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New research may help in regulation of tobacco products to protect public health

UC San Francisco will receive a five-year, $20 million grant as part of a first-of-its-kind tobacco science regulatory program by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

21 Sep 2013

FDA, NIH awarded $53 million to create 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health today, as part of an on-going interagency partnership, have awarded a total of up to $53 million to fund tobacco-related research in fiscal year 2013 to create 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science.

20 Sep 2013

Uthealth receives funds to establish Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science

The University of Texas School of Public Health has received $20 million in funding from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) today as part of an ongoing interagency partnership.

20 Sep 2013

State highlights: Analysis finds no imminent patient danger before Texas abortion law; N.M. fraud investigation disrupts mental health care

In their successful push this summer for strict new regulations on abortion facilities and the doctors performing them, proponents said the legislation was needed because conditions at existing facilities made it unsafe for women seeking to terminate pregnancies. But a Texas Tribune review of state inspection records for 36 abortion clinics from the year preceding the lawmakers' vote turned up little evidence to suggest that the facilities were putting patients in imminent danger.

17 Sep 2013

Extreme binge drinking common among high school seniors

Consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in a row is common among high school seniors, with some students engaging in extreme binge drinking of as many as 15 or more drinks, according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

17 Sep 2013

Smoking-cessation in HIV-positive individuals: an interview with Dr Ellen R. Gritz, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

In the general population, current smoking prevalence is 18%. Persons living with HIV/AIDS smoke at a rate 2 to 3 times higher, up to almost 70% in some studies.

16 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 16, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about new polling indicating that the health law still faces an uphill climb.

16 Sep 2013

TRACC program aims to increase scientists from minority groups conducting addiction research

Aiming to increase the number of scientists from underrepresented minority groups conducting addiction research, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has awarded $1.5 million to support a new training program at The City College of New York.

12 Sep 2013

Discovery points to clear, workable method to disrupt unwanted memories

The human brain is exquisitely adept at linking seemingly random details into a cohesive memory that can trigger myriad associations-some good, some not so good. For recovering addicts and individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, unwanted memories can be devastating. Former meth addicts, for instance, report intense drug cravings triggered by associations with cigarettes, money, even gum (used to relieve dry mouth), pushing them back into the addiction they so desperately want to leave.

11 Sep 2013

Not-So-Total Recall: Selectively Erasing Unwanted Memories

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10 Sep 2013

Adolescents who experience harsh verbal discipline suffer from aggressive behavior

Most parents who yell at their adolescent children wouldn't dream of physically punishing their teens. Yet their use of harsh verbal discipline-defined as shouting, cursing, or using insults-may be just as detrimental to the long-term well-being of adolescents.

5 Sep 2013

Report sheds light on adolescents using illegal substances on an average day

On an average day, 881,684 teenagers aged 12 to 17 smoked cigarettes, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The report also says that on an average day 646,707 adolescents smoked marijuana and 457,672 drank alcohol.

30 Aug 2013

Potential drug target to treat depression and other mood disorders may lie in GABA neurons

A new drug target to treat depression and other mood disorders may lie in a group of GABA neurons (gamma-aminobutyric acid -the neurotransmitters which inhibit other cells) shown to contribute to symptoms like social withdrawal and increased anxiety, Penn Medicine researchers report in a new study in the Journal of Neuroscience.

30 Aug 2013

Reformulated OxyContin®: an interview with Dr. Paul Coplan, Executive Director, Risk Management and Epidemiology, Purdue Pharma

OxyContin contains oxycodone, which is an opioid agonist. It is used for the management of moderate to severe pain when a constant opioid analgesic is needed for a prolonged period of time.

29 Aug 2013

Study: Popular music may promote alcohol use among youth

Four alcohol brands-Patron tequila, Hennessy cognac, Grey Goose vodka, and Jack Daniel's whiskey-accounted for more than half of alcohol brand mentions in the songs that mentioned alcohol use in Billboard's most popular song lists in 2009, 2010 and 2011, according to a new study from researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health and the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

29 Aug 2013

Cannabis affects addiction processes in adolescent brain

The nature of the teenage brain makes users of cannabis amongst this population particularly at risk of developing addictive behaviors and suffering other long-term negative effects, according to researchers at the University of Montreal and New York's Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

27 Aug 2013

Report shows nonmedical use of pain relievers may increase risk of using heroin later

A new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that people aged 12 to 49 who had used prescription pain relievers nonmedically were 19 times more likely to have initiated heroin use recently (within the past 12 months of being interviewed) than others in that age group (0.39 percent versus 0.02 percent).

23 Aug 2013

Health concern for children varies based on racial and ethnic backgrounds

Adults across the U.S. rate childhood obesity as the top health concern for children in 2013, but priorities vary based on racial and ethnic backgrounds, according to a new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

20 Aug 2013

GSA policies have positive effect on students' binge drinking

Canadian high schools with anti-homophobia policies or gay-straight alliances (GSAs) that have been in place for three years or more have a positive effect on both gay and straight students' problem alcohol use, according to a new study by University of British Columbia researchers.

16 Aug 2013

NIH awards $17M to research projects to investigate emerging field of exRNA

The National Institutes of Health announced today it will award $17 million this year for 24 research projects designed to improve scientists' understanding of a newly discovered type of cell-to-cell communication based on extracellular (outside the cell) RNA, also called exRNA.

14 Aug 2013