Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs News From Medical News Today
Brain Mechanism Linked To Relapse After Cocaine Withdrawal
12:00:00 CEST +0200 September 9th, 2010
Addictive drugs are known to induce changes in the brain's reward circuits that may underlie drug craving and relapse after long periods of abstinence...
Getting Drunk Key To Bonding For Young People
11:00:00 CEST +0200 September 9th, 2010
For many young people getting drunk is key to being accepted as part of a social group...
Link Between Excessive Drinking, Poor Brain Health, Obesity
10:00:00 CEST +0200 September 9th, 2010
Prior research has shown that alcohol abuse and dependence are typically associated with higher rates of obesity, as evidenced by a high body mass index (BMI)...
Drink-Driving: Decision-Making Deficits Related To Driving Under The Influence Are Often Undetected
09:00:00 CEST +0200 September 9th, 2010
Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol is a major public health problem. A study of people who had relapsed to DUI found subtle deficits in their decision-making abilities that tend to go undetected through conventional neuropsychological testing. Results will be published in the December 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View...
Levels Of Stress Hormones Increased By Chronic Drinking, Leading To Neurotoxicity
09:00:00 CEST +0200 September 9th, 2010
Both drinking and withdrawal from chronic drinking can raise circulating glucocorticoid levels, known as cortisol in humans and corticosterone in rodents. Prolonged and high concentrations of glucocorticoids can have damaging effects on neuronal function and cognition...
Acamprosate Prevents Relapse To Drinking In Alcoholism
11:00:00 CEST +0200 September 8th, 2010
Acamprosate reduces the number of patients being treated for alcoholism who return to drinking, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. The drug showed moderate benefits in trials when used in addition to non-drug treatments. Drinking too much alcohol increases the risk of ill health...
Bipolar Disorder Does Not Increase Risk Of Violent Crime
09:00:00 CEST +0200 September 8th, 2010
A new study from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet suggests that bipolar disorder - or manic-depressive disorder - does not increase the risk of committing violent crime. Instead, the over-representation of individuals with bipolar disorder in violent crime statistics is almost entirely attributable to concurrent substance abuse...
Brain Function, Task Performance In Cocaine Abusers, Improved By Ritalin
09:00:00 CEST +0200 September 8th, 2010
A brain-scanning study at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, conducted with collaborators from Stony Brook University, reveals that an oral dose of methylphenidate, commonly known as Ritalin, improves impaired brain function and enhances cognitive performance in people who are addicted to cocaine...
Codeine-Ibuprofen Misuse Results In Serious Morbidity, Australia
12:00:00 CEST +0200 September 6th, 2010
Although codeine-ibuprofen can be considered a relatively weak opioid analgesic, it is nevertheless addictive and more research is needed to develop health care responses to its misuse, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia...
The International AIDS Society Calls For An End To Harassment, Intimidation And Imprisonment Of HIV Professionals
10:00:00 CEST +0200 September 6th, 2010
Following the imprisonment of Maxim Popov in April 2010, sentenced to 7 years jail primarily for the promotion of HIV prevention efforts in Uzbekistan, the International AIDS Society (IAS) notes with alarm the detention of a medial practitioner working in HIV prevention in Ukraine. Dr...
Psychiatrists Call For Northern Ireland Executive To Follow Scottish Lead On Minimum Price For Alcohol
10:00:00 CEST +0200 September 5th, 2010
The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland has called on the Executive to take the advice of the Health and Social Development Ministers and follow Scotland's lead in proposing a minimum price for alcohol of 45 pence a unit...
The Partnership For A Drug-Free America® Presents New Research-Based Programs At National Prevention Network Conference
13:00:00 CEST +0200 September 3rd, 2010
Patricia Russo, chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America provided keynote remarks and joined Steve Pasierb, Partnership CEO and Ken Winters, PhD., chairman of the organization's science advisory board and professor at the University of Minnesota, to review a number of new research-based programs from the Partnership at the National Prevention Network Prevention Research Conference...
Gene Doping Detectable With A Simple Blood Test
13:00:00 CEST +0200 September 3rd, 2010
German scientists from Tübingen and Mainz have developed a blood test that can reliably detect gene doping even after 56 days. Scientists at the universities in Tübingen and Mainz have developed a test that can provide conclusive proof of gene doping...
BMA Scotland Welcomes Announcement Of Minimum Price For Alcohol
12:00:00 CEST +0200 September 3rd, 2010
The BMA has welcomed plans to set the minimum price per unit of alcohol in Scotland at 45 pence. Commenting on the proposed price announced by the Cabinet Secretary this morning, Dr Brian Keighley, chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said that so far, no credible alternative to minimum pricing had been identified by opposition parties and he urged them to back the Alcohol Bill...
A Genetic Predisposition To Alcohol Dependence May Be Indicated By Sensitivity To Alcohol Odors
10:00:00 CEST +0200 September 3rd, 2010
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are DNA sequence variations that occur when a single nucleotide in the genome sequence is altered. Prior research suggested an association between SNPs in a gene that encodes aspects of the brain's gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA)-A receptors (the GABRA2 gene) and alcohol dependence...
New UNH Research Shows Risk Of Marijuana's 'Gateway Effect' Overblown
10:00:00 CEST +0200 September 3rd, 2010
New research from the University of New Hampshire shows that the "gateway effect" of marijuana - that teenagers who use marijuana are more likely to move on to harder illicit drugs as young adults - is overblown. Whether teenagers who smoked pot will use other illicit drugs as young adults has more to do with life factors such as employment status and stress, according to the new research...
WHO Proposes Creation Of African Public Health Emergency Fund, Strategy To Reduce Alcohol Use In Africa
14:00:00 CEST +0200 September 2nd, 2010
During the 60th session of the Africa Committee of the WHO on Monday, Luis Sambo, regional director of the WHO for Africa, proposed the creation of a public health emergency fund to provide financial support to African countries in emergency situations, Agencia AngolaPress reports (8/30)...
Addiction, Compulsive Eating May Be Linked By Biochemical Pathway
12:00:00 CEST +0200 September 2nd, 2010
Ezlopitant, a compound known to suppress craving for alcohol in humans, was shown to decrease consumption of sweetened water by rodents in a study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, which is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco...
Floridians Prepare To Take Back The State
11:00:00 CEST +0200 September 2nd, 2010
September's National Pain Awareness Month has never been more important for the state of Florida. Recent data from the Florida Medical Examiner shows residents are dying at a rate of at least 7 per day as a result of prescription drug abuse...
Michael Douglas Says He Has Stage Four Throat Cancer
11:00:00 CEST +0200 September 2nd, 2010
Michael Douglas told a US television audience on Tuesday night that he has been diagnosed with and is receiving treatment for stage four throat cancer. Speaking on David Letterman's "Late Show" to promote the release of his new film "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps", the 65- year old American actor and producer said his doctors had told him he has an 80 per cent chance of survival...
Addressing Health Problems Of Alcohol Requires Society Wide Response
10:00:00 CEST +0200 September 2nd, 2010
Responding to figures from the North West Public Health Observatory on the effects of alcohol consumption, NHS Confederation deputy policy director Jo Webber said it was up to society as a whole to address the problems of excessive drinking Commenting on the release of Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) by the North West Public Health Observatory, Jo webber, deputy poli...
Study Finds Privatizing Sweden's Retail Alcohol Sales Will Increase Alcohol-Related Violence And Other Harms
09:00:00 CEST +0200 September 2nd, 2010
A study published in the scientific journal Addiction argues that privatising Sweden's government monopoly on the sale of alcohol will significantly increase alcohol-related violence and other harms...
Research Reveals Higher Rates Of Substance Use By Hispanic Students
09:00:00 CEST +0200 September 2nd, 2010
Hispanic middle school students may be more likely to smoke, drink or use marijuana than their peers of other races and ethnicities, whereas Asian students seem to have the lowest risk, according to new research in the September issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs...
White House Drug Policy Director Awards $85.6 Million To Local Communities To Prevent Youth Drug Use
09:00:00 CEST +0200 September 2nd, 2010
Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), announced $22 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 169 communities and 16 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country...
Death Of Injecting Drug User In Leicestershire
15:00:00 CEST +0200 September 1st, 2010
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) and NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland can confirm that they are investigating the death of a drug injecting heroin user in Leicestershire. Testing of samples from the patient has confirmed the presence of anthrax. This is the fourth case of anthrax seen in an injecting drug user in England, the first being announced in London on 5 February 2010...
