23. February 2011 by stationmanager.

 People with a family history of alcoholism, especially women, have an elevated risk of also
becoming obese, according to a new study. And the link between the two appears to be strengthening — the risk of becoming obese, for people with alcoholics in their family, is higher now than in the past, the researchers said. The researchers said a possible explanation for obesity in those with a family history of alcoholism is that some individuals may substitute one addiction for another. After seeing a close relative deal with alcohol problems, a person may shy away from drinking, but high-calorie, hyper-palatable foods could stimulate the reward centers in their brains, and give them effects similar to what they might experience from alcohol, the researchers said. “Ironically, people with alcoholism tend not to be obese,” said study researcher Richard A. Grucza, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine  in St. Louis. “They tend to be malnourished, or at least under-nourished because many replace their food intake with alcohol.” Further, the study showed men and women with a family history of alcoholism were more likely to be obese in 2002 than members of that same high-risk group had been in 1992. The rise in this risk over one decade indicates that some change in the environment, rather than in people’s genes, is at work, Grucza said. Grucza said the environmental changes at work may be in the food we eat, and the fact that more of the foods that are available to us interact with the same brain areas as addictive drugs.
“Much of what we eat nowadays contains more calories than the food we ate in the 1970s and 1980s, but it also contains the sorts of calories — particularly a combination of sugar, salt and fat — that appeal to what are commonly called the reward centers in the brain,” Grucza said.
This effect on the brain’s reward centers may be what obesity and the addictive behaviors seen in alcoholism have in common.
“Alcohol and drugs affect those same parts of the brain,” Grucza said. Because the same brain structures are being stimulated, overconsumption of unhealthy foods might be greater in people with a predisposition to addiction.
Obesity in the United States has doubled in recent decades, from 15 percent of the population in the late 1970s to 33 percent in 2004, the researchers said. Obese people – those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more – have an elevated risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.
In 2001 and 2002, women with a family history of alcoholism were 49 percent more likely to be obese than those without a family history of alcoholism, the study showed. The researchers found a similar link between the conditions in men, but the effect was not as strong, they said.
The researchers analyzed data from two large alcoholism surveys from the last two decades: The National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey was conducted in 1991 and 1992;The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions was conducted in 2001 and 2002. Almost 80,000 people took part in the two surveys.
The researchers examined other variables — such as smoking, alcohol intake, age and education levels — but none seemed to explain the association between alcoholism risk and obesity.
Grucza said the results suggest there should be more discussions between alcohol and addiction researchers and those who study obesity. He says there may be some people for whom treating one of those disorders also might aid the other.
The study is published in the December issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

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13. February 2011 by stationmanager.

F

FRANKFORT — A state lawmaker wants random drug testing of adult Kentuckians who receive food stamps, Medicaid or other state assistance.

Those who fail the test would lose their benefits under House Bill 208, filed by Rep. Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster.Napier’s proposal has won the backing of powerful House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, but critics say it would stigmatize welfare recipients and possibly harm their innocent children.“I’m not a hard-hearted guy,” said Napier. “I believe there is a need for public assistance for those who need it, but I understand some are using these funds to buy drugs.” Napier said the goal “is to get people off drugs.”“Most employers require it for their workers,” he said of drug testing. “We need to do the same for those getting assistance through the state.”Napier said he would alter the bill when the legislature resumes Feb. 1 so it requires the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services to set up mandatory, random testing of the blood or urine of any Kentuckian 18 or older who receives welfare benefits, food stamps or state medical assistance.There would be exceptions for those who have a prescription for a controlled substance, he said.Making the testing random would ensure the bill is constitutional, Napier said.Under the proposal, adults on welfare who test positive for drugs would lose their assistance. They could get it back by passing a drug test at a later date determined by the state.It’s not certain how much the bill would cost the state, but Napier said there are more than 600,000 adult Kentuckians on welfare, and a drug test would cost about $30. If all recipients took a test, the cost would be at least $18 million.But Napier said random testing could lower the overall cost of assistance programs because those abusing drugs wouldn’t be eligible for help. He also said the state would save money “by getting more people off drugs.”“People are calling me from all over the state, telling me about people who are selling food stamps or other public assistance for drugs,” Napier said.Sheila Schuster, who works with organizations that advocate for disabled Kentuckians, said her concern with Napier’s bill is “it fans the flames of people who misunderstand the plight of those who receive assistance and would put more negative connotation on them.”Schuster said she would like to know whether there are data that show a higher percentage of substance abuse among those who receive assistance compared to the general population.Schuster, who advocates for offering substance abuse treatment to all Medicaid recipients, also said backers of the bill should spell out how to handle children of drug-tested welfare recipients.Substance abuse treatment for Kentucky Medicaid recipients is limited now to children and pregnant women, she said.Instead of harming children, Napier said, the proposal would help protect kids from parents who abuse drugs. “Who would want their children raised in an environment where money is being used for drugs instead of groceries?” he asked.Napier did not know whether any other state has a policy similar to his proposal.Though his bill has not been assigned to a committee for a hearing, Napier noted it is backed by Republicans and Democrats.Thirteen House members have signed on as co-sponsors, including Stumbo, who was the state’s attorney general from 2003 to 2007 and has served in the House for more than 26 years.“As attorney general and as a legislator, I have done all I can to curb illegal drug use in the state,” Stumbo said in a statement. “I view this issue in that light, and that’s why I signed on as co-sponsor.” Napier filed a similar bill during last year’s regular session without Stumbo’s co-sponsorship, but it never got out of the House Health and Welfare Committee. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, could not be reached for comment.Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said he would like to see the bill “create an early warning system to treat those on illegal drugs instead of punishing children whose parents lose assistance.”Gwenda Bond, a spokeswoman for the state cabinet that would administer the drug-testing program, said the cabinet was “still reviewing the bill. We have no position on it at this time.”

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5. February 2011 by stationmanager.

Only the first of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous mentions alcohol. The other 11 talk about redemption, restoring moral character, and devotion to God (or other higher power).

From that perspective, it makes sense that a new study finds that Alcoholics Anonymous increases spirituality. But it goes further than that: Spirituality may actually play a role in successful recovery from alcoholism, says research in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

The way that Alcoholics Anonymous members share their experiences of suffering is akin to what happens in a military unit or a musical group or a family, where the idea of “we’re all in this together” becomes particularly strong, said Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.

“Someone will say something profound that everyone can connect with beyond themselves, and it can be very moving,” said Humphreys, who was not involved in the study but also researches the effects of Alcoholics Anonymous. “That is a spiritual process.”

Alcoholics Anonymous has more than 1.2 million members in the United States, encompassing more than 55,000 groups across the country. Founded in 1935, participation in this group has shown to be effective in short-term and long-term outcomes in numerous scientific studies. Since a large body of research has found that this and similar groups work (Narcotics Anonymous for drug use, and other organizations), more studies are turning to a deeper question: Why do they work?

Meetings of 12-step support groups vary according to how “religious” they seem, Humphreys said. Some of them are full of discussion about God; others don’t emphasize it as much, but focus more philosophically on the nature of being and existence.

“Certainly the basic frame is about minimizing selfishness, minimizing grandiosity, giving to others, accepting character flaws, and apologizing when you’re wrong,” Humphreys said.

Addiction to any substance, be it alcohol or marijuana or harder drugs, raises common issues prompting spiritual questions, Humphreys said. These experiences include loss of control, terror, doing things you’re ashamed of, and being close to death, he said.

The new study looked at data from 1,726 adults randomly assigned to different psychosocial treatments for alcoholism. Researchers asked the participants questions at the beginning of the study and then every three months.

They found that participants in Alcoholics Anonymous said they increased their spiritual beliefs and practices, especially people who were low on those measures when they first began Alcoholics Anonymous. Moreover, spiritual beliefs and behaviors appear to at least partially be responsible for successful recovery from alcoholic behaviors. Perhaps that also relates to findings from a separate study that religion breeds happiness because of personal connections made in a congregregation.

Still, spirituality and religiosity don’t probably operate alone in Alcoholics Anonymous - the coping skills, support, and other encouragement of abstinence from alcohol likely also help participants in recovery, the authors wrote.

Also, the study does have limitations.  For instance, most participants were Caucasian men participating in a larger study called Project MATCH. Also, what is meant by “spirituality” varies and means different things to different people.

This wasn’t the only news in favor of Alcoholics Anonymous today.  A study published in the same journal found that women returning from prison decreased their drinking habits after weekly meetings of the group for six months. <from CNN Health>

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1. February 2011 by stationmanager.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The state could save money by putting fewer non-violent drug offenders in prison and instead supervising them through probation, parole and substance abuse treatment programs, according to a report from a task force that has been studying Kentucky’s justice system .Revising the state’s drug laws — such offenders make up a quarter of the prison population — is one of several recommendations the legislature will consider during this year’s session, which reconvenes Feb. 1.The recommendations, which were presented to the interim joint Judiciary Committee Wednesday, are aimed at reducing prison costs and population while maintaining public safety. Legislative leaders also say the goal is to reduce the rate at which offenders commit new crimes. “What we’ve been doing is spending a lot of money and not doing much good,” said Sen. Tom Jensen, R-London, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The recommendations are the culmination of work by the Pew Center on the States, a nonprofit organization, and a task force made up of legislative leaders, the Kentucky Supreme Court chief justice, the Public Safety Cabinet secretary and representatives of prosecutors, public defenders and county officials. Kentucky has had one of the fastest-growing prison populations in the country over the past decade. The number of inmates grew by 45 percent during that time, compared to 13 percent overall in state prison systems, according to the task force’s report. Despite that, Kentucky’s crime rate dropped just 6 percent over the past decade, compared to a 19 percent drop nationwide. Corrections spending in the state increased 214 percent between 1990 and 2010, according to the report. Legislators acknowledge that few, if any, of the task force’s findings and recommendations are new — at least four task forces have studied the penal code since 2003.They do, however, say the legislature must take action to slow the growth in prison spending and population If the state does nothing, according to the report, the prison population will increase by nearly 1,400 inmates and spending will increase by $161 million over the next 10 years We’ve been saying it for years: Let’s take the cost savings on beds and brick and mortar and reinvest it in mental health,” said Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson.“I think (the Pew study) lends the issue credibility and perhaps gives a wakeup call not only to the humanitarian crisis that we’ve been talking about for years, but the fiscal crisis as well,” she added .The strategy outlined in the report is to expand the use of alternatives to incarceration, such as probation, parole, electronic monitoring and substance abuse treatment. The money saved by housing fewer inmates in prison would then be used to pay for the treatment facilities, more probation and parole officers and other tools that seek to keep offenders from committing new crimes. The report says the recommended reforms are estimated to reduce the prison population by 3,000 to 4,000 inmates and save taxpayers millions of dollars in prison operation costs. It costs $21,700 a year to house an inmate in a state prison. Some of the reforms in the report are aimed at keeping non-violent, low-risk drug offenders out of prison. According to the report, 25 percent of the state’s prison inmates are being held for drug offenses.“The penal system thought, I thought too, that if you punish people and say if you do it again your punishment is going to be worse, that that would get them to stop,” Jensen said. “It hasn’t.”One recommendation is to distinguish between high-level drug traffickers and users who peddle small quantities of drugs to support their habit. The distinction would punish more serious trafficking more severely Other recommendations include lesser sentences for small quantities of drugs, revising sentencing enhancements for drug offenses and changing the required distance between a trafficking offense and a school building from 1,000 yards to 1,000 feet for purposes of an enhanced sentence..The report also recommends the state increase its use of tools that other states use to evaluate offenders’ likelihood of re-offending those assessments are used to determine whether alternatives to incarceration, such as probation, substance abuse treatment and electronic monitoring, would be cheaper and more effective at preventing recidivism — offenders committing new crimes.In addition, the report calls for more transparency with victims and requiring counties to seek approval from the state before building new jails. Chris Cohron, commonwealth’s attorney in Warren County, said prosecutors are working with legislators on the bill. He declined to discuss specific recommendations about which prosecutors are concerned. < Courier Journal, Louisville KY Jan 19th,2011>

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