This week, have a shot of alcohol-related science:
A new study shows that in rats, social isolation is a risk factor for addiction to alcohol and drugs. This is probably a contributing factor to addiction among adolescents in unstable social situations.
Raising and lowering legal drinking age limit laws has the expected short-term effects on alcohol overdose and traffic fatalities; however, it can also shape lifelong drinking patterns of those in the affected age ranges.
A new DSM-V is on its way, and everyone’s trying speculate of what the changes will be and what effects they’ll have on healthcare and policy. Here’s a look at what the proposed changes for alcoholism might look like.
And here’s a closer look at the brain chemistry behind binge-drinking damage.
Getting away from the drinking theme, let’s finish out today with a statistic that shocked me: “For every 10% increase in high-speed internet use between 2000 and 2007 (an assumed proxy for access to online pharmacies), utilization of treatment centers for opioid, sedative hypnotic, and stimulant abuse increased by approximately 1% each.”