Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a common, heterogeneous disorder, and this heterogeneity drives the need for precision treatment. In a recent study, investigators at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) led by Laura E. Kwako, Ph.D., a Clinical Psychologist in NIAAA’s Office of the Clinical Director, tested the hypothesis that neurofunctional domains … Read more
Alcohol is involved in nearly half of all liver disease deaths in the United States each year. Alcohol-associated liver disease (AALD) now replaces hepatitis C viral infection as the lead cause of liver transplantation due to chronic liver disease. Consequently, there is an urgent need for effective interventions for AALD, a complex disease with multiple … Read more
Nearly 15 million people in the United States have alcohol use disorder (AUD), but in any given year, less than 10 percent of them receive treatment. And even those who receive treatment may not receive the type of care that best fits their needs and improves their chances of a successful recovery. Research shows that … Read more
New preclinical research in rats has identified a link between adolescent alcohol exposure and specific molecular changes in the brain that contribute to increased anxiety in adulthood. A large body of evidence demonstrates a strong relationship between alcohol and anxiety problems in humans. “These findings provide insight into the mechanisms through which alcohol-induced brain changes … Read more
Assessing the patterns of energy use and neuronal activity simultaneously in the human brain improves our understanding of how alcohol affects the brain, according to new research by scientists at the National Institutes of Health. The new approach for characterizing brain energetic patterns could also be useful for studying other neuropsychiatric diseases. A report of … Read more
Breakthroughs in neuroscience have firmly established our understanding of alcohol use disorder (AUD) as a chronic brain disease. But when it comes to the adverse health effects of alcohol, the brain is not the only game in town. Drinking too much—on a single occasion or over time—can take a serious toll on just about every … Read more