Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Search

Childhood Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Alcohol Dependence

Children exposed to severe adversity early in life are at increased risk of subsequently developing mental health problems, including alcohol dependence. In general, the onset of trauma precedes the onset of alcohol dependence. Although it is impossible to establish a direct causal relationship, this temporal relationship suggests a robust and positive relationship between exposure to early-life...

Recovery From AUD - From the Editors

In recent decades, the term “recovery” as it pertains to alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorders has taken on increasing cultural and scientific significance in the United States and around the world. Its growing prominence as a culturally recognized and, importantly, positively valenced organizing concept has occurred in large part in direct response to help counter the pervasive and...

Sex and Gender Effects in Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder

The current article provides a brief summary of biopsychosocial gender differences in alcohol use disorder (AUD), then reviews existing literature on gender differences in treatment access, retention, outcomes, and longer-term recovery. Among psychotherapies for AUD, there is support for the efficacy of providing female-specific treatment, and for female-only treatment settings but only when...

Alcohol’s Effects on Lung Health and Immunity

People have been drinking alcoholic beverages for millennia, and alcohol consumption has played an important role throughout human history, being linked to ancient and modern religions, early medicine, and social occasions and celebrations. Although alcohol consumption is socially accepted across many cultures, heavy and prolonged alcohol intake can lead not only to physical dependence but also...

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and the Developing Immune System

Most Americans are aware that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can injure the developing fetus. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), with their developmental, cognitive, and behavioral consequences, probably are the best known dangers (Bakoyiannis et al. 2014; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] 2009). However, drinking during pregnancy also can...

Drinking Patterns and Their Definitions

The number of drinks a person consumes and the rate at which he or she consumes them influence how much alcohol enters the brain and how impaired that person becomes. Many people are surprised to learn what counts as a drink. The amount of liquid in one’s glass, can, or bottle does not necessarily match up to how much alcohol is in the drink. To facilitate research and clinical care and to help...

ARCR Editorial Staff

NIAAA/NIH Staff

Pamela Wernett, Ph.D., P.M.P.
Editor in Chief and Contracting Officer’s Representative

Pamela joined ARCR in 2018 as an Associate Editor and advanced to Editor in Chief for the journal in 2021. She has managed the journal contract with IQ Solutions as the Contracting Officer’s Representative since 2020. Pamela also serves as a Senior Health Science Policy Analyst within NIAAA’s...

Alcoholic Myopathy: Pathophysiologic Mechanisms and Clinical Implications

Skeletal muscle dysfunction (i.e., myopathy) is common in patients with alcohol use disorder. However, few clinical studies have elucidated the significance, mechanisms, and therapeutic options of alcohol-related myopathy. Preclinical studies indicate that alcohol adversely affects both anabolic and catabolic pathways of muscle-mass maintenance and that an increased proinflammatory and oxidative...

APIS: The NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System

The Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) is an NIAAA-sponsored Web site that provides detailed information on alcohol-related public policies at both the State and Federal levels. Updated annually, the APIS information can be used to identify policy changes in 33 policy areas. Up to two-thirds of these policies can be tracked back to 1998, and data on the remaining one-third are available...

Alcohol and Cannabinoids - From the Editors

Alcohol is frequently used in association with cannabis, with co-use now perceived as normative with expanding cannabis legalization. Cannabinoid products are increasingly used for a number of medical and recreational purposes, including to enhance alcohol-reinforcing properties or in some cases to substitute for alcohol. Rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) are higher among cannabis users relative...