Smoking may interfere with alcoholics' neurocognitive recovery during abstinence
...very in several areas of functioning. In short, abstinent alcoholics without a history of cigarette smoking achieved better recovery of critical mental functions during the first six to nine months of sustained sobriety, said Sara Jo Nixon, a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Fl...Persistent smokers may have higher risk to become depressed than never smokers
...ose smokers who had quit successfully and remained abstinent through the follow-up did not have elevated depression risk compared to the never smokers. "This may reflect a relatively long recovery process from the adverse effects of cigarette smoking" Dr. Korhonen continues. "The mechanisms underlying the ass...Decision-making impairment appears greater in alcoholics with coexisting personality disorders
...ntrols" with no substance-abuse issues (n=53); and abstinent alcoholics divided into three subgroups, those without any PD (n=38), those with a cluster A or C PD (n=19), and those with certain cluster B Antisocial and Borderline PDs (n=23). The objective was to determine if decision-making impairments are s...Weight worries affect women's motivation to stay smoke-free after pregnancy
...bout their motivation and confidence for remaining abstinent and their confidence to control their weight without smoking after giving birth. Based on their responses, the women were then divided into two groups, those who were highly motivated not to smoke after giving birth, and those who were less motivated...Long-term abstinence may resolve many of the neurocognitive deficits associated with alcoholism
...onths to 13 years. Results indicate that long-term abstinent alcoholics can recover many of their neurocognitiv...to two groups: 48 (25 males, 23 females) long-term abstinent alcoholics, and 48 (25 males, 23 females) age-matched "controls" who either drank lightly or not at ...Alcoholism-treatment medication acamprosate may help abstinent alcoholics sleep better
...pse to alcoholism." "These sleep problems among abstinent alcoholics construe a critical issue, as they can remain for up to three years," added Timothy A. Roehrs, director of research at the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at Henry Ford Hospital, as well as professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral s...Studies indicate medication can be an effective therapy for smoking cessation
...cipants in the varenicline group were continuously abstinent from smoking compared with 17.6 percent in the pla...cipants in the varenicline group were continuously abstinent compared with 13.2 percent in the placebo group and 20.2 percent in the bupropion group. For weeks 9...Stress, alcoholics, and post-traumatic stress disorder
...respond appropriately to stress, this may leave an abstinent alcoholic more vulnerable to effects of stress, which may place the person at greater risk for relapse," he said. "Conversely, these relationships did not hold true for individuals with PTSD and alcohol dependence," observed Brady. "It may be th...Particular treatments effective for alcohol dependence
... medical management had higher percentages of days abstinent (80.6, 79.2, and 77.1, respectively) than the 75.1...t, there was an overall difference in percent days abstinent between those receiving placebo pills and medical management alone (73.8), placebo pills and medical...Successful treatment of alcoholism found in the doctor's office
...tantiallyimproved. Overall, the percentage of days abstinent tripled, from 25 to 73percent during treatment. Alcohol consumption per week also droppeddramatically, from an average of 66 drinks to 13. "What was really compelling is that people did well, regardless of thespecific treatment," Swift said. "There m...Effective alcohol dependence treatments defined
...s assessed the patients for the percentage of days abstinent from alcohol and time to the first heavy drinking day, defined as 4 or more drinks per day for women and 5 or more drinks per day for men. They also assessed the odds of good clinical outcome, defined as abstinence or moderate drinking without alcoho...Study results offer guidance in treatment
...04, recruited and randomly assigned 1,383 recently abstinent alcohol dependent patients. Individuals were assigned to one of nine treatment groups. In eight of the nine groups, patients received what the paper called "medical management," attending sessions with a physician, nurse, physicians assistant, or pha...Researchers discover link between expectancy, visual cues and the desire to smoke
...behaviour." While smokers were scanned in both an abstinent and non-abstinent state, this factor had less of an effect on brain activation levels when compared to expectancy. Aside from revealing this important characteristic of craving, Dr. Dagher says that "this study also has an impact on the treatment of ...Body image relates to sexual risks taken by men and women differently
...ore oriented toward their appearance than sexually abstinent individuals." In their paper, the authors note that a positive view of one's body may provide an extra dose of confidence for males and, as a result, these men may be confident enough to seek multiple sexual partners and engage in unprotected sex b...Methadone therapy - one dose does not fit all
...eved abstinence on less than 60 mg, and 16% of the abstinent patients received a dose of over 100 mg. On the other hand, almost half of the patients who did not achieve heroin abstinence received the recommended dose of 60 mg or more. Overall, patients at clinics that generally adhered to the treatment guideli...Abstinence is healthy goal for teenagers but research critiques abstinence-only educational policies
While few Americans remain abstinent until marriage and most initiate sexual intercourse as adolescents, abstinence from sexual intercourse is an important behavioral strategy for preventing human immunodeficiency virus, other sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy am...Alcohol-deterrent drugs help patients achieve high rates of long-term abstinence
...hough up to 30 percent of patients may claim to be abstinent two to three years after treatment," said Hannelor...dicate that only six to 20 percent of patients are abstinent two years after therapy. These results reflect therapists' clinical experience that alcoholism is a...Teens unaware of sexually transmitted diseases until they catch one, Carnegie Mellon study finds
...egie Mellon researchers were more likely to become abstinent than girls who did not see the DVD. This latest study was co-authored by Wandi Bruine de Bruin and Baruch Fischhoff of the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon, and Pamela J. Murray, director of adolescent medicine at Childre...Many smokers fail to quit after cancer diagnosis
...r patients who are able to stop smoking and remain abstinent after diagnosis and treatment are likely to reap substantial physical and psychological benefits, including improved QOL and prolonged survival." ...Alcoholics Anonymous and treatment seem to work best together
...rticipate for a longer time, are more likely to be abstinent and to maintain remission up to five years after an episode of professional treatment than patients who are not involved or less involved in such groups. Affiliation with AA also is associated with more self-efficacy and problem-solving coping skill...