Dr. Keith Flower - a research physician at the Addiction Pharmacology & Research Laboratory in San Francisco, CA - has been awarded a grant to investigate a new medication treatment for methamphetamine addiction. This grant has been awarded to California Pacific Medical Center's Research Institute through President Obama's AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009.
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that goes by the street names of crank, crystal meth, and speed. It can cause heart disease, brain damage, memory problems, distorted thinking, paranoia, aggression, and violent behavior. Methamphetamine use puts people at increased risk for infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.
Methamphetamine abuse continues at epidemic levels in the San Francisco Bay Area. It costs the U.S. more than $20 billion each year and presents significant challenges to public health, law enforcement, and families. The National Institutes of Health - working with research labs like the Addiction Pharmacology & Research Laboratory - is urgently seeking improved treatments for this growing problem.
One of the emerging medications for treating methamphetamine addiction is naltrexone, an FDA-approved treatment for heroin and alcohol dependence. Dr. Flower's goal is to learn whether naltrexone is safe and effective as a treatment for methamphetamine addiction.