Addiction News and Research

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Examining dopamine receptors in their natural environment

Dopamine, a chemical that sends messages between different parts of the brain and body, plays a key role in a variety of diseases and behaviors by interacting with receptors on cells.

11 Jun 2020

Study assesses the acute impact of cannabis among real-world users

Smoking high-potency marijuana concentrates boosts blood levels of THC more than twice as much as smoking conventional weed, but it doesn't necessarily get you higher, according to a new study of regular users published today by University of Colorado Boulder researchers.

10 Jun 2020

Smoking more than doubles the risk of stroke in African Americans

Current cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked per day are associated with more than twice the risk for all stroke - ischemic and hemorrhagic - among African Americans compared to nonsmokers, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association.

10 Jun 2020

Weighing the risks and benefits of drug screening

Little evidence supports the new recommendations for clinical screening for drug use. Do the potential benefits outweigh the potential harms?

10 Jun 2020

Rice researchers create tiny, magnetically-powered neural stimulator

Rice University neuroengineers have created a tiny surgical implant that can electrically stimulate the brain and nervous system without using a battery or wired power supply.

8 Jun 2020

UTHSC researchers receive NIH award for opioid addiction studies

A team of University of Tennessee Health Science Center researchers in the College of Medicine recently received a National Institutes of Health award to study how genetic differences may explain why some people are more susceptible to opioid addiction than others.

5 Jun 2020

Study highlights increased consumption of opioids in patients with osteoarthritis

Fentanyl, tramadol or tilidine: New European figures show that even in Europe increasingly more people are taking opioids for pain connected with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

5 Jun 2020

New report documents trends before the legalization of cannabis in Michigan

Nearly twelve years ago, Michigan voters approved the use of medical cannabis by residents with certain health conditions. A year and a half ago, they voted to approve its use by all adults, for any reason.

5 Jun 2020

UIC Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics receives $8.2 million NIH grant

The University of Illinois at Chicago received $8.2 million from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to continue the Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics and its research on how alcohol affects genes through epigenetics -- chemical changes to DNA, RNA or proteins that alter the expression of genes without directly modifying them.

4 Jun 2020

Opioid addiction treatment has increased for all age groups except the youngest

Prescriptions for an FDA-approved treatment for opioid addiction have increased over the past decade in all age groups except the youngest (age 15-24), a new analysis of prescription data by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center has found.

4 Jun 2020

Nicotine promotes spread of lung cancer cells into the brain, study finds

Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine have discovered that nicotine promotes the spread of lung cancer cells into the brain, where they can form deadly metastatic tumors.

4 Jun 2020

Effects of chronic stress associated with increased inflammatory signaling within brain circuits

Anxiety and depression are significantly heightened during times of great stress such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

4 Jun 2020

In hard-hit areas, COVID’s ripple effects strain mental health care systems

In late March, Marcell's girlfriend took him to the emergency room at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, about 11 miles south of Detroit.

4 Jun 2020

Does smoking increase COVID-19 risk?

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to smolder and smoke in many parts of the world, with over 100,000 cases, and more than 3,000 deaths reported every day. Many factors are responsible for the higher risk of infection in certain specific population subgroups are known.

2 Jun 2020

Pandemic presents new hurdles, and hope, for people struggling with addiction

Before Philadelphia shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Ed had a routine: most mornings he would head to a nearby McDonald’s to brush his teeth, wash his face and — when he had the money — buy a cup of coffee.

2 Jun 2020

Pod-based e-cigarettes have higher potential to foster addiction than other devices

JUUL and similar pod-based e-cigarettes have been popular with teenagers and young adults since they came on the market in 2015, but little has been known about their health effects.

1 Jun 2020

Anesthetic drug Ketamine uses serotonin receptors to relieve depression

Ketamine is a drug used to induce general anesthesia. It has also been found to act rapidly to relieve depression that has failed to respond to two other rounds of medication. A new study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry in May 2020 reports the mechanism of action of the drug, which was hitherto unknown. This could help find new ways to treat this debilitating and sometimes fatal condition.

31 May 2020

Researchers show how ketamine fights difficult-to-treat depression

The anaesthetic drug ketamine has been shown, in low doses, to have a rapid effect on difficult-to-treat depression.

31 May 2020

Expert offers COVID-19 guidance for patients with COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is a chronic lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. The disease affects millions of Americans and is the fourth leading cause of disease-related death in the U.S. People with COPD have a higher risk of more severe illness from COVID-19 due to their existing lung problems.

30 May 2020

How India's lockdown has affected mental health

India’s public landscape has transformed dramatically over the last couple of months, with the most prolonged lockdown that the present generation can remember. Declared on March 24, 2020, the lockdown ensured that hundreds of millions of people were effectively confined to home, except when they ventured out, armed with a self-attested affidavit, to stock up on essentials.

27 May 2020