No other disease has such a broad spectrum of effects on society. Few diseases destroy the whole family and leave such a painful and long-lasting mark on society. People go to great lengths to seek help for their ailment. But sadly, when people find out they are afflicted with the disease alcoholism, they literally run away from the treatment. This was one of the issues raised and discussed in a two-day forum launched by the Skipper Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at Chapel Hill to combat alcoholism.
Alcohol addiction is a brain disease which is manifested by loss of control over excessive drinking.
Dr. Carlton Erickson, a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Texas at Austin and a nationally recognized scientist, and John O'Neill, the Executive Director of the Alcoholism and Drug Research Communications Center in Austin, TX presented the two-day forum. About half of those treated will relapse. From this introduction the forum progressed into a discussion of the definitions of dependency and abuse and what measures have contributed to reducing the problems of abuse. Dr. Erickson elaborated on the genetic studies and neurochemistry of euphoria, craving and loss of control. At one point, color balloons were used to illustrate the interactions of neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, GABA, and endorphins, with drugs of abuse in the reward centers of the brain.