drug and alcohol abuse Flashcards
how do you calculate units of acohol
% of drink x volume of drink then divide by 10
limit of alcohol per week
14 units for men and women
describe alcohol dependence syndrome?
strong desire or sense of compulsion to drink alcohol
difficulty in controlling use of alcohol
physiological withdrawel state
evidence of tolderance
progressive neglect of other pleasures
persistent use despite knowing the consequences
what is GGT an indicator of?
liver damage
carbohydrate deficient transferrin indicates what?
when men are drinking more than 5 or more units per day for a year or more
men corpuscular volume… raised in alcohol problems or not?
raised
when should you refer someone with alcohol problems
show mod-> severe dependence
failed to benefit from structured brief advice etc and want further help
signs of severe alcohol related impairment
what is dangerous about alcohol withdrawel
it leads to excess glutamate activity and decrease GABA activity
too much glutamate activity is dangerous to the nerve cells
what is delirium tremens in alcohol withdrawel?
night time confusion disorientation and agitation fever paranoid visual and auditory hallucinations
what vitmain must you give to alcoholics and why?
thiamine- to prevent wernickes encepathlopathy
what is first line drug for relapse prevention in alcoholics?
naltrexone
what other things can you do for relapse prevention in alcoholics
CBT
many other types of tehrapy
disulfiram
what happens to D2 receptors in addiction (of anythingg)
they decrease
due to repeated dopamine release, the receptors down regulate
what is the role of the prefrontal cortex?
helps intention guided behaviour
modulates powerful effects of reward pathway
sets goals
focuses attention
makes sound decsions
keeps emotions and impulses under control
effects of dopamine release
ability to update information with PFC
ability to select new goals
ability to avoid complusive behaviour
