Addiction News and Research

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Family dinners can make a difference in children's lives

Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five or more per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are twice as likely to use tobacco or marijuana; more than one and a half times likelier to use alcohol; and twice as likely to expect to try drugs in the future, according to The Importance of Family Dinners V, a new report by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

23 Sep 2009

Computational model representing brain activity in cocaine users

About 2 million Americans currently use cocaine for its temporary side-effects of euphoria, which have contributed to making it one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs in the country. Cocaine addiction, which can cause severe biological and behavioral problems, is very difficult to overcome. Now, University of Missouri researchers Ashwin Mohan and Sandeep Pendyam, doctoral students in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are utilizing computational models to study how the brain's chemicals and synaptic mechanisms, or connections between neurons, react to cocaine addiction and what this could mean for future therapies.

23 Sep 2009

U.S. FDA bans flavored cigarettes

One of the first provisions of the new federal law regulating tobacco products will take effect Tuesday as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces a ban on candy, fruit and other flavored cigarettes.

22 Sep 2009

Veterans Healing Initiative formed for veterans suffering from PTSD

The Veterans Healing Initiative (VHI) has been formed in response to the dramatic increase of Substance Abuse (SA) and co-occurring mental health disorders among U.S. Veterans. Formed by Margaret Stone and James L. Abernathy, VHI's core mission is to raise funds for veterans who need treatment for Addiction and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and help them begin to heal the war within.

22 Sep 2009

King Pharmaceuticals achieves milestone: Announces commercial availability of EMBEDA

King Pharmaceuticals(R), Inc. (NYSE: KG) today announced a true milestone as it marks the first commercial availability for EMBEDA(TM) (morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride) Extended Release Capsules, a long-acting Schedule II opioid analgesic for the management of moderate to severe pain when a continuous, around-the-clock opioid analgesic is needed for an extended period of time.

21 Sep 2009

Alcoholism may be dependent on IL-1 polymorphisms: Study

Cytokines are small proteins secreted by cells that serve as molecular messengers between cells. Pro-inflammatory cytokines - which function in the immune system - may be involved in alcohol dependence (AD). A study of three polymorphisms of the interleukin-1 gene complex (IL-1) and one of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) has found that IL-1 may directly contribute to AD among Spanish Caucasian males.

21 Sep 2009

Treatment is the best way for problem gamblers, says gambling addiction expert

A leading expert on gambling addictions, saying that "prohibition doesn't work," today praised the Illinois Video Gaming Act for addressing the issue head-on by providing funding for treatment programs.

18 Sep 2009

NIH to fund grants for epigenetic research

The National Institutes of Health announced today that it will fund 22 grants on genome-wide studies of how epigenetic changes -- chemical modifications to genes that result from diet, aging, stress, or environmental exposures -- define and contribute to specific human diseases and biological processes.

17 Sep 2009

Hazelden and Dartmouth PRC sign publishing partnership

Hazelden, a nonprofit organization, and the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center (PRC)-both leaders in the research and development of evidence-based practices-have announced a partnership to develop a variety of resources for the mental health and addiction treatment industries.

16 Sep 2009

Identification of genetic risk factors may lead to new treatments for ADHD

The majority of patients affected by ADHD in childhood carry ADHD symptoms, or even the full ADHD-diagnosis, into adulthood.

15 Sep 2009

New treatment center opened to overcome alcoholism

Michael Jackson. Heath Ledger. DJ AM. It seems that each new week brings news of another celebrity struck dead due to alleged drug abuse -- which represents only the tip of the iceberg of the epidemic of addiction. Our society is bombarded with advertisements hawking all varieties of alcohol and even prescription drugs -- but what can be done to stem the tragic growth of this disease?

14 Sep 2009

Scientific program to treat and prevent mental disorders

Mental disorders are a global problem and represent one of the biggest challenges for health care systems. In the world, there are some 500 million people suffering from mental disorders, and in the European Union, mental disorders range as one of the leading causes of disease burden.

14 Sep 2009

Mentally ill smokers also benefit from treatment, says research paper

People with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety are the heaviest smokers in the country, but their doctors are afraid to ask them to quit. They assume that if their patients try to quit smoking, their mental disorders will get worse.

9 Sep 2009

Research study on memory formation and storage process in the human brain

A new study that was carried out at the University of Haifa has identified another component in the chain of actions that take place in the neurons in the process of forming memories. This discovery joins a line of findings from previous studies that together provide a better understanding of the most complex processes in nature - the process of memory formation and storage in the human brain. The new study has been published in the prestigious Journal of Neuroscience.

9 Sep 2009

ORT remains underutilized in U.S. prison systems

Almost a quarter of a million individuals addicted to heroin are incarcerated in the United States each year. However, many prison systems across the country still do not offer medical treatment for heroin and opiate addiction, despite the demonstrated social, medical and economic benefits of opiate replacement therapy (ORT).

9 Sep 2009

Advocacy campaign to fight reimbursement cuts for POC urine drug screen devices

Millennium Laboratories, a leading provider of therapeutic drug monitoring and education to physicians and staff treating chronic pain patients, has announced the launch of an advocacy campaign to fight reimbursement cuts to point-of-care (POC) urine drug screen devices.

9 Sep 2009

Fundraising event to benefit the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Tickets are now on sale for the third annual Queen Street Unmasked, a gala fundraiser on Wednesday, Oct. 14 to benefit the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

8 Sep 2009

Contraband cigarettes undermine tobacco-prevention strategies

Consumption of contraband cigarettes amongst adolescent daily smokers in Canada accounts for 17% of all cigarettes smoked by this age group, and rises to more than 25% in Ontario and Quebec. This behaviour may be undermining tobacco-prevention strategies, as they focus on taxation and minimum age restrictions to curb and prevent smoking, states an article http://www.cmaj.ca/press/cmaj090665.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.

8 Sep 2009

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in European hospitals is low, says study

Tobacco use is prohibited in hospitals in many European countries, although levels of compliance with this regulation differ. A study carried out by researchers from the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) has shown for the first time that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in European hospitals is "low", and "without any notable differences" between them.

4 Sep 2009

Brown University neuroscience professor awarded EUREKA grant

Brown University neuroscience professor Gilad Barnea will receive a nearly $1.3 million, four-year federal grant toward development of a method to selectively monitor the activation of each of the five receptors for the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain.

4 Sep 2009