Alcoholism - Highlights

Highlights

Anxiety and Alcoholism

Many people with alcoholism also suffer from anxiety disorders.

• In a 2005 study, 50% of alcohol-dependent patients with anxiety disorders started drinking again within 4 months of alcoholism treatment compared with 20% of patients without anxiety disorders.
• Social phobia and panic disorders were the two most common types of anxiety disorders found among patients with alcohol dependence.

In 2005, scientists identified a brain protein called CREB that may genetically link anxiety and alcoholism.

• The CREB protein controls the production of a brain chemical called NPY that affects anxiety and alcohol-drinking behaviors.
• Scientists discovered that levels of CREB and NPY were naturally lower in certain brain regions of rats bred to prefer alcohol.
• When these rats were given alcohol, their CREB function and NPY production increased, and their anxiety levels decreased.
• The scientists think that a hereditary lack of CREB protein may be associated with anxiety and alcoholism.

Therapy

Combining Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) sessions with professional treatment can increase a patient?s chance of quitting drinking. And, the earlier that patients enter AA, the better. According to a 2005 study, patients who entered an AA program within the first year of seeking professional help were more likely to stop drinking than those who only had medical treatment or only AA.

Drug Treatment

Patients who have to take the anticraving drug naltrexone (ReVia) every day may eventually have another option: Take the drug once a month by injection. Naltrexone can help reduce alcohol craving and consumption, but many patients fail to take it every day. A long-acting injectable form taken just once a month may make it easier for patients to receive this treatment. In a 2005 clinical trial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, patients received monthly naltrexone injections for 6 months with good results.