Sober N Clean

Variations in the genetic makeup of alcoholics may affect how much they drink, a new study suggests. And the key might be the brain's control of serotonin, a mood-influencing neurological chemical.

The research could potentially help doctors understand who might be at highest risk of becoming an alcoholic, and then treat that person, said study co-author Ming D. Li, head of neurobiology at the University of Virginia.

Li added that the research is unique, because it shows that a single gene variation is connected to a kind of behavior -- alcoholism.

The genetic blueprint that people inherit from their parents accounts for an estimated 40 percent to 50 percent of a person's risk of becoming alcoholic, said Dr. Robert Philibert, director of the Laboratory of Psychiatric Genetics at the University of Iowa.

The interplay between genetic makeup and environmental factors is responsible for the rest of the risk, said Philibert, who's familiar with the new study's findings.

"This study really takes the next step down the line," he said, in understanding the role that genes play in alcoholism.

For the study, the researchers looked at the DNA of 275 alcoholics who had sought treatment. Almost 80 percent were men, and all were of European descent. The researchers found that differences in the genes that affect serotonin levels in the brain coincided with the amount of alcohol consumed by the drinkers.

The findings were published online Nov. 20 and were expected to be in the February 2009 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Scientists think serotonin, a neurotransmitter, is crucial to human moods and emotions as well as things like sleep. Low levels of serotonin can lead to depression; some antidepressants aim to help the brain do a better job of processing serotonin.

"We know that serotonin is critical to maintaining a positive sense of self and for controlling our anxiety," Philibert said. That could explain a possible connection between serotonin levels and alcoholism, he added.

Li cautioned, however, that it's unlikely that a single genetic trait by itself would make someone more susceptible to alcoholism. It's more likely that a genetic variation works with other genes to raise the risk, he said.

Philibert said research might lead to a day when doctors could look at an alcoholic's genetic traits and discover whether antidepressants could help that person.
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source: U.S.News & World Report

A recent study shows that alcohol consumption, even in moderation, might shrink brain size.

The study, conducted by Carol Ann Paul at the Boston University School of Public Heath, tested 1,839 people ranging in age from 33 to 88. The participants were asked how much they drank per week and underwent an MRI procedure to measure their brain volume.

Results show a 1.5 percent difference in the total brain volume of a non-drinker to that of a heavy drinker. Heavy drinkers were defined as those who consumed 14 or more drinks a week.

Moderate drinking, which includes the amounts that have been shown to prevent heart disease, also resulted in a smaller brain volume than that of a non-drinker.

"There was a significant negative linear relationship between alcohol consumption and total cerebral brain volume," the authors of the study wrote.

"I don't think it is going to change [what I do]," said Bryant Kubik, a junior in communications. "As you get older, your brain capacity is going to shrink anyway."

Research shows that as people age, the brain sees a small amount of natural brain shrinkage, about 2 percent for every 10 years, but greater amounts of shrinkage in certain areas of the brain have been linked to diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Kubik said he was not surprised by the results of the study. "If you drink a case of Natty Light a day, you're probably not going to be doing too good," he said.

Kubik and Ben Fox, a senior in theater, agreed that this information was not going to have much of an effect on college life.

"In a college atmosphere they're still going to do what they do," Fox said. "They'll still party and jump in Mirror Lake on Michigan Week and I'll probably be one of them."

Seventy-one percent of OSU students drink once a week or less, according to statistics from the Student Wellness Center.

Participants in the study reported low overall alcohol consumption and that men were more likely to be moderate or heavy drinkers than women.

Despite men being more likely to drink, the association between drinking and brain shrinkage was stronger among women.

The findings are published in the October issue of Archives of Neurology.
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source: http://www.thelantern.com

The more you drink alcohol, the smaller your total brain volume gets, according to a new study by Wellesley College, Massachusetts.

The study found that even moderate alcohol consumption can lead to decline in brain volumes.

Lower brain volumes have been linked to progression of dementia and problems with thinking, learning and memory.

In the study involving 1,839 adults, the participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a health examination.

"Most participants reported low alcohol consumption, and men were more likely than women to be moderate or heavy drinkers," the authors write.

"There was a significant negative linear relationship between alcohol consumption and total cerebral brain volume," they added.

The research team led by Carol Ann Paul, MS, of Wellesley College also found that although men were more likely to drink alcohol, the association between drinking and brain volume was stronger in women.

This could be due to biological factors, including women's smaller size and greater susceptibility to alcohol's effects.

"The public health effect of this study gives a clear message about the possible dangers of drinking alcohol," the authors write.

"Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these results as well as to determine whether there are any functional consequences associated with increasing alcohol consumption.

"This study suggests that, unlike the associations with cardiovascular disease, alcohol consumption does not have any protective effect on brain volume," they added.

The report appears in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
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source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

It may be possible to prevent a drug addiction relapse by disrupting the brain's attempts to retrieve drug-associated memories, according to new research.

U.K. researchers reduced drug-seeking behaviors in rats by blocking their brain's NMDA-type glutamate receptor, which is vital for learning and memory, during the recall of drug-associated memories. Researchers have known that recalling memories linked to previous drug use, such as environmental cues, can cause recovering drug addicts to relapse.

The findings are published in the Aug. 13 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

In the study, researchers at the University of Cambridge trained rats to associate a light going on with receiving a dose of cocaine. They "reactivated" the memory by exposing the rats to the light without the cocaine infusion. Later, the rats continued to perform behaviors that turned on the light or learned to perform new behaviors to try to get more cocaine.

The rats' cocaine-seeking behaviors were reduced after the researchers gave the animals a chemical that interfered with the NMDA-type glutamate receptor. When the single treatment was given just prior to the reactivation session, it reduced or even stopped drug-seeking behavior for up to a month; however, when given after or without the reactivation session, it had no effect on subsequent drug-seeking behaviors.

The findings suggest combining existing therapy with properly timed use of NMDA receptor inhibitors may help addicts kick their habits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration already has approved several NMDA receptor inhibitors, including the cough suppressant dextramethorphan and the Alzheimer's disease drug memantine.

More information:

The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment has more about dealing with addiction at: http://csat.samhsa.gov/NACOA/family.aspx
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source: Copyright 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

An experimental drug blocks euphoric feelings prompted by drinking and could potentially prevent alcoholics from relapsing, after being tested on mice.

The next step will be to test the drug, CP 154,526, to see if it is safe for humans. If it clears that hurdle, researchers will start human trials to determine if the drug can prevent alcoholic relapse.

"We showed we could block behaviour in mice that resembles this increased euphoria even after the animals had been given a lot of alcohol," said Tamara Phillips, professor and vice chair of the behavioural neuroscience department at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

Earlier research has shown that some people's brains become sensitised as a result of chronic exposure to alcohol. This change in the brain does not subside after people quit drinking. So when they begin consuming alcohol again, "they get a bigger jolt," Phillips said.

Alcohol consumption causes the body to release a substance known as "corticotrophin-releasing factor" or CRF. It activates receptors in the brain.

Phillips and her team determined that a brain receptor called CRF1 appears to be involved in this heightened pleasure sensation. They compared the responses of normal mice and mice bred without the CRF1 receptor to chronic doses of alcohol. Mice without the CRF1 receptor did not experience the euphoric jolt the normal mice demonstrated.

The research team also took normal mice with the CRF1 receptor and exposed them to chronic doses of alcohol. Before testing for the euphoric response, the researchers gave the mice an experimental drug called CP 154,526 - developed by Pfizer - which prevents CRF from reaching the brain receptor. This group of mice also did not experience the heightened reaction.

The results may be particularly applicable to stress-induced relapse. That's because the CRF1 receptor also triggers the body's response to stress.

This could have implications for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) patients. "I think if you block this receptor, you might be able to decrease drinking in response to PTSD," Phillips said.

Phillips' study recently was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences.
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source: New Kerala, http://www.newkerala.com

A research team from the University of Granada has carried out a study on the psychological process that triggers the "craving" or intense desire for tobacco, a study that could establish the bases to determine the brain mechanisms that activate this state and how to control them.

Miguel Ángel Muñoz García, from the Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment of the University of Granada has carried out this study, under the direction of the Professors Jaime Vila Castelar and Mª Carmen Fernández Santaella.

"Craving" is an expression used to define an uncontrollable desire for the administration or consumption of an addictive substance. It is usually used in situations of alcohol or nicotine dependence and it is considered as a pathology that affects cognitive resources, as it has an obsessive component.

The researchers of the University of Granada analysed, with the help of a device, 180 regular takers of an addictive substance (cocaine, in this case), to study the emotional mechanisms triggering the addiction for the substance. This study has helped to establish the behavioural mechanisms in cocaine addiction, and consists of the emotional control of different consumption situations.

These results have been the basis of a series of studies with smokers, in withdrawal for 8 hours, to measure the physiological and emotional variables present in withdrawal symptoms using a machine (a polygraph) to estimate the emotional mechanisms responsible for the addiction to that substance. The smokers were shown several images (48) connected with situations that produce desire (related with leisure, free time, coffee…), analysing the heart´s defensive cardiac response produced as well as the startle response. Lastly, brain modifications associated with emotional responses of frustration and impulsiveness in smokers in withdrawal were studied. This system was also used for regular smokers.

Miguel Ángel Muñoz García states that this research has studied for the first time behavioural mechanisms involved in the tobacco craving process determining the brain areas and body responses connected with the compulsive behaviour provoked by tobacco.
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source: MediLexicon

Whether their beverage of choice is a full-bodied red or an ice-cold Blue, Canadians love to drink. In fact, according to the most recent figures from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) in Ottawa, alcohol is the psychoactive substance of choice for nearly 80 per cent of the population over the age of 15. Most people tend to drink moderately—consuming one or two drinks a day, doctors say, is healthy. But others frequently drink a very unhealthy four or five drinks at a sitting. The CCSA puts that number at about seven per cent of the population, or 2.3 million people. “And if that doesn’t appear high,” says Doug Beirness, a senior CCSA analyst and a scientist, “the problems caused by those people are huge.” Not only do alcoholics lose jobs and destroy relationships, they cost our medical system untold millions in the treatment of alcohol-related diseases. Alcohol, say experts, goes to every cell in the body and can result in neurological and gastrointestinal disorders, high blood pressure and a whole raft of psychiatric illnesses including depression.

In Canada, certainly, selling alcohol is a booming business. During the fiscal year ending in March 2006, beer and liquor stores and their agencies reported sales of more than $17 billion worth of alcoholic products, up more than $1 billion in just two years. Says Dr. Peter Selby, the clinical director of addiction programs at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, “Does that mean more people are drinking or people are drinking more? It could be both.”

Exactly who is drinking and how much, however, is a tricky thing to document, especially since any sort of survey depends on honest answers from the drinkers themselves. According to the latest Canadian Addiction Survey, released in 2004, those most likely to have a drinking problem fall into a number of different categories. Overall, people who are male, young, divorced, separated or widowed, have a good education and a high income, are likely to drink, but those who abuse alcohol tend to be less educated, young singles. Still, those findings aren’t hard and fast—they are “self-reported,” Beirness says.

This spring, Health Canada began a new Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey (CADUMS). It relies on questions and answers over the telephone to determine the prevalence, incidence and frequency of alcohol, cannabis and other drug and substance use in the Canadian population aged 15 years and older in order to measure the extent of associated harms. Will the 10,800 respondents answer honestly? “Sales data tells us more alcohol is being sold than people tell us they are drinking,” says Beirness. “And people are not buying it and pouring it down the drain.”

One thing experts are sure of, though, is that alcoholism is being under-diagnosed by Canadian doctors, probably because it’s a hard subject to raise. “The stigma has gone down for depression,” Selby says. “But doctors don’t feel comfortable about asking their patients how much they drink for fear of offending them.” This is unfortunate, Selby adds, because “there is good evidence that a brief intervention by a physician can help people who are drinking too much cut down.” In this Selby has support from the CEO of the most famous addiction treatment centre in the world, the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Dr. Garrett O’Connor.

O’Connor points to a 2002 Columbia University study that said turning to a family doctor may be “a missed opportunity.” Says O’Connor, “It’s a terrible tragedy. It’s been shown in England that even a 10- to 15-minute chat with a patient can be almost as good as treatment in terms of helping people to stop drinking and stay sober for up to 18 months.” O’Connor himself is a recovering alcoholic, and, he says, the only person who ever suggested he might have a problem was a dentist. Plus, O’Connor says, many alcoholic patients are ambivalent—it’s like they want to get help and not get help at the same time.

But when it comes to stopping alcoholism in its tracks, experts say, someone in the medical profession should catch it in the very young before it becomes entrenched. Increasingly, studies are showing that some children as young as 11 or 13 are already alcoholics, and that the younger a child is when he begins to drink, the higher his risk of becoming addicted. It may be that adolescent drinking actually alters the growing brain. Says Selby: “That’s why a lot of people say if you can delay consumption until early adulthood, you can reduce the risk. Maybe the developing brain just learns more quickly.” Or maybe the brain’s pathways are altered.

A recent study done at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., on brain tissue samples taken from the superior frontal cortex (part of the brain that involves feelings of desire and reward) in chronic alcoholics post-mortem reveals that changes occur at the molecular level. In other words, the brain was irreparably altered. Even that is not wholly new. As far back as 2000, researchers at the University of Texas studying the same part of the brain discovered that chronic alcohol abuse changed its programming and corrupted decision-making and judgment. Still, Selby thinks addiction is both nature and nurture. “The more genetically disposed you are, the higher the chance that you will start drinking sooner,” he says. “And if the pattern in the home is drink to get drunk, rather than as part of a meal or a social lubricant, that will prime a developing brain.”

Whatever the cause, experts like Beirness say drinking tends to go in waves and right now Canadians are at a peak. But anyone looking to lay the blame on the boomers will have to look somewhere else, he says. “As people get older, they do tend to drink more frequently—but they consume less quantity. It’s a very complicated issue.” Adds O’Connor, “The most interesting statistic to me is that of the 23 million people in the U.S. right now who have a problem and don’t get treatment, 97 per cent of them don’t think they need it.”
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source: Maclean's

Drinking alcohol dulls the brain's ability to detect threats, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a study that helps explain why people who are drunk cannot tell when the guy at the end of the bar is angling for a fight.

They said the study is the first to show how alcohol affects the human brain as it responds to threats.

"You see this all of the time. People get into confrontations when they are intoxicated that they probably wouldn't get into when they are sober," said Jodi Gilman of the National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, whose study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Gilman studied 12 people who were given intravenous infusions of alcohol and then monitored their brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging while they looked at pictures of frightened and neutral faces.

Her team did the same study on these people when they were given a simple saline infusion as a placebo.

As expected, when people were given the placebo, their brains responded to the fearful faces.

"Our brains respond more to fearful stimuli," Gilman said in a telephone interview. "They signal to us that we are in threatening situations."

When these same people were given infusions of alcohol, however, this response was dulled, suggesting that while intoxicated, "our brain can't distinguish between the threatening and nonthreatening stimuli," said Gilman.

She said this impaired appreciation for threats could lead to a host of risky situations, including drunk driving. And it also explains why alcohol is sometimes called a social lubricant.

"People have used alcohol for years to become euphoric and to decrease anxiety. Alcohol has been used in particular to increase sociability. How alcohol acts on the brain to produce these effects has not been well understood or studied," Gilman said.

Her study found that alcohol increases activity in a reward center of the brain known as the striatum. And they found a link between the level of activation in this region and how intoxicated people said they were feeling, which could help account for the addictive properties of alcohol.

"This is important because we think we can develop potential treatments for alcoholism," Gilman said.

People in the study were social drinkers, not heavy drinkers. Gilman said the research team plans to conduct the study in heavy drinkers next.
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source: Reuters

The influence of genetics increases as young women transition from taking their first drink to becoming alcoholics. A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that although environment is most influential in determining when girls begin to drink, genes play a larger role if they advance to problem drinking and alcohol dependence.

The researchers studied 3,546 female twins ages 18 to 29 to ferret out the influences of genes and environment in the development of alcohol dependence. Their findings appear in the April issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

The road to alcohol dependence involves transitions through many stages of drinking behaviors: from the first drink to the first alcohol-related problems (such as drinking and driving, difficulty at school or work related to alcohol use) to alcohol dependence.

Environmental factors the twins shared, such as exposure to conflict between parents or alcohol use among peers in school, exerted the largest influence on initiation of alcohol use. The study found that females who had their first drink at an earlier age were more likely to develop serious alcohol problems. The researchers found that all transitions were attributable in part to genetic factors, increasing from 30 percent for the timing of first drink to 47 percent for the speed at which women progressed from problem drinking to alcohol dependence. But genetics did not explain everything.

"Even when genetic factors are most influential, they account for less than half of the influence on drinking behavior," says lead author Carolyn E. Sartor, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Medicine. "That's good news in terms of modifying these behaviors and reducing the risk of developing alcohol dependence. Genetics are not destiny, and our findings suggest that there are opportunities to intervene at all stages of alcohol use."

Sartor's team collected alcohol-use histories from telephone interviews to determine when these women made transitions from one drinking milestone to the next. They studied twins to get an idea of the genetic influences on those transitions. Identical twins share 100 percent of their genetic material, and fraternal twins share about half. So when identical twin pairs are found to be more similar on a given behavior than fraternal twin pairs, this suggests that genetics are playing a role in that behavior. The researchers used this twin-based design to estimate the contributions of genes-versus-environment to the rate at which women progressed through stages of alcohol use.

"Alcohol dependence is a psychiatric disorder, but drinking alcohol in moderation is normative and is a part of many cultural traditions," Sartor explains. "For example, 85 percent of women in our study reported having at least one drink in their lifetimes whereas only about 7 percent became alcohol dependent."

Past studies have focused more on men than women, but Sartor says it is important to study both sexes because risk factors that contribute to alcohol problems differ somewhat between males and females. She also says this study helps to dispel the myth that alcohol dependence is a disorder exclusive to middle-aged men. In the United States, the prevalence of alcohol use disorders is highest among 18- to 29-year-olds.

"Much of the heavy drinking that occurs in the young adult years is actually problem drinking," she explains. "What once was perceived as partying a little too much is now being recognized as a potentially serious problem."

The majority of the young women in the study curtailed their drinking before it advanced from a normal behavior to a psychiatric disorder.

The researchers plan to extend their investigations to examine genetics and environment on other drinking behaviors, such as the cessation of alcohol use. Many problem drinkers in their 20s, for example, "mature out" of alcohol-related problems, she says. These changes coincide with major lifestyle changes including engagement in serious relationships, commitments to career and the arrival of children, all of which involve significant changes in the environment. Sartor and her colleagues also are planning to study the timing of transitions in the development of other substance-use problems.

source: MediLexicon

It's a sobering thought for women who enjoy a few drinks at the end of a long day.

A new study has found that women who drink even moderate amounts of alcohol face a substantially increased risk - up to 50 per cent higher - of developing a common type of breast cancer.

"Even a drink a day can cause an increased risk," said Jasmine Lew, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Chicago who received a scholarship to conduct research at the National Cancer Institute in the United States.

The study, being presented at this week's American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, seems to high- light the need for women to evaluate their levels of alcohol consumption.

Researchers examined data of nearly 185,000 postmenopausal women in the United States collected by the National Institutes of Health. About 70 per cent of women reported some level of alcohol intake. After following the women for seven years, researchers found that women who consumed three or more drinks a day had about a 50-per-cent increase in their risk for developing estrogen receptor positive, progesterone receptor positive breast cancer, which is one of the most common types.

Women who reported drinking one to two drinks a day had a 32-per-cent increase in breast cancer risk, while those who consumed, on average, less than one drink of alcohol a day had about a 7-per-cent increased risk.

"The more you drink, the higher your risk, the relative risk, of getting breast cancer," Ms. Lew said. "I think what should be taken from [the study] is that alcohol consumption is positively associated with breast cancer."

Although more research must be done to determine whether alcohol actually influences the development of breast cancer, the findings indicate a conclusive association between alcohol intake and possible risk, Ms. Lew said.

The findings appear to present further evidence that alcohol may increase the amount of estrogen metabolites in a woman's body, which may contribute to the development of hormone-sensitive breast cancer, according to the study.

The study is the latest in a growing collection of research that is demonstrating the significant consequences that alcohol can have on health.

"Alcohol is quite a toxic drug," said Tim Stockwell, director of the Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia at the University of Victoria. "The sad fact is there are approximately 60 ways in which alcohol can kill a person or cause them to be very ill."

It's a growing problem in an era when binge drinking is increasingly socially acceptable, Dr. Stockwell said.

"Nearly all the provinces are going through a phase of increased consumption and have been across Canada for about the last 10 years," he said. "When that overall consumption goes up, drinking at all age groups tends to go up."

Numerous medical studies have found small amounts of alcohol have a positive effect on health and can protect against certain diseases. For instance, studies suggest that moderate amounts of red wine may reduce a person's risk of developing heart disease.

The problem is that people often drink beyond the small doses that could provide such benefits, Dr. Stockwell said.

He also said it's possible that some studies linking moderate consumption with positive benefits may be misleading, because people who report themselves as moderate to light drinkers may be more likely to be in good health than heavy drinkers.

Hoping to save a life when an army buddy's had too much to drink, 767 soldiers and civilians on the army's largest training post now carry personal alcohol detectors in their cars or on their keychains.

Fort Jackson's safety director Sean O'Brian has been handing out the 10-centimetre devices since the first of the year.

"It's a good way to not get into a confrontation with a buddy, in case they've been drinking," said Master Sgt. James Smith. "It's impartial. It lets you say, 'Hey, let's let this be our guide.'"

While there hasn't been a big problem with drunken driving on the base there were 10 alcohol-related accidents in a recent 12-month span that's still too many in O'Brian's opinion.

Fort Jackson is one of eight army installations that have begun using the pocket-sized detectors, base spokesman Pat Jones said.

Staff Sgt. Tenesia Vann at Fort Benning, Ga., said she grabbed half of dozen of the tiny breathalyzers when she first arrived at the base in January.

"If I go to a gathering where people are drinking, I want to be able to hand them out. I think they could be a deciding factor in convincing people not to get behind the wheel," said the 35-year-old administrative assistant. "I keep them at home in case I have people over for a cookout."

Fort Benning, home to multiple infantry units and the service's Airborne and Ranger training schools, got 155,000 of the devices last May. Officials have handed out 100,000 of them in nearly a year's time.

Yvonne Wilbanks, alcohol and drug control officer for the post, has worked for 25 years trying to convince soldiers not to drink and drive. Handing out the devices has been "one of the better things that we've done," she said. All army bases mandate safety lectures for soldiers, while others try to emphasize the message through posters or offering no-questions-asked rides home should someone have one too many.

The army, with more than 524,000 men and women on active duty, is the largest military service in the U.S. Besides Benning and Jackson, other installations trying out the detectors include Fort Lee, Va.; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; Fort Greeley, Alaska; Fort Sam Houston and Corpus Christie Army Depot in Texas, and Fort Dix, N.J.

In South Carolina, the detectors come amid a state legislator's proposal that would allow members of the armed forces younger than 21 the right to buy alcohol even though it's in contrast to the military's efforts to diminish underage drinking and related accidents.

Five years ago, there were 23 alcohol-related accidents at Fort Jackson, where 55,000 to 65,000 soldiers pass through the gates annually. Luckily, none of the accidents has been fatal, OBrian said.

Smith, 41, who has been in the army for 23 years, said he wished he had the device earlier in his career. At Fort Jackson, he is in charge of a dozen drill sergeants and their 240 basic training recruits.

"I think it's an excellent idea to 'police up' yourself and your buddies. I keep it in my car," Smith said.

The detectors are not a self-diagnostic tool. They require a buddy's help.

Known as "Breathscan" tubes, they're carried inside the yellow plastic key fob designed for military use, said Patrice McMorrow, marketing director for Akers Biosciences Inc. in Thorofare, N.J., which produces the devices. They aren't marketed directly to the public, she said, although some might be found for sale on the web. O'Brian, who is in charge of giving safety lectures to all new soldiers and the 4,400 civilian workers who come to Fort Jackson, got 2,500 of the devices to hand out along with information designed to puncture myths about drinking and driving.

For example, he said, "Coffee doesn't make you sober. It just wakes you up. Another myth is that you know when you're too drunk to drive. You don't."

That's where a friend with the tiny device comes in.

To use it, soldiers simply pull a cardboard tube out of a yellow plastic container. Pressing the outside of the tube breaks a small vial containing yellow crystals. The drinker holds the tube vertically and blows hard for about 12 seconds. Then, the non-reusable tube must be placed on a flat surface.

After two minutes, the colour of the crystals detects whether a person has a blood-alcohol level of 0.04 per cent or higher, which O'Brian said is enough to "slow your reflexes and impair your judgment." The crystals remain yellow if no alcohol has been consumed.

A non-drinker should administer the test because of the multistep process.
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source: Sarnia Observer

Survival time rose with combo therapy for advanced disease, study finds

By combining a special type of chemotherapy (TACE) with another treatment called radiofrequency ablation (RFA), Chinese researchers boosted the survival of people with advanced liver cancer by an average of 13 to 15 months compared to either treatment alone.

"Our study demonstrates that combination therapy with TACE and RFA was an effective and safe treatment that may improve long-term survival for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma larger than three centimeters," said Dr. Bao-Quan Cheng, from the Qilu Hospital and Shandong University School of Medicine in Jinan, China.

Results of the study were published in the April 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is responsible for as many as 90 percent of all liver cancers, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Cirrhosis of the liver, often caused by hepatitis B or C or alcoholism, is usually at the root of such cancers. Cirrhosis can make treatment for this type of cancer more difficult, because it damages the liver so much that the liver can't process medications effectively. Only 10 percent to 20 percent of these cancers can be successfully treated with surgery.

For those whose tumors can't be removed with surgery, liver transplantation, chemotherapy and radiofrequency ablation are all options. TACE (transarterial chemoembolization) is a special type of chemotherapy that delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to the blood vessels feeding the tumor. Radiofrequency ablation uses electrodes to produce heat and destroy cancerous tissue.

The most commonly used treatment in the United States for advanced liver cancer is transplantation, according to Dr. Milan Kinkhabwala, chief of abdominal transplantation at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "If the tumor can't be resected [surgically removed], liver transplantation is the definitive treatment," he said, adding that transplantation might not be as available in China as it is in the United States.

Although TACE and RFA used individually can extend survival, the Chinese researchers hoped that by combining the techniques, they could increase survival times even more.

In a randomized, controlled trial, the researchers used one of three treatment techniques on people with hepatocellular carcinoma larger than 3 centimeters. Ninety-six people were assigned to the TACE-RFA combination, 95 to TACE alone and 100 to RFA alone.

Average survival time was 37 months for the combination therapy group compared to 24 months for TACE alone and 22 months for RFA alone.

The rate of responses lasting for at least six months rose to 54 percent in the combination group, versus 35 percent for the TACE group and 36 percent for the RFA group, the researchers found.

Side effects were similar between the groups, though RFA had the lowest rate of certain side effects, such as a low white blood cell count.

Cheng cautioned that these results may not be as applicable in the Western world, such as the United States or Japan, because the underlying cause of liver cancer in China is hepatitis B, whereas in the Western world, it tends to be hepatitis C or alcohol abuse. He hopes that similar clinical trials will be performed in the United States, Europe or Japan to see if the results are the same.

"Many of us have become aware that the standard approach of attacking a tumor with one modality isn't as good. Multimodal therapy is the new buzzword in cancer treatment," said Kinkhabwala. "It's really a belt-and-suspenders approach. You're targeting the tumor in different ways. This paper is important, because it's the first to look at this combination in a controlled way, and the combo approach does work. This confirms what our expectations were."

Kinkhabwala said he'd also like to see how a combination of these therapies with the new targeted medication, sorafenib (Nexavar), could affect outcomes. "Combining sorafenib with either or these or using all three might give better survival," he said.
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source: Health Scout

Researchers at the UIC College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center have discovered a molecular basis for the link between anxiety and alcoholism. This discovery may help develop a new therapeutic approach for the treatment and control of alcohol addiction.

"The association of anxiety with increased alcohol use is a key factor in the initiation and maintenance of alcohol addiction," said Dr. Subhash Pandey, UIC professor of psychiatry and director of neuroscience alcoholism research, lead author of the study, and "this is the first direct evidence of the molecular processes occurring in the neurons that is responsible for the co-morbidity of anxiety and alcoholism." People with high levels of anxiety are more likely to become addicted to alcohol because alcohol can temporarily decrease anxiety. Also, frequent consumers often feel extreme anxiety during withdrawal of alcohol.

"Alcoholics may feel a need to continue to drink alcohol in an attempt to self-medicate to reduce their anxiety and other unpleasant withdrawal symptoms," explained Pandey. Initial use of alcohol often relieves anxiety, and after repeated exposure to alcohol, people may feel the need to consume alcohol in order to feel normal.

Experimentation with laboratory animals led to the finding of a protein within neurons in the amygdala that affects alcohol withdrawal symptoms. The amygdala is the area of the brain associated with emotion and anxiety. When the shape of these neurons are changed, communication between the neurons is affected which leads to behavior changes.

To communicate, neurons send signals through branches called dendritic spines, and the researchers discovered that short-term alcohol exposure led to an increase of these branches in certain regions of the amygdala. The increase of dendritic spines creates anti-anxiety effects by producing a certain protein called Arc in response to a nerve growth factor called BDNF.

BDNF is stimulated by alcohol exposure. Animals dependent on alcohol eventually developed a tolerance to the lowering of anxiety from alcohol consumption. When alcohol was withheld from these dependent animals they developed high anxiety, and levels of BDNF and Arc were decreased in the amygdala. The researchers eliminated the anxiety by raising BDNF and Arc back to normal levels. Tests showed a relation between lowered levels of BDNF and Arc in the amygdala and increased anxiety.

This discovery "[can] be used to identify new targets for developing medications that alleviate withdrawal-induced anxiety and potentially modify a motivation for drinking," said Antonio Noronha, director of neuroscience and behavior research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

© Copyright 2008 Chicago Flame

Reshaping of the DNA scaffolding that supports and controls the expression of genes in the brain may play a major role in the alcohol withdrawal symptoms, particularly anxiety, that make it so difficult for alcoholics to stop using alcohol.

The finding is reported by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in the April 2 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

DNA can undergo changes in function without any changes in inheritance or coded sequence. These "epigenetic" changes are minor chemical modifications of chromatin -- dense bundles of DNA and proteins called histones.

"This is the first time anyone has looked for epigenetic changes related to chromatin remodeling in the brain during alcohol addiction," said Dr. Subhash C. Pandey, professor and director of neuroscience alcoholism research at the UIC College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, the lead author of the study.

Chemical modification of histones can change the way DNA and histones are wound up together. Histone acetyltransferases (HATs) are enzymes that add acetyl groups to histones and loosen the packing, promoting gene expression. On the other hand, histone deacetylases (HDACs) remove acetyl groups from histones, causing them to wrap with DNA more tightly, decreasing gene expression.

The UIC researchers had previously shown in an animal model that levels of neuropeptide Y in the amygdala modulate anxiety and alcohol-drinking behavior. In the new study, they looked at the HDAC activity, acetylation of histones, and expression of the genes for NPY in the amygdala and the anxiety-like behaviors associated with withdrawal from chronic alcohol use.

Pandey and his colleagues found that acute exposure to alcohol decreases HDAC activity; increases the acetylation histones; increases levels of NPY -- and reduced anxiety in the animals.

Conversely, anxiety-like behaviors during withdrawal in animals with chronic alcohol exposure was associated with an increase in HDAC activity and decrease in histones acetylation and NPY levels.

Importantly, blocking the observed increase in HDAC activity using an HDAC inhibitor during alcohol withdrawal brought up histone acetylation and NPY expression levels in the amygdala and prevented the development of anxiety-like behaviors.

"Our findings suggest that HDAC inhibitors may have potential as therapeutic agents in treating alcoholism," Pandey said.

The researchers also found that levels of a protein known as CREB binding protein, which has HAT enzymatic activity, were increased by acute alcohol but were decreased during ethanol withdrawal.

They concluded that the enzymes that are involved in remodeling of chromatin play an important role in the anxiety that accompanies alcohol withdrawal as well as in the anti-anxiety effects of acute alcohol use.

"We need new strategies to treat alcoholism that are directed toward the prevention of withdrawal symptoms," Pandey said. "Anxiety associated with withdrawal from alcohol abuse is a key factor in the maintenance of alcohol addiction."

The research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Department of Veteran Affairs. Rajesh Ugale, Huaibo Zhang, Lei Tang and Anand Prakash of UIC and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center also contributed to the study.

source: University of Illinois at Chicago

Cocaine addicts often suffer a downward emotional spiral that is a key to their craving and chronic relapse. While researchers have developed animal models of the reward of cocaine, they have not been able to model this emotional impact, until now.

Regina Carelli and colleagues report experiments with rats in which they have mimicked the negative effect of cocaine addiction and even how it drives greater cocaine use. They said their animal model could enable better understanding of the emotional motivations of cocaine addiction and how to ameliorate them.

The researchers reported their findings in the March 13, 2008, issue of the journal Neuron, published by Cell Press.

The researchers started with the well-known phenomenon that rats will tend to avoid a taste that is paired with self-administration of a drug such as cocaine. Also, it was known that the greater avoidance of the taste was associated with greater drug self-administration.

In their experiments, the researchers squirted a grape- or orange-flavored sweet solution into the mouths of rats. After squirting one flavor, the rats were given a chance to press a lever to obtain cocaine; after the other taste, pressing the lever delivered only a saline solution.

The researchers measured the rats' response to the flavors by analyzing video of their expressions and measuring the electrical activity of a muscle involved in the licking response.

They found that the rats developed an aversion to the normally enjoyable taste that was associated with cocaine, compared to the saline-associated taste. They also found that the greater the measured aversion, the quicker and more frequently the rats pressed the lever to obtain cocaine.

The researchers also found that the aversive taste excited activity in a brain region called the nucleus accumbens, which is associated with expression of motivated behaviors.

The researchers wrote that their findings demonstrated that it is possible to induce a "negative affective state" in the animals that predicts the motivation to take cocaine. They said their finding "also is provocative because it bridges two well-known drug-abuse phenomena. The first, that drug-associated cues elicit drug seeking, has been well documented in humans and animal models. The second, that negative affect drives drug seeking, has been well described by human addicts but is difficult to model in animals. The importance of this study lies in this animal model's potential to define and then ameliorate the motivational properties of negative affect evoked by drug-associated stimuli and thereby decrease the drive for the drug," they wrote.

In a preview of the article in the same issue of Neuron, Donna Calu and Geoffrey Schoenbaum wrote that the relationship between the taste aversion and increased drug taking "lends strong support to the proposal that triggering of aversive affective states by drug-associated cues plays a role in drug-seeking behavior and provides a novel behavioral model in which to investigate the circuit basis of this phenomenon."

source: medilexicon.com

A new report providing analyses of substance use and mental health patterns occurring in each state reveals that there are wide variations among the states in problems like illicit drug use and underage drinking, but that no state was immune from these problems. For example, past month use of alcohol among persons aged 12 to 20 (underage use of alcohol) ranged from a low of 21.5 percent in Utah to a high of 38.3 percent in Vermont. Yet Utah had the highest level of people age 18 or older reporting serious psychological distress in the past year (14.4 percent), while Hawaii had the lowest level (8.8 percent).

The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that although there are some differences in the patterns of substance use and mental health problems experienced among states and regions, all parts of the country are seriously affected by these problems.

"This report shows that although states may be uniquely affected by serious public health problems like underage drinking, every state and region must confront these issues," said SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. "By highlighting the nature and scope of the challenges affecting each state, we can help focus and target substance abuse and mental illness prevention and treatment resources."

State Estimates of Substance Use is based on the 2005-2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and provides state-level estimates for 23 measures of substance use and mental health problems, including underage drinking, use of illicit drugs, serious psychological distress, major depression, and tobacco use. These estimates are based on combined data collected from 136,110 respondents surveyed in 2005 and 2006 (the most recent data available). The report also reveals statistically significant changes that have occurred within each state between 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.

Notable findings in this report include:

Underage Alcohol Use and Binge Drinking

Georgia had the lowest level of past month underage binge drinking of alcohol (15.2 percent), and North Dakota had the highest level (28.5 percent).

Increases in underage drinking levels between the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 NSDUH surveys occurred in Arkansas (from 25.2 to 28.7 percent), Nevada (from 25.1 to 27.9 percent), and Vermont (from 34.0 to 38.3 percent). Arkansas and Vermont also experienced increases in underage binge alcohol use during this same period (Arkansas from 17.0 to 19.4 percent, and Vermont from 24.5 to 28.0 percent).

South Dakota's and Wisconsin's levels for underage drinking decreased from 38.3 to 34.1 percent, and from 39.5 to 35.4 percent respectively. These two states also experienced declines in the level of underage binge drinking (South Dakota dropped from 27.0 to 23.7 percent and Wisconsin went from 28.1 percent to 25.1 percent).

Illicit Drug Use

Past month use of illicit drugs for all persons aged 12 or older ranged from a low of 5.7 percent in North Dakota to a high of 11.2 percent in Rhode Island.

The percentage of persons aged 12 or older who used an illicit drug in the past month increased in the period between the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 NSDUH surveys in Washington state from 8.5 to 10 percent. The level decreased in Kentucky during this period from 8.4 to 7.0 percent.

Utah had the lowest level of past month marijuana use among persons age 12 or older (4.3 percent). Vermont had the highest level of past month marijuana use among the same age group (9.7 percent).

In 2005-2006, Oklahoma had the highest percentage (6.7 percent) of persons aged 12 or older using pain relievers for nonmedical purposes in the past year. Hawaii, New Jersey, and South Dakota had the lowest rate in the Nation-3.9 percent.

Tobacco Use

Utah had the lowest prevalence level for past month tobacco use among persons aged 12 or older (22.1 percent). West Virginia had the highest level for this age group (40.6 percent).

Two states showed increases in past month tobacco use among persons 12 or older between the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 NSDUH surveys -- the rate in California rose from 21.2 to 22.6 percent and the level in Oklahoma went up from 33.7 to 36.9 percent.

Substance Dependence and Abuse

The percentage of persons with a substance use disorder, including either drug or alcohol dependence or abuse, ranged from a low of 7.5 percent in New Jersey to a high of 12.3 percent in the District of Columbia.

The highest rate of illicit drug dependence or abuse was in the District of Columbia (4.3 percent), while the lowest rate was in Iowa (2.1 percent).

Kentucky had the lowest rate of alcohol dependence or abuse (6.3 percent). Montana had the highest rate (10.8 percent).

Mental Health Problems

Hawaii had the lowest level of people age 18 or over reporting at least one major depressive episode in the past year (5.0 percent) while Nevada had the highest rate (9.4 percent).

The full report is available on the Web here. Copies may be obtained free of charge by calling SAMHSA's Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727). Request inventory number SMA 08-4311. For related publications and information, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/ .

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health services delivery system.

http://www.samhsa.gov/

Brain scans have revealed a possible biological basis for cocaine addiction which may explain why some get hooked, while others can use the drug socially.

The scans show cocaine alters parts of the brain controlling behaviour and appropriate decision-making.

In effect, the drug messes with what is colloquially known as willpower - with some maybe more vulnerable than others.

Trinity College Dublin researchers will present their findings to a Royal Society meeting.

The researchers took brain scans of cocaine users while they performed computer tasks.

They found that cocaine increased activity in areas of the pre-frontal cortex.

The scans also revealed differences in brain structures of cocaine users.

It is unclear whether the differences existed before they started taking cocaine, or were a result of using the drug.

But the findings raise the possibility that differences in brain structure render some people potentially more vulnerable to the effects of the drug.

Lead researcher Dr Hugh Garavan said previous research into drug abuse had tended to focus on the emotional aspects of addictions - such as pleasure seeking, craving and withdrawal.

The latest study suggests that it is not simply these emotions that are affected by cocaine, but the way the brain deals with them, and keeps them in check by controlling a person's actions.

Better treatment

He said: "This research helps us move away from thinking of drug dependence as a moral weakness and allows us to see it as more of a medical condition.

"Understanding the role that our brain plays in addiction may also have important implications for treating long-term addiction and designing intervention therapies.

"Importantly, new medication based on certain chemical processes in the brain could be developed as currently there are no good pharmacological treatments for cocaine.

"Traditional treatment therapy such as counselling or rehab could also be adapted to train addicts to monitor their behaviour and practice impulse control."

Dr Gerome Breen, of the Institute of Psychiatry, said: "We now know that the effects of cocaine on the brain are multi-facetted.

"Dr Garavan and his collaborators have shown convincingly that the brain regions controlling impulse control have their activity altered by cocaine.

"This aids in our understanding of cocaine's effects and, thus, the causes of cocaine addiction."

Source: BBC News

Hypnosis is proving to be an incredible resource in our lives. While its benefits have been known for years to overcome phobias, quit smoking and for weight loss, the research and work done in recent decades have brought hypnosis into new prominence.

Today growing numbers of clinical and medical facilities incorporate the skills of a hypnotherapist into their practice. Hypnosis is being used to enhance sports performance and to allow for painless experiences without the use of drugs for dental work as well as childbirth.

Additionally there are now numerous programs from coast to coast using hypnosis to conquer addictions such as Drugs, Alcohol, Food, Gambling and Sexual behavior.

Recently I watched a PBS special called "The Brain Fitness Program", about the discoveries being made in the field of neuro-science that demonstrate that the brain is capable of learning new ways of thinking as well as experiencing the world throughout our lifetimes. This is precisely why hypnosis is an excellent way to deal with addictions.

To find out more I interviewed Valerie Banarie, RN, CHt, a prominent Certified Hypnotherapist in Orange County, California. Her Program is called "Triumph Over Addiction". She has offices in Newport Beach and Laguna Niguel. In addition to her practice, Valerie has just created a free online information and discussion group for anyone seeking information. (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphOverAddiction)

Q ; Does the "Triumph Over Addiction" Program differ from traditional 12-step programs, and if so, how?

A : "Triumph Over Addiction" is nothing like 12-step programs because it is based upon a completely different paradigm. Where the 12-step programs come from the belief that someone with an addiction is destined to be an addict for the rest of their lives, my program looks to the current research in neuro-science which shows that people continue to change the way they think, and therefore behave throughout their lives.

In addition, using hypnosis allows for the resolution of the issues that caused the addictive behavior in the first place. Rather than teaching that an addict is helpless against their addiction and must attend meetings for the rest of their lives, "Triumph Over Addiction" participants do not define themselves by their addiction. Instead they are led through a process that allows them to create a life they love, free from addiction.

Rather than attending meetings, (the program can be used in conjunction with 12-step or other recovery methods) they complete 12 hypnosis sessions over the course of a month. In between sessions, they listen to hypnotic reinforcement CDs at home and complete homework assignments as well as writing a daily journal. Each session builds upon those that came before, so that by the end of the month, people engaged in the program have learned how to deal with self-sabotage and have vastly improved their self-esteem. They have also developed the beliefs, values, boundaries and internal identity of someone who has no need for the substances or behaviors they used to depend upon.

Q ; Is there any support offered once the sessions are completed?

A ; At the end of the 12 sessions we evaluate where the client is, and what they perceive their need for on-going support to be. Because the nature of the program is empowerment, the idea of an ongoing support group needs to be looked at differently. Reinforcement is available in the form of additional occasional sessions and by an email list of participants that have completed the program. Of course, there are the CDs that were used during the program as well.

Q ; What is the success rate when using hypnosis for recovery?

A ; A review of the literature (Potter, G., Jul 2004, American Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy) cites success rates up to 77 % for at least a 1 year follow-up.

Compare this with the statistics offered by Alcoholics Anonymous which shows that 26% of their participants are sober less than one year. (http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/en_pdfs/p-48_04survey.pdf AA 2004 Membership Survey)

Q ; What is hypnosis?

A ; Hypnosis is actually a naturally occurring state that everyone experiences several times a day. Basically it is a state of intense focus that allows the hypnotherapist to bypass the conscious mind with its rationales and excuses and establish selective thinking. What this means is that the hypnotherapist can address suggestions to the subconscious mind, which accepts them uncritically and as truth, allowing the hypnotherapist to guide the client to change their perceptions, and increase their motivation. In addition, because the subconscious mind does not distinguish between what is real and that what is imagined, hypnosis is an excellent method for helping a person to integrate new patterns of behavior.

Q ; What are your background and credentials?

A ; I am a Registered Nurse and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist in private practice.

My certifications and additional hypnosis training include:
Hypnosis for addictions
Medical and Dental Hypnosis
Hypnosis for Pain Control
Hypnosis for Childbirth

Additionally I am in the process of co-writing a book about hypnosis and pain control for professional hypnotherapists.

Valerie Banarie RN, CHt can be reached at (949) 690-7244 or you can go to her website ; http://www.Hypno411.com

source: 24-7pressrelease.com

In a search for what could be the ultimate cure for drug addiction, scientists have developed a vaccine which prevents the body from getting high.

The hope is that it can stop people from falling back into a spiral of addiction if they have a relapse.

The most promising results so far have been with cocaine, but researchers hope it could also one day be used to cure addiction to methamphetamine, heroin and even cigarettes.

"The vaccine slowly decreases the amount of cocaine that reaches the brain," said Thomas Kosten, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who has been working on the vaccine since 1995.

"It's a slow process, and patients do not go through any significant withdrawal symptoms."

The vaccine works by getting the body's immune system to recognize the drug as foreign and attack it in the blood stream.

It does so by injecting an altered version of the drug into the body which has been attached to a protein that the body will recognize as a threat.

"The body then says, 'This is a foreign article. I should start making antibodies to it,'" Kosten said in a telephone interview.

The cocaine molecules eventually pass through the kidneys and are excreted through the urine.

That stops the drug from reaching the brain and producing a sought-after high.

Use of the vaccine would lead to a gradual tapering of dependence, Kosten said.

"Gradually, antibody levels would rise. If you kept using (cocaine), you'd get less and less of an effect."

Of all the drugs tested, cocaine is the easiest one for which to develop a vaccine because of an enzyme in the bloodstream, cholinesterase, that helps break it down, Kosten said.

He has also begun to test vaccines for methamphetamine and heroin in animal studies, and hopes to eventually add nicotine to the list.

"That's going to be the moneymaker," he said.

The injections are designed for therapeutic -- not for preventative -- use, and are meant for those already suffering from addiction.

That, however, does not rule out other possible future uses, Kosten said.

"You could potentially inject pregnant cocaine users with the vaccine to prevent their fetuses from becoming contaminated," he explained.

Other uses could include administering the vaccine to high-risk adolescents in order to prevent them from becoming addicted early on, he said, while acknowledging that this would raise serious ethical and legal questions.

Testing for the cocaine vaccine has included a series of five injections over a period of three months, Kosten said.

The vaccine has one more large scale human study scheduled before it is ready for the federal Food and Drug Administration approval process.

A similar nicotine vaccine is also in the early stages of testing by several groups of European researchers. Kosten hopes to have the vaccine on the market in two to three years.

Copyright © 2008 AFP. All rights reserved.

A study in a Wiley-Blackwell journal - Respirology - finds that the development of bullous lung disease occurs in marijuana smokers approximately 20 years earlier than tobacco smokers.

A condition often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals or long-term exposure to tobacco smoke, bullous lung disease (also known as bullae) is a condition where air trapped in the lungs causes obstruction to breathing and eventual destruction of the lungs.

At present, about 10% of young adults and 1% of the adult population smoke marijuana regularly. Researchers find that the mean age of marijuana-smoking patients with lung problems was 41, as opposed to the average age of 65 years for tobacco-smoking patients.

The study "Bullous Lung Disease due to Marijuana" also finds that the bullous lung disease can easily go undetected as patients suffering from the disease may show normal chest X-rays and lung functions. High-resolution CT scans revealed severe asymmetrical, variably sized bullae in the patients studied. However, chest X-rays and lung functions were normal in half of them.

Lead author Dr. Matthew Naughton says, "What is outstanding about this study is the relatively young ages of the lung disease patients, as well as the lack of abnormality on chest X-rays and lung functions in nearly half of the patients we tested."

He added, "Marijuana is inhaled as extremely hot fumes to the peak inspiration and held for as long as possible before slow exhalation. This predisposes to greater damage to the lungs and makes marijuana smokers are more prone to bullous disease as compared to cigarette smokers."

Patients who smoke marijuana inhale more and hold their breath four times longer than cigarette smokers. It is the breathing manoeuvres of marijuana smokers that serve to increase the concentration and pulmonary deposition of inhaled particulate matter - resulting in greater and more rapid lung destruction.

This paper is published in the January 2008 issue of Respirology.

source: medilexicon.com