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New app could improve safety of cannabis use

Although cannabis, also known as marijuana, has been shown to impair memory, reaction time and attention, it is difficult to assess this impairment in a natural setting. Researchers have developed a prototype app called 'Am I Stoned' that could help cannabis users understand how the drug is affecting them through a series of phone-based tasks.

25 Apr 2018

Researchers develop new vaccine to help people overcome bath salts abuse

Researchers have developed a vaccine for one of the most dangerous types of synthetic cathinones, or bath salts. The vaccine blunts the illegal stimulant's effects on the brain, which could help recovering drug users who experience a relapse.

23 Apr 2018

Improving job prospects unlikely to control opioid epidemic

Improving job prospects for people in economically depressed parts of the United States is unlikely to help curb the opioid epidemic, according to a study by researchers at Princeton University. On the other hand, opioid use may actually help some women -- but not men -- stay in the labor force when they would otherwise leave because of chronic pain.

17 Apr 2018

Novel interactive diagram shows many facets of mild traumatic brain injury

A Portland State University research team studying concussion has published an interactive diagram showing the many facets of mild traumatic brain injury - from sleep problems to mood disorders to the increased danger of dementia - and how they connect with and affect each other.

17 Apr 2018

Sleep deprivation increases brain protein linked to Alzheimer's disease

Losing just one night of sleep led to an immediate increase in beta-amyloid, a protein in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a small, new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. In Alzheimer's disease, beta-amyloid proteins clump together to form amyloid plaques, a hallmark of the disease.

13 Apr 2018

Scientists developing new vaccines against heroin and prescription opioids

Heroin and prescription opioid abuse and fatal overdoses are a public health emergency in the United States. Vaccines offer a potential new strategy to treat opioid abuse and prevent fatal opioid overdoses.

12 Apr 2018

Deprived areas found to have worse life expectancy and health outcomes

Life expectancy and health outcomes worsen the more deprived an area or population is, new research from Cass Business School has found.

10 Apr 2018

Popular e-cigarette flavors produce different levels of toxins

The flavor of an e-cigarette may affect more than a consumer's taste buds, according to Penn State researchers who say the chemicals that make up different flavors also produce different levels of free radicals, toxins often associated with cancer and other diseases.

9 Apr 2018

Adolescent mental disorder rates vary by immigrant generation and race-ethnicity

Immigrant youth from specific racial-ethnic groups in the USA tend to have lower rates of certain mental disorders compared to their non-immigrant peers,reports a study published in the April 2018 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

4 Apr 2018

Staying alive: How to fight an opioid addiction

If you or a loved one wants to beat an opioid addiction, first make sure you have a handy supply of naloxone, a medication that can reverse an overdose and save your life.

2 Apr 2018

Study uncovers more complex, elaborate role for the body’s macromolecular complexes

Scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program have uncovered evidence that shows a more complex and elaborate role for the body's hard-working G protein-coupled receptors than previously thought, suggesting a conceptual advance in the fields of biochemistry and pharmacology.

28 Mar 2018

Cannabis use linked to increased initiation of cigarette smoking among non-smokers

While cigarette smoking has long been on the decline, marijuana use is on the rise and, disproportionately, marijuana users also smoke cigarettes. A new study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the City University of New York reports that cannabis use was associated with an increased initiation of cigarette smoking among non-cigarette smokers.

27 Mar 2018

Frequent and public opioid users may be best candidates for naloxone training

In response to America's opioid crisis, public health departments and community organizations across the country have started to train opioid users to reverse overdoses in other users with the opioid-blocker naloxone.

26 Mar 2018

Chronic opioid users at increased risk of complications after spinal fusion surgery

Patients who have been taking opioid pain relievers for several months before spinal fusion surgery are at increased risk of complications after their surgery, reports a study in the journal Spine, published by Wolters Kluwer.

21 Mar 2018

New study provides clues about how ADHD drugs affect healthy brains

A new study shows that healthy people who take attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs experience a surge in the neurotransmitter glutamate in key parts of the brain. And that increase in glutamate is associated with subsequent changes in positive emotion.

14 Mar 2018

Opioid maker funds efforts to fight addiction: Is it ‘blood money’ or charity?

A program to give naloxone overdose-antidote kits and training to front-line officers. Funding for pill disposal boxes in pharmacies, clinics and police stations across North Carolina. A radio campaign in Connecticut warning of the dangers of opioid abuse. A new medicine to treat opioid-induced constipation.

14 Mar 2018

New study finds that thirdhand smoke increases lung cancer risk in mice

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) identified thirdhand smoke, the toxic residues that linger on indoor surfaces and in dust long after a cigarette has been extinguished, as a health hazard nearly 10 years ago.

9 Mar 2018

Team-based game decreases hyperactivity and problem behavior in kids

A game that encourages good behavior, positive reinforcement and self-regulation can keep children on task and out of trouble, according to researchers at the University of Georgia and Pennsylvania State University.

9 Mar 2018

Researchers seek to discover role of filter ventilation on addictive potential of cigarettes

Would banning ventilated filters on cigarettes protect public health? Scientists from multiple institutions, including a group of addiction neuroscience researchers from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, are gathering evidence under funding from the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute to potentially inform a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision about whether to recommend design changes to filtered cigarettes.

7 Mar 2018

Feeling anxious about your waistline?

A new study has found that middle-aged women face a high risk of developing anxiety, one of the most prevalent mental health disorders, due to their BMI.

7 Mar 2018