• Much of the human body, including the brain, is composed of water
• Sophisticated technology called Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is sensitive to water in the body
• Using DTI in a new way, researchers can track water molecules in the brain to examine alcohol’s damaging…

• Numerous studies have shown a link between job stress, job strain and health outcomes
• In general, bus drivers have poorer health than workers in other occupations
• Recent findings show that some bus drivers use after-hours alcohol to cope with work-related stress
…

• Children of alcoholics may be at risk for lower intellectual, cognitive and academic performance
• Children of alcoholics with a co-existing antisocial personality disorder may be at even greater risk
• Parental cognitive abilities and educational attainment may also…

• Alcohol-related deaths can be classified as "natural" (disease-related) or "unnatural" (event-related)
• Nearly 29 percent of all unnatural deaths in Sweden during a five-year period were found to be associated with alcohol
• Study authors estimated that as much as 44…

<UL>
<LI>A previous study found a possible 10-year &quot;threshold&quot; to brain-damaging drinking</LI>
<LI>A more recent study has found that no such &quot;threshold&quot; exists</LI>
<LI>Short-term alcoholics demonstrated…

• Alcohol availability seems to affect "neighborhood culture"
• A recent study found that where someone lives determines 15-16 percent of their attitudes toward drinking and 11 percent of their individual consumption
• "Wetter" neighborhoods have higher levels of drinking,…

• A tiny protein called metallothionein (MT) may protect against alcohol’s neurotoxic effects
• The brain can make more of these proteins in response to alcohol consumption
• One of an individual’s different responses to alcohol may be related to his or her MT levels
…

• Heavy alcohol consumption can cause biochemical changes in the body
• Testing for specific biochemical markers is one way of establishing the likelihood of problem drinking
• Biochemical markers tend to be less sensitive for women than for men

In addition to…

• Alcoholism is known to compromise the immune system
• African-American alcoholics are at greater risk for certain infectious diseases
• African-American ethnicity, in conjunction with alcoholism, seems to signify a more compromised immune system
• These immune…

• Alcoholics have reduced levels of serotonin, a brain chemical
• Alcohol increases serotonin levels, as do carbohydrates
• Those alcoholics with high cravings for carbohydrates have a unique response to specific diets
• Carbohydrate craving may be an important clue in…