Teens With Insomnia at Increased Risk for Depression, Suicide, Substance Abuse

Teenagers who exhibit symptoms of insomnia are more likely than other teens to develop depression or problems with substance abuse or to entertain thoughts of suicide by the time they reach early adulthood, according to a study recently concluded at the University of North Texas. Read more

Women’s Alcohol Dependency May Delay Childbearing

The November issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research will carry the results of a study of women and teenage girls to determine what, if any, effect drinking problems have on a woman’s ability to bear children. The study’s conclusion is that alcohol dependency (AD) is clearly linked to a delayed onset of childbearing. Read more

Returning Combat Veterans Prone to Alcohol Abuse

Military personnel returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to turn to the bottle to ease painful memories and shocking experiences of the war front than military personnel who did not see combat.  The tendency to turn to alcohol is the strongest in the National Guard and Reserve personnel, with the youngest members of these services bearing the highest risk. Read more

Americans Tippling Less Than Their Ancestors

Americans at the beginning of the current century are consuming fewer alcoholic beverages than their relatives at the beginning of the previous century, according to new data published in the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine.  And, of all alcoholic beverages consumed, America’s thirst for beer seems to be drying out the fastest. Read more

MADD Calls on Adults to Curb Underage Drinking

Glynn Birch, National President for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), issued a press release calling on adults to help in the fight against underage drinking.  In response to the recently released report on underage drinking by the Substance Abuse ad Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Birch says underage drinking is as much an adult problem as it is a problem of youth. Read more

Migraine Drug Alleviates Damage of Alcohol Addiction

Researchers at the University of Virginia (UV) Health System have completed a landmark study using topiramate, a drug currently approved for the treatment of migraine headaches and seizures.  The findings of the study suggest topiramate might be a highly effective treatment for alcoholic patients.  The drug seems to quench the thirst for alcohol at the same time it reduces some of the metabolic complications linked to excessive alcoholic intake. Read more

Alcohol Lowers Risk Of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Alcohol consumption cuts the risk of developing arthritis in half according to a recent Scandinavian study. The study, which was published ahead of print for the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, included  2750 participants. Read more

Smoke More, Drink More, Get Alzheimer’s Sooner

A new study suggests that heavy smoking and drinking can hasten the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by several years.  Eliminating smoking and drinking are considered the two most important steps to preventing Alzheimer’s disease. Read more

Alcohol May Increase Breast Cancer Risk

A woman’s history of drinking is directly linked to her chances of developing the most common form of breast cancer and it doesn’t matter what form of alcoholic beverage she prefers, either.  The largest study ever conducted that matches alcoholic consumption with types of breast cancer says that three drinks a day increases the risk of estrogen- and progesterone-positive cancer by as much as 51%. Read more

Clean Hands Too Tempting For Alcoholics

Med Headlines - Alcoholism is a sad, tragic illness that often leads the sufferer to take desperate measures. Researchers in London recently reported that an alarming number of alcoholics are ingesting alcohol-based hand wipe solutions when other form of alcohol is out of reach.

The study was spurred by the discovery that an alcohol-dependent patient, assumed to be in a period of hospitalized abstinence, was experiencing withdrawal symptoms, even without known alcohol ingestion.

The collapsed patient was found with empty bottles of the infection-control hand rub solution, kept in his room for sanitation purposes. His blood alcohol level registered nine times higher than the legal limit allowed for driving in Britain. This high concentration is potentially fatal.

This discovery led to a search of poison-control reports of the country’s toxicology database, which revealed alcohol poisonings had increased by more than 300% after the introduction of the alcohol hand rubs.

Many of the alcohol overdoses are attributed to accidental ingestion, especially in the cases of children, confused individuals, and the elderly, all of whom might mistake the clear solution for water. Sixty-six percent of the overdoses were found to be intentional, however, and all involved alcoholics.

While lethal doses of ethanol (drinkable alcohol) have been established, no such information is available for isopropanol, the type of alcohol used for infection control.

Researchers suggest making hand-wipe dispensers harder to reach, perhaps keeping them under lock and key, and keeping the smaller containers out of the rooms of known alcoholics while they are in hospitals, nursing homes, and other types of healthcare facilities.

The full report, submitted by Paul I Dargan, MRCP, of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, can be found in the December 1 issue of BMJ.