Summary: More than 85% of US adults report drinking alcohol, and data suggests that about 25% of the population engages in binge drinking. Additionally, it appears that about 6% of adults are addicted to alcohol. Prolonged alcohol abuse causes premature death due to many causes like a motor vehicle accident or liver disease. The new study suggests that Covid-19 intake has increased alcohol-related deaths. This may be due to increased mental stress, work-from-home culture, and other reasons.

Alcohol consumption is pretty common and is a part of western culture. Thus, no surprise that all reputed localities are laced with pubs, bars, and more. It is common for people to have a drink after a hard working day. A drink helps relax and communicate and is an enjoyable activity. Though most people know that excessive alcohol can harm health, many do not realize the scale of the problem. This may explain the rate of increasing deaths due to alcohol addiction.

US data shows that about 85% of all adults drink alcohol. However, casual alcohol drinking is not an issue. But US statistics are alarming as they show that one-fourth of US adults engage in binge drinking. As a result, one-fourth of the population is at the risk of developing excessive alcohol consumption-related disorders and premature death.

Studies also suggest that about 7% of adults in the US are living with alcohol addiction. An estimated 14.5 million people older than 12 years of age have alcohol abuse disorder (AUD). AUD or alcohol addiction is a disease that must be treated; else, it may harm health severely. But, regretfully, only about 10% of those living with AUD or alcohol addiction seek treatment for the condition. Instead of seeking for their alcohol addiction treatment, people are more likely to seek treatment for health disorders caused by excessive drinking.

Alcohol addiction or excessive drinking may cause premature death for many reasons, like motor vehicle accidents, homicides, alcohol overdose, suicides, liver disease, kidney failure, and cancer. What is worrisome is that people of working age are more likely to consume alcohol excessively. Excessive alcohol use now causes more than 140,000 deaths in the US annually. It means about one in ten deaths among working-age adults is due to excessive alcohol use.

What the new studies add to the current understanding of alcohol addiction is that excessive alcohol use-related deaths are rising. It confirms the worrisome trend. Although in the last few decades, there is not much change in the rate of alcohol consumption, but more people are engaging in binge drinking.

The study was especially done by keeping in mind the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on alcohol consumption habits. Covid-19 caused significant stress. Additionally, more people started working from home. The study confirmed that this resulted in excessive alcohol intake. This resulted in a slight increase in alcohol-related deaths in the US from 2.8% in 2019 to 3% in 2020.

Although data may show only a minor increase in alcohol-related deaths, nonetheless, the numbers are significant. Moreover, it shows an upward trend, something that cannot be neglected.

Alcohol consumption in moderation does pose many health threats. However, binge drinking (four or more drinks) or heavy drinking (eight or more drinks) can significantly harm health. To prevent deaths associated with excessive alcohol consumption, people should seek attention for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and not for health complications arising from alcohol addiction.

Treating alcohol addiction or AUD is different from treating drug addiction. AUD is often the result of years of alcohol use. Quite often, a person may not even realize that he or she is living with the condition. Most such individuals start by drinking alcohol in moderate amounts. However, with time or due to stress, they might begin abusing alcohol.

Summary: Heave drinking, binge drinking, and AUD are significant social and health problems. Many people struggle to say no to alcohol despite realizing the ill effects of heavy drinking. Psychotherapy is one of the effective and safe ways to manage the condition, as it helps rewire the brain and alter the thinking pattern. Now a new study shows that using psilocybin along with psychotherapy may have much higher benefits. After such a treatment, people are almost twice more likely to abstain from alcohol and report a significant decline in cravings.

Alcohol is widely consumed in the US. About 80% of all adults drink alcohol now and then, and some of them consume it quite frequently. However, some people start engaging in excessive alcohol consumption, which is harmful to health.

According to the CDC, binge drinking is having four or more drinks on a single occasion. And heavy drinking means having eight or more drinks.

Excessive and irresponsible alcohol use is a significant problem in the US. Moreover, this problem is quite common in young adults. It is among the leading cause of death in young adults. AUD causes 140,000 deaths each year, and it also causes significant disability and economic harm.

Psilocybin is a psychedelic compound from magic mushrooms widely used for its trippy effect. It causes hallucinations. Yes, it remains a controversial compound for clinical use. It is still a substance of abuse, and FDA does not allow its clinical use. However, FDA allows its use for clinical studies.

Researchers have been experimenting with psychedelics for more than half a century to treat various mental health issues.

However, they have recently discovered how to use these agents safely and effectively. They understood that these agents are only suitable for use under medical supervision and for the short term. They work at lower dosages and are more effective when combined with psychotherapy.

When combined the psychotherapy, they help rewire the brain quickly. Their effect is unlike other medical drugs that take a long time to start acting and have a short-lasting action. Instead, psychedelics work fast and may provide long-lasting relief due to improved brain rewiring. They are especially good for managing mood disorders like depression.

However, now a new study confirms that they can be pretty good for managing substance abuse disorders like AUD.

In a new study published in the journal JAMA, researchers compared the effectiveness of psilocybin with diphenhydramine, a kind of antihistamine with a sedative effect and known to lower cravings. The study found that when combined with psychotherapy, psilocybin is much better and has a long-lasting effect.

Researchers say that what has amazed them is the persistent effect of psilocybin. Though the study was small and had a sample size of only 100, the findings were quite surprising. They found that psilocybin was almost twice more effective compared to diphenhydramine.

In the study, researchers divided participants into two equal groups. Both groups received 12 psychotherapy sessions over 12 weeks. However, one group received two dosages of psilocybin and the other group, diphenhydramine, as a placebo. They tracked the patients for six months.

At the end of the study, they found that just by adding two doses of psilocybin, the effect of psychotherapy increased considerably. Thus, after six months, about 10% still reported drinking heavily. However, these numbers were almost 25% in the diphenhydramine group.

What is impressive is that in the psilocybin group, twice as many participants stopped drinking altogether, 48% vs. 24%. They said that they had reduced cravings for alcohol after a psilocybin treatment. Those who stopped drinking said they did not consider themselves alcoholics anymore.

Researchers then went further and offered a third dose of psilocybin to study participants at the end of the six-month study. They said that after this dosage, many more reported benefits.
Researchers say they are very encouraged by their findings, and study results surpass their expectations. Moreover, psilocybin did not cause any side effects, and yet it had a prolonged benefit.
Researchers say that they are now planning more extensive study. They are planning a 3-year study with more than 200 participants. And they also plan to have participants from diverse backgrounds. Nevertheless, researchers think that psilocybin appears to be a real breakthrough in managing AUD.

Summary: Alcohol abuse disorder is a significant problem among adults. It is among the preventable causes of ill-health. Nonetheless, doctors who treat alcohol abuse disorder know that treating the condition is not easy. There are high relapse rates among the patients. In addition, it appears that binge drinking at a young age causes epigenetic changes, making people prone to anxiety and alcohol abuse disorders. Thus, experts think that gene therapy, Opioid addiction treatment and Telehealth treatment could be an effective way to treat the condition.

Binge drinking is a significant problem in the US. Studies suggest that about one-sixth of all adults in the US engage in binge drinking. These people do not essentially have alcohol abuse disorder, and they are not living with alcoholism. However, they drink excessively from time to time.

 

Binge drinking is described as when someone consumes 4-5 or more drinks on occasion. Binge drinking is associated with significant harm. For example, it is the cause of motor vehicle accidents, violence, memory and learning problems, and more.

 

New studies suggest that some people are prone to binge drinking. They are often well-educated individuals with good incomes. However, they are used to consuming alcohol excessively now and then. Thus, they are exposing themselves to undue risk. Binge drinking is quite different from alcoholism, as binge drinkers are sober most of the time.

 

Researchers have long tried to understand why some individuals continue binge drinking. It seems that binge drinking at a young age causes changes in gene expression. Thus, a person becomes hard-wired to drink excessively. It also means that managing binge drinking by medications is quite challenging.

 

Researchers have identified genes associated with binge drinking and tools to modify them

 

Of course, genes do not change readily. Thus, modern studies show that high alcohol consumption causes epigenetic changes. In epigenetic changes, genes remain intact or unchanged. However, gene expression changes due to lifestyle choices. Once gene expression has changed, it continues to cause trouble for the rest of your life.

 

There could be many ways of overcoming epigenetic changes. For example, unlike genetic changes, these epigenetic changes might be overcome through lifestyle modification. However, some researchers think that the faster way could be by using gene therapy.

 

For gene therapy, two things are required. First, science needs to identify the genes that were altered due to binge drinking, and then they need to find tools for gene editing. It appears that science has identified both of them, at least in animal studies.

 

In a study done on mice models, researchers fed them with excessive alcohol for a long. And they found that this led to specific epigenetic changes. For example, they saw that binge drinking especially led to the changes in the so-called Arc gene. The changes in this particular gene expression occurred emotion and memory center. These changes predispose individuals to anxiety and alcohol use disorder later in life.

 

It means that editing this particular gene may help reduce anxiety and the risk of alcohol use disorder. The problem with epigenetic changes is that they continue to persist for the rest of life. These changes are quite challenging to reverse through lifestyle modification. However, one may alter these changes via gene editing.

 

In the study, researchers used CRISPR-dCas9 for gene manipulation. This tool is the gold standard for gene therapy these days. They found the tool quite effective for reducing anxiety and other changes, thus reducing the risk of alcohol abuse disorder.

 

Although these are still early days, researchers think it is just a matter of time before gene therapy becomes widely available. These findings can definitely contribute to the treatment of alcohol abuse disorder in adults. In addition, it can help provide a permanent cure for addiction.