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Health care practitioners call for national database to crack down on prescription drug abuse

The Associated Press reports on efforts in California, where "a state online drug database went into effect last year to thwart addicts who bounce from doctor to doctor to feed a habit or make a small fortune peddling meds" and efforts to set up a national program "to snare so-called doctor shoppers and curb drug abuse.

3 May 2010

First Edition: May 3, 2010

Today's headlines include analysis of how this year's health reform debate is shaping other national policy initiatives and the upcoming mid-term elections.

3 May 2010

UGA, Emory researchers awarded $1.9M grant to study role of regular exercise in attenuating drug abuse

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia and Emory University will receive $1.9 million over the next five years from the National Institutes of Health to study the neurobiological mechanisms for how regular aerobic exercise may prevent drug abuse relapse.

30 Apr 2010

Injection drug use contributes to transmission of syphilis

A binational team of researchers led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that active syphilis infections are significantly greater in female sex workers who inject drugs and share needles than those who don't. The findings suggest that injection drug use may play as big a role as risky sexual behavior in the transmission of syphilis. It may also exacerbate the spread of both HIV and syphilis, as syphilis is frequently a co-factor for HIV infection.

29 Apr 2010

Nearly all U.S. states offer HPV vaccine to adolescent girls in juvenile justice facilities: Report

Nearly all U.S. states offer the human papillomavirus vaccine to adolescent girls who have been arrested or detained, according to a new report from The Miriam Hospital and Brown University. The study, published in the May issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, offers the first nationwide review of HPV vaccination practices among juvenile justice facilities.

29 Apr 2010

ONDCP launches new anti-meth ad campaign for Indian Country

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske today unveiled a new anti-methamphetamine ad campaign tailored for Indian Country, launched in New Mexico and in 14 other states with the largest Native American populations.

29 Apr 2010

New imaging protocol to visualize activity of brain's reward circuitry in individuals addicted to drugs

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed an imaging protocol that allows them to visualize the activity of the brain's reward circuitry in both normal individuals and those addicted to drugs. The technique could lead to better insight into why people take recreational drugs as well as help determine which treatment strategies might be most effective.

27 Apr 2010

CocE exhibits potential for clinical treatment of cocaine toxicity

Cocaine toxicity due to drug overdose results in more than half a million emergency room visits annually. Despite these alarming statistics, there is no Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacotherapy specifically designed to treat cocaine toxicity. Emergency medical personnel are limited to treating only the immediate life-threatening symptoms of patients, while toxic levels of cocaine and its metabolic break-down products persist and continue to damage the cardiovascular system, liver and brain.

27 Apr 2010

Military trauma transition units breed culture of drug abuse, depression

The New York Times reports on a Warrior Transition Battalion unit in Colorado used by the military to transition injured veterans back into the military or their home lives. "Created in the wake of the scandal in 2007 over serious shortcomings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Warrior Transition Units were intended to be sheltering way stations where injured soldiers could recuperate and return to duty or gently process out of the Army.

27 Apr 2010

New multi-faceted treatment program for young adults addicted to opioid drugs

A multi-faceted treatment program for young adults addicted to opioid drugs was unveiled today at the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Blending Conference in Albuquerque, N.M. This eighth meeting in the series brings together researchers and clinicians so their latest findings can be immediately applied to the needs of patients and their families dealing with addictive disorders.

23 Apr 2010

FDA rejects experimental painkiller Acurox

In a new development King Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. have failed to win the approval of a US panel for marketing an experimental painkiller called Acurox.

23 Apr 2010

GUMC researchers awarded grant to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs

A Georgetown University Medical Center research team has been awarded a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs based on an unconventional theory about nicotine addiction. Kenneth Kellar, PhD, a professor of pharmacology at GUMC is principal investigator of the five year grant totaling $4.6 million.

22 Apr 2010

Study analyzes effects of untimely and sudden parental death on childhood development

Losing a parent to suicide makes children more likely to die by suicide themselves and increases their risk of developing a range of major psychiatric disorders, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center that is believed to be the largest one to date on the subject.

22 Apr 2010

State Round Up: Colorado's medical marijuana dispensaries; Insurance discounts for wellness; Florida's pain clinic oversight legislation

Hundreds of new medical marijuana dispensaries have cropped up in Denver, Boulder and other Colorado cities, causing the state to stop accepting walk-up applications from people seeking cards that allow them to buy the plant, CNBC/USA Today reports. Would-be medical-marijuana consumers will now have to mail in their applications. "The changes are necessary due to the explosive growth in the number of medical marijuana applications," said a state health official.

21 Apr 2010

Pharmacies launch Dispose My Meds campaign to help consumers safely dispose unused medications

Nearly 800 community pharmacies in 40 states are making it easier than ever for consumers to safely dispose of unused patient medications at their local pharmacy, the National Community Pharmacists Association and Sharps Compliance, Inc. announced today.

20 Apr 2010

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, NIDA to jointly conduct Phase II(b) trial of CPP-109 for cocaine addiction

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. announced today that it has signed a definitive Clinical Trial Agreement (CTA) with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to jointly conduct a U.S. Phase II(b) clinical trial evaluating CPP-109, Catalyst's formulation of vigabatrin, for the treatment of cocaine addiction. As part of the CTA, NIDA, under their agreement with Veteran's Administration Cooperative Studies Program, will provide substantial resources for the estimated $10 million trial cost.

15 Apr 2010

Physicians warn parents on dangers of prescription drug abuse among children

With reports of increased prescription drug overdoses in emergency departments, the nation's emergency physicians are issuing a strong warning to parents about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs, which are now the second most abused drugs, after marijuana. Hospital visits caused by accidental and unintentional prescription drug overdoses went up 37 percent between 1999 and 2006, according to new data released by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

13 Apr 2010

State Roundup: Mass. insurer standoff eases, Wis. preps for federal overhaul

The Boston Globe: "Seeking to tone down their dispute with state regulators, two Massachusetts health insurers yesterday said they will, as ordered, resume making new policies available for individuals and small businesses — using last year's base rates, not the requested double-digit increases rejected by the state last week" (Weisman, 4/8).

9 Apr 2010

Star Scientific completes Research and Royalty Agreement with SRQ Bio

Star Scientific announced today that it has completed a "Research and Royalty Agreement" with the Roskamp Institute's affiliate, SRQ Bio, LLC, under which the Institute will conduct research on a compound developed by the company's Rock Creek Pharmaceutical subsidiary that medical researchers at the Institute believe may have an application in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

8 Apr 2010

EPO upholds Nabi Biopharmaceuticals' opposition to Drug Abuse Therapy patent

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals announced today that the European Patent Office upheld the Company's opposition to European Patent No. 1,329,226 (Hapten Carrier Conjugates for Use in Drug Abuse Therapy) requesting revocation of this patent. The EPO revoked this patent in its entirety.

6 Apr 2010

Drug Abuse News and Research

Health care practitioners call for national database to crack down on prescription drug abuse

First Edition: May 3, 2010

UGA, Emory researchers awarded $1.9M grant to study role of regular exercise in attenuating drug abuse

Injection drug use contributes to transmission of syphilis

Nearly all U.S. states offer HPV vaccine to adolescent girls in juvenile justice facilities: Report

ONDCP launches new anti-meth ad campaign for Indian Country

New imaging protocol to visualize activity of brain's reward circuitry in individuals addicted to drugs

CocE exhibits potential for clinical treatment of cocaine toxicity

Military trauma transition units breed culture of drug abuse, depression

New multi-faceted treatment program for young adults addicted to opioid drugs

FDA rejects experimental painkiller Acurox

GUMC researchers awarded grant to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs

Study analyzes effects of untimely and sudden parental death on childhood development

State Round Up: Colorado's medical marijuana dispensaries; Insurance discounts for wellness; Florida's pain clinic oversight legislation

Pharmacies launch Dispose My Meds campaign to help consumers safely dispose unused medications

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, NIDA to jointly conduct Phase II(b) trial of CPP-109 for cocaine addiction

Physicians warn parents on dangers of prescription drug abuse among children

State Roundup: Mass. insurer standoff eases, Wis. preps for federal overhaul

Star Scientific completes Research and Royalty Agreement with SRQ Bio

EPO upholds Nabi Biopharmaceuticals' opposition to Drug Abuse Therapy patent

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition) eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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