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The HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia examined at EECAAC II

Starting tomorrow, the second Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS Conference (EECAAC II), the largest AIDS-focused event to date in the region, will bring together a wide range of private and public groups at a critical time in the fight against AIDS.

2 May 2008

Cocaine addicts who use other substances have more mental health problems

A study carried out by Spanish scientists shows that cocaine users who take other addictive substances demonstrate a higher risk of mental health problems.

1 May 2008

Alcohol affects threat-detecting brain circuits

New brain imaging research published this week shows that, after consuming alcohol, social drinkers had decreased sensitivity in brain regions involved in detecting threats, and increased activity in brain regions involved in reward.

29 Apr 2008

Mental Health Commission of Canada outlines startling statistics on homelessness and mental illness

The statistics are disturbing, but there is hope. That was the message from the Honourable Michael Kirby, Chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, as he delivered the keynote address at the Collaboration for Change forum in Vancouver today.

29 Apr 2008

Scientists discover way to increase metabolism for weight loss

Scientists from Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have discovered a way to aid weight loss and reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes by manipulating fat cells to increase the body's metabolism.

28 Apr 2008

Scientists explore brain's reaction to potent hallucinogen

Brain-imaging studies performed in animals at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory provide researchers with clues about why an increasingly popular recreational drug that causes hallucinations and motor-function impairment in humans is abused.

28 Apr 2008

Smokers more prone to depression

Researchers in Spain suggest that smokers are significantly more at risk of suffering depression than non-smokers.

28 Apr 2008

Discovery of gene behind new form of intellectual disability

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has discovered a new form of intellectual disability involving mental retardation (MR) along with the eye defect retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

24 Apr 2008

How hormone levels affect financial traders

When City traders have high morning testosterone levels they make more than average profits for the rest of that day, researchers at the University of Cambridge have discovered.

15 Apr 2008

Increase in cannabis use among Ontario adults, CAMH reports

While this CAMH Monitor eReport reveals some promising substance use trends among Ontario adults, its revelation of a substantial increase in cannabis use raises a significant public health flag.

15 Apr 2008

Repeated methamphetamine use causes long-term adaptations in brains of mice

Repeatedly stimulating the mouse brain with methamphetamine depresses important areas of the brain, and those changes can only be undone by re-introducing the drug, according to research at the University of Washington and other institutions.

10 Apr 2008

Methamphetamine addiction mechanism discovered

Researchers have identified, for the first time, long-term changes in the brain circuitry of methamphetamine-addicted mice that can explain why the craving of addiction is so stubborn and long-lived.

10 Apr 2008

New research in monkeys may lead to new strategy for treating cocaine addiction

New research in monkeys suggests the feasibility of treating cocaine addiction with a "replacement" drug that mimics the effects of cocaine but has less potential for abuse - similar to the way nicotine and heroin addictions are treated.

7 Apr 2008

Animal research shows potential of amphetamine-like drug for treating cocaine addiction

7 Apr 2008

Discovery of gene variant linked to nicotine addiction and lung cancer

Scientists have identified a genetic variant that not only makes smokers more susceptible to nicotine addiction but also increases their risk of developing two smoking-related diseases, lung cancer and peripheral arterial disease.

3 Apr 2008

HDAC inhibitors show potential as therapeutic agents in treating alcoholism

Reshaping of the DNA scaffolding that supports and controls the expression of genes in the brain may play a major role in the alcohol withdrawal symptoms, particularly anxiety, that make it so difficult for alcoholics to stop using alcohol.

3 Apr 2008

Link between variant in the sequence of the human genome and susceptibility to nicotine dependence

Cigarette smoking is a major public health problem that contributes to millions of deaths around the world each year.

3 Apr 2008

Stimulant treatment for ADHD does not contribute to substance abuse later in life

Treating children as early as age six or seven with stimulants for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not likely to increase risk of substance abuse as adults, according to two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

2 Apr 2008

Illicit drug use increasingly glamorized in rap music

Rap music has gone from an art form that largely warned against the dangers of substance abuse to one that often glorifies illegal drug use, according to the first systematic social science study of the genre covering nearly two decades.

2 Apr 2008

New brain cells implicated in machinery of cannabinoid signaling

The researchers said their findings could aid in development of treatments for cannabinoid drug abuse. Also, because so-called "endocannabinoids" produced by brain cells are involved in the neural machinery of pain perception and learning and memory, the findings could help in understanding those processes, said the researchers.

28 Mar 2008