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New York Times examines Russia's 'inadequate fight' against HIV/AIDS

Russia's HIV/AIDS epidemic "has defied worldwide trends, expanding more rapidly year by year than almost anywhere else," the New York Times writes in an article that examines how the country has become "one of the world's low points in the effort to fight the spread of HIV," in large part due to the government's failure to reach out to injecting drug users (IDUs) and sex workers - the groups "at the heart" of the epidemic.

18 Jan 2011

Hamilton Academy of Medicine launches campaign to increase awareness about smoking cessation

In honour of National Non-Smoking Week, The Hamilton Academy of Medicine is proud to introduce, It's Hamilton's Time to Quit, a campaign designed to increase awareness about local quitting resources and tools to help the community understand the support that is available, and encourage people to seek the assistance they need to stop smoking.

18 Jan 2011

Beer cheers for health: Study look at beer, Mediterranean diet and heart

A new study shows that people who drink moderate amounts of beer, ale or lager reduce their risk of high blood pressure and diabetes. The study involved 1,249 volunteers over 57 years old who combined a Mediterranean diet (fish, olive oil, and fruits and vegetables) with exercise and up to a pint of beer a day. People, who drank beer in moderation, had a lower body fat content.

17 Jan 2011

20% of cancer survivors experience chronic pain: Study

Surviving cancer may also mean surviving pain, according to a study by the University of Michigan Health System showing 20 percent of cancer survivors at least two years post diagnosis have current cancer-related chronic pain.

13 Jan 2011

Abuse of legal substances

The Internet, smart phones and teens' endless search for self-acceptance in their technology connected yet isolated world is driving a revival of substance abuse of salvia, an herb from flower seeds that induces psychedelic effects but is not detectable with usual drug tests, and synthetic cannabis, a psychoactive herbal and chemical concoction, also undetectable, popularly known around high schools as "spice".

13 Jan 2011

Addition of caffeine to alcohol does not improve sustained attention or reaction times

Marketing efforts that encourage mixing caffeinated "energy" drinks with alcohol often try to sway young people to believe that caffeine will offset the sedating effects of alcohol and increase alertness and stamina.

13 Jan 2011

Viewpoints: Insurance rate increases; High risk pools; Mental health funding

In another sign of dysfunction in the U.S. healthcare system, Blue Shield of California has levied three rate increases in rapid succession that could raise some premiums as much as 59%. New state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has said he plans to scrutinize the increases, and that's a good thing, given that Anthem Blue Cross sought a huge increase in premiums last year based on faulty math. But Blue Shield's request also highlights why the country should stay the course on healthcare reform (1/12).

13 Jan 2011

Emotional stress can affect motor coordination and other cerebellum-dependent cognitive functions: Study

Research conducted by Iaroslav Savtchouk, a graduate student, and S. June Liu, PhD, Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has shown that a single exposure to acute stress affected information processing in the cerebellum - the area of the brain responsible for motor control and movement coordination and also involved in learning and memory formation.

13 Jan 2011

NIDA awards Scripps Research, University of Pennsylvania $8.2M grant to develop tobacco addiction treatment

The Scripps Research Institute and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have been awarded approximately $8.2 million over five years to develop novel compounds that could eventually become drug candidates for the treatment of tobacco addiction. Of the funds awarded, $5.7 million will go to Scripps Research, and $2.5 million to the University of Pennsylvania.

12 Jan 2011

CAMH scientists receive NARSAD's Young Investigator grant awards for brain and behavior research

Seven scientists at Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have been awarded Young Investigator grant awards by the U.S.-based NARSAD: The Brain and Behavior Research Fund.

12 Jan 2011

Abstral transmucosal tablets receive FDA approval, may help manage pain in cancer patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Abstral transmucosal tablets to manage breakthrough pain for adults with cancer.

9 Jan 2011

Vaccines for alcoholism and cocaine addiction coming soon

In a latest development, researchers from Chile have come up with a vaccine to cure alcoholics. It will help them kick the habit by creating a sensation of a terrible hangover after just a few drinks. The mechanism by which this vaccine acts is by neutralizing a group of enzymes that help the body to break down alcohol. When the enzymes aldehyde dehydrogenase is disabled the body accumulates the alcohol to create the hangovers after just a few drinks.

9 Jan 2011

Roundup: Calif. and health reform; Conn. mental health parity; Insurance premium increases in Iowa, Fla.

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield's proposed 11 percent health insurance premium increase is excessive, two experts have concluded. The company, which insures three-quarters of Iowans who buy their own policies, already raised premiums on those plans an average of 18 percent last spring. Wellmark sparked outcries when it announced in November that it wants to raise those rates again in order to keep up with rising prices and increased use of medical care (Leys, 1/7).

7 Jan 2011

Unique vaccine produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Cornell University have produced a long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a unique vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Canadian Cancer Society launches sixth annual Driven to Quit Challenge

Results of an Angus Reid Public Opinion survey conducted in December show that 20 per cent of Ontario adults are current tobacco users, including cigarettes, cigars and chew tobacco, and that half of them have tried unsuccessfully to quit in the past.

5 Jan 2011

Safe vaccine protects mice against effects of cocaine

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Loyola University to co-host smoking-cessation clinic

If you're a smoker wanting to get off to a healthier start this new year, Loyola University Health System will co-host a smoking-cessation clinic, a free workshop to help you kick the habit.

5 Jan 2011

Researchers develop unique vaccine that produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

5 Jan 2011

Vaccine blocks cocaine high in mice - human trials likely

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

4 Jan 2011

Lancet editorial highlights similarities between current health challenges, those from 1911

"After a century of progress, the issues that medicine must tackle in the coming year aren't that different from the ones that faced doctors at the start of 1911, according to the observations" published Jan. 1 in a Lancet editorial, LiveScience reports (Parry, 12/30).

4 Jan 2011

Addiction News and Research

New York Times examines Russia's 'inadequate fight' against HIV/AIDS

Hamilton Academy of Medicine launches campaign to increase awareness about smoking cessation

Beer cheers for health: Study look at beer, Mediterranean diet and heart

20% of cancer survivors experience chronic pain: Study

Abuse of legal substances

Addition of caffeine to alcohol does not improve sustained attention or reaction times

Viewpoints: Insurance rate increases; High risk pools; Mental health funding

Emotional stress can affect motor coordination and other cerebellum-dependent cognitive functions: Study

NIDA awards Scripps Research, University of Pennsylvania $8.2M grant to develop tobacco addiction treatment

CAMH scientists receive NARSAD's Young Investigator grant awards for brain and behavior research

Abstral transmucosal tablets receive FDA approval, may help manage pain in cancer patients

Vaccines for alcoholism and cocaine addiction coming soon

Roundup: Calif. and health reform; Conn. mental health parity; Insurance premium increases in Iowa, Fla.

Unique vaccine produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

Canadian Cancer Society launches sixth annual Driven to Quit Challenge

Safe vaccine protects mice against effects of cocaine

Loyola University to co-host smoking-cessation clinic

Researchers develop unique vaccine that produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

Vaccine blocks cocaine high in mice - human trials likely

Lancet editorial highlights similarities between current health challenges, those from 1911

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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