Abstinence News and Research

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Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging a desire or appetite for certain bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to abstention from sexual intercourse, alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical considerations.

Novel two-component intervention may help prevent unintended pregnancy among women using opioids

Increases in maternal opioid use have led to an almost doubling in the number of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in the U.S. in the past 10 years.

16 Jul 2021

Canadians with a history of drug dependence more likely to have mental illness, finds study

New research published online in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction found that Canadians with a history of drug dependence are much less likely to have flourishing mental health and are more likely to have mental illness.

14 Jul 2021

KU researchers investigate how parental substance use is associated with child neglect

Substance use disorder has long been considered a key factor in cases of parental neglect. But new research from the University of Kansas shows that such substance abuse does not happen in a vacuum.

12 Jul 2021

Targeted intervention could help promote smoking cessation among dual users

E-cigarettes spark many concerns, especially when it comes to youth vaping. However, emerging evidence suggests that e-cigarettes can be a helpful tool in smoking cessation.

25 Jun 2021

New focus on adverse impact of male factors in assisted reproductive treatments

The adverse impact of male factors in assisted reproductive treatments was brought into a clear and disturbing focus at the 10th Congress of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction.

17 May 2021

New cocaine and oxycodone biobanks provide investigatory therapeutic targets for addiction

A major hurdle to developing new and effective treatments for drug addiction is better understanding how exactly it manifests itself before, during and after chronic use.

26 Apr 2021

Marshall University researcher awarded $399,600 NIH grant to study sex differences in brain development

W. Christopher Risher, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, has been awarded a $399,600 grant from the National Institutes of Health for his research on the differences in brain development between males and females.

12 Apr 2021

Naloxone can save lives but stigma is preventing its use among newly abstinent opioid users

Opioids are the main driver of fatal drug overdoses in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resulting in 46,802 deaths in 2018, usually because the person stops breathing.

26 Mar 2021

High-strength nicotine e-cigarettes can help adults with schizophrenia quit smoking

A new study in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, published by Oxford University Press, finds that the use of high-strength nicotine e-cigarettes can help adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders quit smoking.

16 Mar 2021

Study highlights the 'clear benefit' of using e-cigarettes daily to quit smoking

A new study published Tuesday 10 March, No Smoking Day, from King's College London highlights the 'clear benefit' of using e-cigarettes daily in order to quit smoking, and supports their effectiveness when compared to other methods of quitting, including nicotine replacement therapy or medication.

10 Mar 2021

New book focuses on relationship skills for people in addiction recovery

People in addiction recovery and their loved ones understand all too well how addiction can damage their relationships. But recovery programs do not always give people the relationship skills needed to address those issues.

7 Mar 2021

Noninvasive brain stimulation restores behavioral flexibility in cocaine-exposed rats

A major impediment to treatment of substance use disorder (SUD) is a loss of behavioral flexibility, whereby one's judgment is impaired such that their actions continuously result in negative consequences.

16 Feb 2021

Daily caffeine consumption can change the gray matter of the brain

Coffee, cola or an energy drink: caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance. Researchers from the University of Basel have now shown in a study that regular caffeine intake can change the gray matter of the brain. However, the effect appears to be temporary.

16 Feb 2021

New research examines how alcohol exposure impacts aspects of neuroplasticity

New research and analysis examine how alcohol exposure impacts many aspects of neuroplasticity in a special issue of Brain Plasticity

11 Feb 2021

Multiple withdrawal symptoms experienced by people using medical marijuana for chronic pain

More than half of people who use medical marijuana products to ease pain also experience clusters of multiple withdrawal symptoms when they're between uses, a new study finds.

8 Jan 2021

New prediction model may make it easier to find which infants will develop NAS

A new Vanderbilt-designed prediction model may make it easier to determine which infants will go on to develop neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a drug withdrawal syndrome in newborns that occurs after exposure to opioids during pregnancy.

12 Nov 2020

Compounds block stress-enhanced reacquisition of nicotine in rats

Stress is a major cause of relapse after people quit smoking. Worrying situations, such as money or relationship problems, can affect neurotransmitter levels in the brain, leading former smokers to reach for a cigarette.

11 Nov 2020

Study may help develop recovery and prevention paths for gambling addiction

For the first time, new research conducted by SISSA and by the University of Roma Tre identifies narrative markers of gambling addiction and paves the way to innovative approaches for therapy and prevention.

11 Nov 2020

Cabotegravir highly effective in preventing HIV among women

UNAIDS has been strongly encouraged by groundbreaking new study results showing that the antiretroviral medicine cabotegravir administered by an injection every two months – prevents HIV among women.

10 Nov 2020

Medical diagnoses of “diseases of despair” increase in Pennsylvania

Medical diagnoses involving alcohol-related disorders, substance-related disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors – commonly referred to as diseases of despair – increased in Pennsylvania health insurance claims between the years 2007 and 2018, according to researchers from Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Highmark Health Enterprise Analytics.