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Buprenorphine is more effective than clonidine at helping people withdraw from opioids

It probably has similar effect as methadone, but withdrawal symptoms may resolve more quickly with buprenorphine.

18 Apr 2006

Less chance of Alzheimer's when you follow a Mediterranean diet

Researchers in the U.S. say that eating a typical Mediterranean diet with lots of fruit, vegetables, legumes, cereals, some fish and alcohol, and little dairy and meat helps prevent Alzheimer's disease.

18 Apr 2006

Brits get serious about drinking and depression

Experts in the UK are warning that the favorite ritual of a glass of wine at the end of a stressful working day is for many a form of "self-medication" and a substitute for seeking professional help with their problems.

18 Apr 2006

Mediterranean diet reduces risk of Alzheimer's disease

Americans who ate a Mediterranean diet--lots of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, some fish and alcohol, and little dairy and meat--had a reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease as they aged. These findings are published in the April issue of Annals of Neurology.

18 Apr 2006

Egon Ronay says putting warnings on wine is a joke

Plans in the UK to place warnings on bottles and cans which contain alcohol have been deemed ridiculous by a world famous food and wine critic.

17 Apr 2006

Loneliness is a unique predictor of age-related differences in systolic blood pressure

Loneliness is a major risk factor in increasing blood pressure in older Americans, and could increase the risk of death from stroke and heart disease, new research at the University of Chicago shows.

13 Apr 2006

A drink or two a day may be associated with better cognitive function in women

"Women who had up to two drinks a day scored about 20 percent higher on the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) than women who didn't drink at all or who consumed less than one drink a week," said Clinton Wright, M.D., M.S., lead author of the study.

13 Apr 2006

A new study shows unbelted crash occupants represent 68 percent of patients dying in emergency departments

In the nation's first statewide study of its kind, the Injury Research Center of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has revealed new data on an old problem - people who don't use seatbelts. The researchers found that unbelted crash occupants who make it to an emergency department alive are more than three times as likely as belt users to die.

11 Apr 2006

Gene variant doubles risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) have identified a previously unknown gene variant that doubles an individual's risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

11 Apr 2006

Alcohol use, tobacco use and male gender associated with an earlier onset of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths, according to background information in the article. Screening asymptomatic patients is an important strategy for reducing these deaths, because by the time patients experience symptoms, the cancer may have progressed beyond the point where it can be cured.

11 Apr 2006

Alcohol use, comorbidity, and mortality

Older men who drink as few as two drinks twice a week and also have diseases that could be worsened by alcohol or cause problems with medications taken while drinking alcohol have higher death rates, as compared to men who either drink less or may drink more but don't have such comorbidities.

11 Apr 2006

Brits biggest binge drinkers

According to new research, British people drink more alcohol on a night out than any of their Western European neighbours.

10 Apr 2006

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy as an indicator of liver and biliary diseases

A retrospective case-control study of 21,008 women in Finland has found that those with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), an itchy skin condition when bile gets backed up in the liver, are significantly more likely to suffer other liver diseases later in life.

7 Apr 2006

Healthy lifestyle changes reduce high blood pressure

Men and women with elevated blood pressure who make healthy lifestyle changes and sustain them for up to a year and a half can substantially reduce their rates of high blood pressure and potentially decrease their heart disease risk.

6 Apr 2006

Staggering costs of sleep disorders and sleep deprivation on the nation

According to a new report by the Institute of Medicine ( IOM), 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from a disorder of sleep and wakefulness, which adversely affects daily functioning, health and longevity.

5 Apr 2006

Sticking to lifestyle changes will reduce high blood pressure risk

It has been suggested for sometime by a range of research studies that lifestyle changes, such as exercising to lose weight and following a healthy diet, are possibly as important as drugs for treating chronic diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension.

5 Apr 2006

Study questions health benefits of moderate drinking

Previous analyses did not account for effects of age and illness that may make abstainer groups appear to have higher death rates than drinkers.

4 Apr 2006

Study examines behavioral changes that occur after a person heavily drinks as an adolescent

Adolescence is a time of change both physically and mentally. Many times it means trying new things and for some, that includes experimenting with alcohol.

4 Apr 2006

If you're middle age and sleep five or less hours a night, you may be increasing your risk of developing high blood pressure

"Sleep allows the heart to slow down and blood pressure to drop for a significant part of the day," said James E. Gangwisch, PhD, lead author of the study and post-doctoral fellow in the psychiatric epidemiology training (PET) program at the Mailman School.

4 Apr 2006

Radiofrequency ablation is as effective as surgery for small liver tumors

Three-year data shows that radiofrequency ablation is as effective as surgical resection for overall survival and tumor recurrence, for the treatment of single small hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with liver cirrhosis, according to a study presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 31st Annual Scientific Meeting.

4 Apr 2006