abuse

Controversial drug shown to act on brain protein to cut alcohol use

...ed drinking ordrug use when exposed to the drug of abuse months or even years afterbreaking the habit.In this analysis, the researchers provided alcohol to rats until theyhad become "experienced" daily drinkers. They then withheld alcohol fortwo weeks, which normally leads to greatly increased drinking whe...

Alcohol's effects on gene expression in the central nervous system

...tic and biological bases of alcoholism and alcohol abuse within discrete brain regions. "For researchers, microarray technology has the potential of studying the genetic and biological bases of alcohol's rewarding effects, sensitivity to the effects of alcohol, development of tolerance to the effects of a...

Chemists identify immune system mechanism for methamphetamine binges

... vaccines, he explains. But ironically, people who abuse methamphetamine may build up antibodies to the drug itself, so they require increasing amounts to get high, resulting in binging behavior, he says. "Without knowing it, they're essentially vaccinating themselves against the drug, and that's not a go...

One hit of crystal meth causes birth defects

...ive stimulant. "We've known for a while that meth abuse during pregnancy is associated with low birth weight, cleft palates and other malformations but this is the first research demonstrating that even a single exposure can cause long-term damage," says Wells. "It's pretty remarkable that a single low do...

Investigating 'brain shrinkage' in alcoholics

...way to cause brain damage in those individuals who abuse or are dependent on alcohol. "The exact ways in w...nerve impulses." - It is important for people who abuse alcohol to realize that some of the damage can be reversed. "Neuropsychological studies have shown ...

Gene controlling circadian rhythms linked to drug addiction

...isruption of circadian rhythms and the tendency to abuse drugs. "Most work on Clock has focused on the brain's master pacemaker, located in a brain area called the suprachiasmatic nucleus," said Dr. Nestler. "The novelty of Dr. McClung's findings is the role Clock plays in brain reward pathways. The next ...

Methamphetamine Abuse, HIV Infection Cause Changes in Brain Structure

...urnal of Psychiatry indicates that methamphetamine abuse and HIV infection cause significant alterations in...ocessing information. Co-occurring methamphetamine abuse and HIV infection appears to result in greater impairment than each condition alone. “Methamphetami...

Prescription pain patch abuse blamed for increase in deaths

...f the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, show abuse of the patch resulted in the death of 115 people i...archers found. "We have seen an increased use and abuse of the patch form of fentanyl for the past five years or so," Goldberger said. "This is a recent fin...

Hepatitis C complicated by morphine withdrawal

...a) production by liver cells suggests that �opioid abuse may contribute to the chronicity of HCV infection ...idemiological studies to define the role of opiate abuse in promoting HCV disease. These results suggest that opioid abusers experiencing periods of drug ab...

Continued reduction in the number of drug-related deaths in the UK

...ction of our young people from the scourge of drug abuse problems" ...

Amphetamines reverse Parkinson's disease symptoms in mice

... relief by taking amphetamines, which are drugs of abuse with many dangerous side effects. The findings rather indicate that drugs with similar chemical attributes might offer useful alternatives to current therapies, the researchers said. The new study also shows that amphetamines -- normally thought to ...

Grabbing addiction by the tail

...rface to listen to the signal. But after repeated abuse of a drug, cells in the nucleus accumbens internalize glutamate receptors, compromising their ability to listen to the signals. Earlier research showed that receptor internalization in addicted rats accompanies behavioral sensitization, a model of cr...

Good news for the medical marijuana movement: pot proliferates brain cells and boosts mood

Most drugs of abuse decrease the generation of new neurons in the brain, but the effects of marijuana on this process, called neurogenesis, had not been clear. In a paper appearing online on October 13 in advance of print publication of the November issue of the Journa...

Russian 'surrogate' alcohols are a killer

... with historical lessons which show that substance abuse is often widespread during periods of rapid transition, such as the industrial revolution." Shkolnikov concurs. "When thinking about the Russian health crisis, one should not overlook certain societal forces operating in the post-Soviet era," he sa...

Mapping alcohol brain damage

...ute of Health (NIH) to find out. Chronic alcohol abuse kills brain cells in the front of the brain, which affect planning, and social interactions and inhibitions. The UQ team with collaborators from The University of Texas, want to find out what makes these cells so vulnerable. Professor Dodd said h...

Animal models show that anabolic steroids flip the adolescent brain's switch for aggression

...tists are deeply concerned about rising adolescent abuse of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs), given the ...rly half a million eighth- and 10th-grade students abuse AASs each year. Not only do steroids set kids up for heavier use of steroids and other drugs later ...

Liver cancer linked to cellular repair pathway

... chronic infections, such as hepatitis, by alcohol abuse or other causes. It is rare in people with healthy livers. The cancer's incidence is rising in the United States, with an estimated 17,550 new cases diagnosed in 2005 and 15,420 deaths. One reason for the rising rates is the increasing prevalence of ...

New DNA 'fingerprinting' technique separates hemp from marijuana

..., and marijuana, the most abundant illegal drug of abuse in the United States, both belong to the species Cannabis sativa. They differ in levels of the psychoactive drug tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) but are otherwise difficult to tell apart. The technique holds promise for distinguishing different cultivars ...

Aggression-related gene weakens brain's impulse control circuits

...o increased vulnerability of men with L exposed to abuse during childhood," suggested Weinberger. "Since only men showed gene effects in several of these circuits, this could lead to a situation where multiple brain control mechanisms are impaired and contribute to manifestly violent behavior, a kind of ge...

Team discovers possible 'universal strategy' to combat addiction

... acts on the part of the brain where many drugs of abuse exert their rewarding effects - the ventral tegmen...eating drug addiction," Zhang says. "Most drugs of abuse act on the neurons in this area." He cautions that much work remains to be done before a treatment ...

High resolution 'snapshots' detail dynamics of a cocaine antibody

...ical Biology. Despite intensive research, cocaine abuse continues to be a major public health problem, so ...d, "Development of effective therapies for cocaine abuse has been a long-standing goal, and a number of medications under study do show some promise. Immunop...

Just the expectation of a mirthful laughter experience boosts endorphins 27 percent, HGH 87 percent

...ay April 2, APS Behavioral neuroscience & drug abuse Section abstract 233.18/board #C706. Research was by Lee S. Berk, Department of Health Promotion and Education, School of Public Health and Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University; Stanley A. Tan, Oakcrest Health Research I...

New HIV study identifies high-risk subgroups of adolescents

...nprotected sex, mental health crises and substance abuse exist at the same time, and also vary by gender. ...unt of unsafe sex reported only moderate substance abuse and low numbers of mental health issues, whereas the group of girls who reported only moderate amoun...

Study reveals how ADHD drugs work in brain

...mes amidst deep public concern over the widespread abuse of existing ADHD medicines. "There's been a lot of concern over giving a potentially addictive drug to a child [with ADHD]," says lead author Craig Berridge, a UW-Madison professor of psychology. "But in order to come up with a better drug we must ...

Hair samples show babies can be exposed to 'crystal meth' while in the womb

...etite and enhances sexual arousal. But long term abuse damages nerves in the brain and can lead to psycho...er illegal drug, predominantly cocaine. . Drug abuse increases complications of pregnancy and triples the likelihood of serious medical problems among th...

High-tech research shows cocaine changes proteins and brain function

...inated involvement of multiple proteins in cocaine abuse provides insight into the molecular basis of the disease and offers new targets for pharmaco-therapeutic intervention for drug-abuse-related disorders, he said. "These studies are an important and significant step to further our understanding of th...

Pleasure and pain: Study shows brain's 'pleasure chemical' is involved in response to pain too

...le others do not. "Variations in risk for drug abuse after initial exposures could be mediated by individual differences in the response of this neurotransmitter system to various forms of stress, with pain being itself a physical and emotional stressor," write the authors, led by David J. Scott, Ph.D....

New HIV statistics indicate increasing toll of AIDS on African American community

...an increased investment in education and substance abuse programs designed to prevent people from using injection drugs in the first place and help current users to quit, and establishing needle-exchange programs to minimize the risk of infection from sharing needles. Expand proven HIV prevention, dia...

New research identifies gene important for nicotine's effects on the brain

... dopamine system in the brain as do other drugs of abuse including cocaine and amphetamines. "Our work and that of others has shown that nicotine changes signaling in nerve cells in the dopamine system resulting in long-lasting effects," said Picciotto. "We believe that these changes in signaling may ...

A valuable fly for research into disease

...f California's Ulrike Heberlein, a pioneer in drug abuse research using Drosophila. Her research group focu...e links between genes and behaviour caused by drug abuse and the mechanisms that regulate responses to psychostimulants such as alcohol, cocaine and nicotine...

Low levels of neurotransmitter serotonin may perpetuate child abuse across generations

Infant abuse may be perpetuated between generations by changes ... endured high rates of maternal rejection and mild abuse in their first month of life, their brains often produced less serotonin, a chemical that transmits ...

Genes and genius: Researchers confirm association between gene and intelligence

...chers, who isolated DNA regions related to alcohol abuse and dependence, as well as a variety of other outcomes. Some of the participants in the study also took the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, a traditional IQ test. In all, members of 200 families, including more than 2,150 individuals, t...

Long-term narcotics use for back pain may be ineffective and lead to abuse

...o also found that behaviors consistent with opioid abuse was reported in 24 percent of cases. "Patients w... chronic back pain, and the incidence of substance abuse disorders among patients receiving opioid medications for chronic back pain. The study populatio...

Re-analysis of cigarettes confirms tobacco companies increased addictive nicotine 11 percent

...tor Edward Kennedy (D-Ma.) that would address this abuse and bring the tobacco industry under the rules that regulate other manufacturers of drugs." Beginning in 1997, Massachusetts regulations have required an annual report to be filed with the MDPH by all manufacturers of cigarettes sold in Massachuse...

Prenatal cocaine's lasting cellular effects

...high levels of cocaine -- usually coupled with the abuse of other drugs -- can lead to premature labor, pre...in human populations because cocaine abusers often abuse other drugs. Animal models can help determine how prenatal cocaine exposure might influence brain de...

Long-term marijuana smoking leads to respiratory complaints

...widely used illicit drug in the United States, and abuse of the drug is on the rise. The study is published in today's Archives of Internal Medicine. First author Jeanette M. Tetrault, M.D., and colleagues sought to find the relationship between marijuana smoking and pulmonary function or respiratory compl...

Migration played key role in HIV spread in South Africa

...widely used illicit drug in the United States, and abuse of the drug is on the rise. The study is published in today's Archives of Internal Medicine. First author Jeanette M. Tetrault, M.D., and colleagues sought to find the relationship between marijuana smoking and pulmonary function or respiratory compl...

Common gene version optimizes thinking -- but with a possible downside

...d this pivotal protein to depression and substance abuse as well as to schizophrenia," added NIMH Director Thomas Insel, M.D. To understand DARPP-32's role in the human brain, the NIMH researchers used genetic, structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging, and post-mortem techniques to identify...

New study examines 'brain's own marijuana'

... that one of the major reasons that people use and abuse marijuana is to relieve stress,?according to Samir Haj-Dahmane, Ph.D., neuroscientist and principal investigator on the RIA study. “However, because marijuana can be addictive, it cannot be used to treat stress-related mood disorders such as anxiety....