Perhaps 140 people is a drop in the New Mexico population bucket. But when you’re talking about our grim alcohol-abuse rates, every drop counts.
That’s why New Mexicans should embrace the news that University of New Mexico’s Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions and the Mind Research Network are launching a grant-funded, alcohol-use-disorder study that will track 140 people through treatments for an extended period of time.
The five-year project, paid for by a $2.9 million grant, will involve cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness-based treatments to identify behavior patterns. It’s cutting-edge stuff, and researchers hope to uncover helpful data as they use imaging technology and track participants through treatment.
Insights from this study may help us tackle alcoholism on a grander scale. UNM and the Mind Research Network deserve credit for taking on the ugly disease of alcohol-use disorder, which has ruined too many lives in New Mexico and beyond.
This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
