Long-Term Abstinence Clinical Issues and CNS Disinhibition

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this proposed competitive revision, we are adding a longitudinal component for people in early abstinence to our funded R01 studying clinical issues and CNS disinhibition in short- and long-term abstinent alcoholics compared to non-alcoholic controls. Restudying the short term abstinent sample at 5 and 10 months after their initial assessment will directly examine the changes that occur within the first year of abstinence and/or with relapse to active drinking. The data to be gathered will leverage on the funded R01, and will be of enormous value in determining which characteristics of LTAAs represent changes with abstinence vs. which represent selection variables determining which individuals are able to achieve long-term abstinence. Although this revision is to our R01 studying abstinence, it also is directly relevant to our other R01 on Treatment Na¿ve Active Alcoholics (which was funded with a 0.7 percentile score). In that project, we are studying essentially functional alcoholics in the community. Only about 1/4 of alcoholics seek treatment, and our work has shown that they are not as 'sick' as our LTAA, and by implication, not as sick as alcoholics who try to stop, but are unsuccessful. In this competitive revision proposal, short-term abstinent alcoholics who relapse are just that group - alcoholics who try to stop, but are unsuccessful. Thus, although this application is a supplement to our long-term abstinence project, it will also serve to supplement and strengthen our treatment-na¿ve alcoholic R01. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANACE: This proposed competitive revision adds a longitudinal component for people in early abstinence to our funded cross-sectional R01 studying clinical issues and CNS disinhibition in short- and long-term abstinent alcoholics compared to non-alcoholic controls. The data to be gathered will leverage on the funded R01, and will be of enormous value in determining which characteristics of LTAAs represent changes with abstinence vs. which represent selection variables determining which individuals are able to achieve long-term abstinence.