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Johns Hopkins study shows high doses of cocaine kill brain cells

Working with mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have contributed significant new evidence to support the idea that high doses of cocaine kill brain cells by triggering overactive autophagy, a process in which cells literally digest their own insides. Their results, moreover, bring with them a possible antidote, an experimental compound dubbed CGP3466B.

19 Jan 2016

Topiramate drug curbs marijuana use among young smokers, but with serious side effects

Combining the drug topiramate with psychological counseling curbed marijuana use among young smokers significantly more than did counseling alone, according to newly published results of a small randomized, controlled trial at Brown University. The results come with a caveat, however: many study volunteers couldn't tolerate the medicine's side effects.

18 Jan 2016

Determining Ectopeptidase Activity: An Interview with Professor Stephen Weber, University of Pittsburgh

The scope of the activity of neuropeptides is remarkably broad. For example, neuropeptides are involved in pain control, mood/depression/eating disorders, social and emotional behaviour, body weight, drug abuse, stress, reproduction, motor control, memory, and in maintaining neuronal health when they are stressed.

From Pittcon 14 Jan 2016

Advances in drug and alcohol testing: an interview with George Powell, President of Summit Diagnostics

In the US, drug and alcohol testing has been a part of addiction and recovery for as long as I can remember. I started working in the business, basically in the employment industry, back in the mid-to-late 90s. Testing was essential, in that industries needed to ensure they had alcohol- and drug-free work places

13 Jan 2016

Regular practice of Transcendental Meditation benefits active-duty service members

Regular practice of Transcendental Meditation enables some active duty service members battling post-traumatic stress disorder to reduce or even eliminate their psychotropic medication and get better control of their often-debilitating symptoms, researchers report in the journal Military Medicine.

12 Jan 2016

Young teens more vulnerable to opioid addiction, study reveals

A Michigan State University study shows that 14- and 15-year-olds are at a higher risk of becoming dependent on prescription drugs within a 12-month period after using them extra-medically, or beyond the prescribed amount.

23 Dec 2015

New data shows opioid overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014

From 2000 to 2014 nearly half a million Americans died from drug overdoses. Opioid overdose deaths, including both opioid pain relievers and heroin, hit record levels in 2014, with an alarming 14 percent increase in just one year, according to new data published today in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

20 Dec 2015

Teens with moderate mental health problems vape e-cigarettes

Teenagers with moderate mental health problems who may not have considered smoking conventional cigarettes are turning to electronic cigarettes, a new USC study has found.

20 Dec 2015

Smoking bans may stop casual smokers from becoming heavy smokers

If governments want to discourage smoking among young people, both high taxes and smoking bans do the job - but bans may have one key advantage.

18 Dec 2015

Drug use remains stable among teens, MTF survey shows

The 2015 Monitoring the Future survey (MTF) shows decreasing use of a number of substances, including cigarettes, alcohol, prescription opioid pain relievers, and synthetic cannabinoids ("synthetic marijuana"). Other drug use remains stable, including marijuana, with continued high rates of daily use reported among 12th graders, and ongoing declines in perception of its harms.

17 Dec 2015

Recreational drug and alcohol use can increase risk of poisoning-related hospital admissions

Poisonings from recreational drug and alcohol use account for 9 percent of all poisoning-related hospital admissions, says a new University of Sydney study revealing that males and people under 30 are at greatest risk.

17 Dec 2015

New research shows helping others can mitigate impact of daily stressors

Providing help to friends, acquaintances, and even strangers can mitigate the impact of daily stressors on our emotions and our mental health, according to new research published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

14 Dec 2015

New guidelines may help reduce medication use among seniors

We're not getting any younger. According to the Administration for Community Living, by 2060, there will be about 98 million older persons in the United States — more than twice their number in 2013.

11 Dec 2015

Seeing alcohol abuse, drug use can make teens engage in antisocial behavior on the same day

Seeing others drink alcohol or use drugs makes it more likely that teenagers will engage in antisocial behavior on the same day, according to new findings from Duke University.

9 Dec 2015

Young men with HIV engage in risky sexual behavior

Young men who have sex with men and have detectable levels of HIV were more likely to report not using a condom during anal intercourse with a partner not infected with HIV, compared with virologically suppressed young men who have sex with men, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

8 Dec 2015

New test can detect drug abuse faster

A new test for club drugs like ketamine can detect low levels of drugs in urine and plasma, making it faster, easier and cheaper to identify them. The authors of the study, published in Journal of Chromatography B, say it could give authorities the boost they need to keep up with trends drug (ab)use.

26 Nov 2015

Health insurance coverage for transgender people is cost-effective, study finds

A new analysis led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that while most U.S. health insurance plans deny benefits to transgender men and women for medical care necessary to transition to the opposite sex, paying for sex reassignment surgery and hormones is actually cost-effective.

25 Nov 2015

Researchers receive $6 million to further develop potential treatment for cocaine abuse

University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy Professor Chang-Guo Zhan, along with fellow UK Professors Fang Zheng and Sharon Walsh, and Professor Mei-Chuan Ko from Wake Forest University, recently received $6 million in funding over five years to further develop a potential treatment for cocaine abuse.

21 Nov 2015

Kids who take ADHD medications twice as likely to be bullied by peers

Kids and teens who take medications like Ritalin to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are twice as likely to be physically or emotionally bullied by peers than those who don't have ADHD, a new University of Michigan study found.

20 Nov 2015

TSRI researchers awarded $1.6 million grant to advance preclinical studies of potential heroin vaccine

Now researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded a prestigious Translational Avant-Garde Award, which supports the development of medications for substance abuse disorders, from the National Institutes of Health National Institute on Drug Abuse.