Drinking Happiness

This last Tuesday, July 19, 2011, I was doing some surfing on the web, and somehow I came across an article pointing out that a recent study reported in the journal Biological Psychiatry demonstrated that men are twice as likely to become alcoholics as women. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1321767/Why-men-twice-likely-alcoholics--drinking-sparks-pleasure-male-brains.html  The reason appears to be that when men drink their brains release almost twice as much dopamine, a "feel good" chemical and neurotransmitter, as do women's brains. Nothing in my study of alcoholism heretofore had revealed that alcohol releases dopamine. This triggered a day of internet research which resulted in some fairly stunning discoveries. 


Here, in the order of discovery, are what I found that day:
1. The above discovery about dopamine and male brains.
2. What alcohol gives, in terms of pleasure, it later takes away. http://scienceblog.com/community/older/1999/A/199900066.html "In particular, dopamine appears to be a primary neurotransmitter of reward in the nucleus accumbens and hippocampus areas of the brain. Serotonin is believed to have an additive or synergistic effect on dopamine. Alcohol is known to initially lead to an increase in dopamine release, which supposedly enhances reward/pleasure. However, chronic and/or high levels of alcohol will eventually lead to a decrease in dopaine release. This disruption of intercellular interactions or "chemical imbalance" can result in negative feelings such as anxiety, anger or in a craving for a substance, such as alcohol, that can alleviate the negative feelings. Yet because chronic drinking releases a continuously reduced amount of dopamine, more and more alcohol is needed to feel "normal." ...Morrisett says "When a person starts to drink and is experiencing the reinforcing aspects,...that's when 'we're having a little engine misfire.' At the point of full-blown alcoholism, he said, "we're addicted, we're dependent, we're drinking fifths of whiskey a day, the car is wrecked."
3. Both alcohol and nicotine result in a cascade of chemical and electrical events in the brain. http://www.macalester.edu/psychology/whathap/UBNRP/Dopamine/alcoholtobac.html (By the way, the foregoing webpage is even animated) It asks: "Why is it that some people are so easily enticed into the wrath of alcohol, cocaine, nicotine and other addictive substances, while others can literally take them or leave them? Many scientists are convinced that the answer may be simpler than any of us has dared imagine. What ties all these mood-altering drugs together, they say, is a remarkable ability to elevate levels of a common substance in the brain called Dopamine....However, researchers admit that although dopamine probably plays a vital role in the reward and reinforcement of behavior associated with addictive substances, other neurotransmitters and factors most likely play an important role as well."
4. Modern psychiatry utilizes two primary types of anti-depressants: SSRIs or selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors and drugs of which Bupropion ("Wellbutrin") is the prime example, that is Dopamine reuptake inhibitors. (My doctor prescribed the latter for my depression) Wikipedia discusses both types of drugs in extensive articles. 
Recently, a lot of doubt has been cast on SSRI's such as Prozac and Zoloft, as "silver bullets" against depression. Wikipedia says: "Efficacy of SSRIs for the treatment of depression compared to placebo is disputed. Two meta-analyses of clinical trials found that in mild and moderate depression, which constitute the vast majority of depression cases, the effect of SSRI is very small or none compared to placebo, while in very severe depression the effect of SSRIs is clinically significant. However, treatment by either placebo or SSRI may have significant effect in lower-severity depression vs. no treatment at all."
In other words, in cases of moderate to low-severity depression, any treatment that the patient believes in is likely to have some effect. However, sugar pills are a lot cheaper than SSRIs.
5. It is entirely possible that Dopamine, not Seratonin, is responsible for the success of SSRIs, when they succeed. http://www.mcmanweb.com/dopamine.html
John MacManamy says: "Enter the new generation antidepressants such as SSRIs. Ironically, as the authors point out, when SSRIs work well it may be due to interactions between the serotonin system and the dopamine system. The authors cite a 1996 German study that found that those who responded to SSRIs - but not those who failed to respond - "exhibited increased dopamine binding to D2 receptors in the striatum and that the degree of increase in D2 binding correlated with improvement in Hamilton Depression Scale score." In other words, dopamine may be serotonin’s secret weapon. It’s still way too soon to draw this conclusion, but we definitely have the basis for a strong hypothesis, not to mention "Neurotransmitter of the Year" distinctions for years to come."
6. There are natural, nutritional supplements out there that rapidly boost Dopamine levels in the brain. http://www.powersupplements.com/craniyums-less5.html  An M.D. has developed a supplement called CraniYums for her patients. Read all about it at the above website. She claims: "In a double-blind, placebo controlled study, the group that took CraniYums demonstrated an average 819% rise in serotonin and 425% rise in dopamine levels. The placebo group had no significant rise in serotonin or dopamine. All this after just 2 hours!" 
In a second study of patients with neurotransmitter deficiencies, the results were as follows: 

In conclusion, use of CraniYums as directed over a six week period affects the symptoms of neurotransmitter deficiencies in the following ways: improves eating satisfaction, improves mood, lowers anger and irritability, lessens fatigue, lowers anxiety and fearfulness, relieves achy muscles, improves sleep, lessens appetite and cravings especially for starchy or sweet carbohydrates; and improves motivation, mental focus and muscle strength.

"CraniYums were developed by Dr. Cheryle R. Hart, M.D. Dr. Hart is a 1984 graduate of the Mayo Clinic and is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology as well as bariatrics, the specialty of medical weight management. She held appointments as associate clinical professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota and the University of Washington School of Medicine. She is currently the medical director of the Wellness Workshop in Spokane, Washington, a preventive health and weight loss clinic, having treated over 5000 weight loss patients since 1996.She and her clinic were featured in the September 2002 Time magazine cover story on weight loss in America.


She co-authored the best selling diet book, The Insulin-Resistance Diet and is currently completing her book on neurotransmitter precursor therapy. She is a frequently requested national speaker, radio and television guest and co-hosted her weekly health talk radio program, Hart of the Matter."
Dr. Hart uses CraniYums in support of weight loss and dieting programs to reduce cravings, etc. Could this or a similar supplement help with cravings for alcohol, tobacco and other addictive substances?
What's in CraniYums? Are there other supplements that contain the same things? I found some in my cupboard. More on these questions in my next post.