Substance Abuse News and Research

RSS

UTSA professor receives $2.6 million grant to support women recovering from substance abuse

James H. Bray, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at The University of Texas at San Antonio, has received a five-year, $2.6 million grant to lead a project that will provide mental health services and recovery support to high-risk pregnant, postpartum women recovering from substance abuse.

2 Nov 2017

Study finds link between marijuana use and cognitive dysfunction in people with HIV

Marijuana use is associated with cognitive dysfunction in people with HIV infection who have an alcohol or other drug use disorder, according to a new study from researchers at Boston University School of Public Health, Boston University School of Medicine, and Boston Medical Center.

1 Nov 2017

HIV testing found to be higher among transgender females, study shows

A new University at Buffalo study has shown that HIV testing among transgender adults was higher in those who identified as female, were African-American or Hispanic, or had a history of incarceration.

1 Nov 2017

UTHealth awarded federal grant to provide HIV treatment, education for individuals with substance abuse

A $2.5 million federal grant will allow a multidisciplinary team at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to provide prevention and treatment information about HIV, AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases to underserved individuals with substance abuse or mental disorders.

31 Oct 2017

Sanford Health to evaluate effectiveness of non-opioid medications

Sanford Health is one of three sites in the U.S. to launch a study to determine if non-opioid medications are as effective in managing pain after carpal-tunnel surgery.

30 Oct 2017

ASA applauds President Trump’s declaration of opioid crisis as public health emergency

The American Society of Anesthesiologists today announced its support of President Donald J. Trump's announcement officially declaring the opioid crisis a public health emergency.

28 Oct 2017

Researchers use machine learning to identify illegal selling of opioids on Twitter

Using advanced machine learning, a cross disciplinary team of University of California San Diego researchers developed technology that mined Twitter to identify entities illegally selling prescription opioids online.

25 Oct 2017

New survey finds huge decline in substance abuse, delinquency among teens

More than a decade of data indicates teens have become far less likely to abuse alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs, and they also are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors, such as fighting and stealing, according to results of a national survey analyzed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

25 Oct 2017

Bariatric surgical patients may be vulnerable to opioid dependence

Nearly 9 percent of bariatric surgical patients--or about one in 12--who did not take opioid pain medications until their weight-loss operation, or the month before it, report that they are still using prescription opioids one year postoperatively, according to new research findings.

24 Oct 2017

HCV screening or diagnosis could lower non‐prescribed opioid use

Research presented this week at The Liver Meeting – held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – shows people in treatment for opioid substance abuse significantly lowered their non‐prescribed opioid use after testing positive for hepatitis C virus.

20 Oct 2017

Parents with alcohol use disorder increase risk for teen dating violence

Having a parent with an alcohol use disorder increases the risk for dating violence among teenagers, according to a study from the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions.

20 Oct 2017

Despite GOP efforts to corral Medicaid spending, states expand benefits

While congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump have been seeking major cuts in federal funding of Medicaid, 26 states this year expanded or enhanced benefits and at least 17 plan to do so next year, according to a report released Thursday.

19 Oct 2017

On back roads of Appalachia’s coal country, mental health services are as rare as jobs

Every other month, Tanya Nelson travels 32 miles from the heart of Appalachia's coal country for an appointment with the nearest psychiatrist for therapy and to renew prescriptions. But the commute, which should take less than an hour through the winding mountain roads of southern West Virginia, consumes her entire day.

17 Oct 2017

USC study reveals how schizophrenia has biological effect on the entire brain

Some 40 years since CT scans first revealed abnormalities in the brains of schizophrenia patients, international scientists say the disorder is a systemic disruption to the brain's entire communication system.

17 Oct 2017

Years after silently combating sexual trauma, female veterans seek help

Sheila Procella joined the Air Force in 1974 to "see the Earth," she said. She enlisted at the tail end of the Vietnam War, shortly after graduating from high school.

30 Sep 2017

SBP researcher awarded $10.8 million grant to pursue development of new drug for substance abuse

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute is pleased to announce the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health has awarded Nicholas Cosford, Ph.D., a three-year, $10.8 million grant to pursue the preclinical development of a new class of medicine to treat substance use disorders.

26 Sep 2017

Operation Pangea X takes action against illegal medicines sold online

Various authorities from 123 different countries including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are taking action against numerous small businesses that are illegally selling medicines over the internet according to an official statement yesterday.

26 Sep 2017

Long-lasting effects of traumatic childhood experiences may be due to impaired neural connections

Researchers from the McGill Group for Suicide Studies, based at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and McGill University’s Department of Psychiatry, have just published research in the American Journal of Psychiatry that suggests that the long-lasting effects of traumatic childhood experiences, like severe abuse, may be due to an impaired structure and functioning of cells in the anterior cingulate cortex.

25 Sep 2017

Medicaid has a bull’s-eye on its back, which means no one is entirely safe

When high levels of lead were discovered in the public water system in Flint, Mich., in 2015, Medicaid stepped in to help thousands of children get tested for poisoning and receive care.