Addiction News and Research

RSS

ACE launches public service campaign to educate parents and teenagers on inhalant abuse

The Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) is launching a new public service announcement campaign to support its www.inhalant.org website, and its ongoing efforts to reach out to parents and children about inhalant abuse.

1 Feb 2010

New mental health coverage rules promise to end some discrimination

Reuters: Employer-provided group health plans must offer the same level of coverage for mental illness and drug abuse treatment as for other ailments, according to federal regulations issued on Friday.

31 Jan 2010

Artists and social agencies collaborate to deliver services for needy people

Black history will be made on Thursday, February 4th at Arthur Bennett Hall in Brooklyn with the opening of "Artists Speaking for the Spirits," an exhibition of mural-sized paintings by 40 artists of African ancestry.

30 Jan 2010

New rules providing parity for consumers enrolled in group health plans for treatment of mental disorders issued

The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury today jointly issued new rules providing parity for consumers enrolled in group health plans who need treatment for mental health or substance use disorders.

30 Jan 2010

AA attendance may alleviate depression

One of many reasons that attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings helps people with alcohol use disorders stay sober appears to be alleviation of depression.

29 Jan 2010

CAMH signs licensing agreement to develop and market genetic test for degenerative muscle disorder

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has signed a licensing agreement with a Massachusetts firm to develop and market an innovative genetic test for a recently identified degenerative muscle disorder. The disorder tends to strike adults in their early 30s.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 29 Jan 2010

NIDA supports Omeros' Addiction program

Omeros Corporation today announced that the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is providing support for the Company's Addiction program. NIDA will fund substantially all of the costs of a Phase 2 clinical study to be conducted by New York State Psychiatric Institute researchers.

28 Jan 2010

CIHR invests in health research to develop solutions for gender-based violence

Three new regional research centres that will study violence and ways to prevent it will receive almost $6 million over five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

28 Jan 2010

Blocking CRF may prevent excessive alcohol consumption

A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found that a specific stress hormone, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in animal models.

28 Jan 2010

Brighton Hospital signs letter of intent to build an addiction treatment facility in Riyadh

Brighton Hospital, the second-oldest alcohol and drug treatment provider in North America, has signed a letter of intent to begin a long-term management contract with a Saudi Arabian company to build a 291,000 square-foot, 250 bed addiction treatment facility in Riyadh, to serve the entire Islamic Mideast.

28 Jan 2010

Blood sugar levels link decision making to metabolic cues

Would you choose to receive a small amount of money today or a larger sum next month? We know that it is worth it to wait longer for a larger reward, but sometimes the temptation for the smaller, immediate reward becomes too great and we simply cannot resist it. Selecting the immediate reward is known as "future discounting" and often suggests a lack of self-control.

27 Jan 2010

Racial discrimination complaint against a drug addiction treatment center in Philadelphia dismissed

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission issued an order today dismissing a racial discrimination complaint filed by Maria Thompson-White of Merchantville, New Jersey, against her former employer, Lycoming House, a drug addiction treatment center in Philadelphia.

27 Jan 2010

FDA issues update on smoking cessation products

If you want to quit smoking, you'll need willpower -- and perhaps the aid of a product that's intended to help you beat the addiction.

27 Jan 2010

NIH awards grants to develop new tobacco-related drug therapies

Four scientists at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center have been awarded more than $2.2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research the effects of nicotine and develop new tobacco-related drug therapies.

22 Jan 2010

Illicit drug consumption in Europe

Europeans belong to the largest consumers of illicit drugs, absorbing about one fifth of the global heroin, cocaine and cannabis supply, as well as one third of ecstasy production (UNODC World Drug report, 2008). However, the vast majority of Europeans have never tried any illicit substance. In popular perception, illicit drugs still represent alien cultures challenging traditional European patterns, including consumption of our favourite drugs - alcoholic beverages.

21 Jan 2010

Taking opioids long term could hold small risk of addition

Coping with chronic non-cancer pain is a way of life for millions of Americans. Unfortunately, many older adults, in particular, hesitate to take opioids — a kind of narcotic — for fear of addiction. However, a new review finds that taking opioids long term is associated with clinically significant pain relief in some patients with a very small risk of addition.

20 Jan 2010

Motivational interviewing may help people to quit smoking

Addressing tobacco use without judging the user appears to help people quit, especially if a primary care physician uses a form of supportive counseling called "motivational interviewing," according to a new review of studies.

20 Jan 2010

NIDA researchers receive prestigious PECASE awards

Two researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have been awarded the White House Office of National Science and Technology Council's Presidential Award for Early Career Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). NIDA grantees Dr. Bruce J. Hinds, III and Dr. Gonzalo E. Torres will receive their awards today during a ceremony at the Commerce Building in Washington, DC.

18 Jan 2010

Brain mechanisms behind compulsive behaviors in Parkinson's disease patients

New research unravels the brain mechanisms that underlie the ability of a standard drug treatment for Parkinson's to elicit compulsive behaviors in some patients with the disease. The study, published by Cell Press in the January 14th issue of the journal Neuron, provides fascinating new insight into the brain mechanisms that underlie a predisposition to behavioral addictions, such as pathological gambling and shopping.

18 Jan 2010

Medical Marijuana praises New Jersey State Assembly for removing state-wide penalties on marijuana use

Medical Marijuana Inc applauds the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate for having approved "The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" on Monday, January 11, 2010. A804/S119 removes state-wide penalties for possession of up to two ounces of marijuana when a New Jersey licensed Physician recommends it for one of the qualified medical conditions including Aids, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn's disease among others.

13 Jan 2010