Answer Addiction

Tag: alcohol use disorder

  • Liver Disease On The Rise, Especially Among Young Adults

    Liver Disease On The Rise, Especially Among Young Adults

    A new study found that cirrhosis-related deaths in the US increased 65% between 1999 and 2016. 

    According to a new study, alcohol is to blame for an increase in fatal cirrhosis cases in young adults in recent years. 

    Researchers at the University of Michigan discovered that between 2009 and 2016, those in the 25 to 34 age group saw greater than a 10% increase in deaths as a result of cirrhosis.

    According to USA Today, cirrhosis is an “irreversible scarring of the liver.” Researchers claim the cases were “driven entirely” by liver disease due to excessive alcohol consumption. 

    Additionally, the study found that overall cirrhosis-related deaths in the US increased 65% between 1999 and 2016. Researchers came to this conclusion through examining public data on deaths from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

    Elliot Tapper, the study’s lead author and a liver specialist at the University of Michigan, tells the Washington Post that those who consume multiple drinks per night or have numerous nights of binge drinking are more at risk for life-threatening cirrhosis. He also states that women tend to be more susceptible to liver damage.

    Tapper adds that if those with an alcohol-related disease cease drinking, it’s possible the liver could repair itself.

    “Many other organs have the ability to regenerate to some degree, but none have the same capacity as the liver,” he told the Post. 

    Jessica Mellinger, a clinical lecturer at the University of Michigan, tells the Post that the beginning stages of cirrhosis involve yellowing skin, jaundice and a swollen abdominal area. She adds that patients often say the symptoms came on “all of a sudden.” Down the line, the disease can lead to brain injury, severe bleeding and kidney failure. 

    In addition to the rise in cirrhosis among younger age groups, the study also found that men are twice as likely as women to die from liver cancer.

    Additionally, race and geographical location played a role. Researchers found that whites, Native Americans and Hispanic Americans are seeing increasing rates of cirrhosis, as are those in Kentucky, Arkansas and New Mexico. 

    Another report earlier this month is also in line with these findings. According to US News, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a report stating that age-adjusted rates for cancer of the liver rose from 2000 through 2016 for men and women, and that it moved from the ninth leading cause of death in 2000, to the sixth in 2016.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Jack Black Details What He Learned About Recovery While Filming "Don’t Worry"

    Jack Black Details What He Learned About Recovery While Filming "Don’t Worry"

    “It’s a battle for survival for millions of people around the world, and some of them are battling silently by themselves and no one else knows it.”

    Actor Jack Black said that he gained new perspectives about addiction and recovery filming “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot.”

    The film, which was released last week, tells the story of real-life artist John Callahan, who became famous for his cartoons. Callahan was a heavy drinker who nearly died after a night of partying when he was involved in a car accident that left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair.

    After the accident he entered treatment for alcoholism and started drawing, eventually gaining a following. 

    Black, who plays a supporting role in the movie, said that being on set and learning what the real Callahan went through renewed his empathy for people in recovery.

    “Whether it’s alcohol or heroin or food or sex or whatever is it, people can get stuck in a hole and it can take all of your energy and powers and spiritual awakenings to get out and survive,” Black said, according to USA Today.  

    He noted that you can’t always tell from the outside who is struggling with substance abuse.

    “It’s a battle for survival for millions of people around the world, and some of them are battling silently by themselves and no one else knows it. They seem to be perfectly fine on the outside,” he said. “And some people are visibly heading down a dark path.” 

    He hopes that people will find hope from the film, which is based on a memoir that Callahan wrote. 

    “This is just one man’s journey on his way back to living a healthy happy life,” Black said. “It’s a cool story and a cool way to experience that in a small way.”

    Black didn’t mention his own substance abuse in relation to the movie, but in the past he has admitted to using cocaine as a teenager growing up in Los Angeles.

    “I remember just lots of turmoil from that time period,” he said in 2015. “I was having a lot of troubles with cocaine … I was hanging out with some pretty rough characters. I was scared to go to school [because] one of them wanted to kill me. I wanted to get out of there.”

    Ultimately, his mother put him in an alternative school that helped him address his cocaine problem.

    “It was a huge release and a huge relief,” he said. “I left feeling euphoric, like an enormous weight had been lifted from me. It changed me.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Does Teen Drinking Affect Metabolism?

    Does Teen Drinking Affect Metabolism?

    A recent study examined how underage drinking affected the metabolism of teens ages 13 to 17.

    In addition to it being illegal, underage drinkers now have another reason to refrain from drinking alcohol, as a recent study has determined that teenage alcohol use can negatively impact metabolism. 

    The study was based on a previous study done by the same team of researchers at the University of Eastern Finland, which found that drinking may decrease gray matter volume in teenagers’ brains. Researchers believe the decrease in gray matter and negative impact on metabolism may be connected. 

    “Despite [the participants’] alcohol use being ‘normal,’ their metabonomic profile and brain gray matter volumes differed from those in the light-drinking participant group,” Noora Heikkinen, a researcher from the University of Eastern Finland’s Institute of Clinical Medicine, told Newsweek.

    The recent study was published in the journal Alcohol and was a followup to a study in which data was collected on teens between the ages of 13 and 17 in eastern Finland. 

    The original data was collected between 2004 and 2005. At that time, the teens completed questionnaires about their hobbies, family life, lifestyle and substance use.

    Additionally, they took a test created by the World Health Organization which is designed to identify alcohol use disorders. Some of the questions had to do with how much alcohol they drank on a typical day of drinking and how often they consumed more than six drinks at a time.

    For the recent study, which was done between 2013 and 2015, researchers recruited 40 moderate-to-heavy drinkers and 40 light drinkers. The light drinkers had scored a maximum of two on the World Health Organization test, which meant they drank two to four times monthly.

    Moderate-to-heavy drinkers were those who had a score of four or more for males, or three or more for females. This meant drinking two to three or four or more times weekly.

    With those participants, researchers measured metabolism and the volume of gray matter in the brain.

    In doing so, researchers found that the moderate-to-heavy drinkers had undergone changes in their amino acids and how their energy was processed, when compared to the lighter drinkers. In heavy drinkers, there was also an increase in 1-methylhistamine levels, a substance connected to the amount of gray matter in the brain. 

    Heikkinen tells Newsweek that based on the findings, researchers believe histamine production rises in the brains of adolescents who drink heavily. 

    “This observation can help in the development of methods that make it possible to detect adverse effects caused by alcohol at a very early stage,” she said. “Possibly, it could also contribute to the development of new treatments to mitigate these adverse effects.”

    Heikkinen also added that some of the damage may be reversible if drinking is cut back. 

    “There is evidence that at least some of the changes are reversible if the heavy drinking is discontinued,” she told Newsweek. “Therefore all hope is not lost for those who have had their share of parties and binge drinking in the twenties. However, if the heavy drinking is continued for decades, there is a real chance that irreversible brain atrophy will result.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Why Some People May Be More Prone To Alcoholism Than Others

    Why Some People May Be More Prone To Alcoholism Than Others

    A landmark study may have pinpointed a gene that is linked to alcoholism.

    New research may provide further clues into how genetics play a role in the development of dependency on drugs and alcohol.

    A new study used rats that had been fed a steady diet of alcohol as test subjects; when offered more alcohol or a saccharine solution, a small but significant number continued to choose alcohol over the more preferable sweet offering, even when the choice meant that they would receive an electric shock.

    Upon examining the rats’ brains, the researchers found that the rats that chose alcohol had lower levels of a certain gene that controlled the release of a chemical linked to alcohol dependence.

    The study’s findings suggest that the gene may be the first step toward a greater understanding of, and even treatment for, alcohol dependency.

    The study published in the June 22, 2018 edition of Science, was conducted by a multinational group of researchers from the University of Illinois, Chicago, University of Texas, Austin and Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

    A test group of 32 rats was trained to consume a 20% alcohol solution for 10 weeks until it became a habit for the animals; they were then presented a daily choice of more alcohol or a solution of the artificial sweetener saccharine. 

    What they found was that the majority of the rats preferred the sugar option over alcohol—a common trait among mammals, as Scientific American noted, because sugar can be easily converted into calories and provide energy for survival. But four rats (12.5% of the study group) chose the alcohol every time, even under the threat of receiving an electric shock if they made that choice.

    Additional testing confirmed the scientists’ suspicions. “600 animals later, we found that a very stable population chose alcohol,” said senior study author Markus Heilig, director of the Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience at Linkoping in Sweden.

    From there, the scientists examined the brains of the rodent subjects, and found that a gene called GAT-3 was expressed to a much lesser degree in the brains of the rats that chose alcohol.

    As Scientific American noted, GAT-3 is linked to a protein that controls the levels of GABA, a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and one linked with dependency on alcohol. 

    Further research found that brain samples from deceased humans who had exhibited alcohol dependency also showed lower levels of GAT-3 in the amygdala, which is widely considered to be the brain’s center for emotions and in particular, fear.

    Heilig told Scientific American that it makes sense that the lowered levels would be found there and not in the brain’s reward center.

    “The rewarding effect of drugs happens in everybody,” he said. “It’s a completely different story in the minority of people who continue to take drugs [and use alcohol] despite adverse consequences.”

    Heilig and his team have begun work on a treatment for addiction based on their research; according to Scientific American, the drug suppresses the release of GABA, which could reduce the compulsion to consume alcohol in the face of dangerous circumstances. They are currently working with a pharmaceutical company in hopes of launching tests of their compound on humans.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Demi Lovato Reveals She Relapsed In New Song "Sober"

    Demi Lovato Reveals She Relapsed In New Song "Sober"

    “To the ones who never left me we’ve been down this road before, I’m so sorry, I’m not sober anymore,” the pop star sings in her new song.

    Pop star Demi Lovato is forthright about not only about the positive side of her recovery, but also her struggles along the way. The singer-songwriter’s new single “Sober” is a candid confession about a recent relapse after six years of sobriety.

    “I don’t know why I do it every time/ It’s only when I’m lonely/ Sometimes I just wanna cave/ And I don’t wanna fight,” she sings. “Mama I’m so sorry I’m not sober anymore/ And daddy please forgive me for the drinks spilled on the floor/ To the ones who never left me we’ve been down this road before/ I’m so sorry, I’m not sober anymore.”

    Lovato goes on to apologize to fans, as well as herself: “I’m sorry that I’m here again/ I promise I’ll get help/ It wasn’t my intention/ I’m sorry to myself.”

     

    Lovato is a champion of mental health and recovery support. She herself celebrated six years of sobriety back in March, marking the occasion on social media—“Just officially turned 6 years sober. So grateful for another year of joy, health and happiness. It IS possible”—as she does every March.

    She even brings “therapy sessions” to fans before her concerts. “We have speakers from all over and we’re also helping out with different charities from around the country, so it’ll be incredible and a very moving and inspiring experience,” she said.

    The goal of the mobile therapy sessions is to shed the stigma of struggling with mental health or asking for help.

    “Shame’s just such a lousy feeling,” she said. “There’s nothing positive that comes out of shame.”

    Last October, while accepting the Spirit of Sobriety award at a fundraising event hosted by the Brent Shapiro Foundation, the pop star described the consistent work that goes into her recovery.

    “Every day is a battle. You just have to take it one day at a time, some days are easier than others and some days you forget about drinking and using, but for me, I work on my physical health, which is important, but my mental health as well,” she said.

    Her recovery relies on a multi-faceted approach, like anyone else’s. “I see a therapist twice a week. I make sure I stay on my medications. I go to AA meetings. I do what I can physically in the gym. I make it a priority,” she said.

    Rapper Iggy Azalea—who once credited Demi with inspiring her to be more open about receiving therapy at a time when she was “mentally exhausted”—tweeted her support for the “Sorry Not Sorry” singer.

    “All of us who love you only want to see you happy and healthy,” she wrote. “I’m proud of you for having the guts to reveal your truth to the world again… I pray you’ll choose recovery again.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Brandon Lee Exchanges Barbs With Dad Tommy About Rehab, Sobriety

    Brandon Lee Exchanges Barbs With Dad Tommy About Rehab, Sobriety

    “I thank my dad for paying for my treatment… My clear mind has allowed me to do a lot with this time. So much so that I would like to offer to pay for his treatment.”

    Former Mötley Crüe rocker Tommy Lee and his son Brandon continue to wage a very public and very ugly social media feud with each another, according to Entertainment Tonight.

    But their contentious Instagram exchanges may be over with. On Tuesday, Brandon, 22, revealed that he is celebrating nearly two years of sobriety and said that he is grateful to his father.

    “I thank my Dad for paying for my treatment,” Brandon wrote in an Instagram post. “It’s the best thing he has ever done for me. Today I am almost two years sober. Every day that goes by I feel ever more grateful. My clear mind has allowed me to do a lot with this time. So much so that I would like to offer to pay for his treatment.”

    Brandon’s words come on the heels of the 55-year-old’s lengthy Instagram post on Father’s Day, in which he claimed his kids didn’t appreciate anything.

    “Sometimes I feel like I failed as a father, because my kids don’t know the value of things,” Tommy wrote. “Sometimes it’s really tough to watch your kids grow up without these morals.”

    Brandon shot back with claims that Tommy was an absent father, uploading a since-deleted video of an unconscious Tommy Lee lying on the floor in a t-shirt and underwear.

    It’s not the first time Brandon has aired out his father’s alleged alcoholism, either. Back in March, following an altercation between the two, Brandon wrote on Twitter that he was “devastated” by the effects of his father’s alcoholism.

    “I’ve worked tirelessly organizing an intervention and it’s incredibly upsetting that it never came to fruition. I wanted my dad’s hopeful sobriety and recovery to be a private family matter but, as a result of his accusations on social media, I feel forced to speak out,” he said at the time. “I love my father and just want to see him sober, happy and healthy.”

    Tommy dismissed the claims, saying he was happy and enjoying retirement.

    The Mötley Crüe drummer denied having alcoholism, listing on Instagram everything that he felt his son had taken for granted, ranging from rehab to a costly birthday party: “Rehab for son: $130,000, Party for son’s 21st birthday last year: $40,000,” he wrote. “Medical Bills after son knocks his father unconscious and uses ‘alcoholism’ as scapegoat: $10,000, Son acting like a victim on social media on father’s day: Priceless.”

    According to ET, however, Brandon has grown weary of the public fighting. In fact, on Monday, he posted an extended Instagram post urging his father to “move on” and to keep their matters private.

    “It’s so sad that Tommy feels the need to keep attacking his son despite Brandon’s pleas to quit their very public feud,” a source told ET. “Brandon wants to rise above all of this but keeps getting pulled into it and defending himself. Brandon realizes enough is enough and that’s exactly why he removed the video of his father, but Tommy doesn’t seem to want it to end. He seems to want to keep fighting.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Lily Allen Discusses Addiction, Self-Medicating

    Lily Allen Discusses Addiction, Self-Medicating

    “I’ve used drugs and alcohol as medicine, almost, when things have been really bad. If I’m in a bad place, psychologically, I shouldn’t be anywhere near drugs and alcohol.”

    British singer Lilly Allen first broke through in 2006 with her album Alright, Still, and now she’s back with her first new album in four years, No Shame.

    As her new release hits, Allen is opening up about her battles with addiction, and why she may not be completely sober (though she’s not partying anymore).

    Allen told People, “I definitely don’t rely on substances and alcohol in the way that I used to. It’s a bit about having made a conscious decision to leave that stuff behind. I would wake up in a haze in the middle of the Sheezus [album] tour and be like, ‘I’m 3,000 miles away from my kids.’ Why? What is all of this about?”

    When asked if she got sober for her children, Allen said, “I think it was age. Waking up in a tour bus, really hungover with makeup running—it’s not a good look when you’re 30. It’s okay when you’re 19!”

    Allen said that her drinking “got to a really bad stage, and I was definitely using alcohol as a crutch. I’m just very glad I’m not there anymore.”

    Asked if she considers herself sober, Allen replied, “No, I wouldn’t actually. I would just say I don’t party anymore… I don’t take drugs anymore. I wouldn’t say I gave up drinking, because I might like, once in a blue moon, have a glass of wine at dinner.”

    Allen said she was being stalked, which kept her close to home and away from outside temptations. “I think my sobriety was sort of forced by that. I wasn’t gonna sit at home and drink on my own, so I stopped; I stopped going out publicly and to places where people would maybe think that I would be.”

    Once she had her “unintentional detox and respite from it,” Allen noticed that she was “thinking a lot more clearly… In the middle of the Sheezus [tour], I did do AA—I did my 90 meetings and 90 days, so I did do that, I went through that process, and I found it really helpful.”

    Allen added, “To be honest with you, I don’t think I’ve ever been an addict, so to speak. I think that I’ve used drugs and alcohol as medicine, almost, when things have been really bad. If I’m in a bad place, psychologically, I shouldn’t be anywhere near drugs and alcohol. But if I’m okay… I just don’t, I’m just not really in a space where I want to drink.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Elizabeth Vargas On Going Public With Alcoholism And Anxiety

    Elizabeth Vargas On Going Public With Alcoholism And Anxiety

    “If I’ve helped one person, I feel really great, but I hear from people daily. That makes me feel like it was worth it to be as brutally honest as I was.”

    In 2014, former 20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas went public in a series of interviews, sharing her struggles with alcoholism and anxiety. Now she is opening up about the life-changing events that followed her decision to be transparent with her battle.

    After the release of her memoir on addiction and anxiety in 2016, Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction, Vargas interviewed with The Fix.

    “Every person battling addiction is going through hell,” she said. “There’s still a lot of judgment. People say, ‘You chose to do that.’ But why would anybody choose to destroy themselves and the lives of everybody precious to them?”

    Telling People magazine that putting her story out in the world was “one of the hardest and most rewarding things I’ve done,” Vargas—now the host of a new A&E series Cults and Extreme Belief—reflected on the changes in her life since the publication of her memoir.

    “If I’ve helped one person, I feel really great, but I hear from people daily,” she told People. “That makes me feel like it was worth it to be as brutally honest as I was.”

    Vargas was so inspired by the positive public response to her story that she now travels the country, speaking out about alcoholism and anxiety. Her hope is to minimize the stigma surrounding those issues, in direct contrast with her feelings during the worst years.

    “I felt very alone when I was in the grip of the disease,” she said to People.

    Elizabeth Vargas suffered with anxiety from the time she was very small, which worsened as she entered her early forties and after the birth of her son.

    In her interview with The Fix, Vargas noted that in research with Diane Sawyer for a 20/20 special, they learned that 63% of women with alcoholism also battle anxiety, and women who struggle with anxiety are at two times the risk of relapse.

    Vargas told AARP that her anxiety got so bad that she had experienced an anxiety attack on live television. Unable to pinpoint exactly what the turning point was from alcoholism to sobriety, Vargas now credits meditation, gratitude and her experiences in rehab and therapy, along with the active involvement of her parents and sibling, for her enduring sobriety.

    Vargas told CKTV 5 News, “I feel grateful that I could take what was a painful part of my life and make something good out of it.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • David Cassidy Revealed He Was Still Drinking, Didn't Have Dementia Prior To Death

    David Cassidy Revealed He Was Still Drinking, Didn't Have Dementia Prior To Death

    Cassidy made the confession to a producer in a recorded conversation, which will air as part of an upcoming documentary about his life.

    Last year, Partridge Family star David Cassidy announced that he was suffering from dementia. But just two months before he died last November, Cassidy admitted that he never had dementia, but was struggling with alcoholism throughout the end of his life. 

    “There is no sign of me having dementia at this stage of my life. It was complete alcohol poisoning,” Cassidy explained to A&E producer Saralena Weinfield in a recorded conversation that is now part of a documentary called David Cassidy: The Last Session, which will air on June 11. 

    According to People, Cassidy went on: “The fact is that I lied about my drinking,” he said. “I did this to myself to cover up the sadness and the emptiness.”

    It was no secret that Cassidy battled alcoholism. He was arrested for driving under the influence three times in five years. However, after he went to inpatient rehab in 2014 he told friends and family that he was sober. 

    “If I take another drink, I’m going to die, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I’m dead,” Cassidy told Piers Morgan during an interview following that rehab stay. “You know, they say it’s a slippery slope… It’s not a slippery slope. It’s from 12:00 to 6:00 on the clock and the whole face is ice. One sip, one drink, because there is no such thing, not to an alcoholic. You have one and you’re done. I’d be done.”

    In 2017, footage of Cassidy during a live performance appeared to show that he was drunk. It was after that performance that he said he was suffering from a major medical issue—dementia. 

    However, just before his death Cassidy revealed that this was never the case. 

    “I have a liver disease,” he told Weinfield after he was rushed to the hospital after falling. Two months later Cassidy died of organ failure at the age of 67. Not even his two children knew that he was still problematically drinking alcohol, according to People. However, not everyone was shocked. 

    “Part of alcoholism is lying,” Partridge Family costar Danny Bonaduce said. “When you’re an addict, you know you can’t be honest with people. You say what you want them to hear. I can’t be mad at David for that, but it’s still a tragedy.”

    Ultimately, documentary producers said that they decided to use the confession because they felt that Cassidy wanted it made public. 

    “He wanted to share this very private part of his life, and to be honest once and for all. And I think he succeeded in doing that,” said producer John Marks. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Can The Mere Expectation Of Alcohol Boost Dopamine?

    Can The Mere Expectation Of Alcohol Boost Dopamine?

    A new study examined the dopamine release levels of people with a family history of alcoholism. 

    Those with a history of alcohol-related issues in their families may produce more dopamine at the idea of a drink, a new study has found. 

    The study indicates that people who have a history of alcohol use disorders in their family actually release more dopamine when presented with the prospect of a drink containing alcohol. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. 

    For such individuals, the study found, the dopamine release is greater than for those who do not have a history of alcohol use disorder in the family or for those who have been diagnosed with it already. 

    The study, published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, was fairly small. Researchers looked at 65 individuals, 34 of which had no alcohol use disorder in their families or themselves, 16 with a history of it in their family but without their own diagnosis, and 15 who had been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder. 

    Each participant was given two drinks—one containing alcohol and one without. Participants were not told which drink they would be given first. But, as Bustle reports, “Those who received the placebo first could intuit that the alcoholic drink would be second. In other words, they were cued to expect alcohol.”

    During this, researchers used a PET scan (an imaging technique) to monitor the levels of dopamine released as a response to the drinks. Because dopamine is connected to the reward center in the brain, its release is associated with things people enjoy. Bustle states that while all three groups in the study had similar dopamine-releasing reactions to the drink containing alcohol, results varied when it came to the non-alcoholic placebo. 

    “We found that the FHP (family history positive) participants had a much more pronounced response to the placebo drink than the other groups, indicating that expectation of alcohol caused the FHP group to release more reward center dopamine,” study author Lawrence Kegeles of Columbia University said, according to Bustle. 

    This outcome implies that dopamine release could “reinforce alcohol consumption,” Bustle notes. This is especially true for those susceptible to alcohol use disorder.  

    “This research finding exemplifies how advances in imaging brain chemistry using PET scanning can provide new insights into how differences in brain function in people with a family history of alcoholism can explain their own potential for addiction,” said Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging editor Dr. Cameron Carter, according to Bustle. 

    Study participants were not followed up with, Bustle notes, so it is unknown if the results of this study did predict alcohol use disorder in their futures.  

    View the original article at thefix.com