We Restore Hope -

If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance. ~Andrea Boydston

New research at Idaho State University is looking for gender-specific differences in how alcohol affects the brain. Experiments on rats appear to show physiological stress responses are much higher in females.

Dan Selvage, an assistant professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences, is conducting a five-year study with a $1.1 million grant from the National Institute of Health.

Selvage said consistently high levels of stress hormones can mask the body’s natural feedback and create stress-related disorders. Eventually, Selvage said, the study could lead to gender-specific approaches to treatment for alcohol abuse.

“Females tend to suffer the ravages of alcoholism much more quickly than males. Part of that’s due to metabolism, but another part of that is thought to be that alcohol activates body stress responses a lot more in females.”

I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. ~Thomas Jefferson

A North Dakota woman accused of breastfeeding her 6-week-old baby while drunk has pleaded guilty to child neglect.

Stacy Anvarinia could face up to five years in prison when she is sentenced in August. She will not have to register as an offender against children. Police officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at Anvarinia’s home on April 13 this year. They saw a drunk Anvarinia breastfeeding her baby. Doctors say alcohol consumed by breastfeeding mothers is absorbed into a baby’s system and has health consequences.

It is believed to be the first case of its kind in North Dakota.

If you spend all your time worrying about dying, living isn’t going to be much fun. ~From the television show Roseanne

Nutrition is the science of diet and health. It is important for everyone. Unfortunately, substance abuse and poor nutrition often go together, with one exacerbating the other. The resultant dietary imbalances, particularly those related to vitamins, healthy fats, good carbs and proteins, wreak havoc on the general health of an addict. Poor nutritional health increases the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, among other medical problems. This is often accompanied by psychological and behavioral issues.

Addiction recovery is devoted to restoring the body and mind to a pre-addiction state of good health. Learning and applying aspects of good nutrition become critical in the recovery process and is key to improving the chances for success.

You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it. ~Robin Williams

Alcohol-related deaths, binge-drinking and drunk driving have all been on the rise on college campuses over the past ten years. The number of drinking-related accidental deaths among 18- to 24-year-old college students rose from 1,440 per 100,000 in 1998 to 1,825 per 100,000 in 2005, according to researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

During the same period, the proportion of students who reported recent binge-drinking rose from 42 percent to 45 percent, and the proportion who admitted to drinking and driving in the past year increased from 26 to 29 percent.

“The fact that we’re not making progress is very concerning,” said lead researcher Dr. Ralph Hingson, director of the NIAAA’s division of epidemiology and prevention research.

“The irony is that during this same time period, our knowledge of what works as far as intervention in this age group has increased. The knowledge isn’t yet being put into place.”
The success of projects funded by the NIAAA’S Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems Initiative – which in 2004 and 2005, selected 15 universities with serious alcohol problems to work with the agency and other experts in developing prevention programs. Schools tested a number of programs, ranging from the individual level like counseling to community efforts that involved law enforcement and residents of neighborhoods surrounding college campuses.

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places. ~Author Unknown

A project to help recovering drug addicts get back to work has been successful in Staffordshire, England. People struggle to find jobs or training after completing a rehabilitation program. The 16-week Bridging the Gap project started in Manchester, England.

The project’s designer, Michelle Ellis, said it was a “step on the rung of the ladder” giving hope and help to former addicts. After completing a treatment program, many people face obstacles with relationships, housing and jobs.

“The only people that really welcome them with open arms are their friends on the street corner that put them there in the first place.”
“What we do is fill their time up with project work and homework, so they don’t end up back on the street corner – because boredom is one of the biggest things for relapse.”

Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul. ~Henry Van Dyke

Alcohol has been known to play a role in suicides, but until now, there has been little data about victims’ use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in a large sample of suicide victims whose blood alcohol levels were measured after death, one in four had been legally drunk with a level at or above the federal standard of 0.08, or 8 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.

“Alcohol is a component of suicidal behavior,” said Dr. Alex Crosby, author of the report. “It leads to disinhibition, and it can enhance feelings of hopelessness and depression. Alcohol impairs judgement and can lead to much more impulsive behavior. Any suicide prevention efforts must take that into account and address alcohol and substance abuse as well.”

The typical scenario is that a young adult who is already troubled suffers a setback, such as a job loss or the collapse of a relationship, and starts binge drinking. It is not clear if they get drunk to commit suicide, or if when they are drunk they are more likely to commit suicide.

Everybody needs a hug. It changes your metabolism. ~Leo Buscaglia

The more you need to drink to feel the effects of alcohol, the greater your chance of becoming an alcoholic, according to a new study.

This apparent lack of sensitivity to alcohol, called a low level of response (LR) can lead a person to drink more heavily to get that “buzz.” The condition seems to be genetic and independent of other influences on alcohol usage, such as the age a person started drinking, family history of alcohol abuse, and body mass index, according to the researchers.

The long-term study of nearly 300 mean gauged their reaction to alcohol between ages 18 and 25, then again 10 years later and afterward, in five year intervals. Having a low level of response to alcohol at the start accurately predicted alcoholism in the men’s future, regardless of other factors.

Determining someone’s response level to alcohol in early adulthood could help someone make life changes that could prevent the development of a drinking problem later in life.

The study concludes that having a high, or more immediate, reaction to alcohol would not guarantee that a person would not develop a drinking problem, because many other factors can contribute to alcoholism.

Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true. ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com

Medical bills are involved in more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies, an increase of 50 percent in six years. More than 75 percent of these bankrupt families had health insurance but still were overwhelmed by their medical debts. These findings were reported by a research team at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and Ohio University and published in the American Journal of Medicine.

The researchers wrote that 62 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical and 92 percent of these medical debtors had debts totalling more than $5,000. The research study was paid for by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The share of bankruptcies blamed on medical problems rose by 50 percent from 2001 to 2007.

“Among common diagnoses, nonstroke neurologic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis were associated with the highest out-of-pocket expense, followed by diabetes, injuries, stroke, mental illnesses and heart disease.

I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better. ~Plutarch

Four foreigners recently died of alcohol poisoning in Indonesia. This brings the total to 23 alcohol poisoning deaths in that country. The victims drank arak, a rice or palm wine, tainted with methanol. More than 50 foreigners and locals have become ill from arak.

Imported alcohol is expensive in Indonesia, with the government imposing taxes of up to 400 percent. Local brews have therefore become increasingly popular.

It is believed that the victims drank from the same tainted batch of arak. The police are investigating and have questioned two suspects. Alcohol has been in short supply in Indonesia after the government moved to stop illegal imports. This left just one legitimate alcohol importer who is unable to meet the demand.

Arak has been produced in small regional factories that supply local bars, shops and roadside stalls. Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is used in rural Indonesia as a fuel for lanterns. Just a small amount is dangerous to humans.

The leader shows that style is no substitute for substance, that creating an impression is not more potent than acting from one’s center.

Lao Tzu

Light to moderate drinking triggers “feel good chemicals” in the brain that can reduce anxiety, but heavier amounts don’t release these chemicals, according to a new study.

Drinking’s allegedly good and bad effects have been discussed in many studies, but Canadian scientists say they have found that while low and moderate doses of alcohol produce a general feeling of well-being, having just a tad too much alcohol might reinforce the desire for more. It also may trigger depression.

Christina Gianoulakis, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and physiology at McGill University in Toronto, published the findings in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption alter beta-endorphin release in a region of the brain linked to drug and alcohol addiction.

Researchers don’t know the mechanisms responsible for the fact that some people can stop after one of two drinks while others cannot stop.