From the alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health administration

Article Abstract:

The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) has recently launched a major, long-term effort to combine the findings of recent neurological research studies in order to create more effective and innovative drug therapies for alcoholism, drug abuse, and serious mental illnesses. These conditions are among society's most pressing and complicated problems, and have been very difficult to treat. No significant new treatments have been made available for these conditions in the last 20 or 30 years, but a new generation of drug treatments is forthcoming. It is hoped that these treatments will be more effective and will result in fewer side effects. Some disorders that are the specific targets for this research are schizophrenia, alcoholism, and severe depression. A great deal of brain chemistry research has been performed in recent years; the studies have focused on the fundamental mechanism involved in addiction and mental illness. The role of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, in these disorders has been investigated extensively. Recently, an experimental trial was performed using a dopamine receptor antagonist, flupenthixol decanoate, in treating crack cocaine addicts with a poor prognosis. The drug appeared to reduce cocaine craving in the 10 subjects, the medication was well-tolerated, and these patients remained in therapy much longer than the average time expected. Other experimental trials have involved the use of a variety of drugs which affect brain receptors or transmitters. Idazoxan has shown promising preliminary results in the treatment of depression; and the antidepressant fluvoxamine may be helpful in treating Korsakoff's syndrome, an organic brain disorder that results from alcoholism. When alcoholics with Korsakoff's syndrome were treated with fluvoxamine, improvements in episodic memory were observed. Other drugs are being developed to treat alcohol withdrawal syndrome, and one medication has shown evidence of decreasing the occurrence and severity of the seizures that are characteristic of this syndrome. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Care and treatment, Physiological aspects, Alcoholism treatment, Drug abuse treatment, Drug abuse, Neurotransmitters

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From the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration

Article Abstract:

While scientists have suspected for many years that alcoholism is partially a result of genetic tendency, they have had much difficulty understanding the actual genetic mechanisms because of the complexity of the disease. It is hoped that recent discoveries will eventually enable the identification of persons at risk for alcoholism from even moderate alcohol consumption. An important recent advance has been the description of two different types of alcoholism. Type 1 alcoholism usually develops after age 25 in either men or women and results in relatively mild problems in social interactions. Type 2 alcoholism begins earlier, and is typically seen in sons of alcoholic fathers; these alcoholics often have a history of violent behavior whether drinking or not and are at higher risk for drug addiction. Along with the tendency towards alcoholism, specific personality traits may be inherited. Type 1 alcoholics are often highly motivated by reward and approval, avoid harmful situations, and are not drawn to new situations. In distinct contrast, type 2 alcoholics need little social approval and seek novel situations. Sons of alcoholics can be distinguished from controls by their physiology. Boys at risk for alcoholism who had never consumed alcohol showed differences in brain activity when compared with boys from families with no history of alcoholism. Research into the physiology of alcoholism suggests that certain impulsive and violent behaviors may be associated with abnormalities of serotonin metabolism; serotonin is a neurotransmitter involved in sleep and sensory perception. A study is underway on the genetics of alcoholism in 800 families; alcoholism will be traced through the family tree and the genetic material of individuals will be analyzed to identify markers for inheritance of alcoholism. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, Substance abuse, Genetic disorders

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Alcoholics' kin don't like diazepam

Article Abstract:

Men with first-degree relatives who were alcoholics were no more likely to choose diazepam over a placebo than men whose relatives were not alcoholics.

Usage, Family, Alcoholics, Diazepam

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