INTRODUCTION Dual tobacco-alcohol addiction is common, but the literature often considers only the issue of withdrawal from one substance at a time and emphasises that the assessment of tobacco use seems to be neglected in psychiatry. SUBJECT AND METHODS In this study, we analysed the perceptions of nurses working in alcoholism units before and after motivational interviewing trainingon propo...

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are the preferred pharmacological agents for treatment of acute alcohol withdrawal. Treatment with BZDs can be administered on an out-patient basis for subjects experiencing mild to moderate withdrawal and on an in-patient basis for the most severe forms of withdrawal. The efficacy of BZDs for long-term treatment of alcoholism has been more controversial. Controlled studi...

A complex relationship exists between alcohol-drinking behavior and stress. Alcohol has anxiety-reducing properties and can relieve stress, while at the same time acting as a stressor and activating the body's stress response systems. In particular, chronic alcohol exposure and withdrawal can profoundly disturb the function of the body's neuroendocrine stress response system, the hypothalamic-p...

Background: Alcohol abuse is common in the patients with head and neck cancer. Sudden postoperative alcohol cessation can cause withdrawal syndrome (AWS). So far, there are no studies evaluating safety efficacy of dexmedetomidine (DEX) lorazepam on AWS treatment.

Binge-drinking is common in underage alcohol users, yet we know little regarding the biopsychological impact of binge-drinking during early periods of development. Prior work indicated that adolescent male C57BL6/J mice with a 2-week history of binge-drinking (PND28-41) are resilient to the anxiogenic effects of early alcohol withdrawal. Herein, we employed a comparable Drinking-in-the-Dark mod...

Alcohol use by a pregnant woman may interfere with the development of her fetus. Newborns whose mothers are intoxicated during delivery can experience withdrawal symptoms, such as tremors and even seizures. It is likely that withdrawal also can occur during fetal development. Thus, the possibility exists that withdrawal by the pregnant woman may exacerbate alcohol’s adverse effects on her fetus...

their lifetimes. Mild to moderate consumption (up to one drink/day for women and two drinks/day for men) has been shown to have beneficial cardiovascular effects, including a decreased risk of myocardial infarction and stroke, as well as overall decreased mortality (Box 154.1). Despite these possibly beneficial effects of alcohol, it has been found to be a top 10 cause of preventable deaths amo...

AIMS Despite substantial preclinical evidence that supports the involvement of noradrenergic (NA) and serotonergic (5-HT) mechanisms in alcohol withdrawal, human data remain inconsistent. We examined whether plasma levels of NA and 5-HT were altered during alcohol withdrawal and whether these measures were related to craving. We also explored whether alterations in NA and 5-HT activity differ b...

The alcohol dependence syndrome includes the presence of alcohol tolerance, physical dependence and an inability to control one's alcohol intake. Studies are reviewed that implicate the mesolimbic dopaminergic systems, and the y-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) and A'-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors as mediators of various aspects of the alcohol dependence syndrome. It is suggested that alcohol-...

Introduction: Patients who present for treatment of alcohol dependence often report a history of seizures. These are generally attributed to alcohol withdrawal and not further investigated. Methods: We systematically assessed 381 consecutive male inpatients with alcohol dependence admitted to the deaddiction services of the National Institute of Mental health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalor...