Drug Abuse News and Research

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Community groups join in Drug Action Week 2008 with 550 events across Australia

Drug Action Week 2008 which swung into action on Sunday 22nd of June and finishes on Saturday the 28th of June, has involved schools, colleges, youth organisations, charities and community health groups, police forces and many others across Australia.

26 Jun 2008

Study uncovers how Ritalin works in brain to boost cognition, focus attention

Stimulant medications such as Ritalin have been prescribed for decades to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and their popularity as "cognition enhancers" has recently surged among the healthy, as well.

24 Jun 2008

British teens top the league in alcohol and drug abuse

According to a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO), when it comes to abusing alcohol and drugs, British teenagers are right up there, with Wales at the top of the league, ahead of Scotland, Estonia, England and Lithuania.

19 Jun 2008

Alcohol and drug misuse fuels Scottish suicide and homicide rates

Alcohol and drug misuse mean Scots are almost twice as likely to kill or take their own life compared to people living in England and Wales, research published Monday, June 16 reveals.

From The University of Manchester 16 Jun 2008

Bipolar disorder in adolescents is a huge risk factor for smoking and substance abuse

A study from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) supports previous reports that adolescents with bipolar disorder are at increased risk for smoking and substance abuse.

2 Jun 2008

Distinct clusters of genetic markers linked to treatment responses for smoking cessation

Scientists have identified distinct clusters of genetic markers associated with the likelihood of success or failure of two smoking cessation treatments, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and the medication bupropion (Zyban). This study, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was published in the June issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

2 Jun 2008

NIDA highlights best drug abuse treatment approaches at blending conference

The most difficult challenge in finding substance abuse treatment for a loved one is how to know which programs have a proven track record. That is just one of the topics being discussed today at the conference "Blending Addiction Science and Treatment: The Impact of Evidence-Based Practices on Individuals, Families and Communities." Held at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, the conference is hosted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health. It is part of NIDA's Blending Initiative, in which teams of experts create clinical tools based on the latest treatment research.

2 Jun 2008

University of Pennsylvania researcher to launch drug trial in Chinese province among IDUs

David Metzger, director of the HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Division at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues plan to launch a trial in China among injection drug users to determine if a drug that reduces the craving for heroin also can reduce the spread of HIV through the sharing of contaminated needles, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

28 May 2008

Scientists identify a brain mechanism underlying persistent cocaine craving

Scientists have identified a mechanism in the brain that helps to explain why craving for cocaine, and the risk of relapse, seems to increase in the weeks and months after drug use is stopped. The research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

28 May 2008

Sexual offending in women and psychiatric disorders

Women who commit sexual offences are just as likely to have mental problems or drug addictions as other violent female criminals. This according to the largest study ever conducted of women convicted of sexual offences in Sweden.

15 May 2008

Drinking patterns in adolescents may be set after only a few exposures to alcohol

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have shown a connection between early drinking patterns and a tendency to be a heavy drinker in adulthood, in a study of adolescent rats.

5 May 2008

Cocaine addicts who use other substances have more mental health problems

A study carried out by Spanish scientists shows that cocaine users who take other addictive substances demonstrate a higher risk of mental health problems.

1 May 2008

Pakistan, U.N. agency launch pilot initiative to improve HIV control efforts among women

Pakistan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on Tuesday launched a pilot project that aims to improve current HIV prevention services provided to female injection drug users, wives of male IDUs and female prisoners, The International News reports. According to Pakistan's National Drug Abuse Assessment 2006, there are an estimated 125,000 IDUs in the country, 50% of whom are married.

24 Apr 2008

NIH study reveals incidence, precursors and psychiatric sequelae of major psychiatric disorders

A new study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) presents results on the first onset of substance use disorders (i.e., alcohol and drug abuse and dependence) and major mood and anxiety disorders, based on Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).

22 Apr 2008

New research in monkeys may lead to new strategy for treating cocaine addiction

New research in monkeys suggests the feasibility of treating cocaine addiction with a "replacement" drug that mimics the effects of cocaine but has less potential for abuse - similar to the way nicotine and heroin addictions are treated.

7 Apr 2008

Random drug testing of high school students in public schools

A substantial proportion of the nation's public school districts have instituted random drug testing among their high school students, some possibly going beyond sanctions set by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a study led by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE).

3 Apr 2008

Discovery of gene variant linked to nicotine addiction and lung cancer

Scientists have identified a genetic variant that not only makes smokers more susceptible to nicotine addiction but also increases their risk of developing two smoking-related diseases, lung cancer and peripheral arterial disease.

3 Apr 2008

Mouse calls help search for emotion-controlling genes

Scientists have long known that emotions and other personality traits and disorders run together in families.

3 Apr 2008

Link between variant in the sequence of the human genome and susceptibility to nicotine dependence

Cigarette smoking is a major public health problem that contributes to millions of deaths around the world each year.

3 Apr 2008

Stimulant treatment for ADHD does not contribute to substance abuse later in life

Treating children as early as age six or seven with stimulants for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not likely to increase risk of substance abuse as adults, according to two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

2 Apr 2008

Drug Abuse News and Research

Community groups join in Drug Action Week 2008 with 550 events across Australia

Study uncovers how Ritalin works in brain to boost cognition, focus attention

British teens top the league in alcohol and drug abuse

Alcohol and drug misuse fuels Scottish suicide and homicide rates

Bipolar disorder in adolescents is a huge risk factor for smoking and substance abuse

Distinct clusters of genetic markers linked to treatment responses for smoking cessation

NIDA highlights best drug abuse treatment approaches at blending conference

University of Pennsylvania researcher to launch drug trial in Chinese province among IDUs

Scientists identify a brain mechanism underlying persistent cocaine craving

Sexual offending in women and psychiatric disorders

Drinking patterns in adolescents may be set after only a few exposures to alcohol

Cocaine addicts who use other substances have more mental health problems

Pakistan, U.N. agency launch pilot initiative to improve HIV control efforts among women

NIH study reveals incidence, precursors and psychiatric sequelae of major psychiatric disorders

New research in monkeys may lead to new strategy for treating cocaine addiction

Random drug testing of high school students in public schools

Discovery of gene variant linked to nicotine addiction and lung cancer

Mouse calls help search for emotion-controlling genes

Link between variant in the sequence of the human genome and susceptibility to nicotine dependence

Stimulant treatment for ADHD does not contribute to substance abuse later in life

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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