Problematic alcohol consumption
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Dr. Refky Nicola speaks with Dr. Sudhakar Venkatesh from Mayo Clinic about the imaging manifestations of alcohol use disorder and its widespread impact on the brain, liver, heart, lungs, and musculoskeletal system. The discussion highlights key radiologic findings, from Wernicke's encephalopathy to hepatic fibrosis, and explores how advanced MRI techniques aid in diagnosis and management. Imaging Manifestations of AlcoholUse–associated Disorders and Diseases. Venkatesh et al. RadioGraphics 2025; 45(7):e240189.
Send us a textIn this episode of WTR Small-Cap Spotlight, Anthony Tennyson, CEO and Co-Founder of Solvonis Therapeutics (LSE: SVNS | OTC: SLVNF), joins host Tim Gerdeman, Vice Chair and Co-Founder of Water Tower Research, and analyst Robert Sassoon to discuss the company's mission to transform care for addiction and mental health disorders.Tennyson shares Solvonis' journey from inception to its Phase 3 lead program for alcohol use disorder (AUD), which achieved 86% patient sobriety in prior Phase 2 trials, and details how the company's **dual R&D strategy—repurposing existing molecules and discovering new small molecules—**has allowed it to progress with exceptional capital efficiency. The discussion also covers the SVN-001 and SVN-002 programs, commercialization strategy, and Solvonis' strong financial position and runway through 2027 as it works toward redefining treatment for one of the world's most pervasive unmet medical needs.
In episode 65 we discuss varenicline and bupropion for alcohol use disorder. Söderpalm B, Lidö H, Franck J, Håkansson A, Lindqvist D, Heilig M, Guterstam J, Samuelson M, Askerup B, Wallmark-Nilsson C, de Bejczy A. Efficacy and safety of varenicline and bupropion, in combination and alone, for alcohol use disorder: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre trial. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2025 May 13;54:101310. We also discuss medical marijuana for anxiety in Pennsylvania, and RFK's embrace of psychedelic therapy. Annals of Internal Medicine: Medical Cannabis Certifications After Pennsylvania Added Anxiety Disorders as a Qualifying Condition Annals of Internal Medicine: High-Concentration Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Cannabis Products and Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review MedPageToday: Will RFK Jr.'s Push for Psychedelic Therapy Help or Hamper the Emerging Field? --- This podcast offers category 1 and MATE-ACT CME credits through MI CARES and Michigan State University. To get credit for this episode and others, go to this link to make your account, take a brief quiz, and claim your credit. To learn more about opportunities in addiction medicine, visit MI CARES. CME: https://micaresed.org/courses/podcast-addiction-medicine-journal-club/ --- Original theme music: composed and performed by Benjamin Kennedy Audio editing: Michael Bonanno Executive producer: Dr. Patrick Beeman A podcast from Ars Longa Media --- This is Addiction Medicine Journal Club with Dr. Sonya Del Tredici and Dr. John Keenan. We practice addiction medicine and primary care, and we believe that addiction is a disease that can be treated. This podcast reviews current articles to help you stay up to date with research that you can use in your addiction medicine practice. --- The best part of any journal club is the conversation. Send us your comments on social media or join our Facebook group. Email: addictionmedicinejournalclub@gmail.com Facebook: @AddictionMedJC Facebook Group: Addiction Medicine Journal Club Instagram: @AddictionMedJC Threads: @AddictionMedJC YouTube: addictionmedicinejournalclub Twitter/X: @AddictionMedJC --- Addiction Medicine Journal Club is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. The views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or the authors of the articles we review. All patient information has been modified to protect their identities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this minisode, Colleen distills emotional sobriety into its simplest form: learning to recognize when you're operating from your primal state versus your power state. Most of us spend our lives reacting to the world from old programming—patterns shaped by fear, pain, or the need for control—without realizing that we can pause, interrupt, and return to presence. She explains how to move from being controlled by your mind to consciously using it as a tool, how emotional energy drives every “problem,” and how the act of letting go—physically and mentally—is the real path to peace. This is more than nervous system regulation; it's a full reclamation of agency over your inner world.
In this minisode, Colleen unpacks the hidden link between insecurity and control — and how most of us try to manage our anxiety by managing other people's opinions. Through a grounded, body-based perspective, she reframes confidence not as something you “earn,” but as something you practice by returning to yourself again and again. She challenges the myth that insecurity means something is “wrong” with you. Instead, she explains that it's a call to turn inward — to redirect your energy from controlling perception to cultivating presence. The goal isn't to eliminate self-consciousness, but to move the needle toward self-possession, one thought, one feeling, and one moment at a time.
When I was in my 30s and 40s, I thought health was something you earned with discipline. I ate clean, drank tons of water, ran marathons and swallowed whatever supplements were trending. And even though I appeared to be doing everything right, my stress was through the roof and my body constantly ached. I was always looking for the next thing to fix. But here's what I didn't realize: I wasn't broken, or even unhealthy. I just wasn't listening to my body. I cared more about how things looked than how they felt. I thought I had to prove that I was healthy by doing hard shit–taking on more than I could actually handle. I didn't understand that relaxation isn't something you earn after you check all the boxes. It's an essential ingredient to success. In today's episode, I'm talking with Courtney Townley, host of Grace & Grit and author of The Consistency Code. Courtney helps women navigate the health maze of midlife—when your resilience to stress is naturally lower, and the load you're carrying has never been heavier, and the old strategies you've used to just keep going are no longer working. In this episode, you'll learn: Why doing more often makes you less healthy—and how your definition of self-care needs to change How to identify “integrity pain,” the tension between who you are and how you're living What to do when your motivation disappears and you literally don't have the energy to keep up with your damn self Being healthy isn't about external metrics…it's when you learn how to experience unconditional love for your body. If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL. Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air! You can find Courtney at Grace & Grit ---> Grab Her NEW Book, The Consistency Code, launching November 5th! Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc
What does a healthy relationship with alcohol really look like? Dr. Nzinga Harrison, chief medical officer and co-founder of Eleanor Health, joins Natalie to break down the realities of addiction, substance use disorders, and how compassion and open conversations can transform families. With deep expertise in adult psychiatry and addiction medicine, Dr. Harrison shares actionable tools to recognize early signs, navigate stigma, and support loved ones—plus insights from her new book and experience as a parent. You'll learn how to use the powerful CAGE screening tool, why support systems are essential, and how addiction is influenced by both biology and environment. Discover the importance of self-compassion, how to talk with teens, and the value of the sober curious movement. Whether you're reevaluating your own habits or helping someone else, this episode equips you with practical strategies and hope for lasting wellness. Follow Natalie: Website: https://natalietysdal.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/ntysdal TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@ntysdal Facebook: https://facebook.com/natalietysdal Disclaimer: Natalie Tysdal is a health journalist, not a licensed medical professional. This podcast is informational only, not medical advice.
In this episode, Colleen introduces “future casting” — a mindset tool that helps you move from emotional reactivity into grounded awareness. She reframes every “problem” as an emotional one, reminding us that what keeps us stuck isn't the circumstance itself, but the stress response and beliefs we attach to it. Through this lens, future casting becomes a way to access perspective: to pause, regulate your nervous system, and imagine yourself on the other side of the obstacle — already having moved through it. From that calmer, wiser version of you, the next right thought and action become clearer. This practice is both deeply practical and profoundly empowering. It invites you to stop fighting your emotions, reconnect with the body, and use imagination not for worry or control — but for possibility and calm.
In this minisode, Colleen reflects on the stories we grew up with — the ones where the lost princess or overlooked heroine is finally discovered and restored to her rightful place. These stories shaped how many of us learned to wait: for validation, timing, permission, or rescue. She'll reframe that pattern through the lens of emotional sobriety. True power isn't something that arrives once circumstances improve — it's a mindset and a way of being that can exist even in the middle of the mess. Transformation doesn't come from fixing yourself or performing worthiness, but from believing in the person you're becoming before your life catches up. You are invited to examine where you might still be waiting for rescue, and to practice showing up today as the version of yourself who already knows she's capable, worthy, and ready.
Send us a textWelcome back Rounds Table Listeners! Today we have a solo episode with Dr. Mike Fralick. This week, he discusses a recent phase 2 trial looking at the effects of once-weekly semaglutide on alcohol consumption and craving in adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Here we go!Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder (0:00 – 10:28).Questions? Comments? Feedback? We'd love to hear from you! @roundstable @InternAtWork @MedicinePods
You don't have a willpower problem. You have a nervous system problem. In this episode, I'm breaking down the eight principles of self-directed neuroplasticity—how to actually rewire your brain so drinking less stops being a battle and starts becoming automatic. Here's what most people don't understand: You can't change your drinking habits while you're operating in overwhelm. Your brain literally doesn't have access to the circuits required for behavior change when you're in survival mode. Which is why all the rules, commitments, and white-knuckling haven't worked. You've been trying to force change from a state that makes change neurologically impossible. In this episode, you'll learn: Why alcohol use disorder is a stress response pattern, not a character flaw The 5 steps of the stress response (and why recognizing The Wall changes everything) Why shame makes change impossible—and what to do instead The 8 principles that make lasting brain change possible Why short, gentle daily somatic practices work better than dramatic or intense lifestyle changes How to build new habits without fighting the old ones This isn't fluffy self-help. This is neuroscience. And once you understand how your brain actually works, you stop blaming yourself and start solving the real problem. Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!
Measures of General Intelligence and Risk for Alcohol Use Disorder JAMA Psychiatry This male Swedish cohort study that included 573,855 participants assessed if there is an association between IQ and risk for alcohol use disorder, and if so, what is the nature of this association. It found that IQ at age 18 years was associated with subsequent alcohol use disorder risk. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest a causal association, albeit with context-dependent differences; genetic liability for cognitive performance also predicted alcohol use disorder in a US-based sample. Results suggest that there was a clear impact of genetic liability for cognitive performance on alcohol disorder risk, but the association varies based on the sociocultural context. Read this issue of the ASAM Weekly Subscribe to the ASAM Weekly Visit ASAM
In this episode, Colleen explores how hidden beliefs quietly shape our choices, limit our vision, and create the illusion of safety at the expense of growth. Most of the obstacles we face aren't outside of us — they're thoughts we've stopped questioning. Through the lens of her own experience, she illustrates how well-intentioned reasoning can harden into self-protection, keeping us in familiar patterns that feel comfortable but constraining. This reflection challenges listeners to look beyond circumstances and into the conditioning that sustains them — and introduces a single, powerful question designed to reveal what's actually in the way of change.
In this episode, Colleen traces a quiet, familiar fear that surfaces whenever we step into new territory — the fear of becoming “too much.” What begins as a loving message to stay safe or small can become an inherited boundary that keeps us from expansion. Through her own reflection, she reveals how deeply patterned beliefs about worth, service, and visibility shape the nervous system's response to growth. This isn't a story about trauma, but about awakening — seeing how the rules we once followed out of love can quietly hold us back from the life we're ready to create.
Today I'm sharing a powerful conversation from The Period Whisperer podcast with host Bria Gadd. We talk about the hidden link between hormones, stress, and drinking—why so many high-achieving women end up using alcohol as a coping mechanism. You'll hear the truth about emotional sobriety, how the toxic cultural pressure to be “productive” leads to inevitable breakdown in midlife, and why you don't actually lose control of your drinking—you lose control of your thinking. If you use alcohol to quiet your mind or reward yourself for another exhausting day, this episode will shift your diagnosis of the problem so you can start working towards a solution that doesn't require you to stop drinking completely. Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!
In this episode, Colleen exposes one of the most dangerous lies we tell ourselves: “Whatever. I don't care.” It's the phrase that sneaks in at the very moment you're about to follow through on what matters, pulling you back into autopilot. Habits feel easy not because they're better, but because they're familiar—and this thought is the detour sign that keeps you circling the same old roads. She shows how to catch that phrase in real time, flip it, and reconnect with your real intentions. It's not about one big breakthrough—it's about interrupting the trance again and again until your brain learns a new path forward.