Substance Abuse News and Research

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Keep children's health in mind

If there is any real purpose to the 2020 summit, it could be to establish a national program of research, clinical and community activity that would deliver a 21st century response to the real child and youth mental health problems that our society creates.

18 Apr 2008

Personality disorders cause emotional reactions in staff

A study published in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry suggests that the way in which professional care workers respond emotionally to substance abuse patients with personality disorders depends on the type of disorder.

10 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

Methamphetamine use and pulmonary arterial hypertension

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA), in conjunction with leading pulmonary hypertension specialists, has announced the launch of an educational campaign to raise awareness of the association between pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and stimulant use, particularly methamphetamine use.

24 Mar 2008

Chronic insomnia and its negative consequences for adolescents

Documenting a "twofold to fivefold" increase in personal problems among adolescents with persistent sleeplessness, public health researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston say they have completed the first prospective study demonstrating the negative impact of chronic insomnia on 11 to 17 year olds.

24 Mar 2008

Depression is not always manifested in children as dejection and anhedonia

Depending on the age of the child, the dominant features may be weeping, irritability or defiance, as explained by Prof. Claudia Mehler-Wex and Dr. Michael Kölch of Ulm University in the new edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2008; 105(9): 149-55).

17 Mar 2008

Treatment for substance abuse vital to reduce prison recidivism rate

For newly released prisoners, successful substance abuse treatment on the outside may be the most important factor in keeping them from returning to jail - trumping issues such as transitional housing and finding a job.

14 Mar 2008

Stimulant treatment for ADHD has no effect on risk of future substance abuse

A new study finds that the use of stimulant drugs to treat children with ADHD has no effect on their future risk of substance abuse.

3 Mar 2008

"Beautiful Boy" author reaches out to parents as a guest blogger on Drugfree.org

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America is proud to have David Sheff, parent and author of "Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction," as a guest blogger on the Partnership's parent-to-parent blog, Decoder (decoder.drugfree.org), which engages the everyday issues of raising healthy, drug-free teens.

26 Feb 2008

Call for more to be done to curb teen binge drinking

According to a major new report commissioned by the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD), alcohol is the most widely used substance by young people with the exception of tobacco.

26 Feb 2008

Post-traumatic stress disorder leads to long-term health problems

Geisinger research finds that veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are as likely to have long-term health problems as people with chronic disease risk factors such as an elevated white blood cell counts and biological signs and symptoms.

14 Feb 2008

Potential cause of age differences in stimulant response identified

In young children, psychostimulants relieve symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder, yet in adolescents and adults, those same medications can cause euphoria and are often abused.

31 Jan 2008

Quitting marijuana as hard as quitting cigarettes

Research by a group of scientists studying the effects of heavy marijuana use suggests that withdrawal from the use of marijuana is similar to what is experienced by people when they quit smoking cigarettes.

25 Jan 2008

Study looks at newly homeless youth and sexual behaviors

Newly homeless youth are likelier to engage in risky sexual behavior if they stay in nonfamily settings — such as friends' homes, abandoned buildings or the streets — because they lack supervision and social support, a new UCLA AIDS Institute study has found.

7 Jan 2008

Treating depression may help alcoholics recover

It's hard to stay on the wagon when you're depressed, according to a new study of problem drinkers.

4 Jan 2008

Variant of COMT gene linked to impulsive decisions

People with clinical addictions know first-hand the ravages the disease can take on almost every aspect of their lives.

28 Dec 2007

Brief intervention helps emergency patients reduce drinking

Asking emergency department patients about their alcohol use and talking with them about how to reduce harmful drinking patterns is an effective way to lower rates of risky drinking in these patients, according to a nationwide collaborative study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

28 Dec 2007

Brain imaging shows there may be a cognitive difference in people with addictions

Scientists have for the first time identified brain sites that fire up more when people make impulsive decisions.

28 Dec 2007

Brain abnormalities found underlying borderline personality disorder

Using new approaches, an interdisciplinary team of scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City has gained a view of activity in key brain areas associated with a core difficulty in patients with borderline personality disorder -- shedding new light on this serious psychiatric condition.

20 Dec 2007