Recovery Rabbis

We are a network of Chabad Rabbis who are servicing Jewish recovering addicts, by creating Jewish Recovery Communities and serving as Recovery Rabbis.Recovery Rabbis are always available to listen, counsel and support

Recovery Rabbis are dedicated to their respective local Jewish Recovery Community, some full time, some part time. They facilitate Jewish recovery meetings, organize sober social and educational events, and help recovering addict merge their Judaism with their recovery. Recovery Rabbis are always available to listen, counsel and support during times of personal crisis and are always there when an addict simply needs to share. > > > > Read More

.Prostate Cancer Linked to Heavy Alcohol Intake

Heavy ethanol intake is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer (PCa) among low-risk men with at least one prior negative prostate biopsy, investigators reported here at the annual Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. It also is associated with an elevated risk for high-grade PCa.

The findings emerged from a study of data from 6,729 men who had at least one on-study bipsy while participating in the REDUCE (Reduction by Dutasteride of Prostate Cancer Events) trial. Of these, 49% were moderate drinkers and 26% were heavy drinkers.

The researchers, led by Lionel L. Bañez, MD, of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., found that as ethanol intake increased, so did the risk for PCa overall and for high-grade disease. Dutasteride decreased overall PCa risk significantly by 27% and ethanol intake did not interfere with the risk-reducing effect of dutasteride.

Compared with non-drinkers, heavy drinkers had a 21% greater risk of PCa overall and a 34% greater risk of high-grade PCa (Gleason score of 7 or higher). > > > > Read More

News Release - Alcohol Strategy – political will key to turning ‘blueprint for change’ into plan of action

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national charity for alcohol-related issues, today welcomed the new National Substance Misuse Strategy saying it provided a blueprint for change and marked an opportunity to have a different relationship with alcohol. > > > > Read More

Tobacco and Substances Event Tobacco and substances event Smoking cessation and addictions services: working together to support the need

Friday 30 March 2012, 10am to 4pm

Salvation Army, 429 - 431 Gorgie Road, Edinburgh EH11 2RT

A conference for those working in and supporting smoking cessation and addictions services to share good practice, debate some of the key challenges and explore possible solutions to reduce smoking and substance misuse in Scotland.

As substance misuse is often accompanied by higher levels of smoking than in the general population, more support and encouragement is needed to help those also being damaged by their nicotine addiction. > > > > Read More

APYN publishes the Impact of Marketing on Youth Report

APYN with the help of the Institute of Alcohol Studies established a group of APYN Youth researchers who designed and implemented this project, using the network of youth member organisations to recruit participants.

Youth researchers primarily aimed to document youth perceptions of alcohol marketing in Europe. The secondary aim was to document and describe the volume and types of alcohol marketing that young people in Europe are exposed to in their daily lives. The research project consisted of two parts: an online survey and a mapping exercise.

1095 respondents from 41 countries (age ranging from 14 to more than 40) participated in an online survey about their perceptions of alcohol marketing and 23 participants from 11 countries participated in a pilot mapping exercise that documented the prevalence of alcohol marketing practices in their daily lives.

Respondents who had their first drink under the age of 15 years were far more likely to report heavy episodic drinking levels throughout their lifetime. The survey results showed that respondents have felt perceived more by other things (like taste, price and special offers) than advertisements when buying alcohol. However, the majority of respondents agreed that alcohol advertising influences youth perceptions of alcohol and should not be targeted at young people (74.5 % of respondents), and that alcohol advertisements should carry health warnings (77.4 % of respondents). Respondents agreed, that price and availability are very important when deciding whether and what kind of drinks to consume (eg, more than 65 % of respondents feel influenced to buy the drink then there is a special offer for it and more than 85% of respondents claimed they do take price into consideration when choosing alcoholic drink). This suggested, that one cannot objectively assess how much is he or she influenced by marketing in general. We all know that the influence of marketing is supposed to be unobvious. > > > > Read More

Request for Applications

SAMHSA's Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS) is pleased to announce the 2012 BRSS TACS Peer-Run Organization/Recovery Community Organization Awards.

To advance the goal of increasing the adoption of recovery supports, SAMHSA recognizes the importance of empowering peer-run organizations/ recovery community organizations to promote peer-delivered recovery supports and services. Peer-driven recovery supports help people become and stay engaged in the recovery process. Because they are designed and delivered by peers, they are grounded in experiential knowledge and promote a belief that recovery is possible for all people. > > > > Read More

NIAAA Director's Report on Institute Activities to the 129th Meeting of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - February 9, 20

Contents

A. Legislation, Budget, and Policy	E. Multi-Media Products
B. Director's Activities	F. News Media Interactions
C. NIAAA Staff and Organization	G.NIAAA Program Annoucement and Request for Applications Information
D. Press Releases	H. NIAAA Research Programs

Request for Information (RFI): Input into the Scientific Strategic Plan for the proposed National Institute of Substance Use and Addiction Disorders

Notice Number: NOT-OD-12-045

Key Dates
Release Date: February 8, 2012
Response Date: May 11, 2012

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Purpose

This Notice is a time-sensitive Request for Information (RFI) soliciting input into the Scientific Strategic Plan for the proposed new Institute with the working name of the National Institute of Substance Use and Addiction Disorders. This new Institute would result from the proposed reorganization of substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research at the NIH.

Background
In September 2010, the Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB), established pursuant to Sec. 401(e) of the PHS Act, recommended that NIH create a new Institute focused on substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research. After extensive discussions with experts from within and outside the NIH, the SMRB found that the current organization of substance use, abuse, and addiction research at the NIH is not optimal for fulfilling the agency’s mission or optimizing research in substance use, abuse, and addiction. The SMRB recommended that the NIH Director establish a new Institute focusing on addiction-related research and public health initiatives. The SMRB also recommended that the reorganization should encompass all addiction-related research within the NIH, not just the programs of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The SMRB recommended that NIDA and NIAAA be dissolved and that the non-addiction research activities within their portfolios be transferred to other NIH Institutes and Centers. The November 2010 report containing the full set of recommendations made by the SMRB can be found at: http://smrb.od.nih.gov/documents/announcements/SUAA_112010.pdf.

NIH has given careful consideration to the SMRB findings and agrees that the current organization of substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research at NIH does not optimally capitalize on existing and potential synergies that could be facilitated within a single Institute. Further, NIH agrees with the SMRB that such reorganization would better enable recognition and development of scientific opportunities in substance use, abuse, and addiction research, assist in meeting public health needs, and improve training opportunities for the next generation of investigators.

As such, NIH proposes to create a new Institute, with the working name of the National Institute of Substance Use and Addiction Disorders,” through inclusion in the President’s Budget for fiscal year 2014. A planning committee that includes scientific representatives from the potentially affected Institutes and Centers is developing a Scientific Strategic Plan for the proposed Institute with the primary goal of identifying new scientific opportunities that are not currently supported in the existing NIH research portfolios and public health initiatives on substance use, abuse, and addiction-related disorders. > > > > Read More

Structuring a College Alcohol Prevention Program on the Low Level of Response to Alcohol Model: A Pilot Study

New approaches are needed to bolster the modest effects of campus drinking prevention programs. However, more definitive research on new paradigms is very expensive, and in the current economic climate, progress can be made by evaluating smaller pilot studies. This study describes one such approach.

A sample of 18-year-old or older, healthy, drinking freshmen at our university was assigned to 2 groups stratified to be similar on demography, drinking histories, and their level of response (LR) to alcohol. In the spring quarter of the school year, the 32 subjects in each of 2 groups viewed four 45-minute Internet-based videotapes as part of 4 prevention sessions. All 8 modules were based on the same techniques and general content, but the 4 videos for the first group were structured around the validated model of how a low LR affects heavy drinking (the low level of response-based [LRB] Group), with partial mediation by heavier drinking peers, positive alcohol expectancies, and drinking to cope with stress. Videos for the state-of-the-art (SOTA) comparison group did not place the similar prevention messages into the low LR framework. Changes in drinking were evaluated at 3 times: before Module 1, before Module 4, and 1 month after Module 4.

Usual and maximum drinks per occasion decreased over time for both high and low LR subjects in both LRB and SOTA groups. As predicted, the low LR students showed greater decreases in the LRB Group, while high LR students showed greater decreases in the more generic SOTA Group.

The results support the hypothesis that tailoring prevention efforts to address specific predisposing factors, such as a low LR, may be associated with beneficial effects on drinking quantity. We hope that these data will encourage additional efforts to validate the low LR-based prevention paradigm and test other interventions that are targeted toward predisposing phenotypes such as impulsivity and negative affect.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: mschuckit@ucsd.edu

Borderline Personality Symptoms in Short-Term and Long-Term Abstinent Alcohol Dependence

Comorbidity of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and substance and alcohol use disorders (SUDs and AUDs) is very high. The literature suggests a negative synergy between BPD and SUDs, which may impact an individual's ability to achieve and maintain remission of either disorder in the face of the other.

We examined lifetime and current (past year) BPD symptom counts in 3 gender- and age-comparable groups: short-term abstinent alcoholics (STA, 6 to 15 weeks abstinent), long-term abstinent alcoholics (LTA, more than 18 months abstinent), and nonsubstance-abusing controls (NSAC). Abstinent individuals were recruited primarily from mutual-help recovery networks and about half had comorbid drug dependence. BPD symptoms were obtained using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis II Personality Disorders, followed up with questions regarding currency, but did not require that BPD symptoms represent persistent or pervasive behavior such as would meet criteria for BPD diagnosis. Thus, our study dealt only with BPD symptoms, not BPD diagnoses.

Alcoholics had more lifetime and current symptoms for most all BPD criteria than NSAC. In general, STA and LTA did not differ in BPD symptoms, except for a group-by-gender effect for both lifetime and current anger-associated symptoms and for lifetime abandonment avoidance symptoms. For these cases, there were much higher symptom counts for STA women versus men, with comparable symptom counts for LTA women versus men.

Our results suggest for the most part that BPD symptoms do not prevent the maintenance of recovery in AUD and SUD individuals who have established at least 6 weeks abstinence within the mutual-help recovery network—in fact the presence of BPD symptoms is the norm. However, we did find difficulty in establishing longer-term abstinence in women with anger-associated symptoms and abandonment avoidance symptoms.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: george@nbresearch.com

Ethanol Tolerance and Withdrawal Severity in High Drinking in the Dark Selectively Bred Mice

Mouse lines are being selectively bred in replicate for high blood ethanol concentrations (BECs) achieved after limited access of ethanol (EtOH) drinking early in the circadian dark phase. High Drinking in the Dark-1 (HDID-1) mice are in selected generation S21, and the replicate HDID-2 line in generation S14. Tolerance and withdrawal symptoms are 2 of the 7 diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence. Withdrawal severity has been found in mouse studies to be negatively genetically correlated with EtOH preference drinking.

To determine other traits genetically correlated with high DID, we compared naïve animals from both lines with the unselected, segregating progenitor stock, HS/Npt. Differences between HDID-1 and HS would imply commonality of genetic influences on DID and these traits.

Female HDID-1 and HDID-2 mice tended to develop less tolerance than HS to EtOH hypothermia after their third daily injection. A trend toward greater tolerance was seen in the HDID males. HDID-1, HDID-2, and control HS lines did not differ in the severity of acute or chronic withdrawal from EtOH as indexed by the handling-induced convulsion (HIC). Both HDID-1 and HDID-2 mice tended to have greater HIC scores than HS regardless of drug treatment.

These results show that tolerance to EtOH's hypothermic effects may share some common genetic control with reaching high BECs after DID, a finding consistent with other data regarding genetic contributions to EtOH responses. Withdrawal severity was not negatively genetically correlated with DID, unlike its correlation with preference drinking, underscoring the genetic differences between preference drinking and DID. HDID lines showed greater basal HIC scores than HS, suggestive of greater central nervous system excitability.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: crabbe@ohsu.edu

Neural Mechanisms of Risk Taking and Relationships with Hazardous Drinking

Impulsivity, particularly risk taking, is believed to play a significant role in alcohol use disorders (AUDs). While risk taking has been measured using questionnaires, recent performance-based tasks such as the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) have shown considerable promise in understanding risky decision-making processes in drinkers. While the number of studies using the BART has grown significantly over the past decade, the neural mechanisms that underlie risky choices on the BART have only begun to be explored. The current study was designed to assess both the neural mechanisms of risk taking on the BART and to explore relationships between risk taking and hazardous drinking.

Seventy-nine individuals with an AUD completed an fMRI compatible version of the BART that required pumping simulated air into risky or nonrisky balloons to earn points on each trial, and deciding when to terminate pumping to earn points accumulated. Hazardous drinking was assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT).

Comparison of risky and nonrisky decisions revealed differences in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), anterior insula, and striatum. Comparison of Cashout responses and Explosions revealed increased responses in lateral prefrontal cortex, insula, ACC, and middle temporal gyrus during Explosions and greater response in inferior parietal lobe and caudate during Cashouts. When examining relationships between hazardous drinking and neural measures of risk taking, we found significant negative relationships with insula, striatum, and dACC.

The current results suggest that risk taking is associated with increased response in the dACC and anterior insula, regions previously implicated in representing error likelihood and negative outcome magnitudes, respectively. In addition, hazardous drinking was associated with responses in the dACC, possibly suggesting a reduced ability to predict the likelihood of errors and to predict negative outcomes associated with risk taking.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: eclaus@mrn.org

In Vitro Evidence for Chronic Alcohol and High Glucose Mediated Increased Oxidative Stress and Hepatotoxicity

Hyperglycemia or alcoholism can lead to impaired liver functions. Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) is elevated in hyperglycemia or alcoholism and plays a critical role in generating oxidative stress in the cell.

In the present study, we have used VL-17A cells that overexpress the alcohol metabolizing enzymes [alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and CYP2E1] to investigate the toxicity due to ethanol (EtOH) plus high glucose. Toxicity was assessed through viability assay and amount of acetaldehyde adduct formation. Oxidative stress parameters included measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and malondialdehyde adduct formation. Apoptosis was determined through caspase-3 activity, Annexin V- Propidium iodide staining, and changes in mitochondrial membrane potential. The effects of antioxidants and specific inhibitors of ADH and CYP2E1 on cell viability and ROS levels were also studied.

When present together, EtOH plus high glucose-treated VL-17A cells exhibited greater oxidative stress and toxicity than other groups. Apoptosis was observed in liver cells treated with the toxins, and the EtOH plus high glucose-treated VL-17A cells exhibited apoptosis to the largest extent. A distinct and graded increase in CYP2E1 level occurred in the different groups of VL-17A cells. Further, antioxidants or inhibitors of ADH and CYP2E1 were effective in decreasing the observed oxidative stress and toxicity.

The combined oxidative insult due to alcohol plus high glucose leads to greater liver injury, which may prove to be a timely warning for the injurious effects of alcohol consumption in diabetics.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: aparajitabhu@rediffmail.com, aparajitadey21@gmail.com, aparajita@au-kbc.org

Possible Association Between OPRM1 Genetic Variance at the 118 Locus and Alcohol Dependence in a Large Treatment Sample: Relationship to Alcohol Depen

Several lines of evidence from previous research indicate that opioid receptors play an important role in ethanol reinforcement and alcohol dependence (AD) risk. Conflicting results were reported on the role of the mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1) polymorphism A118G (Asn40Asp, rs1799971) in the development of alcoholism.

We investigated a total number of 1,845 alcohol-dependent subjects recruited from inpatient facilities in Germany and 1,863 controls for the mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1) polymorphism using chi-square statistics.

An association between the OPRM variant and AD was detected (p = 0.022), in recessive (AA vs. GA/GG) and co-dominant (AA vs. GA) models of inheritance. An association between the OPRM variant and the DSM-IV criterion “efforts to cut down or could not” (p = 0.047) was found, but this did not remain significant after the correction for multiple testing.

The results indicate that this functional OPRM variant is associated with risk of AD and these findings apply to more severe AD, although the association is only nominally significant.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: gabi.koller@med.uni-muenchen.de

Adenosine and Glutamate Signaling in Neuron–Glial Interactions: Implications in Alcoholism and Sleep Disorders

Recent studies have demonstrated that the function of glia is not restricted to the support of neuronal function. Especially, astrocytes are essential for neuronal activity in the brain.

Astrocytes actively participate in synapse formation and brain information processing by releasing or uptaking gliotransmitters such as glutamate, d-serine, adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP), and adenosine. In the central nervous system, adenosine plays an important role in regulating neuronal activity as well as in controlling other neurotransmitter systems such as GABA, glutamate, and dopamine.

Ethanol (EtOH) increases extracellular adenosine levels, which regulates the ataxic and hypnotic/sedative (somnogenic) effects of EtOH.

Adenosine signaling is also involved in the homeostasis of major inhibitory/excitatory neurotransmission (i.e., GABA or glutamate) through neuron–glial interactions, which regulates the effect of EtOH and sleep.

Adenosine transporters or astrocytic SNARE-mediated transmitter release regulates extracellular or synaptic adenosine levels. Adenosine then exerts its function through several adenosine receptors and regulates glutamate levels in the brain.

This review presents novel findings on how neuron–glial interactions, particularly adenosinergic signaling and glutamate uptake activity involving glutamate transporter 1 (GLT1), are implicated in alcoholism and sleep disorders.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: choids@mayo.edu

Alcohol Misuse and Abuse Reported by Nurse Aides in Assisted Living

Alcohol misuse and abuse in Assisted Living (AL) as reported by nurse aides is examined. Data came from a secondary analysis of nurse aides included in the Pennsylvania nurse aide registry.

A total of 832 nurse aides had a prior place of employment in AL. Information reported from these nurse aides include the percent of residents identified as drinking alcohol, opinions of alcoholmisuse and abuse, and the prevalence of alcohol misuse and abuse.

Nurse aides believe a majority (69%) of AL residents drink alcohol. Of these residents, 34% are thought to drink alcohol daily. Estimated prevalence rates show that in 19% of cases nurse aides believe alcohol consumption has influenced residents’ health and 28% are suspected to make poor choices for alcohol consumption.

The findings present preliminary evidence that alcohol misuse and abuse may be a problem of importance in AL. Given the potential impact of this on the health, safety, and quality of life for elders, more attention should be focused on alcohol misuse and abuse by residents living in AL.



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Request Reprint E-Mail: castlen@pitt.edu

EC deny backing for Scotland's minimum alcohol price plan

A Scottish government claim that it had EU backing for plans to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol has been denied by the European Commission. > > > > Read More

News Release - Nearly half of all substance abuse treatment admissions involving college students were primarily for treating alcohol disorders

A new report shows that nearly half (46.6 percent) of all substance abuse treatment admissions involving college or other post secondary school students ages 18 to 24 were primarily related to alcohol disorders. The rate of primary alcohol-related treatment admissions is far higher among college students than for non-college students in the same age bracket (46.6 percent versus 30.6 percent) according to this new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). > > > > Read More

Minimum pricing of alcohol urged

Minimum pricing and an exclusion of industry lobbyists from education programmes must be key parts of the Government’s forthcoming alcohol strategy, a Tory MP has said.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, the Totnes MP, told a Westminster Hall debate in the Parliament that alcohol contributes to 22,000 deaths in Britain every year and costs the country £20 billion.

Public Health Minister Anne Milton pledged the Government’s strategy would ensure that authorities do everything possible to help tackle the problem of alcohol abuse, but to be effective every part of society would need to take part.

Elected in 2010 following a pioneering open primary in her Totnes seat, Dr Wollaston said action needed to be taken on pricing, marketing, education and labelling. People who already have a problem must be helped, she said. > > > > Read More

Correlates of Recovery from Alcohol Dependence: A Prospective Study Over a 3-Year Follow-Up Interval

Correlates of recovery from alcohol dependence have been identified through a variety of study designs characterized by different strengths and limitations. The goal of this study was to compare correlates of recovery based on a 3-year prospective design with those based on cross-sectional analyses of data from the same source.

Data from the 2001 to 2002 Wave 1 and 2004 to 2005 Wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) were used to examine baseline characteristics associated with Wave 2 recovery from alcohol dependence, among those who classified with past-year DSM-IV alcohol dependence at Wave 1 (n = 1,172).

Abstinent recovery was significantly associated with Black/Asian/Hispanic race/ethnicity, children <1 year of age in the household at baseline, attending religious services greater than or equal to weekly at follow-up, and having initiated help-seeking that comprised/included 12-step participation within <3 years prior to baseline. Nonabstinent recovery was positively associated with being never married at baseline, having job problems or being unemployed in the year preceding baseline, attending religious services less than weekly at follow-up, baseline smoking and volume of ethanol intake, and having terminated a first marriage within <3 years prior to baseline. Findings, including others of marginal significance (0.05 < p < 0.10), generally supported results from prior pseudo-prospective survival analyses with time-dependent covariates but differed in many ways from cross-sectional analyses of Wave 1 NESARC data.

Various aspects of study design must be considered when interpreting correlates of recovery. Cross-sectional analyses of lifetime correlates of recovery are highly subject to misinterpretation, but pseudo-prospective survival analyses with time-dependent covariates may yield results as valid as those from prospective studies.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: deborah.anne.dawson@gmail.com