Addiction News and Research

RSS

Interaction between nicotine and alcohol impacts learning

The interaction between nicotine and alcohol, two of the most abused and co-abused drugs, can impact a person's ability to learn and could have implications for treating addiction, according to researchers at Temple University.

6 Nov 2007

Brain chemistry and genes dictate nicotine cravings

Individual brain chemistry and genes could be key to understanding why some people become addicted to nicotine and why the chemical compound's effects appear to diminish at night, University of Colorado at Boulder researchers say.

6 Nov 2007

D-cycloserine could help treat drug addiction

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provide further evidence that a drug known as D-cycloserine could play a role in helping to extinguish the craving behaviors associated with drug addiction.

6 Nov 2007

Antibiotic that appears to control phobias may also be useful in treating addiction

6 Nov 2007

Teens who use only cannabis appear to function better than those who also use tobacco

A Swiss study suggests that teens who use only cannabis appear to function better than those who also use tobacco, and are more socially driven and have no more psychosocial problems than those who abstain from both substances, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

6 Nov 2007

Genes play important role in risk for dependence on illicit and licit drugs

The genes that play a role in illegal drug abuse are not entirely the same as those involved in dependence on legal substances like alcohol and nicotine, and caffeine addiction appears to be genetically independent of all the others, according to a study led by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.

6 Nov 2007

Heroin overdose kit saves lives of addicts

Health officials in Massachusetts have announced that heroin addicts will now be supplied with a kit containing an antidote called Narcan in order to cope with situations where they have overdosed.

5 Nov 2007

Drug rehab - a waste of public money?

Despite millions being spent on drug rehabilitation programmes in the UK it seems success stories are few and far between.

4 Nov 2007

Substance abuse practitioners ask 'what is recovery?'

Abstinence from alcohol and drugs is just the starting point in defining "recovery" for people with substance abuse disorders, according to a paper in the October issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment (JSAT).

2 Nov 2007

Preventing Morphine tolerance

Tolerance to the pain-relieving effects of morphine - which builds rapidly with prolonged use - can be prevented by blocking a key substance that's formed when the drug is taken, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered.

2 Nov 2007

Scripps design new type of vaccine that could one day be used in humans to block the onset of infection

In hopes of combating the growing scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, in particular drug-resistant staph bacteria, a team of scientists from the Scripps Research Institute has designed a new type of vaccine that could one day be used in humans to block the onset of infection.

31 Oct 2007

Teenage smokers at risk of depression, alcohol abuse and drug use

According to American researchers smoking cigarettes may make teens more prone to depression, alcohol abuse and illegal drug use.

28 Oct 2007

FDA warns about 'stay awake drug' Provigil

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning in connection with the drug Provigil because of dangerous side effects.

28 Oct 2007

Human decision-making linked to an individuals' need to maintain a homeostatic balance

A researcher at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine suggests that psychiatrists may need to approach the treatment of psychiatric patients from a new direction - by understanding that such individuals' behavior and decision-making are based on an attempt to reach an inner equilibrium.

25 Oct 2007

Researchers discover drug-craving brain region in rats

Chilean researchers have identified a region of the brain - the insular cortex - that plays a role in drug craving in amphetamine-addicted rats, according to a report published in the 26 October issue of the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the nonprofit science society.

25 Oct 2007