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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

Research: Chronic cocaine use may reduce body's ability to store fat

Chronic cocaine use may reduce the body's ability to store fat, new research from the University of Cambridge suggests. The scientists found that cocaine use may cause profound metabolic changes which can result in dramatic weight gain during recovery, a distressing phenomenon that can lead to relapse.

12 Aug 2013

Cigarette taxation reduces alcohol consumption among vulnerable groups

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disability in the U.S., while heavy drinking ranks as the third leading cause of preventable death. Cigarette taxation has been recognized as one of the most significant policy instruments to reduce smoking.

12 Aug 2013

Drug-related emergency department visits increase among younger adults

A new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows that some drug-related emergency department visits increased by 300 percent -- from 5,605 visits in 2005 to 22,949 visits in 2011. These visits, made by adults aged 18 to 34, were related to the nonmedical use of central nervous system stimulants. On average, about 30 percent of these visits also involved alcohol.

9 Aug 2013

Virginia Tech addiction expert receives $3.2 million grant to help smokers quit cigarettes

Warren Bickel, an internationally recognized addiction expert at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, recently received a $3.2-million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for research on improving self-control in smokers seeking to quit cigarettes. The grant will provide Bickel's team with $573,000 to $716,000 a year over five years to develop innovative new ways to enhance the smokers' ability to abstain from acting on their nicotine cravings.

6 Aug 2013

UW researchers find that abused children smoke more as adolescents

Researchers have long suspected some kind of link between childhood abuse and smoking. But in an interesting twist, a new study from the University of Washington finds a connection not between whether or not an abused child will ever begin smoking, but to how much they smoke once they do start.

6 Aug 2013

Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to smoke cigarettes

Children who grow up in poverty are more likely than wealthier children to smoke cigarettes, but they are less likely to binge drink and are no more prone to use marijuana, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

30 Jul 2013

Hepatitis C (HCV) testing for baby boomers: an interview with Dr. Donald Jensen, Director, Center for Liver Diseases, University of Chicago

The USPSTF agreed with the CDC that since most patients (75%) who are currently infected with hepatitis C were born between 1945 - 1965, and since risk-based screening has not been successful in identifying these individuals, that a one time age-based hepatitis C blood test was necessary.

29 Jul 2013

Combination of 6 comprehensive measures to prevent spread of hepatitis C

UC San Francisco researchers are recommending a combination of six comprehensive measures to prevent the spread of hepatitis C, in an effort to address the more than 31,000 young people they estimate may be newly infected with the virus each year in the United States due to injection-drug use.

25 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: It's time for Congress to talk about 'death panels;' Will health law opponents help constituents get coverage?

Probably nothing causes members of Congress more unease than having to talk about death. It's only been four years since healthcare reform became more about whether President Obama wanted to throw mama from a train via "death panels" than, well, how best to reform a broken healthcare system. Still, there are several representatives from both parties who want to discuss it (Daniel Rothberg, 7/22).

24 Jul 2013

Scientists identify circuitry in brain that drives compulsive drinking in rats

A research team led by scientists from the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco has identified circuitry in the brain that drives compulsive drinking in rats, and likely plays a similar role in humans.

23 Jul 2013

Study supports topiramate as promising medication to treat addiction

The drug topiramate, typically used to treat epilepsy and more recently weight loss, may also help people addicted to both cocaine and alcohol use less cocaine, particularly heavy users, researchers in the department of Psychiatry at Penn Medicine report in a new study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

19 Jul 2013

Researchers develop pocket-sized drug test for use in health care settings

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has agreed to award $2.1 million to Lidong Qin, Ph.D., and Ping Wang, Ph.D., of the Houston Methodist Research Institute to develop a pocket-sized drug test for use in health care settings.

17 Jul 2013

Protein complex may be an effective alternative to opioid pain medications

A drug targeting a protein complex containing two different types of opioid receptors may be an effective alternative to morphine and other opioid pain medications, without any of the side effects or risk of dependence, according to research led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

16 Jul 2013

YES workshop for adolescents to manage stress and control impulsive behavior

In May 2013, the Los Angeles school board voted to ban suspensions of students for "willful defiance" and directed school officials to use alternative disciplinary practices. The decision was controversial, and the question remains: How do you discipline rowdy students and keep them in the classroom while still being fair to other kids who want to learn?

11 Jul 2013

School’s suspension policy can prevent students from drinking

"Just say no" has been many a parent's mantra when it comes to talking to their children about drugs or alcohol. Schools echo that with specific policies against illicit use on school grounds. But do those school policies work?

10 Jul 2013

New study provides data that could help break the cycle of gun violence

They're young. They've been injured in an assault - so badly they went to the emergency room. And nearly one in four of them has a gun, probably an illegal one. What happens next?

8 Jul 2013