A National Directory of Drug Treatment Centers and Alcohol Treatment Centers, Therapists and Specialists. A free, simple directory providing assistance and guidance for those seeking help regarding alcohol addiction, drug addiction, dependency and many other conditions that affect the mind, body and soul.
Call
888-647-0579
to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.
Who Answers?
Treating Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
The effects of fetal alcohol exposure may be more profound than researchers hoped. Results of a new study reveal the prenatal damage to peptides in the fetal brain may endure into adulthood despite environmental enrichment provided in a child’s early years.
Neurotrophins — a family of peptides produced in the nervous system — are critical for normal development of the brain. Research has shown prenatal alcohol exposure may be particularly destructive for neurotrophins, with effects lasting into adulthood.
“Neurotrophins also play important roles in learning and memory, and contribute to the repair of the brain following injury or stress,” study author Robert F. Berman, Ph.D., a professor in the department of neurological surgery at the University of California — Davis, was quoted as saying.
Dr. Berman said treatment of other types of brain injury with environmental enrichment therapy could be beneficial. However, new research in rats suggests the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure and environmental rearing conditions on neurotrophin levels are largely independent.
“In this study, we found that being raised in an enriched environment, with ample opportunities for motor and sensory stimulation, and social interactions, unexpectedly resulted in reduced levels of neurotrophins in some areas of the cortex, but not in other areas which are well known to be affected by prenatal alcohol exposure,” Dr. Berman said.
He went on to say additional research is needed to devise better treatment strategies for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
___________
SOURCE: To be published in the October 2008 edition of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
The Federal Trade Commission is suing a company that touted a phony cure for alcoholism, charging that it tricked hundreds of problem drinkers into paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for a service prescribing ineffective concoctions of natural supplements, and then threatened to reveal the drinkers’ alcohol problems if they canceled their memberships. Filed jointly….
The adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on behavioral, cognitive, and social development can lead to a range of symptoms referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Attention and cognition problems seen in individuals with a history of prenatal alcohol exposure often resemble those linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). An assessment of….
MY “LEGAL ecstasy party pills” arrive in small, white medicine containers, complete with recommended dosage and a safety seal. “Herbal supplements,” reads the package, but these drugs promise far more – guaranteeing to “add extra kick to your partying” by meddling with the body and mind. It’s a drug high, but one that “will not….
Many people suffer from both co-occurring chemical dependency disorders and behavioral health problems such as anxiety and depression. This condition is commonly known as dual diagnosis. What is worse is that it is more prevalent than many people realize. According to a study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly 53 percent….
Binge drinking more than triples a man’s risk of dying from a stroke. Researchers studied 6,291 Korean people aged 55 years or older to examine the association between binge drinking and risks of mortality due to all causes of death with a focus on cerebrovascular disease. It was noted that 59 percent of adults reported….
