Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/alcohol/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Wed, 14 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107286.php A new study of homeless youth suggests that treating substance abuse and mental health problems may not be enough to help get teens off the streets.Instead, researchers found that creating more opportunities for work, education and medical care were the most important factors in reducing homelessness. Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107166.php Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found a series of markers that indicate which patients are more likely to survive cancers of the base of the tongue and tonsils.Most notably, they found that cancers linked to HPV, or human papillomavirus, are the most responsive to current chemotherapy and radiation treatments, while tumors that express high levels of a certain growth factor receptor are the least responsive and most deadly. Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107270.php Long-term harmful effects of marijuana (MJ) include risk for heart attacks and strokes in addition to impaired learning and memory. The active chemical in MJ called delta-9-tetrahyrdocannabinol (THC) is believed to exert these effects by binding to cannabinoid (CB) receptors located on several cell types in various organs. Scientists have found CB receptors in many organs including the brain, heart, liver, kidney, and spleen. Tue, 13 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107205.php Access to treatment for alcohol dependence (AD) in rural and remote areas is limited. This study evaluated the effectiveness of two pharmacotherapies for AD - naltrexone alone, and in combination with sertraline - among Alaska Natives (ANs) and other Alaskans living in rural settings. Findings indicate that naltrexone is just as effective on its own as it is in combination with sertraline. Tue, 13 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107203.php Women and men tend to have different types of stress-related psychological disorders. Women have greater rates of depression and some types of anxiety disorders than men, while men have greater rates of alcohol-use disorders than women. A new study of emotional and alcohol-craving responses to stress has found that when men become upset, they are more likely than women to want alcohol. Tue, 13 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107214.php People are being urged to think before they drink as part of a research project aimed at changing people's binge drinking habits.A team of health psychologists at The University of Nottingham plan to discover whether using the workplace to supply information on the health effects of binge drinking and asking employees for a small commitment to reducing the amount they drink in a single session could change people's binge drinking behaviour in the long term. Tue, 13 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107207.php While many people believe that alcohol-impaired (AI) drivers are usually alcoholics, in fact, 80 percent of AI incidents are caused by binge drinkers. A recent study conducted among college students has found that binge drinkers, even when legally intoxicated, nonetheless believe they have adequate driving abilities.Results will be published in the July issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at OnlineEarly. Mon, 12 May 2008 11:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107122.php A new White House report says that many American teenagers who are depressed and use marijuana to alleviate their condition are more likely to make it worse and even risk developing more serious mental health problems such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and even suicide. Mon, 12 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107028.php As controversy swirls about proper clinical use of opioids and other potent pain medications, research reported at the American Pain Society annual meeting shows that, contrary to widespread beliefs, less than 3 percent of patients with no history of drug abuse who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain will show signs of possible drug abuse or dependence. Mon, 12 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106964.php The government's decision to upgrade the legal status of cannabis to a Class B drug was welcomed as a victory for common sense by Unite/Mental Health Nurses Association. Unite/MHNA Chair, Andy Lauder said: "It has been proved time and time again by well-respected medical studies that there are strong links between significant cannabis use and those suffering from mental health problems, or have a disposition to mental illness. Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106951.php The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, the Honourable Chuck Strahl Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced federal funding of $30.5 million over five years, under the National Anti-Drug Strategy, to bolster services across Canada that will help First Nations and Inuit who suffer from drug addictions. Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106933.php Teenagers and young adults across Europe drink and take drugs as part of deliberate sexual strategies. Findings published in BioMed Central's open access journal, BMC Public Health, reveal that a third of 16-35 year old males and a quarter of females surveyed are drinking alcohol to increase their chances of sex, while cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis are intentionally used to enhance sexual arousal or prolong sex. Thu, 08 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106759.php Healthcare watchdogs are calling for a continued drive to improve drug addiction treatment, to ensure services are delivered consistently across the country. A report released today by the Healthcare Commission and the National Treatment Agency (NTA), shows results from the second of three annual reviews to assess the performance of substance misuse treatment services. Thu, 08 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106734.php Mental health charity Rethink has today expressed its disappointment at the government's decision to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug. Paul Corry, director of public affairs, says: "The government has made a mistake by choosing to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug. This decision goes against all the evidence. Wed, 07 May 2008 11:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106666.php Scientists in the US studying alcohol behaviour in rats have discovered a link between early drinking patterns during adolescence and a tendency toward heavy drinking in adulthood. They found this was a separate predictor to novelty seeking, anxiety and stress, which are also thought to contribute to vulnerability in teenagers who start drinking.The study is the work of Dr Nicole L. Wed, 07 May 2008 11:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106489.php Russia should increase efforts to address HIV/AIDS among injection drug users to slow the spread of the disease, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said on Saturday during a conference on HIV/AIDS in the former Soviet Union, Wed, 07 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106492.php Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) on Monday issued an opinion saying that three advocates involved in an effort to launch a needle-exchange program in Bexar County, Texas, "appear to be subject to prosecution" for possession of drug paraphernalia, the Austin American-Statesman reports (MacLaggan, Austin American-Statesman, 5/6). Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106585.php Gambling activity is widespread among U.S. adolescents and young adults ages 14 through 21, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA). Results of the first national survey of its kind show problem gambling -- described as gambling with three or more negative consequences (for example, gambling more than you intended or stealing money to gamble) in the past year -- occurring at a rate of 2. Tue, 06 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106467.php * A new Australian study examines the relationship between alcohol-outlet density and violence over time.* All three types of outlets examined - hotel pubs, bars and packaged-liquor outlets - had positive relationships with assault rates.* Hotel pubs and bars were the biggest drivers of violence in inner-city areas, while packaged-liquor outlets were more important in suburban areas. Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106433.php Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have shown a connection between early drinking patterns and a tendency to be a heavy drinker in adulthood, in a study of adolescent rats."Drinking patterns in adolescents may be set after only a few exposures to alcohol," said Nicole L. Schramm-Sapyta, research associate in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University School of Medicine. Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106414.php * The search for genes associated with alcohol dependence (AD) has recently been extended to the tachykinin receptor 3 gene (TACR3), located within a broad region on chromosome 4q. * Researchers have found that seven of the nine single nucleotide polymorphisms - DNA sequence variations - in the 3' region of TACR3 have a significant association with AD as well as cocaine dependence. Tue, 06 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106412.php A 2001/2002 report by the World Health Organization found that, among young people in western countries who began drinking before 16 years of age, the average age of initiation was 12 years of age. A new twins study from the Netherlands has found that genetic factors appear to be involved in the early initiation of alcohol use, while common environmental factors become involved once alcohol use has begun. Mon, 05 May 2008 10:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106209.php The Times of Central Asia on Friday examined the state of HIV/AIDS, and the stigma and discrimination associated with the disease in Tajikistan. Recent data indicate that the number of officially recorded HIV cases in the country increased eightfold from 2001 to 2007. There were 339 new recorded HIV cases last year, bringing the total number of confirmed HIV cases to more than 1,000. Mon, 05 May 2008 09:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106208.php Health officials in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday at a public health conference said the city will establish four new methadone clinics in an effort to control the spread of HIV/AIDS, the Shanghai Daily reports. Mon, 05 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106205.php Canadian government officials committed a "serious breach of international scientific standards" by intervening in an independent scientific review of the supervised drug-injection facility Insite in Vancouver, British Columbia, according to an article recently published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, Toronto's