Addiction News and Research

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Researchers uncover gene that plays role in cocaine addiction

Cocaine can have a devastating effect on people. It directly stimulates the brain's reward center, and, more importantly, induces long-term changes to the reward circuitry that are responsible for addictive behaviors.

12 Jul 2018

Study finds disrupted stress response in people with schizophrenia

Stressful situations affect the brain and body differently in people with schizophrenia compared to people without the mental illness or individuals at high risk for developing psychosis, a new CAMH study shows.

11 Jul 2018

Newly discovered nanobody holds promise to advance targeted therapies for several diseases

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found a nanobody that holds promise to advance targeted therapies for a number of neurological diseases and cancer.

10 Jul 2018

Research shows greater numbers of new smokers, e-cigarette users among young adults

Millennials living more dangerously and settling down later could be creating a new generation of addicted smokers and e-cigarette users, according to the surprising results of research by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

9 Jul 2018

What a U.S.-China trade war could mean for the opioid epidemic

The American struggle to curb opioid addiction could become collateral damage in President Donald Trump's showdown on trade.

6 Jul 2018

Non-opioid drug shows promise for treating pain by targeting receptors on immune cells

Faced with the epidemic of opioid addiction, researchers have been charged with finding other strategies to treat pain. Their efforts largely have focused on nerve cells that transmit pain signals to the spinal cord and brain.

6 Jul 2018

Texas clinics busting traditional silos of mental and physical health care

Kerstin Taylor fought alcohol and substance abuse problems for two decades. She periodically sought help through addiction and psychiatric treatments to stay sober, but she continued to relapse.

5 Jul 2018

Nurses take on expanded roles to provide access to health care in rural, underserved areas

To help address access to health care for rural and underserved areas, registered nurses can take on expanded roles in primary care delivery.

4 Jul 2018

Tennessee-based pain management group to close clinics amid financial turmoil

One of the largest pain management groups in the Southeast is closing multiple clinics amid worsening financial troubles and a federal criminal investigation that targeted its former chief executive.

4 Jul 2018

Streamlining and translating basic science discoveries into the clinic

To make sure that good ideas to enhance healthcare are not lost due to a lack of resources, a growing number of centers at Penn Medicine organize forums to pitch ideas to improve medical devices and technology, hold annual competitions to fund studies to improve patient care while keeping costs down, and sponsor seed grants for programs focused on patients who need individualized tailoring of their treatment.

2 Jul 2018

Psychedelics and their role in treatment of mental health disorders

Psychedelics such as LSD, magic mushrooms, mescaline etc. have garnered renewed interest in the scientific world because of the possible role they could play in mental health problems. Ketamine remains the only hallucinogen at present that is used clinically as an anesthetic agent. The others are all classified under banned drugs.

2 Jul 2018

Compulsively checking social media could be hurting our brain

You know that warm feeling you get when you see lots of likes from a Facebook or Instagram post? That's the reward system of your brain lighting up like fireflies on a dark summer night.

30 Jun 2018

New therapeutic may help drug addicts avoid future drug use

A new therapeutic may help reverse chemical imbalances made to the brain by habitual drug use and could one day help recovering drug addicts avoid future drug use.

30 Jun 2018

Judge blocks Kentucky Medicaid work requirement

A federal judge on Friday struck down a Trump administration decision allowing states to force low-income adults to work to qualify for Medicaid.

29 Jun 2018

URI researchers working to develop novel medication to treat alcohol use disorder

Alcohol abuse is among the leading causes of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 88,000 people a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

28 Jun 2018

Researchers examine whether taking a hallucinogen can curb cocaine use

Unlike with alcohol or nicotine, there is not a pharmacological option available to individuals addicted to cocaine to help them stop using the drug. However, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham believe the tool to help individuals treat their addiction may very well exist.

28 Jun 2018

UT Southwestern study reveals structural information for major brain receptor

UT Southwestern researchers today published the first atomic structure of a brain receptor bound to a drug used to reverse anesthesia and to treat sedative overdoses.

28 Jun 2018

Fitness may be vital to depression patient’s good health

Exercise may be just as crucial to a depression patient's good health as finding an effective antidepressant.

27 Jun 2018

New study finds way to help treat alcohol addiction and ease withdrawal symptoms

According to a new study by Scripps Research scientists, activating a receptor found in brain cells may help treat alcohol addiction and ease some withdrawal symptoms. The researchers studied the effects of activating the receptor in alcohol-addicted rats and reported the results today in the journal eNeuro.

27 Jun 2018

Study suggests new approach for treating alcohol use disorder

Activation of a receptor with no known function in the brain reduces excessive alcohol use and the pain of withdrawal, according to preclinical research in male rats. The study, published in eNeuro, suggests a new approach towards the treatment of alcohol use disorder.

26 Jun 2018