News Release

May 30, 2007

Government enhances access to FASD programs and services

$4 million boost will help improve quality of life for Albertans affected by FASD

Edmonton... The Alberta government is investing an additional $4 million this year to improve the lives of Albertans affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a leading cause of preventable birth defects caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol.

The new funding will be used to establish seven Alberta FASD Service Networks, responsible for providing Albertans affected by FASD with access to:

• Targeted prevention programs, based on a mentorship and outreach model, for women and families most at-risk of having children affected by FASD.
• FASD diagnostic and assessment services by a multidisciplinary team.
• Advocacy and support, across the lifespan, for those affected by FASD and their caregivers.

. . . . . .
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Personality at Ages 16 and 17 and Drinking Problems at Ages 18 and 25: Genetic Analyses of Data from FinnTwin 16–25

Twin Research and Human Genetics
Volume: 10 | Issue: 1 February 2007 : 25-32





We enrolled more than 3500 same-sex twins from 5 consecutive Finnish birth cohorts into a longitudinal study as each cohort reached age 16.

We estimated genetic and environmental influences on the stability of alcohol problems across development and the genetic and environmental contributions to predictive correlations between adolescent personality and later alcohol-related behavior problems.

Our analyses suggest that developmental changes underlying variation in alcohol problems from late adolescence to early adulthood differ for males and females.

In males, the main change is decreased variation due to shared environmental effects; the magnitude of genetic effects is stable over time, and the high genetic correlation, .95, suggests that the same genetic influences are important at both ages.

Among females, in contrast, genetic influences decline in magnitude from age 18 to 25, and at least part of the genetic effect evident at age 25 differs from the genetic effect evident at age 18.

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Reprint Request E-mail: rose@indiana.edu
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Changing Environmental Influences on Substance Use Across Development

Twin Research and Human Genetics
Volume: 10 | Issue: 2 April 2007: 315-326





Twin studies also have demonstrated that the importance of genetic and environmental influences varies across development for a variety of behavioral outcomes, including substance use.

Here, we report analyses exploring moderating effects associated with parenting and peer characteristics on adolescent smoking and drinking, measured at ages 14 and 17.

We find significant evidence of moderating effects associated with two dimensions of parenting (parental monitoring and time spent in activities with parents) on adolescent smoking, measured at two time points across development, but no moderating effects on adolescent drinking.

Genetic influences on smoking increased, and common environmental effects decreased, as adolescents reported less parental monitoring and spending more time with their parents. Conversely, we find evidence that adolescent drinking is more strongly influenced by peer characteristics. The importance of genetic predispositions was increased among adolescents who reported more friends who used alcohol.

These analyses illustrate the importance of incorporating measured aspects of the environment into genetically informative twin models to begin to understand how specific environments are related to various outcomes.

Furthermore, they illustrate the importance of using a developmental perspective to understand how specific influences may vary across different ages, and across different phenotypes.

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Reprint Request E-mail: dickd@wustl.edu

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Press Release

Alcohol Support Ltd - End of Befrienders Service

Alcohol Support Ltd regrets to announce that due to a lack of secure long term funding, it is being forced to close its Bon Accord Befrienders Service (BABS). The service set up in 2003 was one of the first befriending schemes of its kind in the North East of Scotland. The service is aimed at adults experiencing an alcohol problem which has led to them becoming isolated from the wider community. Trained volunteer befrienders are "matched" with clients with alcohol problems. The befrienders meet the clients on a regular basis to provide a "listening ear" or company on a social outing. BABS has supported over 120 clients.

However, due to the continual struggle to attract long term funding, Alcohol Support Ltd can no longer sustain the Bon Accord Befrienders Service. It will be wound up at the beginning of July.

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Source: Daily Dose
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News Release:
NIDA ANNOUNCES NEW TOOLS FOR DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT

For Release May 31, 2007

Blending Team Initiative Shortens Time from Research to Clinical Practice

Two new products designed to speed the adoption of science-based interventions into clinical practice are now available from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These new "Blending Team" products are part of an expanding portfolio that includes the latest research findings on drug abuse approaches and interventions.  Blending Teams are composed of NIDA researchers, community-based substance abuse treatment practitioners, and trainers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network.  In addition to the Blending Teams, NIDA sponsors a number of Blending conferences which are held periodically around the country to facilitate communication between researchers and treatment providers.

The two new Blending Team products are: 

-- "Motivational Interviewing Assessment: Supervisory Tools for Enhancing Proficiency" (MIA:STEP), 

-- "Promoting Awareness of Motivational Incentives" (PAMI).  

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National Conference on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): Evidence-Based Strategies to Support Individuals, Families, and Communities Affected by FASD

April 3 - 4, 2008:
This two-day national conference will offer keynote addresses, breakout sessions, poster presentations, and exhibits sharing state-of-the-art information and strategies for providers, families, and communities affected by FASD. Space is limited.

Attention: we will accept abstract submissions for workshop sessions or poster presentations. To be considered, requests must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, October 1, 2007. You may now submit an abstract online.

View: pre-registration information
View: abstract submission instructions
View: downloadable abstract submission form

Contributor: Peggy Seo Oba
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June 2007 vol. 8 issue 6 Alcohol Use during Pregnancy Leads to Greater Risk of Extreme Preterm Delivery The Appetite-Regulating Peptide Leptin Influences Alcohol Craving for some Alcoholics Binge Drinking Leads to Neurocognitive Deficits among College Students Both Alcohol & Neighborhood Characteristics can affect Intimate Partner Violence Department of Justice: Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention's 2007 Substance Abuse Prevention & Intervention Programs NIH: The Role of Mitochondria in Alcohol-Induced Tissue Injury NSDUH Report: Depression & the Initiation of Alcohol & Other Drug Use among Youths Aged 12 to 17 NIDA InfoFacts: El abuso de drogas y su conexión con el VIH/SIDA y otras enfermedades infecciosas SAMHSA Launches New Web Page for Veterans & Their Families NIDA Webcast: Drug Abuse & Risky Behaviors: The Evolving Dynamics of HIV/AIDS Join SAMHSA's eNetwork National HIV Testing Day - June 27th UCSD CCARTA 36th Annual Summer Clinical Institute - July 21st-August 2nd American Psychological Association's 115th Annual Convention - August 17th-20th Online/Correspondence Course: Simply Being: The Appropriate Use of Self In The Therapeutic Relationship With Addicted Adults Online/Correspondence Course: Conducting Group Therapy to Enhance Well-Being Faces & Voices of Recovery - May 18, 2007 NIATx eNews Update - May 2007 Northwest Frontier ATTC Addiction Messenger - Improving Agency Processes - Part 1: Putting the Client First (PDF) SAMHSA News: Social Security Benefits: Outreach, Access & Recovery - Vol. 15, No. 2 National Daily News from Join Together SAMHSA's eNetwork College Drinking: Changing the Culture __________________________________________________

Russian alcohol policy in the making

Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access published online on May 30, 2007







This paper examines implementation of the 2005 federal alcohol control law in the Russian Federation.

Consumption of alcoholic beverages, especially spirits, has been one the most significant public health problems in Russia for many centuries. Prior attempts to control alcohol consumption have been unsuccessful, in part due to the government's reliance on alcohol revenue, and its inability to implement creative and manageable solutions in the light of the high drinking rates.

Implementation of this legislation has been a challenge in Russia because of administrative oversight, lack of organizational preparation, and corruption.

The law discussed in this paper presented a window of opportunity to ameliorate the deteriorating health status and reverse the impending mortality crisis. However, a number of barriers presnted substantial setbacks toward realization of this legislation.

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Reprint Request E-mail: levintovam@mail.nih.gov
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Heredity and Alcoholism in the Medical Sphere: The Netherlands, 1850–1900
Med Hist. 2007 April 1; 51(2): 219–236.

. . . . . .
Alcoholism provides an exemplary case study of the dynamics of medical hereditarianism, since it was considered to be an important cause and consequence of degeneration, resulting in mental disease. As Gianna Pomata has written, “It is significant that most of the 19th century doctors' interest in hereditary diseases shifted from gout, the patrician malady, to insanity—a disease considered to be endemic at the other end of the social ladder.” We therefore wish to focus on the questions of how, to what extent, and why knowledge of inheritance was anchored in medical concepts and practices around alcoholism.

The case study centres on the roles played by notions of heredity in Dutch medicine, by analysing discourses on prevention and treatment of alcoholism and alcohol abuse in the Dutch medical literature.
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eNewsletter: May 31, 2007

Denver, Colorado Message and Media Training Register today for Faces & Voices' training on June 22nd and 23rd sponsored with Advocates for Recovery. Scholarships available. Learn more... Organizing Rally for Recovery! and Recovery Month 2007 Faces & Voices is working with recovery community organizations across the country organizing September 15th Rally for Recovery! events during National Recovery Month observances. New tools including How to Organize a Recovery Walk; How to Organize a Town Hall meeting; How to Organize a Sports Event and How to Organize a State Level Civic Engagement Campaign are available on our web site. Would you like to share your recovery story for the 2008 observances? Email us. Participate in Memorial Day Insurance Equity Action! There are still a few more days left in the Memorial Day Congressional recess. Take one of four actions in our Memorial Day Insurance Equity Action campaign and bring fairness and equality to insurance coverage for addiction. Learn more… Resources The Summer 2007 issue of Recovery Solutions Magazine includes our interview with Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) Executive Director Phillip Valentine and Faces & Voices’ messaging about long-term recovery. The Great Lakes Addiction Technology Transfer Center has released interviews on how states and cities are developing recovery-oriented systems of care in their jurisdictions. Read interviews with Tom Kirk and Arthur Evans. Bill White conducted these interviews that will be published as part of a monograph in June 2007. The Drug Policy Alliance has announced a $1.2 million Promoting Policy Change grant program, with a June 18, 2007 deadline for organizations working to educate the public and policymakers about the negative consequences of current local, state or national drug policies and promoting better awareness and understanding of alternatives to current drug policies. _________________________________________________________________________________________

	Thursday, May 31, 2007

SAMHSA's Road to Recovery Update The Road to Recovery Update keeps you informed about activities leading up to National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month (Recovery Month) in September. Feel free to forward this information to friends and colleagues, include it in newsletters or listservs, or link to it from your Web site. 2007 PSAs Now Available! The 2007 Road to Recovery radio and television PSAs are now available in both English and Spanish versions. Click here to view! Ask the Expert Get answers to your questions about the topics covered in the latest Road to Recovery Webcast, "The Financial and Medical Benefits of Treatment for Health Care Providers and Insurers". Submit your questions using our anonymous online form, and answers from our expert will be posted in early July. Visit Ask the Expert before June 22 to submit questions for this month's expert: Ellen Gerrity, Ph.D., Associate Director, UCLA-Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress Ellen Gerrity, Ph.D. Ellen Gerrity, Ph.D., is the Associate Director of the UCLA-Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, serving on the Executive Committee and as Senior Policy Advisor. Dr. Gerrity is also on the faculty of the Duke University Department of Psychiatry and the Duke University Sanford Institute of Policy Studies. From 1998-2002, she served as the Senior Mental Health Policy Advisor for Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota) in the areas of mental health and addiction legislation. Dr. Gerrity, a licensed psychologist, served as the Associate Director for Aggression and Trauma Research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), heading the violence and traumatic stress research program at NIMH for several years. For more information about Ellen Gerrity, Ph.D. visit: http://www.recoverymonth.gov/2007/multimedia/bio.aspx?ExpertID=4. Next Webcast Wednesday, June 6: "The Financial and Medical Benefits of Treatment for Health Care Providers and Insurers" There are many avenues for providing and paying for health care in the United States, from the government-funded Medicare and Medicaid programs to privately handled managed care systems such as HMOs and PPOs, among others. Join Ivette Torres, Associate Director for Consumer Affairs, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a panel of experts to examine the insurance and health care benefits and options for individuals seeking treatment or individuals already in recovery from addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. In addition, the show will examine the cost benefits to health care providers and insurers of investing in treatment for substance abuse and mental health disorders, and will provide tips for screening, diagnosing, treating, or referring a patient with a substance use disorder. About Recovery Month National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, celebrating 18 years of observance in 2007, is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). For more information about Recovery Month, visit www.recoverymonth.gov.

Recovery Updates as of 05/31/07 Events: 96 Proclamations: 7 Voices for Recovery: 14 Subscribe/ Unsubscribe If you wish to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Road to Recovery Update, visit Recovery Month Sign up page. E-mail this page

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CNR1 Variation Modulates Risk for Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Biological Psychiatry
Article in Press, On-line 23 May 2007

Human cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), which is encoded by the CNR1 gene, may play a role in the development of substance dependence (SD). Following initial reports of association of CNR1 with SD, we studied multiple markers at this locus in a large case–control sample.

In EAs, risk for each SD subtype significantly increased with the number of “G” alleles at rs6454674 (single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNP]3). SNP3^G⁺ (the genotypes containing a G allele) and SNP8^T/T genotypes had significant interaction effects (p = .0003 for comorbid DD and AD, .0002 for DD, and .007 for AD). SNP3 and SNP8 together exerted stronger genetic effects on SD than either did individually. The peak δ values among all the markers were seen for SNP3 and SNP8 (rs806368).

We demonstrate that CNR1 variation and interactive effects play important roles in risk for both DD and AD.

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Reprint Request E-mail: joel.gelernter@yale.edu

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Psychometrics of the Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC)
Addictive Behaviors
Volume 32, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 1699-1704


The Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC) was developed for Project MATCH to assess the consequences of drinking in five domains.

The present study, using baseline data from the 1382 participants involved in the COMBINE Study, analyzed the psychometrics of the 50-item DrInC and its shorter form, the 15-item SIP.

Findings indicate the DrInC is reliable, valid, and clinically useful and that DrInC subscales are internally consistent and non-redundant.

In an examination of the shorter version of the DrInC, findings suggest that the SIP is suitable when assessing the overall level of drinking-related consequences.


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Reprint Request E-mail: AForcehimes@comcast.net
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Participation in specific treatment components predicts alcohol-specific and general coping skills
Addictive Behaviors
Volume 32, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 1669-1680



This study identified which aspects of substance abuse treatment in community residential facilities (CRFs) were correlated with patients' post-treatment coping.

As expected, higher levels of general approach coping and alcohol-specific coping and lower levels of general avoidance coping were associated with less 1-year alcohol and drug use and fewer drinking problems.

Patients' greater level of participation in life skills counseling predicted more approach coping at 1 year. In addition, positive social relationships and participation in 12-step self-help groups predicted less general avoidance coping and more alcohol-specific coping at 1 year post-treatment.

Life skills training, 12-step self-help groups, and enhancement of supportive relationships during CRF treatment for substance abuse are related to healthy coping.

Future research should examine the effect of these components in less intensive programs and with women.

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Reprint Request E-mail: kelly.forys@us.army.mil
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A comparison of craving and emotional states between pathological gamblers and alcoholics

Addictive Behaviors
Volume 32, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 1555-1564


Fifty pathological gamblers and 42 alcohol dependent subjects were compared regarding craving, emotional states and social functioning.

Regression models showed that craving for gambling and alcohol have a significant correlation with emotional states. Craving for gambling was inversely correlated with positive affect and craving for alcohol was directly correlated with negative affect. Gambling craving was more dependent upon external factors and related to an unpleasant dearousing state, while alcohol craving was associated with an unpleasant arousing state.

These findings point to the key role of emotional deregulation on gambling and alcohol cravings following early abstinence.

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Reprint Request E-mail: vpecanha@mednet.ucla.edu
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Estimates of prenatal abstinence from alcohol: A matter of perspective
Addictive Behaviors
Volume 32, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 1593-1601




Abstinence from alcohol has been recommended for both pregnant and pre-conceptional women.

The purpose of this study is to compare self and partner reports of abstinence from alcohol in a sample of 253 pregnant women who were T-ACE (Tolerance, Annoy, Cut-down, Eye-opener) alcohol screen positive.

Based on their own self-report, less than 20% of the pregnant women were abstinent in their first trimester and about half were abstinent for the rest of their pregnancy. Partners significantly over-estimated the women's abstinence from alcohol at all points except in the post-partum period when the dyad had the highest rate of agreement (85.4%).

Reasons for the discrepancies in the self and partner reports of prenatal abstinence, and how partners might influence such behavior remain speculative, but identify areas for future research and prevention.

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Reprint Request E-mail: Gchang@partners.org
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