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A look into HIV related issues

According to a report from US health officials, the poorer neighborhoods of America's cities harbour at least 1 in 50 heterosexual adults infected with HIV. These figures are more than elsewhere in the country. According to the research team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), being poor and getting HIV are linked and this was regardless of race or ethnicity.

19 Jul 2010

Effective AIDS treatment but poor accessibility: Report from International AIDS conference 2010

At the 18th AIDS conference 2010 in Vienna, Julio Montaner — the President of the International AIDS Society and Chairman of the AIDS 2010 conference said this Sunday that the G-8 countries were not doing enough to ensure treatment of all people infected with HIV and AIDS. He said, “This is a very serious deficit… Let's rejoice in the fact that today we have treatments that work ... what we need is the political will to go the extra mile to deliver universal access.”

18 Jul 2010

Pain medication abuse soars

The Associated Press: "A new government study finds a 400 percent increase in the number of people admitted to treatment for abusing prescription pain medication. The increase in substance abuse among people ages 12 and older was recorded during the 10-year-period from 1998 to 2008. It spans every gender, race, ethnicity, education and employment level, and all regions of the country" (7/15).

17 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 16, 2010

Indiana's Medicaid chief told lawmakers Thursday that the federal government has largely left states in the dark on implementing the federal health care overhaul because it hasn't yet provided needed guidelines (The Associated Press).

16 Jul 2010

Treatment admissions for abuse of prescription pain relievers increases by over 400%: Study

The proportion of all substance abuse treatment admissions of those aged 12 and older involving abuse of prescription pain relievers rose by over 400 percent from 2.2 percent in 1998 to 9.8 percent in 2008 according to a new study be the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This dramatic rise in the proportion of admissions associated with the abuse of these drugs occurred among nearly all segments of the population regardless of age, gender, educational level and employment status.

16 Jul 2010

8.8% of drug-related hospital emergency department visits by adolescents is a suicide attempt

A new series of studies analyzing drug-related hospital emergency department visits throughout the country during 2008 reveals a substantial percentage of these visits involve suicide attempts. According to these studies conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) more than one in every twelve (8.8 percent) drug-related hospital emergency department visit by an adolescent is a suicide attempt - double the rate found among cases involving those age 25 and older (4.4 percent).

15 Jul 2010

Scientists awarded $2.3M grant to develop new treatments for drug addiction

A pair of scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded a $2.3 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to conduct research relevant to developing new treatments for drug addiction.

15 Jul 2010

Exposure to 9/11 can impact PTSD, depression levels among children

Two new longitudinal studies show that age played an important role in the effects of the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks on New York City. Both studies appear in a special section on children and disaster in the July/August 2010 issue of the journal Child Development. In the first study, researchers found higher rates of clinically significant behavior problems among preschool children directly exposed to 9/11 in Lower Manhattan according to whether their mothers had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. In the second study, New York City adolescents and their mothers had generally elevated rates of PTSD and depression one year after 9/11. Direct exposure to the events of 9/11 played a small but significant role in explaining the severity of mental health symptoms.

15 Jul 2010

Suicide attempt method affects prognosis

The method used for a suicide attempt is highly significant for the risk of subsequent successful suicide, reveals a long-term study from Karolinska Institutet. The results may be of help in acute risk assessment following a suicide attempt.

14 Jul 2010

Researchers awarded $3M grant to establish DC D-CFAR

Researchers from institutions across Washington, DC, led by Alan E. Greenberg, M.D., M.P.H., of The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, have been awarded an approximately $3M grant over five years from the National Institutes of Health to establish the District of Columbia Developmental Center for AIDS Research.

14 Jul 2010

IAS, NIDA announce recipients of second annual joint research fellowships

The International AIDS Society (IAS) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) today announced the recipients of their second annual joint research fellowships. Recipients of the prestigious awards will receive US$75,000 each to advance the scientific understanding of the linkage between illicit drug use and HIV, while fostering multinational research.

13 Jul 2010

Study highlights impact of diet on brain neurochemistry

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that prolonged exposure to a high fat diet is correlated with changes in the brain chemical dopamine within the striatum, a critical component of the brain's reward system. The authors measured 'real-time' changes in dopamine levels after rats consumed a high fat diet for either 2 or 6 weeks.

13 Jul 2010

Study: Small fragment of RNA appears to protect rats against cocaine addiction

A specific and remarkably small fragment of RNA appears to protect rats against cocaine addiction-and may also protect humans, according to a recent study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health. The study was published today in the journal Nature.

9 Jul 2010

MicroRNA-212 plays key role in determining vulnerability to cocaine addiction: Study

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have found that a particular type of genetic material plays a key role in determining vulnerability to cocaine addiction and may offer an entirely new direction for the development of anti-addiction therapies. In animal studies, the scientists found that a molecule called microRNA-212 was increased in the brains of test animals that had extended access to cocaine.

8 Jul 2010

ASA provides tips to help parents protect children from over-the-counter drug abuse

In recent years, a growing and potentially life-threatening trend known as Robo tripping, the abuse of over-the-counter cough and cold medications, has emerged among America's youth. As the Society representing the front-line physicians responsible for treating patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who have overdosed on over-the-counter medications, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has developed information to help parents recognize the signs of Robo tripping and to prevent overdose and longer-term health complications.

8 Jul 2010

LSUHSC awarded $4M grant to study cannabinoid treatment for HIV infection

Patricia Molina, MD, PhD, Professor and Head of Physiology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has been awarded a $4 million grant over five years by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health to study how cannabinoids, the principal psychoactive component of marijuana, produce subtle changes in gene activity that affect how a person responds to HIV infection.

8 Jul 2010

Method of suicide attempt predicts subsequent successful suicide: Study

7 Jul 2010

Drug use debilitates sexual response: Study

Sharing a bottle of red wine may seem like the best recipe for a romantic interlude. However, the evening may not turn out as planned according to a Concordia University study, which evaluated the effect of a wide range of drugs, including alcohol, on sexual behaviour. The findings, published in the journal Hormones and Behavior, definitively show that despite our preconceived notions, use of many recreational drugs can cause a loss in that lovin' feeling.

7 Jul 2010

UCLA School of Dentistry awarded NIH grant to study methamphetamine's oral, dental health consequences

The abuse of methamphetamine - a powerful and highly addictive psychostimulant that is toxic to the nervous system - has reached epidemic proportions in many parts of the United States. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that more than 10 million Americans have tried methamphetamine, while more than 1.4 million are habitual users.

30 Jun 2010

Teenage girls more likely to perceive potential benefits of drug and alcohol use

Survey data released today by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America® and MetLife Foundation found that teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to perceive potential benefits from drug use and drinking, making teen girls more vulnerable to drug and alcohol abuse.

29 Jun 2010