alcohol abuse

Hunger Hormone Feeds Alcohol Cravings

IRP Researchers Pursue New Approaches to Treating Alcohol Use Disorder

man eating pasta

While most adults in the U.S. consume alcohol in moderation, for nearly 30 million of them, going even one day without alcohol feels nearly impossible. For these Americans, alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a serious condition that harms their health, relationships, and career. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of people with AUD receive treatment, and even then, for many patients, the chances of a relapse are high.

As the search for a reliable and effective treatment continues, IRP senior investigator Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D., is exploring the biological processes that underlie alcohol cravings to unlock new approaches to therapy. April is Alcohol Awareness Month, so we took the opportunity to speak with him about recent discoveries made by his IRP team and its collaborators.

Alcohol Abuse Makes ‘Epigenetic Clock’ Run Faster

Study Finds Heavy Alcohol Use Accelerates Cellular Aging

old clock

In an era when 80-year-olds are running marathons while 30-year-olds suffer from obesity-induced heart attacks, inferring the condition of people’s bodies from their birth years is a bit outdated (pun intended). As a result, scientists and clinicians are increasingly examining biological signposts to gauge how well a person’s tissues are functioning. By looking at chemical markers on DNA, IRP researchers recently found that heavy alcohol use accelerates aging at the cellular level.

Brain Data Predicts Alcohol Disorder Symptoms

Study Results Could Help Improve Treatment for Alcohol-Related Problems

MRI images showing connectivity between different parts of the brain

Your brain is always busy, even when you’re not thinking about anything. Scientists believe the way brain cells communicate with one another when the brain is in that ‘resting state’ might differ in individuals with certain diseases. In a recent study of this idea, IRP researchers found that resting state brain activity could effectively predict the severity of alcohol-related problems.

Neuronal Building Block Underlies Alcohol Addiction

3D structure of the NMDA receptor

While many people can easily stop after a beer or two, for others one drink begets many more, ultimately leading to an addiction that drives continuously increasing alcohol consumption over time. New IRP research has identified a specific type of neuronal receptor involved in the development of alcohol dependence in mice, suggesting a possible approach to curbing problematic drinking behaviors in humans addicted to alcohol.

Capturing a Visual Story of Alcoholic Liver Disease Research

Teresa Ramirez and Adeline Bertola collaborating in the lab

It started with a quick tour and meeting the team. We sat in the break room to chat about what Dr. Bin Gao’s lab at the NIH IRP is up to, in preparation to return a few days later to capture photos and video of their ‘Research in Action.’ What did we find?