Substance Abuse News and Research

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Family-based treatments are effective for substance abuse

Family-based treatments are effective for substance abuse and conduct disorders in children and adolescents, according to a new, ten-year research review released this week. The treatment also helps reduce the behavior problems associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and shows promise in treating depression and anxiety.

11 Aug 2005

Endorphin system may hold the key to understanding and treating bulimia nervosa

The role of the brain's opioid receptor system - or endorphin system - may hold the key to understanding and treating bulimia nervosa, according to research reported in the Society of Nuclear Medicine's August issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

9 Aug 2005

Cognitive therapy programs help prevent repeat suicides attempts

Adults who had attempted suicide reduced their risk of a repeat attempt by participating in a cognitive therapy program, compared to adults who received the usual care, according to a study in the August 3 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

2 Aug 2005

Drug use among Indiana youth sees biggest drop in years

A new report on alcohol, tobacco and other drug use by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University Bloomington demonstrates a significant downward trend in youth drug use and includes the agency's first compilation of data concerning methamphetamine use and gambling by sixth- through 12th-grade students.

2 Aug 2005

American Psychological Association lauds action agendas to transform U.S. mental health system

The American Psychological Association (APA) lauds the release of the Campaign for Mental Health Reform's action agenda, Emergency Response: A Roadmap for Federal Action on America's Mental Health Crisis, designed to help the federal government transform the delivery of mental health services.

2 Aug 2005

More than one fourth of individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) were victims of violent crime in the past year

...eleven times the rate in the general population, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

1 Aug 2005

Methamphetamine users show symptoms similar to brain injury patients

Because today's methamphetamine is stronger, more potent and wreaks greater havoc on the brain, chronic users exhibit symptoms similar to patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to the Brain Injury Association of Arizona (BIAAZ).

26 Jul 2005

Deaths from substance abuse on the increase in Northern Ireland

The UK Health Promotion Agency (HPA) says that in Northern Ireland, the number of people dying from solvent abuse has increased against trends in the rest of the UK.

23 Jul 2005

Evaluating how hospitals deliver medical care standardizes practices and improves care

In recent years, American hospitals have made significant improvements on standardized, evidence-based measures of clinical performance for several medical conditions, including heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia.

20 Jul 2005

UK deaths from volatile substance abuse in 2003 fell to the lowest annual total since 1980

A report released today by the Division of Community Health Sciences at St George's, University of London, reveals that in 2003 there were 51 deaths in the UK associated with volatile substance abuse. This is the lowest annual total recorded since 1983.

19 Jul 2005

Prescription drug abuse in the USA exceeds 15 million

A recently released report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University suggests between 1992 and 2003, more Americans were abusing controlled prescription drugs than cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin put together.

11 Jul 2005

Gamblers and addicts have a lot in common

A group of researchers from the U.S., the UK, and New Zealand, have apparently found that problem gamblers often display many similar personality traits as people who abuse alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine.

6 Jul 2005

Experts gather in the fields of childhood and adolescent mental-health problems

Renowned experts in the fields of childhood and adolescent mental-health problems will gather in July to discuss new and effective treatments for a wide-range of mental illnesses affecting children and teens.

30 Jun 2005

Changing a high-risk drinking culture through the lens of gender

Claims that men binge drink to feel more macho and women drink to feel more equal to men are among the motivations that will be explored over the next two years at the University of North Carolina Wilmington as CROSSROADS, UNCW’s substance abuse prevention and education program, seeks to identify, address and change gender-specific attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that contribute to high-risk drinking.

28 Jun 2005

Brain shrinkage appears to have no impact on an individual's capacity to think or learn

The research is part of a 20-year study by the ANU Centre for Mental Health Research called PATH Through Life and suggests a revision of long-standing views on the impact of age-related brain shrinkage.

10 Jun 2005

Risk factors for tuberculosis in the United States overlap with many of the risk factors associated with persistent homelessness

...including being male or having a history of incarceration or substance abuse, according to a report in the June 8 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on tuberculosis.

8 Jun 2005