Alcohol Research: Current Reviews Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Alcohol Research: Current Reviews (ARCR). ARCR is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) at the National Institutes of Health. Open-access journals are available without barriers such as fees. Although this journal has evolved over time, its mission remains unchanged. ARCR … Read more

NIAAA Expands Outreach to Diverse Audiences with New Factsheet Translations

Providing information in multiple languages can help extend the reach of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s (NIAAA) resources. Many visitors to NIAAA’s website come from countries where languages such as Spanish, Tagalog, Japanese, and Chinese are spoken. In addition, Executive Order 13166, issued in 2000, called for all federal agencies to provide individuals with … Read more

Pandemic Underscores Value of Telehealth Options for AUD Treatment

The need for physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in an expansion in the use of technologies to minimize person-to-person contact. The healthcare industry in particular saw a rapid growth of measures, collectively known as telehealth or telemedicine, to provide care and facilitate interactions between providers and patients. Telehealth encompasses a wide range of … Read more

American Heart Month—Another Opportunity To Examine Your Relationship With Alcohol

February, which is American Heart Month and includes Valentine’s Day, serves as a good time to review the ways that alcohol misuse can damage a most vital organ—the heart. Research has demonstrated that long-term heavy drinking weakens the heart muscle, causing a disease called alcohol-associated cardiomyopathy, in which the left ventricle of the weakened heart dilates, stretches out, … Read more

Alcohol and COVID-19: Behavioral and Biological Effects

During the course of the pandemic, researchers and scientists from across the biomedical spectrum have focused on the diverse health impacts of the novel coronavirus. For their part, alcohol researchers are investigating numerous ways that alcohol might affect COVID-19 risk and severity, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic may influence alcohol consumption patterns and … Read more

The Complex Relationship Between Alcohol and Pain

The relationship between alcohol and pain is a complicated one. It is a common belief that alcohol dulls pain, yet research shows that sometimes alcohol can make pain worse. Understanding the complex relationship between alcohol and pain is an important area of research for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). In 2016, … Read more