Acute and chronic stressors have been associated with alterations in mood and increased anxiety that may eventually result in the development of stress-related psychiatric disorders. Stress and associated disorders, including anxiety, are key factors ...
Acute and chronic stress–related mechanisms play an important role in the development of addiction and its chronic, relapsing nature. Multisystem adaptations in brain, body, behavioral, and social function may contribute to a dysregulated physiological ...
Alcohol dependence is a chronic relapsing disorder characterized by neuroadaptations that may result in the emergence of negative affective states and stress responses upon discontinuation of alcohol use. Clinical studies have demonstrated that alcohol-dependent ...
The past two decades have witnessed a revolution in the field of genetics which has led to a rapid evolution in the tools and techniques available for mapping genes that contribute to genetically complex disorders such as alcohol dependence. Research ...
Researchers are using various strategies to identify the genes that may be associated with alcoholism. The initial efforts primarily relied on candidate gene and linkage studies; more recently, however, modern advances in genotyping have resulted in widespread ...
Over the last 50 years, researchers have made substantial progress in identifying genetic variations that underlie the complex phenotype of alcoholism. Not much is known, however, about how this genetic variation translates into altered biological function. ...
Genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of alcoholism. Whole-genome expression profiling has highlighted the importance of several genes that may contribute to alcohol abuse disorders. In addition, more recent findings have added ...
For complex disorders such as alcoholism, identifying the genes linked to these diseases and their specific roles is difficult. Traditional genetic approaches, such as genetic association studies (including genome-wide association studies) and analyses ...
This article describes three types of gene–environment interactions and the challenges inherent in interpreting these interactions. It also reports on what is known about gene–environment interactions in the field of alcohol use disorders ...
Genetics play an important role in the development and course of alcohol abuse, and understanding genetic contributions to this disorder may lead to improved preventative and therapeutic strategies in the future. Studies both in humans and in animal models ...
Genetic factors (i.e., variations in specific genes) account for a substantial portion of the risk for alcoholism. However, identifying those genes and the specific variations involved is challenging. Researchers have used both case–control and ...
The effects of beverage alcohol (ethanol) on the body are determined largely by the rate at which it and its main breakdown product, acetaldehyde, are metabolized after consumption. The main metabolic pathway for ethanol involves the enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase ...
One approach to identifying the causes of alcoholism, particularly without crossing ethical boundaries in human subjects, is to look at the person’s genome (and particularly at the variations that naturally arise in the DNA) to identify those ...
The neuroimmune system (i.e., the immune system and those components of the nervous system that help regulate immune responses), and in particular the innate immune system, play a role in the development of addictions, including alcoholism, particularly ...
The body’s internal system to control the daily rhythm of the body’s functions (i.e., the circadian system), the body’s stress response, and the body’s neurobiology are highly interconnected. Thus, the rhythm of the circadian ...
The genetic determinants of alcoholism still are largely unknown, hindering effective treatment and prevention. Systematic approaches to gene discovery are critical if novel genes and mechanisms involved in alcohol dependence are to be identified. Although ...
Measuring the impact of alcohol consumption on morbidity and mortality depends on the accurate measurement of alcohol exposure, risk relationships, and outcomes. A variety of complicating factors make it difficult to measure these elements. This article ...
Mapping a certain disease into a system of disabling attributes allows researchers to compare diseases within a common framework. To quantify the total burden of morbidity (e.g., morbidity attributable to alcohol use), so-called disability weights (DWs) ...
Community indicators are used to assess the impact of alcohol on communities. This article reviews the main data sources for community indicators, discusses their strengths and limitations, and discusses indicators used in reference to four main topics ...
Hospital emergency departments (EDs) see many patients with alcohol-related injuries and therefore frequently are used to assess the relationship between alcohol consumption and injury risk. These studies typically use either case–control or case–crossover ...
Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for many chronic diseases and conditions. The average volume of alcohol consumed, consumption patterns, and quality of the alcoholic beverages consumed likely have a causal impact on the mortality and morbidity related ...
Alcohol consumption has long been recognized as a risk factor for mortality. By combining data on alcohol per capita consumption, alcohol-drinking status and alcohol-drinking patterns, risk relationships, and mortality, the Comparative Risk assessment ...