From the President of the Research Society on Alcoholism On behalf of the Research Society on Alcoholism, I am pleased to introduce this 14th volume of Recent Developments in Alcoholism about the consequences of alcoholism. Current concepts are presented in well-organized sections that focus on the medical, neuropsychiatric, economic, and biobehavioral con- quences of alcoholism. This volume contains up-to-date discussions of these issues. The editors and associate editors should be congratulated for bringing together such important information. This volume will be a valuable resource for investigators and therapists alike. Ivan Diamond M.D., Ph.D. President, Research Society on Alcoholism From the President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine On behalf of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, I am pleased to announce that our society once again will cosponsor Recent Developments in Alcoholism. This volume addresses the issues of age, gender, socioeconomy, and behaviors as they relate to alcohol research and the disease of alcoholism. The medical consequences of alcoholism are ably edited by Dr. Charles L- ber, while the neuropsychiatric consequences of alcoholism are addressed by Drs. Gottheil. This volume is rounded out with the in-depth discussion of the economic consequences of alcoholism, edited by Dr. Fuller, and an inter- tional perspective on the behavioral consequences of alcoholism, edited by Dr. Paredes.

**I can enthusiastically recommend this book as an essential text in the libraries of academicians, teachers, clinicians, researchers, and policy makers. The quality and scope of the work are groundbreaking.**'** **American Journal of Psychiatry** **Another fine effort in the series which always presents authoritative reviews by leading researchers and clinicians in the field of alcoholism.'
Journal of Studies on Alcohol
`The contributors to this volume, world authorities in their subject, review the state of biomedical science and clinical practices in alcoholism. The research tools described are spectacular, and progress seems to remarkable......a tightly written and extensively annotated text. This amount of authoritative, cutting-edge information is available in no other single source.'
READINGS (March 1999)

Inhalt
Medical Consequences of Alcoholism.- Overview.- Metabolism of Ethanol and Some Associated Adverse Effects on the Liver and the Stomach.- Alcohol and the Pancreas.- Alcohol and Cancer.- Alcohol and Lipids.- Cardiovascular Effects of Alcohol.- Neuropsychiatric Consequences of Alcoholism.- Overview.- Mechanisms of Alcohol Craving and Their Clinical Implications.- A Review of the Effects of Moderate Alcohol Intake on Psychiatric and Sleep Disorders.- Executive Cognitive Functioning in Alcohol Use Disorders.- Brain Imaging Functional Consequences of Ethanol in the Central Nervous System.- Complications of Severe Mental Illness Related to Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders.- Economic Consequences of Alcoholism.- Overview.- Economic Costs of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.- The Effects of Price on the Consequences of Alcohol Use and Abuse.- Drinking, Problem Drinking, and Productivity.- The Cost Offsets of Alcoholism Treatment.- An International Perspective of the Biobehavioral Consequences of Alcoholism.- Overview Alfonso Paredes.- Experience with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in Mexico.- Problems Associated with Hazardous and Harmful Alcohol Consumption in Mexico.- Sanctification of the Accursed Drinking Habits of the French Existentialists in the 1940s (A Case Study).- Cocaine Metabolism in Humans after Use of Alcohol Clinical and Research Implications.- Interrelationship between Alcohol Intake, Hepatitis C, Liver Cirrhosis, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.