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Psychiatria Danubina 2021Alcoholics Anonymous is, according to the Program's basic documents, a spiritual program - especially regarding Steps 2-3, 5-7, and 11-12. This paper reviews the history... (Review)
Review
Alcoholics Anonymous is, according to the Program's basic documents, a spiritual program - especially regarding Steps 2-3, 5-7, and 11-12. This paper reviews the history of the Program with emphasis on its spiritual background, as well as on the roots of the spiritual side of the program, and showing the spiritual accents in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. The paper also considers the Christian background of the movement and, more broadly, explores the connection of AA founders William (Bill) Wilson and Dr. Robert (Bob) Smith with several Catholic people, such as Edward (Ed) Dowling, SJ, and John C. Ford, SJ, and indicates some points of contact between the Program and Ignatian spirituality. The paper illustrates the pioneering role of the Alcoholics Anonymous program in integrating spirituality into the process of recovery from and treatment of addictions, an integration that just recently has been embraced by modern psychotherapy and psychiatry. The paper shows the theoretical and spiritual underpinnings of the Program in the religious context. The paper illustrates the orientation of the Program in assisting addicts to integrate into their recovery their own spirituality, a clearer image of God, and personal spiritual and religious progress.
Topics: Alcoholics Anonymous; Alcoholism; Humans; Spiritual Therapies; Spirituality
PubMed: 35026830
DOI: No ID Found -
Alcohol Research : Current Reviews 2020Special emphasis populations in the current context can be defined as groups experiencing health disparities resulting in elevated risk to health, safety, and well-being... (Review)
Review
Special emphasis populations in the current context can be defined as groups experiencing health disparities resulting in elevated risk to health, safety, and well-being from drinking alcohol. Individuals from marginalized minority populations often encounter barriers to accessing and receiving effective alcohol treatment due to social inequities and disadvantaged life contexts, which also may adversely affect recovery from alcohol use disorder (AUD). Recovery from AUD often involves the adoption of a stable non-drinking lifestyle (sobriety), increased health and well-being, and increased social connection. Although there has been considerable work on AUD epidemiology among special emphasis populations, little research exists directly examining recovery among racial/ethnic minority populations and/or sexual and gender minority populations. The current narrative review hopes to spark scholarly interest in this critically neglected area. This article opens with a review of special emphasis populations and their alcohol-related risks. Next, definitions of recovery, Alcoholics Anonymous, and culturally adapted recovery models for racial/ethnic minority populations are explored. This is followed by a discussion of factors that may particularly influence recovery among marginalized minority populations. This narrative review concludes with a discussion of research priorities for promoting health equity through studies focused on understanding and supporting recovery from AUD among marginalized minority populations.
Topics: Alcoholism; Ethnicity; Female; Humans; Male; Minority Groups; Sexual and Gender Minorities
PubMed: 33312835
DOI: 10.35946/arcr.v40.3.05 -
Lakartidningen Oct 2018
Topics: Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholism; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Risk-Taking; Violence
PubMed: 30325473
DOI: No ID Found -
The Journal of International Medical... Feb 2023We aimed to characterize the relationship between severe chronic alcoholism and hepatic arterial wall disorders in humans.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to characterize the relationship between severe chronic alcoholism and hepatic arterial wall disorders in humans.
METHODS
We obtained hepatic arteries from 165 patients undergoing liver transplantation who were placed into two etiological groups: an Alcoholism group and a Non-alcoholism group. We compared the age, sex, lipid profile, and histologic characteristics of the hepatic arteries (normal, reduction in luminal diameter of ≤10%, or atherosclerosis) of the participants in the two groups using multifactor analyses.
RESULTS
The Alcoholism group comprised 58 men and 40 women and the Non-alcoholism group comprised 63 men and 4 women. The mean ages of the groups were 52.5 ± 9.6 years and 44.2 ± 13.8 years, respectively. There were no circulating lipid abnormalities in any of the participants. In women, arterial disorders were found at a younger age than in men. Hepatic arterial disorders were more frequent in the non-alcoholic participants, and women with alcoholism showed less arterial narrowing.
CONCLUSION
The heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with a lower incidence of atherosclerosis of the hepatic artery in humans.
Topics: Male; Humans; Female; Adult; Middle Aged; Hepatic Artery; Alcoholism; Liver Diseases; Atherosclerosis; Lipids
PubMed: 36748484
DOI: 10.1177/03000605231153547 -
Pharmacology & Therapeutics May 2018Patients who suffer from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) usually go through various socio-behavioral and pathophysiological changes that take place in the brain and other... (Review)
Review
Patients who suffer from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) usually go through various socio-behavioral and pathophysiological changes that take place in the brain and other organs. Recently, consumption of unhealthy food and excess alcohol along with a sedentary lifestyle has become a norm in both developed and developing countries. Despite the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption, chronic and/or excessive alcohol intake is reported to negatively affect the brain, liver and other organs, resulting in cell death, organ damage/failure and death. The most effective therapy for alcoholism and alcohol related comorbidities is alcohol abstinence, however, chronic alcoholic patients cannot stop drinking alcohol. Therefore, targeted therapies are urgently needed to treat such populations. Patients who suffer from alcoholism and/or alcohol abuse experience harmful effects and changes that occur in the brain and other organs. Upon stopping alcohol consumption, alcoholic patients experience acute withdrawal symptoms followed by a protracted abstinence syndrome resulting in the risk of relapse to heavy drinking. For the past few decades, several drugs have been available for the treatment of AUDs. These drugs include medications to reduce or stop severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms during alcohol detoxification as well as recovery medications to reduce alcohol craving and support abstinence. However, there is no drug that completely antagonizes the adverse effects of excessive amounts of alcohol. This review summarizes the drugs which are available and approved by the FDA and their mechanisms of action as well as the medications that are under various phases of preclinical and clinical trials. In addition, the repurposing of the FDA approved drugs, such as anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, antidepressants and other medications, to prevent alcoholism and treat AUDs and their potential target mechanisms are summarized.
Topics: Alcoholism; Animals; Drug Approval; Drug Repositioning; Humans; Signal Transduction; United States; United States Food and Drug Administration
PubMed: 29191394
DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2017.11.007 -
Seminars in Liver Disease Feb 2023Alcohol-associated liver disease is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Patients with alcohol-associated liver disease are often diagnosed at advanced... (Review)
Review
Alcohol-associated liver disease is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Patients with alcohol-associated liver disease are often diagnosed at advanced stage and disease spectrum including alcoholic hepatitis, a severe manifestation with a high short-term mortality. Corticosteroid, recommended first-line treatment for patients with alcoholic hepatitis, is a very suboptimal treatment. Although the use of early liver transplantation has increased with consistent benefit in select patients with alcoholic hepatitis, its use remains heterogeneous worldwide due to lack of uniform selection criteria. Over the last decade, several therapeutic targets have evolved of promise with ongoing clinical trials in patients with cirrhosis and alcoholic hepatitis. Even with availability of effective medical therapies for alcohol-associated liver disease, long-term outcome depends on abstinence from alcohol use in any spectrum of alcohol-associated liver disease. However, alcohol use disorder treatment remains underutilized due to several barriers even in patients with advanced disease. There is an urgent unmet need to implement and promote integrated multidisciplinary care model with hepatologists and addiction experts to provide comprehensive management for these patients. In this review, we will discuss newer therapies targeting liver disease and therapies targeting alcohol use disorder in patients with alcohol-associated liver disease.
Topics: Humans; Hepatitis, Alcoholic; Alcoholism; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic; Alcohol Drinking; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 36572032
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1759614 -
Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) May 2017Chronic alcohol exposure produces widespread neuroadaptations and alterations in gene expression in human alcoholics and animal models. Technological advances in the... (Review)
Review
Chronic alcohol exposure produces widespread neuroadaptations and alterations in gene expression in human alcoholics and animal models. Technological advances in the past decade have increasingly highlighted the role of non-protein-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the regulation of gene expression and function. These recently characterized molecules were discovered to mediate diverse processes in the central nervous system, from normal development and physiology to regulation of disease, including alcoholism and other psychiatric disorders. This review will investigate the recent studies in human alcoholics and rodent models that have profiled different classes of ncRNAs and their dynamic alcohol-dependent regulation in brain.
Topics: Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholism; Animals; Brain; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; MicroRNAs; RNA, Long Noncoding
PubMed: 28438526
DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2017.01.004 -
Alcohol Research : Current Reviews 2018Studies have focused on the effects of chronic alcohol consumption and the mechanisms of tissue injury underlying alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis, with less focus on... (Review)
Review
Studies have focused on the effects of chronic alcohol consumption and the mechanisms of tissue injury underlying alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis, with less focus on the pathophysiological consequences of binge alcohol consumption. Alcohol binge drinking prevalence continues to rise, particularly among individuals ages 18 to 24. However, it is also frequent in individuals ages 65 and older. High blood alcohol levels achieved with this pattern of alcohol consumption are of particular concern, as alcohol can permeate to virtually all tissues in the body, resulting in significant alterations in organ function, which leads to multisystemic pathophysiological consequences. In addition to the pattern, amount, and frequency of alcohol consumption, additional factors, including the type of alcoholic beverage, may contribute differentially to the risk for alcohol-induced tissue injury. Preclinical and translational research strategies are needed to enhance our understanding of the effects of binge alcohol drinking, particularly for individuals with a history of chronic alcohol consumption. Identification of underlying pathophysiological processes responsible for tissue and organ injury can lead to development of preventive or therapeutic interventions to reduce the health care burden associated with binge alcohol drinking.
Topics: Alcohol-Induced Disorders; Alcoholism; Binge Drinking; Humans
PubMed: 30557153
DOI: No ID Found -
Alcohol Research : Current Reviews 2020Alcohol use disorder (AUD) commonly is associated with compromise in neurobiological and/or neurobehavioral processes. The severity of this compromise varies across... (Review)
Review
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) commonly is associated with compromise in neurobiological and/or neurobehavioral processes. The severity of this compromise varies across individuals and outcomes, as does the degree to which recovery of function is achieved. This narrative review first summarizes neurobehavioral, neurophysiological, structural, and neurochemical aberrations/deficits that are frequently observed in people with AUD after detoxification. Subsequent sections review improvements across these domains during recovery, taking into account modulators of recovery to the extent permitted. Where appropriate, the discussion includes work integrating outcomes across domains, leveraging the strengths of diverse experimental methods. Interventions to ameliorate neurobiological or neurobehavioral deficits do not constitute a primary objective of this review. However, their consideration is a logical inclusion. Therefore, a limited introduction to existing methods is also presented.
Topics: Alcoholism; Brain; Humans
PubMed: 33282611
DOI: 10.35946/arcr.v40.3.04 -
Journal of Neurochemistry Jun 2021Alcohol addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse consequences. A main challenge... (Review)
Review
Alcohol addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse consequences. A main challenge of addiction treatment is to prevent relapse, which occurs in more than >50% of newly abstinent patients with alcohol disorder within 3 months. In people suffering from alcohol addiction, stressful events, drug-associated cues and contexts, or re-exposure to a small amount of alcohol trigger a chain of behaviors that frequently culminates in relapse. In this review, we first present the preclinical models that were developed for the study of alcohol seeking behavior, namely the reinstatement model of alcohol relapse and compulsive alcohol seeking under a chained schedule of reinforcement. We then provide an overview of the neurobiological findings obtained using these animal models, focusing on the role of opioids systems, corticotropin-release hormone and neurokinins, followed by dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic neurotransmissions in alcohol seeking behavior.
Topics: Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholism; Animals; Drug-Seeking Behavior; Humans; Neurobiology; Neurotransmitter Agents; Recurrence
PubMed: 33704789
DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15343