New clue to cocaine addicts' quirky behavior
Researchers working with rats have zeroed in on the brain circuitry mechanism whose disruption contributes to the impulsive behavior seen in users of cocaine as well as other psychostimulant drugs. The same circuitry has been implicated in such disorders as schizophrenia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, wrote the researchers. Yukiori Goto and Anthony A. Grace of the Univers...To slow AIDS in Russia, treat HIV-positive addicts, Stanford study says
The key to combating AIDS in Russia may be to treat HIV-infected drug users. A new model estimating the spread of HIV in Russia suggests that treating injection drug users with antiretroviral medication will slow transmission of the virus among the general population. The study, which will appear in the December issue of the journal AIDS, was led by Douglas Owens, MD, a researcher at...A new way out for heroin addicts
Heroin addiction is a serious problem that can often be fatal. Methadone has been one of the treatment options for long-term heroin addicts. However, the major concern in treating heroin addicts with methadone is that methadone can become addictive. This is one reason methadone therapy is usually only given to long-term addicts. A new study has now found that an alternative drug therapy combined...Brain of Cocaine Addicts Smaller In Size
In a new study, advanced imaging techniques reveals unexpected structural differences in the brains of cocaine addicts. For the study researchers compared detailed images of the brain structure // of 27 cocaine addicts to that of similar images obtained from 27 healthy patients. Results showed the amygdala -- a key structure in the brain, which previous research has linked to the brain's...AIDS Threat Aggravated Due To Sale of Blood by Drug Addicts in Cambodia
Drug users in Cambodia have adopted a new way of marketing their blood to hospitals to pay for their habits. Health experts warn that if this practice is not curbed in time, it would serve as a severe threat to the country's gains in fighting HIV/AIDS.// So far, there has been no report of spread of the deadly infection by blood transfusions. It is however predicted that if the in...More Drug Addicts In Scotland Seek Treatment
The increased investment made by the Government in treating drug addicts is beginning to yield results in Scotland, with as many as 14,000 new drug users seeking treatment in 2004. Heroin users accounted for 8,000 of this figure. //This amounts to a 10% increase in the number of people trying to get back to normal life. The Scottish Drug Misuse Database revealed the figures, which al...