Addiction News and Research

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The great Australian hangover

Drinking by Australian workers is costing more than we thought - weekly heavy drinkers are 26 times more likely to take time off work because of their drinking.

5 Jul 2006

Mild sadness provokes depressive thinking in some recovered patients

Some individuals with a history of depression may sink back into thinking patterns associated with the condition when faced with mild stresses or sadness, increasing their risk for relapse.

3 Jul 2006

Having older brothers a factor in boys becoming gay

New research says that boys have a greater chance of becoming gay if they have older brothers.

27 Jun 2006

Study shows how ADHD drugs Adderall, Ritalin and Dexedrine work in brain

Although millions depend on medications such as Ritalin to quell symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), scientists have struggled to pinpoint how the drugs work in the brain.

27 Jun 2006

Simple test for HIV for all of Washington DC

Washington DC has the the highest rate of new HIV and AIDS cases in the U.S.

26 Jun 2006

Brain chemistry finding suggests new target for addiction treatments

Ask anyone who has been addicted to drugs and they'll tell you that the mere sight of someone using their drug of choice - or even people, places, or objects associated with drug use - can trigger an intense desire for the drug.

14 Jun 2006

Health education helps African American smokers quit

The first clinical trial to focus on light smokers shows that African Americans are motivated to quit more by completing health education than by using nicotine gum.

7 Jun 2006

Tandem-pore K+ channels mediate inhibition of orexin neurons by glucose

One of the body's basic survival mechanisms is the neural machinery that triggers the hungry brain to the alertness needed for seeking food.

From The University of Manchester 7 Jun 2006

Treatment with methadone or buprenorphine has led to a decline in the number of new heroin users in Zurich

According to newly published research Switzerland's policy of offering heroin addicts substitution treatment with methadone or buprenorphine has led to a decline in the number of new heroin users in Zurich.

4 Jun 2006

Siestas may help treat obesity and eating disorders

The Spaniards may have been right all along - a siesta after a hearty lunch is natural, new research suggests.

From The University of Manchester 1 Jun 2006

Naltrexone relief for Crohn's sufferers

Study suggests that a drug used to ease symptoms of alcohol and drug addiction may also bring relief to people with Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory disorder of the intestine that affects an estimated 500,000 Americans.

31 May 2006

Chantix new quit smoking drug approved

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for the sale of the first smoking cessation drug in almost ten years.

11 May 2006

"Internet addiction"

The Internet - millions of people rely on it for everyday tasks. But when is the line crossed between average use and addiction?

10 May 2006

Genetic analysis of opioid-induced hyperalgesia

In findings published in Nature Biotechnology (May 2006, vol. 24 No. 5), Roche scientists present a new method for analyzing the metabolism of a commonly prescribed drug.

10 May 2006

Underage and abusive drinkers very profitable for the alcohol industry

According to new research in the U.S. the underage drinking market is making the alcohol industry a neat $23 billion a year and that figure represents 17.5 percent of all money spent on alcohol in the U.S. annually.

3 May 2006

Combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral interventions for alcohol dependence

While many treatment approaches were found helpful, the authors report that the patients who were most successful in abstaining from alcohol 16 weeks after treatment were those prescribed naltrexone under medical management and those participating in a multi-session program of alcohol counseling delivered by a behavioral specialist.

3 May 2006

Prefrontal cortex in the brain damaged by both alcoholism and chronic smoking

Alcoholism is commonly associated with chronic smoking, and both alcohol and nicotine are believed to act on the same brain region. Research builds upon previous research that identified four potential alcohol-sensitive genes in the prefrontal cortex, finding that smoking also influences the expression of these genes.

26 Apr 2006

Link between expectancy, visual cues and the desire to smoke

In a study recently published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) and the Department of Psychology at McGill University found that when people expect to smoke in the near future, external cues such as watching someone smoke affects their brain more than their level of craving or how long they have gone without a cigarette.

23 Apr 2006

Microarray analysis could lead to better understanding of mechanisms underlying the genetic propensity toward excessive drinking

The meta analysis, which examined more than 4.5 million data points on more than 100 microarrays from mouse models, also identified more than 1,300 functional groups, including signaling and transcription pathways, which may also play an important role in establishing a capacity for a "high level of alcohol consumption."

18 Apr 2006

Stress-induced, high levels of corticotropin-releasing factor might be responsible for binge behaviour and addiction

Stressed individuals might be particularly prone to binge eating or drug addiction because of the high levels of the stress hormone corticotropin-releasing factor in their brain.

13 Apr 2006