BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM

THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO PROVIDE AN UP-TO-DATE COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT AND EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND THEIR COMBINATIONS USED AS INDICATORS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM. IN PHASE I, THE PROJECT WILL IDENTIFY THE PERTINENT SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE AND THEN PROVIDE A REVIEW AND CRITICALEVALUATION OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS IN DIFFERENT STUDIES, ESPECIALLY IN REGARD TO THE METHODOLOGIES USED AND THEIR POSSIBLE CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. THE LITERATURE SEARCH WILL MAKE USE OF THE EXISTING EXCELLENT LIBRARY FACILITIES AND DATABASES AS WELL AS OF THE OUTSIDE SOURCES. THE REVIEWWILL BE EXTENSIVELY REFERENCED. IN PHASE II, THIS PROJECT WILL CREATE A DATABASE THAT WILL SERVE AS A REGULAR REFERENCE SOURCE AND AN ONGOING EVALUATION FOR INDICATORS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM. ALCOHOL RESEARCH AND TREATMENT IS A HIGH-PRIORITY AREA, AND THE DATABASE DEVELOPED BY THIS PROJECT WILL MAKE FREQUENT ACCESSING TO SUCH INFORMATION POSSIBLE. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED WILL BE USED BY RESEARCHERS AND CLINICIANS WORKING IN THE AREA OF ALCOHOL ABUSE. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE INFORMATION THUS PROVIDED AND UPDATED REGULARLY WILL HELP IN TACKLING THE PROBLEM OF ALCOHOL ABUSE.