Cocaine Addiction News and Research

RSS

Cocaine dependence (or addiction) is physical and psychological dependency on the regular use of cocaine. It can result in severe physiological damage, psychosis, schizophrenia, lethargy, depression, or a potentially fatal overdose.

HIV among injection drug users declines

U.S. health officials say the rate has dropped by half since the 1990s. The decline may be related to a growth in needle exchange programs. For the report more than 10,000 drug users in 20 metropolitan areas were surveyed and tested for HIV in 2009. About 1 in 10 tested positive for the virus. In the '90s, roughly 1 in 5 did. Addicts who inject heroin, cocaine or other drugs have been one of the groups hit hardest by AIDS.

2 Mar 2012

Quit-smoking drug Chantix effective in cocaine and alcohol addiction

Varenicline is unique among anti-addiction medications in the way it affects the brain. Like nicotine, varenicline activates a specific receptor for a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, but it does so less intensely than the active ingredient of cigarettes does. The net effect is that the drug seems to help by both cutting cravings and making the formerly desired drug less pleasant — without making non-drug pleasures less intense. Alcohol works on the same chemical receptors in the brain as nicotine, and it may enhance the pleasurable effects of smoking.

18 Feb 2012

UTHealth's Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions opens outpatient clinic

An outpatient clinic founded on evidence-based treatments has opened at the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions (CNRA) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

20 Jan 2012

Positive results from Alkermes ALKS 5461 phase 1/2 study on MDD

Alkermes plc today announced positive topline results from a phase 1/2 study of ALKS 5461, a novel drug compound for major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients who have an inadequate response to standard therapies for clinical depression.

5 Jan 2012

Drug abuse high in West Australian young men: Study

According to a drug expert almost one in 10 men under 30 years of age has regularly used stimulant drugs and West Australians are the worst offenders.

21 Nov 2011

Intelligent children more likely to abuse drugs as teens and adults: Study

A new study finds that children with high IQs are more likely to use marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines and other illicit drugs as teenagers and adults. This comes after an in-depth look at nearly 8,000 British men and women who were tracked for more than three decades.

16 Nov 2011

Smoking primes the brain for cocaine addiction: Study

The study comes from the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Maryland that is the first of its kind to show how nicotine can change the brain in a way that enhances the behavioral effects of cocaine. It could help explain why so many drug-using teenagers tend to start with cigarettes and alcohol before moving on to more illegal substances.

7 Nov 2011

Drug overdose deaths surpass road traffic accident deaths in U.S.

According to newly released figures, drug-related deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the U.S., with the rise driven by an increase in prescription narcotic overdoses.

19 Sep 2011

UN report on illicit drug use worldwide

According to a new United Nations report the use of stimulant drugs of abuse like amphetamine, ecstasy and meth is increasing worldwide. The report adds that the growing trade in these illegal drugs and the high profits they bring to criminals are posing an increasing threat to health and security.

14 Sep 2011

Drug use among young adults on the rise in U.S.

Nearly one in 10 Americans report regularly using illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants or prescription drugs used recreationally, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health made public today. The survey, sponsored by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), collects the data from interviews with 67,500 randomly selected people 12 years or older.

12 Sep 2011

Less smokers but more drug addicts: Australian population survey

...

26 Jul 2011

Quitting cannabis use in your 20s cuts progression to other drugs

Quitting cannabis use in your 20s significantly reduces your chance of progressing to other illicit drug use, according to research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

18 Jul 2011

Propranolol can block brain from retrieving cocaine-associated memories

New discoveries by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) offer potential for development of a first-ever pharmacological treatment for cocaine addiction.

16 Jul 2011

Alkermes commences ALKS 5461 phase 1/2 study for treatment-resistant depression

Alkermes, Inc. today announced the initiation of a phase 1/2 study of ALKS 5461 for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). ALKS 5461 is the combination of ALKS 33, a proprietary opioid modulator, and buprenorphine. TRD, which is also known as refractory depression, refers to depressive episodes that are not adequately controlled by standard antidepressant therapy.

15 Jun 2011

Omeros' PDE7 program expands addiction franchise

Omeros Corporation today announced that its phosphodiesterase 7 inhibitors demonstrated robust efficacy in animal models of nicotine addiction.

6 May 2011

Omeros announces license agreement with Daiichi Sankyo for PDE7 inhibitors

Omeros Corporation today announced that its exclusive license to phosphodiesterase 7 inhibitors from Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. has been amended to include addiction and compulsive disorders in the field of use.

23 Feb 2011

Vaccines for alcoholism and cocaine addiction coming soon

In a latest development, researchers from Chile have come up with a vaccine to cure alcoholics. It will help them kick the habit by creating a sensation of a terrible hangover after just a few drinks. The mechanism by which this vaccine acts is by neutralizing a group of enzymes that help the body to break down alcohol. When the enzymes aldehyde dehydrogenase is disabled the body accumulates the alcohol to create the hangovers after just a few drinks.

9 Jan 2011

Unique vaccine produces long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice

Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Cornell University have produced a long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a unique vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Safe vaccine protects mice against effects of cocaine

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011