Addiction News and Research

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Propranolol can block brain from retrieving cocaine-associated memories

New discoveries by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) offer potential for development of a first-ever pharmacological treatment for cocaine addiction.

16 Jul 2011

Study indicates bi-directional relationships between alcohol and stress

Acute stress is thought to precipitate alcohol drinking. Yet the ways that acute stress can increase alcohol consumption are unclear. A new study investigated whether different phases of response to an acute stressor can alter the subjective effects of alcohol. Findings indicate bi-directional relationships between alcohol and stress.

16 Jul 2011

Researchers discover new gene linked to intellectual disability

A gene linked to intellectual disability was found in a study involving the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) - a discovery that was greatly accelerated by international collaboration and new genetic sequencing technology, which is now being used at CAMH.

15 Jul 2011

Women with current major depression more likely to use crack

Women who are clinically depressed at the time they enter drug court have a substantially higher risk of using crack cocaine within four months, according to a new study.

15 Jul 2011

Clinical symptoms of food addiction are similar to symptoms of drug addiction

Research to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, suggests that people can become dependent on highly palatable foods and engage in a compulsive pattern of consumption, similar to the behaviors we observe in drug addicts and those with alcoholism.

13 Jul 2011

Hop-on to launch electronic cigarette product with new FDA labels

Hop-on announced today that the Company is releasing a new starter kit for only $15.00.

13 Jul 2011

State roundup: Minn. shutdown's health, economic impact significant

A variety of state services, such as background checks for employees and license renewals for health-care workers, are not available. … Some of the affects may seem small or transitory, such as modified or canceled vacation trips to state parks. But others are more serious, such as a senior citizen's move to a nursing home because the senior could not continue to live at home when home-care assistants could not get licenses during the shutdown or their backgrounds could not be checked out.

13 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Partisanship, debt ceiling talks and Medicare; health cost frustration; praising Betty Ford

After initially endorsing the idea of an ambitious deficit deal, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) retreated over the weekend, calling for only about $2 trillion in savings. ... That position rules out a deal that would make real progress on the deficit while also achieving some top GOP goals, including curbing the growth of Medicare and Medicaid and simplifying the tax code with lower rates and a broader base.

13 Jul 2011

Researchers find clear changes in how emotions are processed in smokers

A team of researchers led by the University of Bonn found clear changes in how emotions are processed in smokers. After an abstinence period of 12 hours, the brain's fear center was mostly out of commission in addicts.

12 Jul 2011

Poisonous shrub extract may act as natural painkiller

An extract of the poisonous shrub Jatropha curcas acts as a strong painkiller and may have a mode of action different from conventional analgesics, such as morphine and other pharmaceuticals.

12 Jul 2011

Study confirms maternal alcohol consumption increases risk of birth outcomes

Heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy increases the risk of low birth weight, preterm birth and small size for gestational age, confirms a study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

11 Jul 2011

Insight into power of cigarette packet

Women are more sensitive to tobacco packaging and more likely to be influenced by packet design than men according to new Cancer Research UK funded research published in the Australasian Marketing Journal.

8 Jul 2011

Obama administration turns bright spotlight on prescription painkiller abuse

The Obama administration turned a bright spotlight on prescription painkiller abuse in April when the Office of National Drug Control Policy released a national action plan and a statement from Vice President Joe Biden.

2 Jul 2011

Six new scientists to receive SWCRF grants for cancer research

This year, the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation awarded individual grants to six new researchers in addition to funding 18 collaborative grants and three ongoing individual grants. The Foundation expanded its scientific grants program to a total of more than $3.1 million.

1 Jul 2011

Nicotine receptors play crucial role in social interaction

If you think nicotine receptors are only important to smokers trying to kick the tobacco habit, think again. New research published in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) suggests that these receptors also play an important role in social interaction and the ability to choose between competing motivations.

1 Jul 2011

Workers who take mental health leave more likely to have second episode sooner

The recurrence of an employee's medical leave of absence from work tends to happen much sooner with a mental health leave than a physical one, a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) study shows.

30 Jun 2011

Text messages help smokers quit: Study

A behavioral study has found that motivational text messages sent to smokers' mobile phones can double their chances of giving up tobacco. The “txt2stop” trial at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and funded by the Medical Research Council tested the effects of inspirational text messages designed to encourage quitting on almost 3,000 smokers. Participants were twice as likely to banish their habit as another group sent texts unrelated to smoking.

30 Jun 2011

UNC study uses optogenetics to tweak brain wiring responsible for drug addiction behaviors

Using a combination of genetic engineering and laser technology, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have manipulated brain wiring responsible for reward-seeking behaviors, such as drug addiction.

30 Jun 2011

Mobile phone text messages help smokers to beat addiction

Mobile phones could hold the key to people giving up smoking after a programme involving sending motivational and supportive text messages to smokers doubled quit rates at six months.

30 Jun 2011

Rodent olfaction and the chemistry of instinct

The mechanics of instinctive behavior are mysterious. Even something as simple as the question of how a mouse can use its powerful sense of smell to detect and evade predators, including species it has never met before, has been almost totally unknown at the molecular level until now.

29 Jun 2011