Will This Drug Help Lessen the Impact of Teen Binge Drinking in Seattle?

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), there is a strong connection between binge drinking in adolescence and alcoholism in adulthood. Adolescence is a time of stretching boundaries; few teenagers worry that their behavior will lead to problems down the road.

Now science might have found a drug that will help switch off binge drinking by adults who once practiced the behavior as teens. Research published in Neuropharmacology suggests the drug Naltrexone can inhibit the impulse to consume alcohol excessively in adulthood. How might this drug affect those with alcohol use disorders in Seattle? In the meantime, where can those battling addiction turn for help?

New Drug Shows Promise for Seattle Alcohol Rehab

The National Institute of Health (NIH) defines binge drinking as successively consuming four alcoholic drinks for women and five drinks for men in a two-hour period. According to a study in Neuropharmacology, if this behavior begins in adolescence, there is a strong likelihood that the individual will have a predisposition to continue the activity as an adult.

The study suggested that binge drinking in adolescence affects the brain by inhibiting normal development and maturation processes. In adulthood, this affects the desire to drink and the inhibitions that cause people to understand the consequences of their actions. Teen alcohol consumption causes, in effect, an immature brain in the adult.

STOPPING ADDICTION IS POSSIBLE WITH SEATTLE ALCOHOL REHAB.

Unfortunately, this is all too common; the Center for Disease Control (CDC) points out that alcohol is the most commonly abused drug in adolescence. They report that 11 percent of all the alcohol in the United States is consumed by people between the ages of 12 to 20 years old. Ninety percent of this consumption is binge drinking.

The Neuropharmacology study found that mice that consumed even a fraction of alcohol when they were young showed a strong attraction to the drug as they aged. However, a drug called Naltrexone shows real promise for blocking the brain receptors that create a craving for alcohol. Researchers said, “This drug effectively switched off the impulse in mice to binge drink.” This study was one of the first of its kind, and the potential for helping Seattle alcohol rehab patients recover is promising.

The research could not have come at a better time; according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), heavy drinking by Americans has climbed by more than 17 percent since 2005. A Seattle Pi article cited CDC stats showing one in five King County adults engaged in binge drinking in the past month.

Seattle Alcohol Rehab – Exploring Recovery

While more research will surely need to be undertaken and initiated, Naltrexone shows real promise for Seattle alcohol rehab patients. Families and communities across the state are being negatively affected by alcohol and drug addiction. Seattle alcohol and drug rehab offer a healing alternative to the detrimental effects of a life lived in the chains of addiction. There is a way out. Take it by contacting us today.