Alcoholism

Ø  Alcoholism is generally defined as the consistent and excessive consumption of and/or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behaviour interferes with an individual's normal personal, family, social, or work life.

      Genetic predisposition testing

Ø  At least one genetic test exists for an allele that is correlated to alcoholism and opiate addiction. Human dopamine receptor genes have a noticeable variation referred to as the DRD2 TaqI polymorphism. Those who possess the A1 allele (variation) of this polymorphism have a slight but significant propensity towards addiction to opiates and endorphin releasing drugs like alcohol.

      Urine and blood tests

Ø  One common test being that of blood alcohol content (BAC). Long-term heavy drinking does have a few recognizable effects on the body, including:

• Macrocytosis (enlarged Mean Corpuscular Volume)
• Elevated GGT (gamma glutamyl transpeptidase)
• Moderate elevation of AST (aspartate transaminase) and ALT (alanine transaminase) and an AST: ALT ratio of 2:1.
• High carbohydrate deficient transferrin(CDT)

   Treatments

Ø  Since alcoholism involves multiple factors which encourage a person to continue drinking, they must all be addressed to successfully prevent a relapse.

   

Detoxification

Ø  Detoxification or 'detox' for alcoholics is an abrupt stop of alcohol drinking coupled with the substitution of drugs that have similar effects to offset the withdrawal symptoms.

Group therapy and psychotherapy

Ø  After detoxification, various forms of group therapy or psychotherapy can be used to deal with underlying psychological issues that are related to alcohol addiction, as well as provide relapse prevention skills.

     Medications:

1.  Antabuse (disulfiram) prevents the elimination of (acetaldehyde), a chemical the body produces when breaking down ethanol. Acetaldehyde itself is the cause of many hang over symptoms from alcohol use. 
2. Naltrexone is a competitive antagonist for opioid receptors, effectively blocking our ability to use endorphins and opiates   
3. Acamprosate (also known as Campral) is supposed to soothe the chemical balance of the nervous system that would otherwise be disrupted by alcoholism 
4. Sodium oxybate is the sodium salt of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB). It is used for both acute alcohol withdrawal and medium to long-term detoxification. 

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