Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, have discovered a new brain mechanism involved in alcohol addiction involving the stomach hormone ghrelin. When ghrelin’s actions in the brain are blocked, alcohol’s effects on the reward system are reduced. It is an important discovery that could lead to new therapies for addictions such as alcohol dependence.

Access to treatment for alcohol dependence (AD) in rural and remote areas is limited. This study evaluated the effectiveness of two pharmacotherapies for AD – naltrexone alone, and in combination with sertraline – among Alaska Natives (ANs) and other Alaskans living in rural settings. Findings indicate that naltrexone is just as effective on its own as it is in combination with sertraline.

A brain circuit that underlies feelings of stress and anxiety shows promise as a new therapeutic target for alcoholism, according to new studies by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Non-smoking recovering alcoholics outperform smoking recovering alcoholics on tests of memory, cognition, visual and auditory learning, and memory

Alcohol dependence (AD) is more common among partners of alcoholics than among partners of non-alcoholics.
A new study examines two kinds of spousal similarity for influence on AD risk: assortative mating (like marries like), and reciprocal spousal interaction (an individual's behavior directly influences his/her spouse's behavior).