Cocaine Addiction News and Research

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Cocaine dependence (or addiction) is physical and psychological dependency on the regular use of cocaine. It can result in severe physiological damage, psychosis, schizophrenia, lethargy, depression, or a potentially fatal overdose.

UB study sheds light on the molecular basis of cocaine addiction

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have discovered a previously unknown neural pathway that can regulate changes made in the brain due to cocaine use, providing new insight into the molecular basis of cocaine addiction.

19 Jun 2015

DNA changes during drug withdrawal may offer promising ways to develop effective addiction treatments

One of the major challenges of cocaine addiction is the high rate of relapse after periods of withdrawal and abstinence. But new research reveals that changes in our DNA during drug withdrawal may offer promising ways of developing more effective treatments for addiction.

27 May 2015

Cocaine changes brain function, increases impulsive behaviors

The brain function of people addicted to cocaine is different from that of people who are not addicted and often linked to highly impulsive behavior, according to a new scientific study.

30 Apr 2015

University of Copenhagen researchers move closer to developing antidote against cocaine addiction

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have gained new insight into the mechanism behind a protein dopamine transporter that could help in the development of future medical treatment against cocaine addiction.

14 Jan 2015

Cocaine disrupts woman's estrus cycle, may explain sex differences in cocaine addiction

Women are more sensitive to the effects of cocaine and more susceptible to cocaine abuse than men. Cocaine's ability to disrupt a woman's estrus cycle may explain the sex differences in cocaine addiction, and new evidence that caffeine may be neuroprotective and able to block cocaine's direct effects on the estrus cycle reveals novel treatment possibilities, according to an article published in Journal of Caffeine Research: The International Multidisciplinary Journal of Caffeine Science, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

21 Nov 2014

Researchers find potential target for therapies to treat cocaine addiction

A study led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has identified a potential target for therapies to treat cocaine addiction.

29 Oct 2014

VCU receives $6 million grant to develop safe, effective treatments for cocaine addiction

Virginia Commonwealth University has received a five-year, $6 million grant for clinical research and education directed toward the identification, evaluation and development of safe and effective treatments for cocaine addiction.

30 Sep 2014

Study details brain mechanisms involved with addictive substances

The National Institutes of Health has turned to neuroscientists at the nation's most "Stone Cold Sober" university for help finding ways to treat drug and alcohol addiction.

1 Jul 2014

Group of 11 genes could help predict alcoholism risk

A group of 11 genes can successfully predict whether an individual is at increased risk of alcoholism, a research team from the United States and Germany reported Tuesday.

22 May 2014

UTMB awarded $6.6 million grant to establish Translational Addiction Sciences Center

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has awarded a five-year, $6.6 million grant to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to establish the Translational Addiction Sciences Center. The center will investigate the mechanisms underlying addiction with the goal of discovering and validating novel treatment options.

26 Apr 2014

UB research finds novel compound for treating cocaine addiction

A novel compound that targets an important brain receptor has a dramatic effect against a host of cocaine addiction behaviors, including relapse behavior, a University at Buffalo animal study has found.

25 Apr 2014

Social cognitive deficits contribute to perpetuation of cocaine addiction, say scientists

In Europe as well as worldwide, cocaine is the second most frequently used drug after cannabis. Chronic cocaine users display worse memory performance, concentration difficulties, and attentional deficits but also their social skills are affected as previous studies at the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich suggested.

22 Jan 2014

Researchers identify molecular mechanism by which cocaine alters brain's reward circuits, causes addiction

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a new molecular mechanism by which cocaine alters the brain's reward circuits and causes addiction.

21 Jan 2014

Researchers hope for a pharmacological solution to treat cocaine addiction

Imagine kicking a cocaine addiction by simply popping a pill that alters the way your brain processes chemical addiction. New research from the University of Pittsburgh suggests that a method of biologically manipulating certain neurocircuits could lead to a pharmacological approach that would weaken post-withdrawal cocaine cravings. The findings have been published in Nature Neuroscience.

17 Dec 2013

MRI provides noninvasive way to measure iron levels in the brains of ADHD people

Magnetic resonance imaging provides a noninvasive way to measure iron levels in the brains of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. Researchers said the method could help physicians and parents make better informed decisions about medication.

2 Dec 2013

Protein linked to learning induces cocaine addiction, say researchers

A team of researchers says it has solved the longstanding puzzle of why a key protein linked to learning is also needed to become addicted to cocaine. Results of the study, published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Cell, describe how the learning-related protein works with other proteins to forge new pathways in the brain in response to a drug-induced rush of the “pleasure” molecule dopamine.

2 Aug 2013

Ritalin helps improve brain function in cocaine addiction

A single dose of a commonly-prescribed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug helps improve brain function in cocaine addiction, according to an imaging study conducted by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

28 Jun 2013

TSRI scientists find emotion-related brain region plays major role in sustaining cocaine addiction

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found evidence that an emotion-related brain region called the central amygdala—whose activity promotes feelings of malaise and unhappiness—plays a major role in sustaining cocaine addiction.

13 Jun 2013

Research findings reveal promising new anti-addiction drug

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine's effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice.

23 May 2013

Study: Altering brain activity with laser light eliminates addictive behavior in rats

By stimulating one part of the brain with laser light, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UC San Francisco (UCSF) have shown that they can wipe away addictive behavior in rats - or conversely turn non-addicted rats into compulsive cocaine seekers.

4 Apr 2013