Addiction -
Newsbytes 
Menstuff® has compiled the following Newsbytes on
addiction.
AA Helps Alcoholics Stay Abstinent Over
The Long Term
Bipartisan Bond Over Addiction
Recovery
Research Yields New Insights Into Molecular
Control Of Addiction
Bipartisan Bond Over Addiction
Recovery
Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) and Democrat Rep. Patrick
Kennedy (D-R.I.) come from different ends of the political spectrum
but have forged a close personal bond because of their struggles with
addiction and recovery.
Source: www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2006/bipartisan-bond-over.html
Research Yields New Insights Into
Molecular Control Of Addiction
In research employing fruit flies, scientists at the University of
Arizona have provided new insights into how molecules may control
addiction, memory formation, and brain plasticity. Their research has
provided the first evidence that the molecule AP1, which helps to
regulate changes in the manufacture of certain proteins in brain
cells, also is required for long-term changes in the function of
synapses (the connections between brain cells).
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8014/349179.html
AA Helps Alcoholics Stay Abstinent Over
The Long Term
Individuals who were encouraged to cut down on their drinking by
fellow Alcoholics Anonymous members were three times more likely to
be abstinent a year after their first treatment for alcoholism,
compared to individuals who received no support, a new study
reports.
Individuals who received similar support from non-AA members,
however, had nearly the same chance of being abstinent as if they had
received no support at all, according to Lee Ann Kaskutas, P.D., of
the Alcohol Research Group in Berkeley, Calif., and colleagues.
"This suggests that AA members offer types of social support that
differ from those typically offered by nonmembers," Kaskutas
says.
The study by Kaskutas and colleagues examined the relationship
between AA involvement, social support and alcohol use in 722 adults
a year after their first treatment for alcohol or drug abuse.
Although AA involvement did help many of these individuals cut
down on their drinking, the program's influence was reduced by a
third when the individuals also had relationships with people who
were heavy or problem drinkers or who encouraged drinking, say the
researchers.
The study was published as part of a special collection of
research on the ways AA involvement may influence behavior in the
March 2003 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental
Research.
"We still have a poor understanding of what AA-exposed individuals
actually do and how prescribed AA-related practices may mobilize and
sustain behavior change," says J. Scott Tonigan, Ph.D., of the
University of New Mexico.
Among the other findings reported in the issue:
- There is no direct connection between the increased "spiritual
awakening" reported by some AA participants and abstinence, but
spiritual changes may lead to behavior changes that promote
abstinence, according to a study by Tonigan. " In essence,
spiritual beliefs may promote a code for living that is concordant
with abstinence and discordant with alcohol," he says. Many of the
patients in his study who participated in therapy programs other
than AA still attended AA meetings and read AA literature up to
three years after their initial treatment for alcohol abuse.
"Clearly, clients voted with their feet regarding the desirability
of AA three years after treatment," Tonigan says.
- A study of 112 AA members found that all aspects of AA,
including meetings, meditation and prayer and sponsorship, were
related to the likelihood of abstinence a year after treatment for
alcohol abuse. The study suggests that AA may influence lifestyle
changes, such as avoiding places where drinking is common, that
lead to abstinence. But AA's influence on how individuals respond
to life events like divorce or a family death is not related to
the likelihood of abstinence, say Patricia L. Owen, Ph.D., of the
Butler Center for Research at the Hazelden Foundation and
colleagues.
Source: Center for the Advancement of Health,
www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtPrint/WSIHW000/333/28815/363782.html?d=dmtICNNews&hide=t&k=basePrint
* * *
Chance you'll be hooked if you try...Tobacco - 32%; heroin - 23%;
cocaine - 17%; alcohol - 15%; marijuana - 9%; psychedelic drugs - 5%;
Pringles - 82%. GQ, 5/02
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