Oct. 9, 2006 Relapse to uncontrolled drinking after periods of
sobriety is a defining characteristic of alcoholism and is often
triggered by stress. A new study in rats reports that a specific
receptor for a stress-response transmitter may play an important
role in stress-induced relapse. The study, a collaboration
between scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), and at Camerino University, Italy, appears online
in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences on October 2, 2006. "This finding helps untangle the
complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors that
influence relapse," says NIAAA Director T.-K. Li, M.D. "It also
points to potential approaches for treating individuals at risk
for relapse." Anita C. Hansson, Ph.D., a fellow in NIAAA's
Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies, and other
NIAAA scientists worked with Camerino University scientists to
examine stress-induced