Addiction Rehab: Worming Our Way to Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Discovery.

Worming our way to Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Biol Psychiatry. 2013 Mar 1; 73(5): 396-8
Iyer S, Pierce-Shimomura JT

HubMed – addiction

 

Modafinil Modulates Resting-State Functional Network Connectivity and Cognitive Control in Alcohol-DependentPatients.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Biol Psychiatry. 2013 Feb 8;
Schmaal L, Goudriaan AE, Joos L, Krüse AM, Dom G, van den Brink W, Veltman DJ

BACKGROUND: Chronic alcohol abuse is associated with deficits in cognitive control functions. Cognitive control is likely to be mediated through the interaction between intrinsic large-scale brain networks involved in externally oriented executive functioning and internally focused thought processing. Improving the interaction between these functional brain networks could be an important target for treatment. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the effects of the cognitive enhancer modafinil on within-network and between-network resting-state functional connectivity and cognitive control functions in alcohol-dependent patients. METHODS: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and a Stroop task were employed in alcohol-dependent patients (n = 15) and healthy control subjects (n = 16). Within-network and between-network functional connectivity was calculated using a combination of independent component analysis and functional network connectivity analysis. RESULTS: Modafinil significantly increased the negative coupling between executive networks and the default mode network, which was associated with modafinil-induced improvement in cognitive control in alcohol-dependent patients. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that modafinil at least partly exerts its effects by targeting intrinsic functional relationships between large-scale brain systems underlying cognitive control. The current study therefore provides a neurobiological rationale for implementing modafinil as an adjunct in the treatment of alcohol dependence, although clinical studies are needed to substantiate this promise.
HubMed – addiction

 

The Relationship between Minimum Alcohol Prices, Outlet Densities and Alcohol Attributable Deaths in British Columbia, 2002 to 2009.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Addiction. 2013 Feb 7;
Zhao J, Stockwell T, Martin G, Macdonald S, Vallance K, Treno A, Ponicki WR, Tu A, Buxton J

AIM: To investigate relationships between periodic increases in minimum alcohol prices, changing densities of liquor stores and alcohol attributable (AA) deaths in British Columbia, Canada. DESIGN: Cross section (16 geographic areas) versus time series (32 annual quarters) panel analyses were conducted with AA deaths as dependent and price, outlet densities and socio-demographic characteristics as independent variables. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Populations of 16 Health Service Delivery Areas in British Columbia, Canada. MEASUREMENTS: Age-sex standardised rates of acute, chronic and wholly AA mortality; population densities of restaurants, bars, government and private liquor stores; minimum prices of alcohol in dollars per standard drink. FINDINGS: A 10% increase in average minimum price for all alcoholic beverages was associated with a 31.72% (95% CI: ±25.73%, P<0.05) reduction in wholly AA deaths. Significantly negative lagged associations were also detected up to 12 months after minimum price increases for wholly but not for acute or chronic AA deaths. Significant reductions in chronic and total AA deaths were detected between two and three years after minimum price increases. Significant but inconsistent lagged associations were detected for acute AA deaths. A 10% increase in private liquor stores was associated with a 2.45% (95% CI: ±2.39%, P<0.05), 2.36% (95% CI: ±1.57%, P<0.05), and 1.99% (94% CI: ±1.76%, P<0.05) increase in acute, chronic, and total AA mortality rates. CONCLUSION: Increases in the minimum price of alcohol in British Columbia, Canada, between 2002 and 2009 were associated with immediate and delayed decreases in alcohol attributable mortality. By contrast, increases in the density of private liquor stores were associated with increases in alcohol attributable mortality. HubMed – addiction

 

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