Addiction News and Research

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Theatre is an educational tool in the fight against illicit drugs

A new study finds that theatrical drama is an educational tool in the fight against drug addiction and abuse.

5 Apr 2007

White matter tracts in brain play a significant role in the rapid control of behavior

As wise as the counsel to "finish what you've started" may be, it is also sometimes critically important to do just the opposite -- stop.

4 Apr 2007

New understanding of the motivations that underlie acts of altruism

Beyond the lineage of primates, according to scientific gospel, social behavior is dictated primarily by competition for resources such as food, territory and reproduction.

4 Apr 2007

Researchers identify 221 genes possibly related to addiction vulnerability

Scientists supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have for the first time identified genes that might increase a person's ability to abstain from smoking.

4 Apr 2007

Breakthrough research finds genes which may help smoking cessation

2 Apr 2007

25 per cent of new cases of schizophrenia in the UK may be due to cannabis

If cannabis causes schizophrenia - and that remains in question - then by 2010 up to 25 per cent of new cases of schizophrenia in the UK may be due to cannabis, according to a new study by Dr Matthew Hickman of the University of Bristol and colleagues, published in Addiction journal.

25 Mar 2007

Promising new pain-killing drug

A potential new pain-killing drug developed by medical scientists at the University of Leicester and Ferrara in Italy is to be discussed at a public lecture on 20th March.

19 Mar 2007

Addiction to sunbathing

Despite repeated health warnings about the dangers of tanning from sunlight and artificial light sources, there are still those whose mantra "bronzed is beautiful" remains unshaken.

12 Mar 2007

New understanding of drug addiction

The reason why some individuals may be predisposed to drug addiction has been discovered by scientists from the universities of Bristol and Cambridge.

1 Mar 2007

Nicotine use is highly addictive in primates

Tobacco dependence is the leading cause of mortality in Canada. Although most smokers express a desire to stop smoking, only a small number are able to succeed.

27 Feb 2007

Cutting tax on alcohol dramatically increases sudden deaths involving alcohol

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, National Research Institute of Legal Policy and The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, Finland, have found that cutting excise duty on retail sales of alcohol can have immediate repercussions on a nation's health.

27 Feb 2007

Mobile-phone addiction in teenagers may cause severe psychological disorders

Such a harmless and common object in our society represents a real problem for four in ten young adults in Spain, for whom their mobile phone has turned into an addiction that can lead them to consequences as dangerous as those caused by alcohol or drugs.

27 Feb 2007

Depression linked with a specific autoantibody and central nervous system dysfunction in lupus

Systemic lupus erythomatosus (SLE), often simply called lupus, is a complex autoimmune disease marked by joint pain, skin rashes, extreme fatigue, and depression, among other symptoms.

27 Feb 2007

More frequent participation in needle-exchange programs does not increase risk of HIV infection

Contrary to an earlier study, more frequent participation in needle-exchange programs does not increase risk of HIV infection among injection drug users, according to a study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Medicine, Reuters Health reports.

27 Feb 2007

Smoking produces biochemical changes in human brain

New research shows for the first time that smoking produces long-lasting biochemical changes in the human brain similar to those changes previously seen in the brains of animals that used cocaine, heroin, and other illicit drugs.

20 Feb 2007

Genetic variations contribute to a person's risk for nicotine dependence

Americans are bombarded with antismoking messages, yet at least 65 million of us continue to light up. Genetic factors play an important role in this continuing addiction to cigarettes, suggest scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

18 Feb 2007