Articles related to ALCOHOL/LIQUOR

Excessive alcohol use has continued to climb since the beginning of the COVD pandemic, and is a causal factor in one of every five deaths in the 20-to-49-year age group in the US.

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) researchers were searching a genetic database for compounds that could suppress the expression of genes previously linked to heavy alcohol use. They put apremilast to the test in two animal models with a genetic risk of binge drinking, as well as in mice from other labs. In each case, apremilast reduced alcohol consumption by increasing activity in the nucleus accumbens, the brain region involved in controlling alcohol intake. Scripps Research Institute then assessed 51 patients over 11 days of treatment and discovered that trial participants’ alcohol consumption was reduced from an average of five drinks per day to two.

PDE4 is linked to alcohol and nicotine addiction, so the researchers prioritized apremilast, a newer PDE4 inhibitor for psoriasis, as ideal for repurposing and tested it in multiple animal strains and models, as well as a human Phase IIa study. In mouse models of genetic risk for drinking to intoxication, they discovered that apremilast reduced binge-like alcohol intake and behavioral measures of alcohol motivation.

Borgs, also known as “Black Out Rage Gallons,” are a new alcoholic drink that has been trending on TikTok. Half a gallon of vodka, mixed with water and flavoring in a gallon jug, is used to make the drink. It is unclear whether the trend has increased emergency room visits, but it highlights the importance of educating young people about alcohol serving sizes.

If eponyms are avoided, Wernicke encephalopathy, commonly known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome or alcoholic encephalopathy, is a kind of thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency that is frequently observed in alcoholics. Imaging typically reveals mamillary bodies, dorsomedial thalami, tectal plate, periaqueductal area, and/or the area around the third ventricle as areas of symmetrical enhanced T2/FLAIR signal.

This physician relates his struggle with drinking that was mostly “internal, with few external consequences” as he puts it — just a few occasional red lights as he looked at how his alcohol use was touching his relationships with himself, his wife, and his kids.