A team of researchers at Loyola University Medical Center recently tested whether minor burns experienced by binge drinkers were slower to heal when compared to burn injuries treated in non-binge drinkers. The research was recently presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Burn Association.

The researchers found that binge drinking may result in a slower recovery and a higher overall medical cost for treating a burn injury. The study compared patients who were measured to have an intoxication level above the legal limit with patients who did not have any alcohol measurable in a blood test.

The patients included in the study were all burn patients, but their injuries varied in severity. Typically, those who were intoxicated at the time of the emergency department visit had less severe burns than those who were sober. However, though the non-drinkers’ burns were more serious, the binge drinkers had similar experiences when it came to instances of pneumonia and sepsis. Binge drinkers also spent comparable lengths of time relying on a ventilator, being monitored in an ICU, and in overall time spent in a hospital.

When it came to the cost of treating the burns, the binge drinkers and non-drinkers also had similar results. The median cost for treating binge drinkers for a burn was $221,000, a figure similar to that of non-drinkers with more serious burns.

Senior author of the study, Elizabeth J. Kovacs, PhD, is the director of research at the Burn & Shock Treatment Center at Loyola and director of the Alcohol Research Program. She explains that when individuals binge drink regularly, even a minor injury can be complicated by serious problems and result in a long hospital stay.

The researchers studied 53 individuals who were admitted to Loyola with burn injuries. Twelve of the admissions measured at over 0.08 percent blood alcohol content, which is the legal limit for operating a car. Four patients had alcohol in their systems, but below the legal limit, and 37 patients had not been drinking at all.

The breakdown of drinking showing about 30 percent with alcohol in their blood among the patients is similar to the rate found in other research studies.

Among the patients, non-drinkers experienced burns over about 24.9 percent of their bodies, while binge drinkers experienced about 10.6 percent.

The authors offer several explanations for the increased difficulty in recovering among those who were binge drinkers. Intoxication can weaken the immune system and cause healing to slow and the body to be less resistant to infections.

In addition, binge drinkers have the challenge of going through withdrawal while healing from a burn. This may result in agitation and uncooperative behaviors that inhibit healing.

A new study says that those cues can even appear in the form of smells, making it very difficult for someone working to abstain from alcohol. The study, conducted by researchers at Indiana University was led by Jessica Wilden, from the university’s neurosurgery department.

The study focused on testing the effects seen in the brain when rats are exposed to certain cues, such as a smell, that they associate with alcohol consumption. The results of the study show that there may be a physical neurological basis for the cravings and relapse that are associated with alcohol consumption.

The researchers found that a specific area of the brain called the basolateral amygdale exhibited increases in activity at times when the animal models were exposed to smells that they had been conditioned to relate to alcohol. The amygdale, a structure in the brain that is shaped like an almond, is involved with motivation and emotion functions.

The researchers exposed alcohol-preferring rats to an environment that either had alcohol or did not, and provided alternative smells that the rats were trained to associated with the existence or lack of alcohol. The alternative odors were not connected with alcohol, but were instead such odors as anise (licorice), peppermint and orange.

Primary investigator Zachary Rodd is an associate professor of psychiatry. Rodd explains that addiction contains an aspect of learning. Those who use addictive substances have a ritual that goes with that behavior. Before long, there is a group of cues, any of which can lead to a craving. Relapse, says Rodd, may be closely linked with these cues that have, in the past, been associated with substance use that stimulate cravings.

The study showed that in the rats were introduced to craving-inducing cues, there was measurably more activity in the basolateral amygdale when compared with other brain regions. In addition, when the researchers used drugs to deactivate the basolateral amygdale, the rats exhibited a decrease in cravings.

Wilden explains that the study shows that a very precise region in the brain is responsible for controlling a very precise behavior and response. This leads experts to understand substance abuse relapse as a physical challenge that may require physical treatment.

In addition, the study’s findings show that the functions of the brain responsible for cravings and those responsible for inhibiting the craving are in different areas of the brain.

The study provides evidence that supports the development of specific therapies designed to impact the basolateral amygdale, with a goal in mind of helping control cravings for substances such as alcohol and drugs.

A Medical News Today report reveals a new online tool from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to help officials determine how much radio advertising is getting through to pre-teens and teens.

Alcohol marketing is supposed to be targeted to areas where a majority of the population is of legal drinking age. This tool has helped to identify that this is not necessarily the case and that there are several violators who are marketing to the younger audiences.

The concern is due to the high percentage of twelve to twenty-year-olds who abuse alcohol. Officials say this population is more likely to partake in alcohol at a younger age and tend to over indulge on a regular basis. Alcohol is the contributing factor in the deaths of almost five thousand young adults every year.

Critics of marketing to youth say that the more exposure the younger age group receives, then the more likely they will be to drink. The statistics indicate that there is already a problem and the ads only contribute to the epidemic.

Radio advertising is under scrutiny because it still remains so popular with young adults. In a time where the internet is perceived to be where more youngsters turn their attention, radio is still pulling its own with this population.

Marketers are all about increasing revenues for their companies, but there seems to be a bit of social responsibility necessary in this case. If statistics back up that teens listen to the radio and act upon the advertisements, then they should change their focus.

There are enough adults who are of legal age to consume their product so there is no need to prey on the underage group, thus contributing to an already deadly problem.

Oral cancer can be deadly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over a quarter of the 30,000 people diagnosed with the disease each year will die from it. The best way to beat the disease is through prevention, according to recent news. Experts agree that regular dental check-ups should be conducted every six months. At that time, your dentist can examine your mouth and neck for any sores or lumps, which can be precursors for the illness.

Alcohol heightens the risk for oral cancers because of several reasons. It can irritate the mouth and gum tissue, even damaging DNA. Additionally, the dehydration that comes with excessive drinking may allow harmful chemicals, such as those in cigarette smoke, to build and accumulate. These would otherwise be carried away by saliva.

Alcohol also provides an open door for harmful substances to travel through the mouth that would otherwise have a hard time passing through tissue. Finally, too much alcohol can impede the immune system’s response to harmful chemicals. This allows time for bacteria to grow and fester, resulting in infection.

So how much alcohol is cause for concern? The risk for periodontal problems noticeably increases when weekly drinking reaches in excess of ten drinks. While this may sound like a lot, it really means that having just one to two drinks a day may put you at increased risk.

The Pacific Institute-based study used government records of traffic deaths nationwide along with blood alcohol content (BAC) data from almost 7,000 traffic fatalities in 2006 and nearly 7,000 respondents to a 2007 highway survey to compile its findings. According to the research, during the 1980s, underage men were two times more likely than underage women to b killed in an alcohol-related automobile accident. By 2007 women and men were equally at risk. What is behind the increase in danger parity? One researcher suggested that young women may be emulating the poor behavior of young men.

Young men continue to die more often as a result of drinking and driving, but that is perhaps due to the fact that men consume more alcohol. Looking at the government data one can see that drunken driving deaths are more about BAC than either gender or age. For example, teenagers 16 to 20 years of age with a blood alcohol content level of .02 – .049 percent are three times more likely to be involved in a traffic fatality than are sober drivers of the same age and they run a four times greater risk of being killed in a one car accident.

A newer but also serious threat to teenage traffic safety has emerged alongside the growth of portable devices. Even sober drivers are at risk when they allow themselves to become distracted by iPods and cell phones. Texting while driving has become a major danger on the nation’s highways, particularly for the young. Automobile deaths among sober, young male drivers have risen alarmingly (to nearly double from 1996 – 2007) over the past decade or so. Much of this is attributable to the issue of distracting technology.

Gender blindness is usually a good thing. However, in this case there is nothing to celebrate. Losing young men and women due to alcohol or distracting technology is a tragedy in every case. Along with stricter laws, better methods of delivering instruction about the dangers of drinking and driving and texting while driving are needed. In the meanwhile, the study’s findings may be found in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

The focus of a recent article presents information about the Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (AIID). This piece of technology is for driving while intoxicated offenders who have been caught drinking and driving at least twice.

The device attaches to the car and works through the key ignition. The driver of the vehicle must turn the key then blow into a device that measures their blood alcohol levels. As long as the person’s BAC is below .03 then they are able to drive. If their BAC is above the allowed level, then the car would not start. The driver must periodically blow for the BAC test while they are driving and at any time if the number would change to above .03 the car would shut-off.

The AIID is measured for accuracy every couple of months to make sure it is getting correct readings. The offender covers all costs for use of the equipment and any other updates that are needed. The information from readings taken from the device will be submitted to the courts, law enforcement or rehabilitation center so they will know how the lawbreaker is handling his or her sentence as well as their rehab program.

The law for use of the AIID along with a DWI offense went into legislation at the turn of the New Year. Proponents of the AIID hope that this will help to continue to cut down on repeat DWI offenders while allowing them to continue their lives as normal as possible.

At present, the drugs acamprosate and naltrexone are used to treat the disease for those seeking to live sober. These drugs are typically successful about 20-25 percent of the time. However, a recent test study involving 132 alcohol-dependent participants treated with baclofen saw an 80 percent success rate where success was defined as either complete alcohol abstinence or a moderated rate of alcohol intake.

Based on the success rate in the initial testing, a second study with roughly double the number of participants is scheduled to begin in France later this year. Clinical trial participants will be broken into a test group and a control group. The test group will receive ever-increasing doses of baclofen until a cessation of alcohol cravings is noted. The control group will receive a placebo. The study will be largely underwritten by the French health system.

The drug does have some side effects though they are not severe. Most users report drowsiness, dizziness, general fatigue or insomnia. Information on baclofen and the initial testing and pre-trial data can be found in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.

The device acts as a deterrent to driving under the influence. In order to start the ignition, the driver must first blow into a device positioned on the steering column. As long as the breathalyzer-type testing device doesn’t detect alcohol over the legal limit, the car will start right up. But drink too much and the engine won’t run.

In 2004, when the state of Washington expanded the use of interlock requirements on all DUI offenders, the recidivism rate dropped by 12 percent. The irony is that only one third of those offenders actually installed the interlock system. Had every one of those DUI offenders been required to install the device, imagine how big of a decrease that would have been. Since then, the state has eliminated the waiting period and all offenders convicted of a DUI offense, since 2011, must use the interlock device.

There is current legislation in the works to connect federal highway funds to the interlock requirement. However, opponents of the bill feel not every offender should be required to have the device in their vehicle. They feel the law should only require persistent offenders and anyone with a blood-alcohol content level of more than .15 percent to have them installed. Doing this wouldn’t change the current number of fatal crashes involving alcohol, according to the IIHS. Only a third of drivers under the influence to that degree are involved in crashes.

A new study examines the effects of including information about alcohol in news reports and how that impacts a person’s opinion about enforcing alcohol laws. The study, conducted by researchers at Ohio State University, showed that when an article is read linking alcohol to violent crime or an accident, the reader is more likely to support alcohol laws.

In the study, researchers asked participants to read real news reports that discussed crimes of a violent nature and accidental injuries. The articles were edited so that half of the participants received reports that mentioned the role of alcohol, while half were edited to remove the mention of alcohol.

When participants read articles that included information about the role of alcohol, they were more likely to support the enforcement of alcohol laws related to serving intoxicated individuals, selling alcohol to underage drinkers and open container laws when compared to those who read articles that did not mention the role of alcohol in a crime or accident.

The same researchers who conducted this study previously researched the rate at which news sources include relevant information about the role of alcohol in a crime or accident. They found that less than one-fourth of newspaper reports and one-tenth of television news reports included information about the role of alcohol in an event.

Michael Slater is the co-author of the study and is a professor of communication at Ohio State University. He explains that the exclusion of this information in news reporting may be affecting public health. If people were more aware of the role of alcohol in crime and accidents, they may demand a higher level of enforcement.

Joining Slater in the research was Andrew Hayes, associate professor and David Edwoldsen, professor, at the School of Communication at Ohio State and Catherine Goodall from Kent State University.

To examine the effects of the news reports, the researchers recruited 789 adults to read one of 60 local newspaper stories that reported on a violent crime, car accident or other type of injury.

The participants were told that they were evaluating the articles for clarity and other factors and were asked to answer a series of questions related to the article, including being asked to rate their level of support for liquor laws. Those who read articles including information about the role of alcohol showed more support for alcohol laws than those who read articles that did not include information about alcohol involvement. The results were the same whether the participants read about injuries or crimes.

The news rarely reports on how much alcohol plays a role in accidents and deaths and yet it’s estimated that drinking is involved in nearly one-third of all deaths that are related to them. Lead author Dr. Michael D. Slater from Ohio State University, says although people do have slight awareness to the social costs of alcohol, only a tiny fraction of media coverage regarding violent crimes and non-motor accidents even contribute to its’ role.

Slater noted that many do not even realize how often it actually contributes to off-roadway accidents and violence, according to Medical News Today.

This public lack of awareness may hamper the support for necessary alcohol control laws like strict enforcement of prohibitions and underage drinking laws when it comes to serving to intoxicated consumers. Slater’s team of researchers sent surveys to a group of 789 adults in the U.S. to see how the media affects views of the current laws on alcohol control.

The survey informed them of car crashes, other accidents and stories about violent crimes taken from U.S. newspapers. Each was altered into one, single version mentioning the involvement of alcohol along with a second one that didn’t.

Participants were then asked about their support for the existing laws regarding alcohol control such as the limits on numbers of establishments that served or sold alcohol in an existing area.

Overall, the team found that people support the existing laws on alcohol control after reading the stories that mentioned alcohol. Slater believes local authorities can only help the matter by mentioning the role alcohol does play where it concerns accidents and crimes whenever they speak with media.