Domenic Ciraulo, psychiatry chair and psychiatrist-in-chief at Boston Medical Center,
believes that both alcohol dependence and independence are associated with the brain's frontal lobe -- the region that governs self control.
He aims to prove that medications targeting this area can help alcoholics in their battle with the bottle, especially when combined with short-term therapy. Ciraulo's facility is currently recruiting for a study examining the efficacy of two antiseizure drugs, zonisamide and levetiracetam.
Ciraulo's program and its research are described in the current issue of Bostonia magazine.
If you live in or around Boston and would like to participate in the study, click here.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
A melatonin link?
In a decades-old study (1981) of light-deprived hamsters and ethanol, those given daily injections of melatonin consumed less alcohol than those not receiving the injections. Hamsters treated with melatonin also drank less liquid overall. The reason, researchers speculated, was that the pineal gland may influence liquid consumption and thus, indirectly, alcohol consumption.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The yoga cure
Can yoga squelch the urge to drink? Considering its potential for significant physical, mental, and emotional transformation, one would imagine so.
Because there's yoga and there's yoga -- the few little stretches we do to stay limber versus total immersion in its practices.
It's the latter that's emphasized in Yoga Blog – Yogam Sharanam. Here, Swami Muktananda Saraswati offers the yogic solution to alcoholism. It includes, among other things, the purging of mental constipation.
While this post (based on a 1981 talk in Switzerland) might initially baffle the uninitiated, you can piece it all together by clicking around the site.
If you're unfamiliar with yoga and want an easier place to start, here's a good site for beginners.
Because there's yoga and there's yoga -- the few little stretches we do to stay limber versus total immersion in its practices.
It's the latter that's emphasized in Yoga Blog – Yogam Sharanam. Here, Swami Muktananda Saraswati offers the yogic solution to alcoholism. It includes, among other things, the purging of mental constipation.
While this post (based on a 1981 talk in Switzerland) might initially baffle the uninitiated, you can piece it all together by clicking around the site.
If you're unfamiliar with yoga and want an easier place to start, here's a good site for beginners.
Monday, September 27, 2010
This is news?
This week's big news was that people who are highly stressed not only drink, but have a harder time kicking the habit.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool found (surprise!) that alcoholics have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. For those who have stopped drinking, high cortisol levels make it harder to stay sober.
On a related note, cortisol can also make you fat, whether or not you drink. So besides the fructose, the super-sized portions, the bacon cheeseburgers, and our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, stress is also to blame for the obesity epidemic.
So how do you reduce cortisol? Diet, exercise, meditation ... and a nice long vacation on a tropical beach. But maybe without the pina colada.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool found (surprise!) that alcoholics have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. For those who have stopped drinking, high cortisol levels make it harder to stay sober.
On a related note, cortisol can also make you fat, whether or not you drink. So besides the fructose, the super-sized portions, the bacon cheeseburgers, and our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, stress is also to blame for the obesity epidemic.
So how do you reduce cortisol? Diet, exercise, meditation ... and a nice long vacation on a tropical beach. But maybe without the pina colada.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
A link between impulse and addiction?
Is the inability to control one's impulses what leads to drink? If so, a discovery by researchers at Queen's University in Ontario could lead to yet another route for treating alcoholism.
According to a university press release, a team led by neuroscience Ph.D student Scott Hayton has identified the part of the brain (the medial prefrontal cortex, or mPFC) governing imulsive behavior and the ways in which such behavior is learned. In addition to having an impact on the diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism, these findings, recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience, could also lead to therapies for other disorders and addictions.
According to a university press release, a team led by neuroscience Ph.D student Scott Hayton has identified the part of the brain (the medial prefrontal cortex, or mPFC) governing imulsive behavior and the ways in which such behavior is learned. In addition to having an impact on the diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism, these findings, recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience, could also lead to therapies for other disorders and addictions.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The sugar/alcohol connection
Booze, as you may or may not know, is just another form of sugar. Talk to any sugar addict, and he/she will describe the struggle to quit, and how even a bite of a cookie leads to an all-night binge.
Of course, you can't get a DUI after consuming a bag of M&Ms, although Twinkies have been linked with violent crime.
But sugar, according to researchers, is as bad for your liver as that glass of pino grigio. Robert Lustig, a California endocrinologist who's recently published a number of papers on the topic, claims that not only is sugar addictive, it can also lead to such disorders as fatty liver disease.
Hence the obesity epidemic -- a compromised liver makes it even harder to lose weight.
Visit science cafeat the University of California, San Francisco, for the high-fructose scoop.
On a related note, check out this article, published several years ago in Psychology Today, linking a sweet tooth to alcoholism.
Of course, you can't get a DUI after consuming a bag of M&Ms, although Twinkies have been linked with violent crime.
But sugar, according to researchers, is as bad for your liver as that glass of pino grigio. Robert Lustig, a California endocrinologist who's recently published a number of papers on the topic, claims that not only is sugar addictive, it can also lead to such disorders as fatty liver disease.
Hence the obesity epidemic -- a compromised liver makes it even harder to lose weight.
Visit science cafeat the University of California, San Francisco, for the high-fructose scoop.
On a related note, check out this article, published several years ago in Psychology Today, linking a sweet tooth to alcoholism.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Blast from the past
Here's an interesting nugget I just happened upon: a 48-year-old paper from the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease on the use of Nialamide in the treatment of alcoholism.
There's a fair amount of information provided in the article's first page, at least enough to whet one's appetite. To read the full text of the article, you or your organization must subscribe to the journal, or you've got to buy it.
FYI, Nialamide is a type of antidepressant known as Monoamine oxidase inhibitor.
There's a fair amount of information provided in the article's first page, at least enough to whet one's appetite. To read the full text of the article, you or your organization must subscribe to the journal, or you've got to buy it.
FYI, Nialamide is a type of antidepressant known as Monoamine oxidase inhibitor.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Drink yourself sober?
Over the past few months, it's become official: Drinking is good for your health. Studies show that moderate drinkers live longer than teetotalers. Moderate drinkers also live longer than heavy drinkers, but heavy drinkers still live longer (only slightly, however) than teetotalers.
So the goal, one would think, would be for teetotalers to regularly have a sip or two, and for heavy drinkers to stop guzzling from the firehose.
Easier said than done, of course, but one not-so-new method that purports to put a kink in the firehose -- and thus slow the gusher to a trickle -- is the Sinclair Method.
Its premise -- based on Pavlov's studies of learning and extinction -- is simple. Keep drinkling! But before you drink, pop a pill (Naltrexone). This will keep you from getting a buzz. Eventually, the spell (your brain's connection between alcohol and pleasure) will be broken.
Developed by Dr. John David Sinclair (currently chief science officer at Lightlake Therapeutics in Helsinki), most of what's known about the Sinclair Method, until now, has come from Roy Escapa's book, The Cure for Alcoholism: Drink yourself Sober Without Abstinence, Willpower, or Discomfort.
This week, however, an article in Newsweek isa certain to change that, and ensure that millions more learn about it too. So check it out.
So the goal, one would think, would be for teetotalers to regularly have a sip or two, and for heavy drinkers to stop guzzling from the firehose.
Easier said than done, of course, but one not-so-new method that purports to put a kink in the firehose -- and thus slow the gusher to a trickle -- is the Sinclair Method.
Its premise -- based on Pavlov's studies of learning and extinction -- is simple. Keep drinkling! But before you drink, pop a pill (Naltrexone). This will keep you from getting a buzz. Eventually, the spell (your brain's connection between alcohol and pleasure) will be broken.
Developed by Dr. John David Sinclair (currently chief science officer at Lightlake Therapeutics in Helsinki), most of what's known about the Sinclair Method, until now, has come from Roy Escapa's book, The Cure for Alcoholism: Drink yourself Sober Without Abstinence, Willpower, or Discomfort.
This week, however, an article in Newsweek isa certain to change that, and ensure that millions more learn about it too. So check it out.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Hallucinogenics and Addiction
Some of these things are like recordings of recordings -- far removed from the primary source. But the point is to get it out there, no? So check out neurophilosophy for an overview on the use of psychedelic drugs for alcoholism treatment (and lots of other interesting stuff). The post is based on a paper in the current issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
In a nutshell ... a small group of Canadian scientists working in the early 1950s found LSD to be effective in treating alcoholism; they claimed it produced unprecedented rates of recovery (approximately 50 percent). As hallucinogenic drugs became increasingly associated with the counterculture, however, their findings were largely ignored. Now -- perhaps because there's more of a profit to be made -- there is renewed interest in the medical community on the potential use of hallucinogenics for drug and alcohol addiction.
In a nutshell ... a small group of Canadian scientists working in the early 1950s found LSD to be effective in treating alcoholism; they claimed it produced unprecedented rates of recovery (approximately 50 percent). As hallucinogenic drugs became increasingly associated with the counterculture, however, their findings were largely ignored. Now -- perhaps because there's more of a profit to be made -- there is renewed interest in the medical community on the potential use of hallucinogenics for drug and alcohol addiction.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Students Against Drunk Hookups
That friends don't let friends drive drunk is a given, but what about other risky behaviors, like hooking up? An article from the National Communications Association reports that, among college students, at least, most wouldn't let friends do this either.
Nearly 80 percent of students participating in an interactive simulation designed by scholars at Arizona State University, Rutgers, and The State University of New Jersey agreed they'd try to prevent drunk friends from getting themselves into such situations.
“Our study suggests friends often try to protect friends. The interpersonal and persuasive skills they use to do this include many of the same skills they learn in their communication courses,” said Lisa Menegatos, lead author of the study. “The classroom can be a valuable place for students to discuss health issues and develop communication skills that are relevant to their lives outside the classroom.”
Click herefor more details.
Nearly 80 percent of students participating in an interactive simulation designed by scholars at Arizona State University, Rutgers, and The State University of New Jersey agreed they'd try to prevent drunk friends from getting themselves into such situations.
“Our study suggests friends often try to protect friends. The interpersonal and persuasive skills they use to do this include many of the same skills they learn in their communication courses,” said Lisa Menegatos, lead author of the study. “The classroom can be a valuable place for students to discuss health issues and develop communication skills that are relevant to their lives outside the classroom.”
Click herefor more details.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
ALDH2i
The discovery of a compound that both quells anxiety and reduces alcohol and cocaine cravings -- ALDH2i -- was announced this week in the journal of Nature Medicine.
Ivan Diamond, former vice president of neuroscience at a California biotech firm -- Gilead Sciences Inc. -- said the compound represents a departure from the customary approach to the development of anti-addiction drugs: rather than inhibiting the dopamine receptors or dopamine synthesis, it restores balance in the brain's dopamine system, which spins out of control in addiction.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or brain chemical, that affects, among other things, the ability to experience pleasure and pain. Addiction occurs when dopamine or dopamine antagonists (alcohol and drugs) repeatedly stimulate the dopamine receptors, causing overstimulation. Overstimulation increases the number of receptors and makes existing receptors less receptive. In other words, tolerance. Or the need to ingest more to achieve the same effect.
According to Diamond, the greater the addiction, the better the drug works.
How long before it's available? Who knows. The FDA isn't even in the picture yet, according to reports.
For more details, check out the BHC site.
Ivan Diamond, former vice president of neuroscience at a California biotech firm -- Gilead Sciences Inc. -- said the compound represents a departure from the customary approach to the development of anti-addiction drugs: rather than inhibiting the dopamine receptors or dopamine synthesis, it restores balance in the brain's dopamine system, which spins out of control in addiction.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or brain chemical, that affects, among other things, the ability to experience pleasure and pain. Addiction occurs when dopamine or dopamine antagonists (alcohol and drugs) repeatedly stimulate the dopamine receptors, causing overstimulation. Overstimulation increases the number of receptors and makes existing receptors less receptive. In other words, tolerance. Or the need to ingest more to achieve the same effect.
According to Diamond, the greater the addiction, the better the drug works.
How long before it's available? Who knows. The FDA isn't even in the picture yet, according to reports.
For more details, check out the BHC site.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Curb Cravings with Glutamine
Second post of the day ...
Glutamine, one of the 20 amino acids our bodies use to make proteins, has been shown to be remarkably effective in suppressing both alcohol and sugar cravings (one and the same, many would agree). This is because when one's blood sugar dips, which causes the desire for more sugar/alcohol, Glutamine halts its further decline by suppressing insulin and, at the same time, stimulates the release of stored glucose (glycogen) to increase blood sugar levels.
Suggested intake varies, ranging from 2,000-15,000 mg a day, but it is always in divided doses. Apparently it's difficult to take too much, since glutamine is one of the body's most abundant amino acids. It's also recommended that glutamine be taken between meals to increase absorbtion.
Other benefits in connection with alcohol use include improved sleep and less anxiety.
Beyond this, glutamine has a host of other benefits, including improved mental function and a healthier gut. It can also help with weight loss, some claim, as it increases the rate at which fat turns to muscle when exercising. (Hence its longtime popularity with bodybuilders.)
Speaking of the gut, though, anecdotal evidence suggests that glutamine can also bring things to a screeching halt for those whose GI systems are already sluggish. To counter this, try supplemental magnesium. That, too, has a host of benefits.
Glutamine, one of the 20 amino acids our bodies use to make proteins, has been shown to be remarkably effective in suppressing both alcohol and sugar cravings (one and the same, many would agree). This is because when one's blood sugar dips, which causes the desire for more sugar/alcohol, Glutamine halts its further decline by suppressing insulin and, at the same time, stimulates the release of stored glucose (glycogen) to increase blood sugar levels.
Suggested intake varies, ranging from 2,000-15,000 mg a day, but it is always in divided doses. Apparently it's difficult to take too much, since glutamine is one of the body's most abundant amino acids. It's also recommended that glutamine be taken between meals to increase absorbtion.
Other benefits in connection with alcohol use include improved sleep and less anxiety.
Beyond this, glutamine has a host of other benefits, including improved mental function and a healthier gut. It can also help with weight loss, some claim, as it increases the rate at which fat turns to muscle when exercising. (Hence its longtime popularity with bodybuilders.)
Speaking of the gut, though, anecdotal evidence suggests that glutamine can also bring things to a screeching halt for those whose GI systems are already sluggish. To counter this, try supplemental magnesium. That, too, has a host of benefits.
Escape from Margaritaville
As this is the first post, I should note that I'm not a substance abuse professional.
But as a journalist, I'm adept at digging stuff up, and over the past few years -- what with my quirky family situation and all -- I've been scouring the Web for glimmers of hope.
This blog is about those glimmers, which I've decided to collect in one place, and for anyone with an elephant in the room. Or the elephant itself.
Cheers!
But as a journalist, I'm adept at digging stuff up, and over the past few years -- what with my quirky family situation and all -- I've been scouring the Web for glimmers of hope.
This blog is about those glimmers, which I've decided to collect in one place, and for anyone with an elephant in the room. Or the elephant itself.
Cheers!
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