Feature Channels: Addiction

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Hyperalgesia refers to an increased sensitivity to pain. It can occur during alcohol withdrawal, and may contribute to a relapse to drinking. Alternative therapies such as acupuncture and electroacupuncture (EA; which combines acupuncture with electrical stimulation) are effective in reducing pain and, possibly, alcohol-withdrawal symptoms. This rodent study investigated whether EA can alleviate hyperalgesia during alcohol withdrawal, potentially reducing the risk of a relapse to drinking, and whether it achieves this effect via action at mu opioid receptors (MORs) located in a brain region called the lateral habenula.

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Yale researchers found in a study that one in four high schoolers who use electronic cigarettes are inhaling vapors produced by dripping e-liquids directly onto heating coils, instead of inhaling from the e-cigarette mouthpiece, possibly increasing exposure to toxins and nicotine.

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A new Berkeley Lab-led study found that the sticky residue left behind by tobacco smoke led to changes in weight and blood cell count in mice. These latest findings add to a growing body of evidence that thirdhand smoke exposure may be harmful.

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A number of animal studies and a small human pilot study have revealed that cannabinoids, extracts of cannabis legally sold as medical marijuana, could reduce cravings and ease withdrawal symptoms in heroin users.

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Cocaine use has long been tied anecdotally to higher-than-usual rates of impulsive behavior, including risky sex, but the tie-in has been difficult to study with any scientifically controlled rigor.

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Cytokines are small proteins in the immune system that act as chemical messengers between cells. Prior research suggests that pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines are dysfunctional during alcohol dependence and may contribute to the progression from healthy to problem drinking. This study compared social and non-dependent problem drinkers on the impact of alcohol-related changes in the body’s immune response to stress, alcohol-cue induced craving and anxiety, motivation to drink, and alcohol consumption.

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Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that deep brain stimulation (DBS) can greatly reduce the compulsion to use heroin in standard rat models of addiction.

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A new clinical guideline from the American College of Gastroenterology offers the first recommendations in over 10 years on the evaluation of abnormal liver chemistries. For the first time in a liver test guideline, the authors define a normal healthy serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level for women and men (up to 25 IU/L for women, up to 33 IU/L for men) and recommend that levels above this should be assessed by physicians.

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Nationwide, the mortality rate from deaths caused by drugs, alcohol and suicide rose 52 percent from 2000 to 2014, according to new research from the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Most of the increase was driven by a surge in prescription opioid and heroin overdoses.

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Adolescents who are violent toward their romantic partners are also more likely to think about or attempt suicide, carry a weapon, threaten others with a weapon and use drugs or alcohol than peers in non-violent relationships, according to new research from the University of Georgia.

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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after a traumatic event or events. Although it is most often associated with military personnel exposed to the trauma of combat, it can also disproportionately affect vulnerable American Indian and Alaskan-Native (AI/AN) populations. Because alcohol use disorders (AUDs) also have a disproportionate impact on AI/ANs, this study compared both lifetime PTSD and past-year AUD among AI/ANs and non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs).

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — More than 1 in 4 adults and nearly 1 in 10 youth use tobacco, according to findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, published online ahead of print in the New England Journal of Medicine. The PATH Study, established in 2011 through collaboration between the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, is a uniquely large, nationally representative longitudinal study designed to examine tobacco use behaviors and health among the U.S. population over multiple years of follow-up. The PATH Study is being conducted by Westat of Rockville, Md., with Roswell Park Cancer Institute as the scientific lead.

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For people with opioid use disorder receiving medication treatment with buprenorphine, a telepsychiatry approach—using videoconferencing as an alternative to in-person group sessions—provides similar clinical outcomes, reports a study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Alcohol use can be found in suicide deaths and unintentional deaths due to injuries such as those from motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). The authors of this study argue that it is important to distinguish between the roles that alcohol may play in the two different types of deaths. Consequently, they compared postmortem toxicology results for alcohol and other drugs, alone and in combination, in suicide and MVC deaths.

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Patients who reported the most positive relationships with their counselors on a session-to-session basis had fewer days of drinking and fewer days of heavy drinking between treatment sessions than patients whose relationship was not as positive. The results indicate that efforts to ensure a good match between patient and counselor can have considerable benefits to the patient’s recovery.

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Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) occurs on a spectrum of severity. The majority of people who drink excessively develop a fatty liver, which though often symptom free, can progress to a state of inflammation, fibrosis, and cell death that can be fatal. Little is known about liver disruption that may occur in problem drinkers who are not alcohol dependent. To help understand the development of ALD, this study used a rodent model to examine differences in liver damage between binge drinkers and heavy drinkers.

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A study of more than 100,000 surgical cases at University of Virginia Health System found patients’ pain scores improved even as doctors gave fewer opioids. As health officials across the U.S. look for ways to combat a opioid addiction crisis, UVA researchers believe their findings highlight one way to address the problem.

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RGS9-2, a key signaling protein in the brain known to play a critical role in the development of addiction-related behaviors, acts as a positive modulator of oxycodone reward in both pain-free and chronic pain states

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Significantly more people with mental illness and substance use disorders had insurance coverage in 2014 due to the expansion of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but many barriers to treatment remain, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.