severe and possibly greater-occurring Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. The timing of alcohol consumption, its frequency, the beverage size and type, all appear to be crucial elements of identifying risk. A new survey has found that nearly 80 percent of non-Indigenous West Australian women consumed alcohol during the three months before pregnancy; nearly half had not planned their pregnancies; and more than half drank alcohol during pregnancy despite recommendations of abstinence.
Results are published in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
"There is a lack of information as it relates to the measurement of alcohol consumption during the periconceptional period of pregnancy," said Lyn Colvin, a researcher at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at The University of Western Australia and corresponding author for the study. "In particular, information on specific alcoholic beverage consumed, frequency, timing during pregnancy, and volume in standard drinks are rare."
Colleen O'Leary, a research associate at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, concurs. "The most vulnerable period for the fetus is during the first trimester," she said, "although there is potential risk to the baby from drinking throughout pregnancy. It is important to know how much alcohol women are drinking both during the periconceptional period and throughout pregnancy, as well as more about the relationship between alcohol consumption during the periconceptional period and unplanned pregnancy. This information is important for women and men, policy makers and researchers."
Researchers analyzed data from a survey of 4,839 women 12 weeks after delivery. The women had agreed to participate in the 1995 - 1997 West Australian Pregnancy and Infancy Survey, created from a 10-percent random sample of all non-Indigenous women giving birth in Western Australia. Each participant was asked questions about alcohol consumption during four time periods: the periconceptional period, and each trimester of pregnancy. Questions were designed to measure the volume and type of alcoholic beverage consumed, as well as frequency of consumption.
* Nearly 80 percent reported drinking alcohol in the three months before becoming pregnant.
"Of those 3,860 women consuming alcohol in the three months before pregnancy," said Colvin, "the majority (55.6%) drank more than one type of alcoholic beverage. Once pregnant, the majority (65.5%) drank only one type of alcoholic beverage."
* Nearly half of the women (46.7%) surveyed had not planned their pregnancy.
"These data are in agreement with other Australian studies, and studies from the United States and Britain," said O'Leary. "It is concerning, however, that with the range of contraceptive options available to women that such a high proportion of pregnancies are unplanned." Furthermore, she added, the women who had planned their pregnancies were significantly less likely to drink alcohol during the first trimester than women who did not plan their pregnancy. "This would indicate that many pregnancies may be exposed to high levels of alcohol during the periconceptional period, prior to pregnancy awareness."
* More than half of the women (58.7%) drank alcohol during pregnancy despite the recommendation at the time of the study (1995-1997) of abstinence.
"It is interesting to note that the number of women who consumed alcohol during the 2nd trimester (42.4%) was similar to the number during the 1st trimester (42.1%)," said Colvin. "This probably indicates that the pregnant women were unaware of the recommendation of abstinence."
"Until 2001," added O'Leary, "the Australian guideline for alcohol consumption during pregnancy was abstinence. However, to my knowledge, there was no health promotion campaign in WA to educate women of this policy during or prior to the period these data were collected. Furthermore, a survey of health professionals conducted in WA during 2002 - 2003 found that fewer than half of health professionals surveyed routinely provided information to pregnant women about alcohol consumption during pregnancy."
'Despite what initially appears alarming, said Colvin, "it is actually encouraging that many women who drank alcohol reduced their consumption in the first trimester of pregnancy. With appropriate information, they and others may be able to further reduce or abstain from consuming alcohol when they are pregnant or might soon become pregnant. The challenge is to develop effective health promotion messages to reach women of child-bearing age before they consider pregnancy so they can make informed decisions." She added that involving health-promotion practitioners, medical practitioners and obstetricians would be key.
Both Colvin and O'Leary were concerned about "binge" drinking among women of childbearing age. "The findings that 14.2 percent of women surveyed consumed five or more standard drinks per occasion during the three months prior to pregnancy, and that almost half of the pregnancies were unplanned pregnancies, indicate that many women may have exposed their babies to high levels of alcohol before they were aware of their pregnancy," said O'Leary. In addition, she observed, "the percentage of Australian teenagers who binge drink has increased over the past decade since these data were collected. We need to find ways to reduce the very culture of binge drinking which is particularly concerning in young people as this is when drinking patterns are established."
O'Leary spoke of the need to educate both men and women. "We need to be careful how we frame our health-promotion messages since many women may have consumed alcohol prior to pregnancy awareness and unintentionally exposed their baby to alcohol," she said. "It is important not to generate undue fear and/or guilt. In addition, it is important not to place all the responsibility onto women alone: both women and men need to know about the risks to the baby from the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy; and many women and men need to take better precautions to prevent unplanned pregnancies."
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER) is the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. Co-authors of the ACER paper, "Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy in Non-Indigenous West Australian Women," were: Jan Payne, Deborah E. Parsons, and Carol Bower of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at The University of Western Australia; and Jennifer J. Kurinczuk of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford. The study was funded by the Health Promotion Foundation of Western Australia.
Contact:
Lyn Colvin, M.P.H.
Colleen O'Leary, M.P.H.
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Growing Evidence Of Marijuana Smoke's Potential Dangers
In a finding that challenges the increasingly popular belief that smoking marijuana is less harmful to health than smoking tobacco, researchers in Canada are reporting that smoking marijuana, like smoking tobacco, has toxic effects on cells. Their study is scheduled for the Aug. 17 issue of ACS' Chemical Research in Toxicology, a monthly journal.
Rebecca Maertens and colleagues note that people often view marijuana as a "natural" product and less harmful than tobacco. As public attitudes toward marijuana change and legal restrictions ease in some countries, use of marijuana is increasing. Scientists know that marijuana smoke has adverse effects on the lungs. However, there is little knowledge about marijuana's potential to cause lung cancer due to the difficulty in identifying and studying people who have smoked only marijuana.
The new study begins to address that question by comparing marijuana smoke vs. tobacco smoke in terms of toxicity to cells and to DNA. Scientists exposed cultured animal cells and bacteria to condensed smoke samples from both marijuana and tobacco. There were distinct differences in the degree and type of toxicity elicited by marijuana and cigarette smoke. Marijuana smoke caused significantly more damage to cells and DNA than tobacco smoke, the researchers note. However, tobacco smoke caused chromosome damage while marijuana did not.
Article:
"The Genotoxicity of Mainstream and Sidestream Marijuana and Tobacco Smoke Condensates"
pubs.acs/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/tx9000286
Source:
Michael Woods
American Chemical Society
Rebecca Maertens and colleagues note that people often view marijuana as a "natural" product and less harmful than tobacco. As public attitudes toward marijuana change and legal restrictions ease in some countries, use of marijuana is increasing. Scientists know that marijuana smoke has adverse effects on the lungs. However, there is little knowledge about marijuana's potential to cause lung cancer due to the difficulty in identifying and studying people who have smoked only marijuana.
The new study begins to address that question by comparing marijuana smoke vs. tobacco smoke in terms of toxicity to cells and to DNA. Scientists exposed cultured animal cells and bacteria to condensed smoke samples from both marijuana and tobacco. There were distinct differences in the degree and type of toxicity elicited by marijuana and cigarette smoke. Marijuana smoke caused significantly more damage to cells and DNA than tobacco smoke, the researchers note. However, tobacco smoke caused chromosome damage while marijuana did not.
Article:
"The Genotoxicity of Mainstream and Sidestream Marijuana and Tobacco Smoke Condensates"
pubs.acs/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/tx9000286
Source:
Michael Woods
American Chemical Society
The New Neuroscience Of Substance Abuse
Addiction is a brain disease that destroys lives, devastates families and tears at the very fabric of society. Effective prevention and treatment of addiction requires a clear understanding of the complex brain mechanisms that underlie addictive behaviors, and research has provided a fascinating view of how substance abuse hijacks neuronal circuits involved in reward and motivation and causes profound and persistent changes in behavior. Now, a special issue of the journal Neuron, published on February 24th by Cell Press, provides new insight into to the most recent advances in addiction research and highlights the complexities associated with the neurobiological and societal impacts of addiction, as well as strategies for the prevention and treatment of substance abuse.
The special issue, made freely available here through March 31st, contains review articles written by leaders in the field of addiction research that shed light on genetic vulnerability to addiction, the impact of addictive drugs on neuronal transmission, the effects of addictive drugs on reward, risk and decision making, behavioral and pharmacological treatments for addiction and reward mechanisms in obesity. In addition, a series of more societal-focused NeuroViews highlight issues associated with the use of opiates to treat chronic pain, the abuse of cognitive enhancing drugs and why a medical approach is likely to be far more effective at treating addicts than a punitive criminal approach.
"Substance abuse disorders profoundly affect our society," writes Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in a NeuroView on the societal impacts of addiction. "Though costs are usually translated in economic terms - approximately half a trillion dollars in the USA - their impact is much more insidious, eroding the foundation of human relationships and the established social contract." New insight into the science of addiction may eventually lead to better strategies that empower families and individuals who are living with this chronic, relapsing brain disease and its associated compulsive and destructive behaviors.
An accompanying Cell Press Podcast features an exclusive interview with Dr. Volkow. Dr. Volkow explains how recent imaging studies have shown that drugs of abuse do not just disrupt reward pathways in the brain, but that deficits actually expand to an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. "This was very surprising because the prefrontal cortex, which has been recognized to be crucial for cognitive operations, was never thought to be of any relevance to the process of addiction," says Dr. Volkow. She goes on to explain how this damage to the prefrontal cortex is linked with compulsivity and impulsivity, pathological behaviors intimately intertwined with addiction, and that therapeutic strategies for addiction should be aimed at reversing these critical cognitive deficits.
Source:
Elisabeth Lyons
Cell Press
The special issue, made freely available here through March 31st, contains review articles written by leaders in the field of addiction research that shed light on genetic vulnerability to addiction, the impact of addictive drugs on neuronal transmission, the effects of addictive drugs on reward, risk and decision making, behavioral and pharmacological treatments for addiction and reward mechanisms in obesity. In addition, a series of more societal-focused NeuroViews highlight issues associated with the use of opiates to treat chronic pain, the abuse of cognitive enhancing drugs and why a medical approach is likely to be far more effective at treating addicts than a punitive criminal approach.
"Substance abuse disorders profoundly affect our society," writes Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in a NeuroView on the societal impacts of addiction. "Though costs are usually translated in economic terms - approximately half a trillion dollars in the USA - their impact is much more insidious, eroding the foundation of human relationships and the established social contract." New insight into the science of addiction may eventually lead to better strategies that empower families and individuals who are living with this chronic, relapsing brain disease and its associated compulsive and destructive behaviors.
An accompanying Cell Press Podcast features an exclusive interview with Dr. Volkow. Dr. Volkow explains how recent imaging studies have shown that drugs of abuse do not just disrupt reward pathways in the brain, but that deficits actually expand to an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. "This was very surprising because the prefrontal cortex, which has been recognized to be crucial for cognitive operations, was never thought to be of any relevance to the process of addiction," says Dr. Volkow. She goes on to explain how this damage to the prefrontal cortex is linked with compulsivity and impulsivity, pathological behaviors intimately intertwined with addiction, and that therapeutic strategies for addiction should be aimed at reversing these critical cognitive deficits.
Source:
Elisabeth Lyons
Cell Press
LSD Treatment For Alcoholism: Some Participants Still Have Not Had A Drink 40 Years After The Trials
For the past five years, Dr. Erika Dyck has been unearthing some intriguing facts related to a group of pioneering psychiatrists who worked in Saskatchewan, Canada in the '50s and '60s.
Among other things, the University of Alberta history of medicine professor has found records of the psychiatrists' research that indicate a single dose of the hallucinogenic drug LSD, provided in a clinical, nurturing environment, can be an effective treatment for alcoholism.
Her findings are published this month in the journal Social History of Medicine.
After perceiving similarities in the experiences of people on LSD and people going through delirium tremens, the psychiatrists undertook a series of experiments. They noted that delirium tremens, also know as DTs, often marked a "rock bottom" or turning point in the behavior of alcoholics, and they felt LSD may be able to trigger such a turnaround without engendering the painful physical effects associated with DTs.
As it turns out, they were largely correct.
"The LSD somehow gave these people experiences that psychologically took them outside of themselves and allowed them to see their own unhealthy behavior more objectively, and then determine to change it," said Dyck, who read the researchers' published and private papers and recently interviewed some of the patients involved in the original studies--many of whom had not had a sip of alcohol since their single LSD experience 40 years earlier.
According to one study conducted in 1962, 65 per cent of the alcoholics in the experiment stopped drinking for at least a year-and-a-half (the duration of the study) after taking one dose of LSD. The controlled trial also concluded that less than 25 per cent of alcoholics quit drinking for the same period after receiving group therapy, and less than 12 per cent quit in response to traditional psychotherapy techniques commonly used at that time.
Published in the Quarterly Journal for Studies on Alcohol, the 1962 study was received with much skepticism. One research group in Toronto tried to replicate the results of the study, but wanted to observe the effect of LSD on the patients in isolation, so they blindfolded or tied up the patients before giving them the drug. Under such circumstances, the Toronto researchers determined LSD was not effective in treating alcoholism.
The Saskatchewan group argued that the drug needed to be provided in a nurturing environment to be effective. However, the Toronto researchers held more credibility than the Saskatchewan researchers--who were led by a controversial, British psychiatrist, Dr. Humphry Osmond--and the Saskatchewan group's research was essentially buried.
But Dyck believes there is value in the Saskatchewan group's experiments.
"The LSD experience appeared to allow the patients to go through a spiritual journey that ultimately empowered them to heal themselves, and that's really quite an amazing therapy regimen," Dyck said. "Even interviewing the patients 40 years after their experience, I was surprised at how loyal they were to the doctors who treated them, and how powerful they said the experience was for them--some even felt the experience saved their lives."
In spite of the promise LSD showed as psychotherapy tool, its subsequent popularity as a street drug, and the perception of it as a threat to public safety, triggered a worldwide ban in the late 1960s--including its use in medical experiments. However, the ban on its use in medical experiments appears to be lifting, Dyck noted. A few groups of researchers in the U.S., including a team at Harvard, have recently been granted permission to conduct experiments with LSD.
"We accept all sorts of drugs, but I think LSD's 'street' popularity ultimately led to its demise," Dyck said. "And that's too bad, because I think the researchers in Saskatchewan, among others, showed the drug is unique and has some intriguing properties that need to be explored further."
Contact: Ryan Smith
University of Alberta
Among other things, the University of Alberta history of medicine professor has found records of the psychiatrists' research that indicate a single dose of the hallucinogenic drug LSD, provided in a clinical, nurturing environment, can be an effective treatment for alcoholism.
Her findings are published this month in the journal Social History of Medicine.
After perceiving similarities in the experiences of people on LSD and people going through delirium tremens, the psychiatrists undertook a series of experiments. They noted that delirium tremens, also know as DTs, often marked a "rock bottom" or turning point in the behavior of alcoholics, and they felt LSD may be able to trigger such a turnaround without engendering the painful physical effects associated with DTs.
As it turns out, they were largely correct.
"The LSD somehow gave these people experiences that psychologically took them outside of themselves and allowed them to see their own unhealthy behavior more objectively, and then determine to change it," said Dyck, who read the researchers' published and private papers and recently interviewed some of the patients involved in the original studies--many of whom had not had a sip of alcohol since their single LSD experience 40 years earlier.
According to one study conducted in 1962, 65 per cent of the alcoholics in the experiment stopped drinking for at least a year-and-a-half (the duration of the study) after taking one dose of LSD. The controlled trial also concluded that less than 25 per cent of alcoholics quit drinking for the same period after receiving group therapy, and less than 12 per cent quit in response to traditional psychotherapy techniques commonly used at that time.
Published in the Quarterly Journal for Studies on Alcohol, the 1962 study was received with much skepticism. One research group in Toronto tried to replicate the results of the study, but wanted to observe the effect of LSD on the patients in isolation, so they blindfolded or tied up the patients before giving them the drug. Under such circumstances, the Toronto researchers determined LSD was not effective in treating alcoholism.
The Saskatchewan group argued that the drug needed to be provided in a nurturing environment to be effective. However, the Toronto researchers held more credibility than the Saskatchewan researchers--who were led by a controversial, British psychiatrist, Dr. Humphry Osmond--and the Saskatchewan group's research was essentially buried.
But Dyck believes there is value in the Saskatchewan group's experiments.
"The LSD experience appeared to allow the patients to go through a spiritual journey that ultimately empowered them to heal themselves, and that's really quite an amazing therapy regimen," Dyck said. "Even interviewing the patients 40 years after their experience, I was surprised at how loyal they were to the doctors who treated them, and how powerful they said the experience was for them--some even felt the experience saved their lives."
In spite of the promise LSD showed as psychotherapy tool, its subsequent popularity as a street drug, and the perception of it as a threat to public safety, triggered a worldwide ban in the late 1960s--including its use in medical experiments. However, the ban on its use in medical experiments appears to be lifting, Dyck noted. A few groups of researchers in the U.S., including a team at Harvard, have recently been granted permission to conduct experiments with LSD.
"We accept all sorts of drugs, but I think LSD's 'street' popularity ultimately led to its demise," Dyck said. "And that's too bad, because I think the researchers in Saskatchewan, among others, showed the drug is unique and has some intriguing properties that need to be explored further."
Contact: Ryan Smith
University of Alberta
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