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Treatment & Detox Guide
Alcoholics often are experts at hiding it
At one point during her quarter-century as an alcoholic, Carol Colleran would down at least 10 beers each weeknight, more on weekends. Then she would show up the next morning at her job in hospital management, feeling fuzzy and lousy. But she would cheerfully wander the halls greeting people — “It felt a lot better….
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….
Ankle Bracelet Monitors Alcohol Intake
Think of it as a breathalyzer you wear. SCRAM is a relatively new piece of technology, designed to keep people sober. The device is being shown this week to a Nashville audience. A DUI could be enough to scare a driver sober, but one small device will make one stay that way. “Literally, if you….
Addiction Advances Haven’t Made AA Obsolete
Although they approach the challenge of addiction differently from scientists, 12-step programs still have a therapeutic role in helping human beings. Alcoholics Anonymous may have pioneered the concept of alcoholism as a disease, but will scientific research that proves the point eventually make AA obsolete? Studies that reveal brain and genetic links to addiction seem….
One-shot feedback session helps problem drinkers
A single brief intervention that gives problem drinkers personalized feedback can help reduce their alcohol use, new research from the Netherlands shows. Dr. Heleen Riper of the Trimbos Institute in Utrecht and her colleagues looked at 14 studies of such interventions, including a total of 3,682 people. For every eight people who participated, they found,….