We Restore Hope -

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart. ~Author Unknown

Most children won’t say no to a sugary snack, but some children prefer more intense sweetness than others. A new study finds that those children are more likely to have a family history of alcoholism and depression.

“We know that sweet taste is rewarding to all kids and makes them feel good,” said Julie Mennella, lead researcher and a developmental psychobiologist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. “In addition, certain groups of children may be especially attracted to intense sweetness due to their underlying biology.”

The study results do not indicate that a child who likes ultra-sugary foods will become an alcoholic. “At this point, we don’t know whether this higher ‘bliss point’ for sweets is a marker for later alcohol use,” Mennella said.

Both sweets and alcohol activate many of the same reward circuits in the brain. Sugar can improve mood and children who are depressed may reach for sugary foods to feel better.

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A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but a lot of faith will bring heaven to your soul. ~Author Unknown

The license of a physician in Washington has been suspended by the state’s Medical Quality Assurance Commission and the Department of Health. Dr, Sarah S. Reade was arrested and charged with driving under the influence in December of last year. Her behavior raised concerns about her ability to practice medicine. Reports say Reade resisted arrest and threatened suicide. Reade cannot practice medicine in Washington until the charges are resolved. She can request a hearing to challenge the suspension issued by the medical commission.

Reade has a history of alcohol abuse. Her license was put on probation by the Commission in 2005 for alcohol misuse and making false statements to a department investigator about the possession of controlled substances without a valid prescription.

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Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny. ~Kin Hubbard

Exposure to ecstasy or cocaine during adolescence increases the “reinforcing effects” that make people vulnerable to developing an addiction.

“Although MDMA and cocaine are psychoactive substances frequently used by teenagers, very few studies have been done to analyze the short and long-term consequences of joint exposure to these drugs,” said Jose Minarro, the lead author of the study and coordinator of the Psychobiology of Drug Addiction at the University of Valencia in Spain.

The study illustrated how exposure to these drugs in adolescence leads to long-lasting changes that increase the addictive potential though to adulthood.

There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them. ~Andre Gide

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) and NHS London have confirmed that an intravenous heroin user has tested positive for anthrax and is being treated in a London hospital. This is the first case of anthrax seen in an intravenous heroin user in England since similar cases were confirmed in December 2009. Nineteen such cases have been confirmed in Scotland. Similarities to the cases in Scotland suggest that the heroin, or a contaminated cutting agent mixed with the heroin, is the likely source of infection.

Dr. Brian McCloskey, Director of the Health Protection Agency in London, said: “We are working closely with NHS London to monitor the situation. There is no evidence of person to person transmission in this case and I’d like to reassure people that the risk to the general population, including close family members of the infected patient, is negligible. It is extremely rare for anthrax to be spread from person to person and there has been no evidence of a significant risk of airborne transmission associated with the current situation in Scotland.”

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. ~Pablo Picasso
Alcohol increases the risk of violence among couples – especially violence both to and by the female partner. A new study says that more than 30 percent of partner violence reported using alcohol before or during the episode. Severe partner violence was more than twice as likely when the woman drank alcohol, according to the study co-author Raul Caetano, M.D. The likelihood of severe male-on-female violence tripled and the likelihood of severe female-on-male violence more than doubled when the woman drank alcohol.

The study looked at data from 436 American couples that participated in a 1995 survey. Women who are in a physically abusive relationship may be drinking as a form of self-medication, according to Rita Smith, director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Denver. “It could be as much that factor as that they have an alcohol abuse problem. We don’t know that.”

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Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~Lao Tzu

Michael Jackson’s family believes involuntary manslaughter charges against his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, are not severe enough. Brian Oxman, the attorney for the Jackson family, said on Wednesday that the charge would be “just a slap on the wrist” for Murray. The family believes Murray was reckless in his treatment of Jackson. Murray gave Jackson strong drugs, including propofol, a powerful sedative, to help Jackson with his insomnia. The family would like to see Murray receive a charge of second-degree murder.

Involuntary manslaughter has a maximum jail sentence of only four years. If prosecutors at the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office file charges, Murray’s attorney says his client will cooperate and surrender to authorities. Many believe that this will happen at any time.

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Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope. Don’t sell out.

Christopher Reeve

As the recession continues, the price tags on high-priced liquor have been slashed. A new report says that people drank more but bought cheaper brands of alcohol. People also drank more alcohol at home and less in bars and restaurants.

The alcoholic beverage industry stalled last year. The amount of liquor sold by suppliers was up only 1.4 percent – the smallest increase since 2001 and below the ten-year average of 2.6 percent. In 2009, the lowest-priced part of the market experienced the fastest growth – 5.5 percent. The most expensive liquor dropped the most, tumbling 5.1 percent.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said in its report that liquor suppliers revenue for 2009 was $18.7 billion dollars. Sales in stores – which comprise 75 percent of total liquor sales – rose about 2.1 percent. Liquor sales in restaurants fell 3 percent.

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‘Tis curious that we only believe as deeply as we live. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our need for stimulation and dopamine’s action upon the brain are intrinsically linked. This explains why people who constantly crave stimulation are in danger of addictive behavior like drug abuse or gambling. The urge to actively seek out new experiences is a personality trait that has been known about for years, but up until now scientists have been unable to prove how this urge relates to the brain’s hormonal activities.

An international research team with scientists from the University of Copenhagen, University of Aarhus and the University of Tokyo have been able to prove for the first time that the quest for stimulation is greater among people who have more dopamine in their brain. Those people who had the strongest urge to look for new and thrilling experiences had both more dopamine and more areas of the brain where dopamine was active.

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What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you. ~Richard Wilbur

The Food and Drug Administration released a draft this week of voluntary guidelines to help drug manufacturers. The recommendations will help manufacturers know which compounds should be placed under the Controlled Substances Act. The law regulates the handling of record keeping and dispensing of the drugs thought to be dangerous or addictive if misused. The Controlled Substances Act often imposes criminal penalties for misuse. The guidelines urge researchers to look beyond traditional indictors such as whether a compound is addictive. One drug that could more tightly restricted is propofol, a powerful substance that played a pivotal role in Michael Jackson’s death in June of 2009.

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Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness. ~Richard Carlson

Ecstasy is more likely than other drugs like speed or crystal methamphetamine to kill young, healthy people who are not regular drug users, according to a new study from Britain. A study of stimulant deaths in Britain between 1997 and 2007 found that those who died after taking ecstasy were mainly younger and healthier than those who died after taking amphetamines.

Fabrizio Schifano of the University of Hertfordshire said his results were troubling because they seemed to show young people are particularly vulnerable to ecstasy – and that this age group is the most likely demographic to use the drug.

Schifano used data from the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths database and the British Crime Survey. His research found that 932 people died from taking amphetamines and methylamphetamines, such as speed and crystal meth, over the study period, while 605 deaths were linked to ecstasy. Deaths from ecstasy were more common in “victims who were young, healthy, and less likely to be known as drug users.”

The results of the study suggested people between 16 and 24 “seem to suffer extreme consequences after excessive intake of ecstasy.”

“Ecstasy and amphetamines are very similar – they are part of the same pharmacological group,” Schifano said. “But ecstasy does seem to show an intrinsic toxicity that is higher than that of amphetamines.”

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