A new study discovered a mutation in a mouse gene that could lead to new understanding of alcoholism and genetics. Researchers from the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center and the University of California, San Francisco, found that mice with the mutant gene were significantly more sensitive to alcohol than their normal littermates, and consumed more alcohol than normal mice when offered a choice between alcohol and water.

The gene mutation, called Lightweight by the researchers, is located in the mouse version of a gene called unc-70, which in humans has been previously linked to altered sensitivity to several anesthetics, including alcohol.

Lead author David J. Speca, PhD, a former Gallo Center researcher and lead author of the study, says the name “Lightweight” refers to the face that mice with the mutated gene were significantly more affected by alcohol than other mice.

Dr. Speca explained that the function of unc-79 isn’t well understood, but that other studies have suggested that it might interact with a neuron channel called NALCN to trigger a response to alcohol. He added that it’s difficult to identify the factors that make some people more susceptible to developing alcohol dependency because many different genes can contribute to addiction. He and his colleagues want to find out whether unc-79 and the NALCN channel are associated with different responses to alcohol in humans.

Dr. Speca noted that no one has studied the NALCN channel in humans before, and it could be a new genetic pathway that could lead to a better understanding of alcoholism.

Source: Science Daily, Mutant Mouse Reveals Potential Genetic Pathway for Alcoholism, August 13, 2010

In Evesham Township, New Jersey, a drunk-driving arrest will get you more than a big fine and a night in jail—your mug shot and name will also be added to a public Facebook page. The police department’s Facebook page features video clips, mug shots, police reports, pictures of missing person, and now names and photos of people who have been arrested for drunk driving.

Lt. Walt Miller told the Courier Post that the information on the Facebook page helped lead to the arrest of James Dahl, a 20-year-old who has been charged with starting 13 fires in Marlton’s Kings Grant development.

With almost 4,400 followers, the page has about half the number of Facebook fans of the New Jersey state police.

Critics say photos and ID information shouldn’t be posted until suspects are convicted, as it could hurt careers and reputations.

Bernard Bell, a law professor at Rutgers University law professor, said that posting mug shots and arrest information on Facebook could be considered a privacy violation, although this information is part of the public record. He added that it seems inappropriate for a police department to allow the general public to view and comment on photos of someone who hasn’t been convicted.

However, Miller said posting this kind of information is acceptable within the department’s policy on public information and media releases. Gloucester Township is also considering adding drunk drivers’ mug shots and arrest information.

Miller said they want every resident and business owner in the community to be a “fan” of the Facebook page so they can reach more people and solve more crimes.

Source: Courier Post Online, Jeremy Rosen, Evesham police begin posting DUI arrest pics, details on Facebook, August 11, 2010

Drunk driving is a major problem in America, but it’s an even bigger problem in Finland. A new survey discovered that more than one-third of Finnish men and one-fifth of women have driven a vehicle while drunk. Most of the drunk-drivers are between 25 and 34 years old; of this group, 32 percent said they had driven drunk. Among those under 25 years old, 16 percent said they drove drunk.

The survey, which was published in the Väli-Suomen Sunday newspaper supplement, questioned 1,067 adults and showed that more people (32%) drive drunk in Lapland than in southern and western Finland (28%). The lowest number of drunk drivers live in eastern Finland and Oulu region.

Politically, 40 percent of the True Finns party had driven drunk, while only 18 percent of those in the Greens and Left parties have been behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol.

Source: YLE.fi, One-Third of Finnish Men Admit to Drunk Driving, June 20, 2010

A year after the deadly drunk-driving crash in which a Long Island mother drove the wrong way down Taconic State Parkway and collided with an SUV—killing four children in her car, herself, and three adults in the SUV—the involved families are arguing over a forthcoming HBO documentary about the tragic event.

The New York Post reports that Daniel Schuler, the husband of the drunk driver, was offered $100,000 by a Brooklyn-based production company, which prompted the family of Guy and Michael Bastardi, two of the men riding in the SUV, to say they would sue if Schuler profited from the film.

Schuler’s lawyer Dominic Barbara said that all the money would go into a trust for Schuler’s son Bryan, the only survivor of the crash that occurred on July 26, 2009. Barbara added that the production company, Moxie Firecracker Films, plans to pay to have Diane Schuler’s body exhumed and re-examined, as husband Daniel wants to try to prove that she was not impaired by alcohol and marijuana when the accident occurred. The initial autopsy showed that Schuler had undigested alcohol in her stomach at the time of the crash, and a bottle of vodka was found near the crash site.

The Bastardi family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the estate of Diane Schuler, and their lawyer, Irving Anolik, said the film could violate the state’s Son of Sam Law, which keeps criminals (and in some cases their family and friends) from profiting off their crimes. Anolik said the Bastardis are waiting to get more information about the documentary before proceeding.

Sources: The New York Daily News, Matthew Lysiak, Trevor Kapp, and Bill Hutchinson, Families Fight Over Planned HBO Film of Taconic Death Driver Diane Schuler on Anniversary of Tragedy, July 27, 2010

The Daily Record, Aman Ali and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, Family may sue if husband exhumes wife’s body in Taconic crash, July 28, 2010

Behavioral economic analysis uses social, cognitive, and emotional factors to better understand the economic decisions of individuals. A new study from the University of Georgia suggests that behavioral economic analysis may also help scientists understand why some people crave alcohol and drugs. Although this method of study is relatively new, it could help develop new, more effective addiction treatments.

Published in the journal Addiction, the study was led by James MacKillop of the psychology department in the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. MacKillop said that behavioral economics is a combination of psychology and microeconomics, and could potentially help fill in the gaps in understanding how cravings affect drug use.

Cravings and drug use haven’t been well understood in the past due to ambiguity, and one of the reasons for this might be problems with measurement. MacKillop said that behavioral economics puts cravings into measurable amounts such as number of drinks and amount of money spent.

The researchers surveyed 92 college students who were described as heavy drinkers, or those who had at least 21 drinks per week for males and 14 drinks per week for females. After being poured a glass of water and a glass of their favorite beer, the students were asked to rate their cravings for alcohol and estimate how much they would drink based on increasing prices.

Participants’ cravings increased when their favorite beer was present, and the beer also increased the relative value of alcohol in terms of behavioral economics. Partcipants said they would drink considerably more alcohol if the prices were lowered, but that they would still drink alcohol at higher prices.

This new method of analysis could be helpful for understanding why people quit drinking, smoking, or using drugs only to relapse and start using again. Behavioral economics could also help inform policymakers with raising alcohol and cigarette taxes.

Source: University of Georgia,Philip Lee Williams, The costs of desire: New economic behavior analysis by UGA researchers may help clarify the role of craving in addiction, July 15, 2010

A new study, which will be published in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, found that young adults with a religious upbringing are more likely to refrain from problem alcohol use than their non-religious counterparts during adolescence, even if they are predisposed to developing alcohol dependence. 

The study, conducted at the Institute of Behavioral Genetics, sought to determine whether religiosity had any influence over the genetic variance of problem alcohol use in both men and women by measuring their level of religious practice and alcohol consumption at two different points in their lives.

Participants included 691 sets of both male- and female-paired identical twins, 466 sets of both male- and female-paired fraternal twins, and 275 sets of opposite sex-paired fraternal twins. Both MZ twins (who share 100% of their DNA) and DZ twins (who share 50% of their DNA) were included in the study to consider the outcome of differing genetic variances. As a result, the greater religious involvement the participants had during adolescence, the lower their risk of alcohol abuse. Religiosity helped prevent these individuals from engaging in problem drinking behavior during adolescence, and was even able to persevere over their alcoholic predispositions. Participants with less religious outlooks were more at risk of their predisposed genes.

However, the religious trend was not factor during adulthood, as the results demonstrated that religiosity did not affect the genetic variance of problem alcohol use once participants became older. The data was the same for both men and women.

The researchers conclude that the reduced genetic variance for problem drinking behavior during adolescence may be the result of greater moral and social control at that point in their lives, whereas individuals tend to experience fewer moral influences during young adulthood.

Although it’s clear that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can result in negative outcomes such as birth defects and brain damage, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is still extremely difficult to understand, treat, and prevent. Four first-year medical students from Georgetown University Medical Center examined the clinical treatment of FAS, finding that no new medical strategies exist to detect or prevent the debilitating syndrome that can result after prenatal exposure to alcohol.

Their study, published in Developmental Neuroscience, discovered a lack of sensitive and specific tools for diagnosing children with FAS. Although drinking during pregnancy is highly prevalent and there is a great deal of ongoing research, there isn’t much that translates to a clinical setting.

Sahar Ismail, now in her second year of medical school, worked with fellow students Stephanie Buckley, Ross Budacki, and Ahmad Jabbar on the study, which was a project for the Sexual Development and Reproduction Module under directorship of G. Ian Gallicano, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology.

Dr. Gallicano said that this study is important because even though the students combed through all available research on fetal alcohol syndrome, they found that nothing has changed clinically. While not every woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy will have a child with FAS, so much is still unknown that all women are advised against drinking while pregnant.

Ismail said that it still isn’t known whether alcohol is a teratogen (a chemical that causes nervous system abnormalities) in the first days or weeks of pregnancy, when a woman may not know she is pregnant. While animal studies show that alcohol can have detrimental effects at any stage of fetal development, only a certain amount can be concluded about humans from animal studies.

The researchers can say with certainty that alcohol is the leading cause of preventable mental retardation. Although FAS only affects .2 to 1.5 live births in every 1,000, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)—a less severe form of FAS—is much more common.

The authors say that while there currently is no treatment or specific diagnostic tools to diagnose FAS early in pregnancy or after birth, there is ongoing research aimed at creating better diagnostic tools, including a panel of genes that are altered in the developing fetus and a kit to examine a newborn’s stool, which can identify certain chemicals that are present in FAS. Researchers are also seeking a way to find biomarkers that can inform physicians if a pregnant woman is drinking alcohol. One marker can be detected in the bloodstream for at least 28 days after alcohol use.

Despite this, the researchers say there has been little investigation into these concepts. 

When a loved one seems to be struggling under an alcohol use disorder, their family and friends often have difficulty determining whether there is an actual problem that requires addressing. There are often many factors that play into the minds of people watching someone who may have an alcohol problem.

There have been many variables considered when determining whether a person may be struggling with alcohol, and one variable is the person’s genetic makeup. Naturally, a person with ancestors who have had alcohol use disorder may be more carefully watching for an alcohol problem.

A recent study at Virginia Commonwealth University examined the measures used to determine genetic risk for alcohol dependence. They identified four relatively simple measures of drinking behavior. The four measures have the potential to make the process for identifying genetic risk easy and fast.

Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D., is the director for the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics and a professor of human and molecular genetics at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Kendler led the team that established the four simple steps to determining genetic risk for alcohol use disorder.

The lifetime history of alcohol-dependence was examined for 5,073 twins. The twins were same-sex adults who were recruited from the Virginia Twin Registry. They were examined against four measures of alcohol consumption at the time of heaviest drinking.

The four measures that were used were drinking frequency, regular quantity, maximum quantity and drunk frequency. The researchers used Dianostic and Statistical Manual-Fourth Edition criteria.

The researchers found that the four measures were accurate in assessing the genetic risk for alcohol dependence. The four measures were especially accurate in women who participated in the study. A large proportion of men were also accurately assessed using the measures.

The study was first published online in the Early View issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimentall Research. It will also appear in the June 2010 print issue of the same publication.

The research performed in the study indicates that assessing risk for those who may be struggling with alcohol may become easier using the four measures. It may become simpler to identify those who are predisposed for alcohol use disorder and target them for intervention and education.

As researchers learn more about the risk factors for alcohol use disorder, it will become easier for those at risk to receive treatment and education before the problem has put down permanent roots.
 

The effects of alcohol can have negative consequences for those who engage in heavy episodic drinking. Consuming large amounts of alcohol can lower inhibitions, cause a person to relax, and perhaps enable them to make choices they otherwise would not, such as getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.

Party-goers might soon be drinking enriched cocktails. Recent research indicates that oxygen-enriched drinks could have a positive effect on blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Baek, Lee and Kwon (2010) wanted to compare the effects of oxygen-enriched drinks on BAC after consuming alcohol to the BAC when only alcoholic drinks were consumed.

The researchers recited 49 healthy adults who had volunteered to participate in up to three experiments. There were 30 participants used in each of three experiments; several of the individuals participated in more than one of the three experiments.

The participants were asked in two phases of each of the experiments to drink 40 ml every five minutes of a drink that was 19.5 percent ethanol by volume and enriched with varying amounts of dissolved oxygen concentration. In one phase, the participants were given “normal” alcohol, and in the other phase they were given oxygen-enriched alcohol.

The researchers measured the BAC levels of the participants at regularly timed intervals by using breath samples.

The results of the study show that no difference was found between oxygen-enriched alcohol and normal alcohol in its ability to raise BAC levels in the participants.

However, there was a difference observed in how soon the participants reached a 0.000 percent BAC. Those who drank an oxygen-enriched drink reached 0.000 percent BAC sooner than those participants who consumed a regular alcoholic drink.

There was no BAC level difference noted between the drinks until 150 minutes had passed after consumption.

There are limitations that may affect the results of this study. The small sample size and use of several participants across multiple experiments may compromise the results. Also, the maximum BAC levels measured in the study were below the U.S. legal limit of 0.08 BAC for driving.

The results of this study may indicate a way to decrease the negative consequences associated with alcohol. It may be possible that the use of oxygen-enriched drinks may help lower the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents because BAC levels are able to move more quickly back to normal.

The drinks may present additional problems, too. With a promise of returning to a normal BAC sooner, individuals may consume more alcohol to achieve a desired intoxication effect. More research is needed to understand the full benefits and risks involved with introducing oxygen-enriched alcohol.
 

Actor Rip Torn was arrested January 29th in Litchfield, CT, after drunkenly breaking into a bank near his home armed with a loaded revolver. Torn apparently thought he was at home, as he took off his hat and boots and left them by the door. When officers arrived, they found that his blood-alcohol content was 0.203, about two-and-a-half times the legal limit for drivers in Connecticut. Torn’s attorney said he remembers nothing about that night.

The Associated Press reports that on Tuesday, the 79-year-old actor pleaded not guilty to trespassing, carrying a weapon while intoxicated, carrying a weapon without a permit, burglary, and criminal mischief.

His attorney, A. Thomas Waterfall, said he hopes Torn can apply for accelerated rehabilitation, in which first-time offenders can have their record cleared if they meet court-ordered requirements. Since the arrest, Torn has completed inpatient alcohol rehabilitation, participated in outpatient treatment, agreed to periodic urine analysis, gotten rid of all his weapons, and other conditions set forth by the court. Waterfall said Torn is also continuing with Alcoholics Anonymous. “He looks better and better each time you see him,” Waterfall said.

"I don’t believe that jail is anything that would be of any use to Mr. Torn (or) to the citizens of the state of Connecticut. I just don’t see that as being a reasonable resolution to this case," Waterfall said.

Court records show that Torn didn’t brandish the weapon when the officers confronted him, and he has no history of violence. His permit to carry a firearm in Connecticut had expired in October 2007.

Waterfall acknowledged that the weapons charge could complicate Torn’s application for accelerated rehabilitation, which typically is an option only for nonviolent offenders.

Last year, Torn was given probation in a Connecticut drunken-driving case and entered an alcohol-education program. Last week, a Connecticut judge dismissed the drunken-driving charge against him based on his successful completion of that program. Torn also has two previous drunken driving arrests in New York.