- Scientists say they have found a way to stop an alcoholic's craving for drink. A team from Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute discovered blocking the action of the brain's orexin system can also prevent someone relapsing. Team members say their work could lead to the development of drugs which could act as orexin blockers.
Orexin cells are in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The chemical is involved in the "high" felt after drinking alcohol or taking illicit drugs. In rat studies, a team led by Dr Andrew Lawrence created a compound which was seen to block the "euphoric" effects of orexin.
In one experiment, rats that had alcohol freely available to them stopped drinking it after receiving the orexin blocker. In a second, rats that had gone through a detox programme and were then given the orexin blocking drug did not show any interest in alcohol when they were re-exposed to the kind of environment which they had been conditioned to associate with alcohol use. BBC News
- Addiction experts at MUSC say the link between oral cancer and heavy drinking makes dentists ideal sources of alcohol intervention. The study that appeared in the December 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) also finds that most patients don't mind discussing alcohol use with their dentist. Stayhealthynews.com
- Ever more doctors believe that a diet of fish, high-cholesterol food and vitamins is the best cure for alcoholism. Dr James Braly, the author of Nutrition Revolution and Dangerous Grains, belongs to a growing band of alternative practitioners who believe that nutrition and alcoholism are intrinsically linked.
In Braly’s addiction recovery centre, Bridging the Gaps, based in Winchester, Virginia, the emphasis is placed squarely on diet rather than drugs. “Patients are first hooked up to an IV [intravenous drip] for ten days and fed high levels of fish oils (3 and 6), vitamins B and C, calcium, magnesium and zinc because their gastrointestinal systems have been grossly compromised by their habit,” he says.
“This is followed with a wholefood diet (including four to six servings of fish a day, as well as high-cholesterol foods such as eggs), exercise and therapy. The combination has meant that 85 per cent of my patients do not succumb to a relapse. Coffee is also forbidden because it raises cortisol levels, reduces dopamine and leads to cravings of carbohydrates and sugar.” Times Online
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