Addiction News and Research

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Research offers hope for alcoholics

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have discovered a system in the brain that stops an alcoholic's craving for alcohol, as well as prevent relapse once they have recovered from alcohol addiction.

12 Dec 2006

Smoking and alcohol - a mutually destructive combo

According to new research the more you smoke, the more you're likely to drink.

28 Nov 2006

Brits in denial over effects of too much booze

According to new research Brits are in denial over the affect that drinking too much has on their health.

22 Nov 2006

Botox could fix your knees as well as your wrinkles

The preliminary results of a new study have found that Botox, better known for getting rid of wrinkles, significantly reduced severe pain from osteoarthritis of the knee and also improved the knee's function.

15 Nov 2006

Cocaine addicts have an altered perception of reward

People addicted to cocaine have an impaired ability to perceive rewards and exercise control due to disruptions in the brain's reward and control circuits, according to a series of brain-mapping studies and neuropsychological tests conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory.

16 Oct 2006

Food like an addictive drug for some people

Researchers in the U.S. have found that the same brain circuits are involved when obese people fill their stomachs as when drug addicts think about drugs and the discovery they say suggests an association between overeating and addiction.

3 Oct 2006

Parents too often unaware of child's drug abuse

According to the latest research parents do not provide valuable information about their children's use of alcohol and drugs because they are often unaware of it; and this is true of even the most observant parents, with the most open family relationships who are often oblivious to their children's use and abuse of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs.

25 Sep 2006

Tobacco companies find it hard to contest nicotine study

The largest tobacco company in the USA has disputed claims that the average amount of nicotine in cigarettes has risen significantly from 1998 to 2004.

13 Sep 2006

Iran-U.S. collaboration on HIV/AIDS treatment

Despite the "political chasm" between Iran and the U.S., "some courageous doctors and scientists on both sides have been reaching out to collaborate on important projects," including HIV/AIDS treatment programs, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius writes in a Post opinion piece.

6 Sep 2006

Supervised drug-injection facility in Vancouver, Canada, to remain open until December 2007

A supervised drug-injection facility in Vancouver, Canada, will remain open until December 2007 after it received a reprieve on Friday from Health Minister Tony Clement, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports (Fong, Globe and Mail, 9/2).

6 Sep 2006

Children of alcoholics bear the scars for years to come

According to a new report children who grow up with alcoholic parents bear emotional, behavioural and mental scars and are more likely to become addicted themselves.

5 Sep 2006

Prevention programs for teens can reduce methamphetamine abuse

New research supported in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, shows that prevention programs conducted in middle school can reduce methamphetamine abuse among rural adolescents years later.

4 Sep 2006

$1M Myers Fellowship brings US research techniques to Melbourne

The Howard Florey Institute's inaugural Allan and Maria Myers Travel Fellowship has been awarded to world renowned neuroscientist, Prof Gerard Shaw, from the McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida College of Medicine.

20 Aug 2006

fMRI shows "gambling" structures in the brain

From gamblers playing blackjack to investors picking stocks, humans make a wide range of decisions that require gauging risk versus reward.

2 Aug 2006

Poor sense of smell among alcoholics associated with prefrontal cognitive dysfunction

Prior research has shown that chronic alcoholism is associated with numerous olfactory deficits in odor judgment, odor identification, odor sensitivity, and the ability to qualitatively discriminate between odors.

26 Jul 2006

Deadly duo of crime and drug abuse can be cut by effective treatments

According to a landmark scientific report released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), money would be saved and crime would be reduced if communities put into place effective treatments for drug abuse and addiction.

26 Jul 2006

New training technique is proving successful in helping excessive drinkers curb their alcohol abuse

Researchers funded by the Economic and Social Research Council have experimentally tested a computer-based training programme which helps abusive drinkers pay less attention to alcohol, feel more in control of their drinking and drink less.

24 Jul 2006

Psychotherapeutic interventions for cannabis abuse

Marijuana dependence and abuse can be moderately improved by various psychotherapy treatments - but reduced use rather than abstinence may be the best clinicians can hope for at this time, a new review finds.

21 Jul 2006

"Magic" mushrooms create profound mystical experience and change behaviour

A group of healthy well educated volunteers appear to have achieved some sort of profound mystical experience that led to behaviour changes lasting for weeks after taking a drug derived from 'magic mushrooms'.

12 Jul 2006

New research promising for improving brain cell survival after brain injury

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have found a protein in the brain that can save neurons from dying after experiencing traumatic brain injury from incidents such as stroke, car accidents and falls.

10 Jul 2006