Skip to main content
- 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
…
- In 1994, the Food and Drug Administration approved naltrexone for the treatment of alcoholism
- It has since proven to be highly effective for many in recovery, but it does not work for everyone
- A recent study has found that individual metabolism may be a factor in…
- Excessive alcohol consumption clearly has a deleterious effect on brain structure and function
- Gait and balance, followed by visuospatial abilities, show the greatest alcohol-related deficits
- Two principal neural systems, the cerebellar-frontal and the corticocortical…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- Adolescence is a time when many begin experimenting with alcohol
- Some adolescents binge drink, that is, drink heavily during a short period of time
- Adolescent brains may be particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol
- Binge drinking during…
- Most health campaigns recommend abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy
- Some women nonetheless continue to drink at relatively high levels while pregnant
- This study examines two groups considered most at-risk: American Indians and African Americans
- …
- The brain is a critical organ system through which alcohol’s effects can lead to intoxication, tolerance and dependence
- Scientists have found a new means to measure directly alcohol concentrations throughout the brain
- The technology is called proton (1H)…
- The first step in the metabolism of alcohol is its conversion to acetaldehyde (AcHO)
- AcHO is a highly reactive and toxic chemical that can damage the cells of all living things
- In adults, AcHO is blocked from entering the brain
- The prenatal brain may metabolize…
