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Both studies add to a larger body of research that suggests that meeting people where they are - both physically and emotionally - can be less intimidating than requiring them to seek formal treatment that involves a diagnosis and a possibly stigmatizing label. "When you label people, when you tell them what to do and are confrontational, it basically raises a brick wall," says Hester. In fact, some studies have shown that the more counselors confront clients, the more the clients drink or take other drugs...
...Maze's research focused on a particular protein called G9a that is associated with cocaine-related changes in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region essential for the experience of desire, pleasure and drive. The role of the protein appears to be to shut down genes that shouldn't be on. One-time use of cocaine increases levels of G9a. But repeated use works the other way, suppressing the protein and reducing its overall control of gene activation. Without enough G9a, those overactive genes cause brain cells to generate more dendritic spines, which are the parts of cells that make connections...
...help screen people at risk for cocaine addiction: those with naturally lower levels of the protein would be the ones to watch. Still, there's a lot to be learned even from further mouse studies - particularly if the work involves younger mice, unlike the adults used in Maze's research. (See the top 10 medical breakthroughs...
Drinkers Check-up, the subject of the 2005 study, helps people consider the pros and cons of continuing to drink in their current pattern. Reid Hester, director of research at Behavior Therapy Associates in Albuquerque, N.M., and one of the authors of the study, says he suspects that these additional elements may have accounted for the better results his site got. His study also included people with more severe problems, some of whom may have been more motivated to change...
...research, published in the journal Addiction, found that heavy drinkers cut their alcohol consumption 30% after using the website Check Your Drinking. The reduction was maintained for at least six months. A 2005 study of a slightly more intensive program, Drinkers Check-up, found a 45% to 55% drop maintained for a year, depending on how drinking was measured. Both sites are free, do not collect identifiable personal information and are open for public use. And the outcomes are comparable to those achieved with brief face-to-face counseling. (See TIME's top 10 medical breakthroughs...