During the final two weeks of November, the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems (SIPADP) arranged for plush toys in the shape of a yellow dog to be handed out to postal customers as a way of reaching out to children of alcoholic parents.

According to a Nov. 12 article on the Swiss news site swissinfo.ch, the dog is also the star of a book that was written for the SIPADP to help children under the age of 10:

Boby is a dog whose master, Fred, sometimes forgets to feed and pet him  and he doesn't know why. Boby thinks he must have done something wrong to make Fred behave like this. And he is too ashamed to tell other dogs about the problem.

It's only when his friend Felix talks about the experience of another dog and her mistress, and explains that the bottles in the dustbin show that Fred is ill, that Boby realises not only that it isn't his fault, but also that there is hope for Fred. &

The Boby book ... is designed to raise the awareness of anyone who reads it, so they too can play the role of Felix to a child's Boby.

That's why the new campaign is being launched via post offices: local branches, used by most people, are seen as a good way of raising public awareness as a whole about the issue. It is also hoped that greater public understanding will help parents accept their dependence as an illness that can be treated.

Labels: awareness, parents, switzerland, alcoholism, children

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A new study from Virginia Commonwealth University found that teens who inherit genetic tendencies for alcoholism can avoid that problem if they grow up in certain environments.

Dr. Danielle Dick and her colleagues used data collected on about 5,000 twins born in Finland from 1983 to 1987. They were looking for how genetic and environmental factors influence the development of alcohol use among people aged 12 to 14 years old.

Children with certain behavioral problems, and who lived in certain neighborhoods, were more likely to develop alcohol problems.

"There is now converging evidence across a number of different studies that behavioral problems in kids are associated with both concurrent and future alcohol problems," Dr. Dick said. "A key finding is that we are not all equally predisposed to develop alcohol or behavioral problems, and the environment can be a key factor in whether or not an individual ever develops problems."

This study appeared in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Labels: alcoholism, research

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A study from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine examined the link between depression and alcoholism, and found that it the disorders develop differently in men and women. Women tend to drink and become alcoholic because they are depressed, while men tend to develop depression after becoming alcoholics.

After studying more than 5,000 adults over age 30, the researchers concluded that genetic precursors to mood disorders may explain why alcoholism runs in certain families.

"Our study suggests that familial factors that underlie mood-related drinking motives are the same factors that contribute to the overlapping familial risk for mood disorders and alcoholism," said UC professor Victor Hasselbrock, a co-author of the study.

Depressive disorders have been increasing every year since 1915. They affect nine percent of women and five percent of men. In young people, adolescent depression has been associated with an increased risk of eating disorders, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and a host of other concerns.

Labels: alcoholism, depression, genetics

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A new study by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health indicated that the advertisement of alcohol in primarily African-American areas of New York City may be exacerbating problem drinking behaviors among young residents.

Earlier studies have shown that predominantly African-American neighborhoods have a disproportionate number of outdoor alcohol advertisements, such as billboards; however, before this study, the impact of this pattern was unclear.

The study, published online by the American Journal of Public Health, monitored 139 African-American participants, ages 21 to 49, who resided in Central Harlem. Approximately 31 percent were reported to be problem drinkers. The study showed that problem drinking behaviors were linked to both alcohol advertising and a family history of alcoholism.

Principal investigator of the study and assistant professor of Sociomedical Sciences, Naa Oyo Kwate, commented on one interesting finding:

"We found that, on average, exposure to each alcohol ad in a woman's residential block was associated with a 13 percent increase in the odds of being a problem drinker."

(Sources: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcoholism, advertising

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University of Texas researchers are trying to isolate brain differences in preteens that put may them at risk for future alcoholism and depression.

Dr. Douglas Williamson and his colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center are performing brain scans on 300 San Antonio children between the ages 12 to 15. Some of the children are at high risk for depression, and their tests may indicate increased sensitivity to events in their lives, and to fear and anger.

Williamson's team will follow these preteens for several years, and will collect data on their DNA and life styles. The researchers are hoping that early intervention with high-risk preteens will prevent later problems.

Besides depression, other risk factors for alcoholism are aggression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, anti-social behavior, conduct disorder, and weak social relationships.

Labels: alcoholism, depression

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One in five Australians becomes an alcoholic, according to a new study of 9,000 adults from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Center at the University of New South Wales.

"Something is happening ... it's become more acceptable to drink at risky levels. It will take a major national response to turn this around," Maree Teesson, director of the center, said.

This is the first study to establish the actual levels of problem drinking in Australia, which places it among the top three countries for alcoholism. Treatment options for alcohol abuse are limited in Australia.

This study appears in the journal Addiction.
 

Labels: alcoholism, australia

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MicMice who have a certain gene variant are extra-sensitive to alcohol, according to a study in the journal PLos Genetics.

Dr. David Speca and his colleagues at the University of California in San Francisco nicknamed these mice "Lightweights" because when they inject the animals with alcohol, "they were knocked out for far longer than normal mice." Mice with the variant consume more alcohol than normal mice when offered a choice between alcohol or water.

Studies of human twins indicate that there is a genetic component to alcoholism in humans.
 

Labels: alcoholism, genetics

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments

"Wet brain" is not a delicate or positive phrase to describe one of the dangers of drinking. This term is a non-medical way to describe a condition that doctors call Korsakoff Amnesic Syndrome – a memory disorder caused by a lack of vitamin B1 (thiamine).

The main features of Korsakoff’s amnesic syndrome are the impairments in acquiring new information or establishing new memories … and in retrieving previous memories. …

A few experts now say that brain damage related to thiamine deficiency may be at least somewhat reversible, but most see little hope for complete recovery. [Source: Fresno Addiction Recovery Examiner]

Korsakoff’s syndrome is most common among alcoholics and people struggling with eating disorders because the brain is deprived of much-needed nutrients. Though improvements in memory can be made, some of the damage is permanent.

 

Labels: dangers-of-drug-use, alcoholism, memory

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