Drug That Helps Prevent Relapse in Alcoholics Effectively

A drug called Acamprosate, scientists hope, will help prevent relapse in alcoholics.

It prevented relapse in one in every nine patients who had stopped drinking and increased the number of days patients spent not drinking by an average of three days a month, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review.

Alcohol Abuse Linked to High Body Mass Index
Alcohol abuse and dependence is mostly connected to a high body mass index (BMI).

The University of Munich researchers showed that the risk of a patient on acamprosate returning to drinking was 86percent of that of a patient who took a placebo instead.

However, diarrhoea was reported as a side effect of the drug.

"Acamprosate is certainly no magic bullet, but it is a safe and effective treatment for patients who are trying to stop drinking," said Susanne Rosner.

Puberty Tied to Sleep Disorders, Alcohol Abuse in Adolescents
A new study has shown that during puberty, teens may suffer from sleeping disorders and thus resort to alcohol to get sleep - increasing susceptibility to alcohol abuse at an early age.

"The benefits we have seen in these trials are small. However, we must remember that these are additional benefits on top of those from other non-drug therapies."

Source-ANI

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Evaluating protein changes in the blood connected to alcohol use, may be a more precise diagnostic test than the ones being used currently, researchers from Penn State College of Medicine said.

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