Feature Channels: Addiction

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The research shows that a range of compounds can deliver pain-blocking potency without affecting respiration.

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Sanford Health is one of three sites in the U.S. to launch a study to determine if non-opioid medications are as effective in managing pain after carpal-tunnel surgery.

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A new treatment program that combines the power of technology with tried and true methods to help cancer patients overcome their addiction to tobacco is ready to enroll its first patients at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center. As part of the program, doctors are alerted about a patient’s tobacco use through the electronic medical record. At that point, an automated referral is made for the patient to Penn’s Tobacco Use Treatment Service (TUTS), which then directly provides patients with state-of-the-science tobacco use treatment in an effort to get them to quit for good and assist with their medical treatment and recovery.

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The court-ordered publication of “corrective statements” by major U.S. tobacco companies later this month should serve as a reminder that tobacco addiction remains a major health problem in the country and that Big Tobacco has a long history of marketing practices aimed at hooking a new generation on a lethal product, according to an editorial published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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a new study concludes that two of the top medications available for outpatient, office-based treatment, once initiated, are equally safe and effective in curtailing opioid use, relapse, treatment drop-out and overdose.

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An anti-inflammatory drug may have the potential to stall the damaging effects of alcohol on the fetal brain, a new study suggests. Ibuprofen reduced neuroinflammation and behavioral signs of alcohol exposure in a rat model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

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When low-income adults were newly covered by Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), they were more likely to quit smoking cigarettes than their counterparts in states that did not offer Medicaid expansion. The findings support a policy-driven approach to reduce high smoking rates among low-income adults by giving greater access to smoking cessation programs.

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Although estimates vary, scientists believe that 50 to 64 percent of the risk of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is inherited. One way to identify this risk is through a person’s subjective response to alcohol. This study investigated the effects of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or changes in DNA sequence called rs279858 (in the GABRA2 gene) and rs2832407 (in the GRIK1 gene) – previously linked to AUD risk – on individuals’ subjective responses to intravenously administered alcohol.

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A study by LJI researcher Dr. Sujan Shresta reports that mice rendered immune to dengue show "cross-protection" from subsequent Zika infection and then identifies specific types of immune T-cells capable of defending against both viruses. These revelations have profound implications for efforts to build a potent anti-Zika vaccine.

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A simple blood test for a compound called PEth can accurately identify critically ill hospital patients who misuse alcohol, a study has found. The finding is important because patients who misuse alcohol tend to have worse outcomes.

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Mietlicki-Baase is one of a handful of researchers studying amylin’s effects on food reward and how amylin signaling in the brain differs between males and females.

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Rural counties continue to rank lowest among counties across the U.S., in terms of health outcomes. A group of national organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National 4-H Council are leading the way to close the rural health gap.

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Researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute found that a previously dismissed genetic mechanism may contribute to nicotine dependence, and to the withdrawal effects that can make quitting smoking so difficult.

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Preliminary research presented today at APHA’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Expo examined the trend in hospitalizations from opioid poisonings in West Virginia, a state heavily impacted by the current opioid overdose crisis.

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The reward center of the brain is much more attuned to the pleasurable effects of alcohol when estrogen levels are elevated, an effect that may underlie the development of addiction in women, according to a study on mice at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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New research presented today at APHA’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Expo examined the effect of marijuana use and dependence on life achievement in young adults.

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Online social networks designed to help smokers kick the tobacco habit are effective, especially if users are active participants, according to a new study from the University of Iowa and the Truth Initiative, a nonprofit anti-tobacco organization.

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Compared to controls, patients with psoriasis (PsO) are at higher risk for serious liver disease than patients with rheumatoid arthritis – two autoimmune diseases often treated with similar drugs that can cause liver damage.

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The report of President Trump’s commission on combating the opioid epidemic sets the stage for an effective national response, but the need for adequate funding remains unaddressed, according to the American Psychological Association.

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Many people who smoke or chew tobacco can’t seem to escape nicotine’s addictive properties. Studies show that women in particular seem to have a harder time quitting, even with assistance, when compared to men. Now, scientists report in a mouse study published in ACS’ journal Chemical Research in Toxicology that the difference in gender smoking patterns and smoking’s effects could be due to how nicotine impacts the brain-gut relationship.

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Plastic surgeons using social media to attract patients should know their audience's preferred social media platforms and the types of posts of greatest interest, according to a survey study in the November issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

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Alcohol-fueled parties might be seen as a rite of passage for many high school students, but they have an unexpected impact: binge-drinking behavior as teenagers can lead to problems with alcohol and other drug dependence later on in life.

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More than 10 percent of people who had never taken opioids prior to curative-intent surgery for cancer continued to take the drugs three to six months later. The risk is even greater for those who are treated with chemotherapy after surgery.

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With November Lung Cancer Awareness Month, experts from Yale Cancer Center talk about lung cancer screening and why it is can save lives.

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Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new drug screening technique that could lead to the rapid and accurate identification of fentanyl, as well as a vast number of other drugs of abuse, which up until now have been difficult to detect by traditional urine tests.

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An Australian research team involving the University of Adelaide and La Trobe University has been awarded funding from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to help combat one of sport’s biggest challenges: doping.

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Clinicians are on the front line of detecting opioid addiction – but need to be better trained on treatment solutions

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Although drinking by U.S. adolescents has decreased during the last decade, more than 20 percent of U.S. high-school students continue to drink alcohol before the age of 14 years. This can have adverse effects on their neurodevelopment. For example, youth who initiate drinking before 14 years of age are four times more likely to develop psychosocial, psychiatric, and substance-use difficulties than those who begin drinking after turning 20 years of age. Little is known about how the age of alcohol-use onset influences brain development. This is the first study to assess the association between age of adolescent drinking onset and neurocognitive performance, taking into account pre-existing cognitive function.

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The etiology (i.e., underlying causes) of a behavior, such as alcohol drinking, can change during adolescence and young adulthood. Prior alcohol research has shown that, in general: shared/common environment influences are strongest in early adolescence, declining in strength until young adulthood; unique environmental influences are moderate, but stable, during adolescence and young adulthood; and genetic influences are weakest during early adolescence, steadily increasing in strength until young adulthood. This study examined the relations between genetic and environmental etiologies of alcohol use and the influence of peer use, parental autonomy granting, and maternal closeness on this behavior.

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Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s most comprehensive health care network, hosted a symposium to update providers and the community on the network’s strategies to help those suffering from substance use disorders, an event that drew 450 people and featured a compelling personal story of recovery and call to action from former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is one of 29 sites participating in a national study to determine whether a daily transdermal nicotine patch will have a positive effect on attention and early memory impairment in older adults diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Paul Newhouse, M.D., director of the Center for Cognitive Medicine at VUMC is the national director of the study.

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As more states consider legalizing recreational marijuana, University of Colorado researchers are launching a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to examine the impact legalization has on career fulfillment, family life, and substance use.

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Using advanced machine learning, a cross disciplinary team of University of California San Diego researchers developed technology that mined Twitter to identify entities illegally selling prescription opioids online.

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Survey data indicate that in recent years, teens have become far less likely to abuse alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Teens also are less likely to engage in behaviors like fighting and stealing, and the researchers believe the declines in substance use and delinquency are connected.

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About a quarter of adults whose marijuana use is problematic in early adulthood have anxiety disorders in childhood and late adolescence, according to new data from Duke Health researchers.

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In every U.S. state, it is illegal for adults to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or greater. In 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that states lower the BAC limit for driving from .08 to .05 grams. Most industrialized nations have already enacted a .05 BAC limit. This study investigated whether lowering the BAC limit to .05 would be an effective alcohol policy in the United States.

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Any amount of alcohol exposure during pregnancy can cause extreme lasting effects on a child, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

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Anesthesiology and pain medicine should play a leading role in developing effective alternatives and solutions to the US opioid crisis, according to the November issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia—a special thematic issue presenting information on the "background, problems, and possible solutions to the opioid epidemic."

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Three faculty members from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).

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Over a Quarter of Teens Taking Adderall On Their Own Do Not Report Taking Amphetamine

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Alfgeir Kristjansson, an assistant professor in WVU’s School of Public Health, is studying data related to teen substance abuse in West Virginia. In 2016, his findings showed that at one high school in Wood County, 27 percent of students had smoked cigarettes, 41 percent had consumed alcohol and 20 percent had smoked marijuana.

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E-cigarettes appear to trigger unique immune responses as well as the same ones that cigarettes trigger that can lead to lung disease, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Alcohol use disorder (AUD) often co-occurs with chronic pain (CP), yet the relationship between the two is complex – involving genetic, neurophysiological, and behavioral elements – and is poorly understood. This review addressed the genetic influences on brain reward and stress systems that neurological research suggests may contribute to the co-occurrence of AUD and CP.

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For many of the 2 million Americans addicted to opioids, getting good treatment and getting off prescription painkillers or heroin may seem like a far-off dream. But a new study suggests the answer could lie much closer to home, in the primary care clinics where they go for basic medical care.

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Recently many college campuses around the country have banned the use of vaping nicotine products (VPNs) and e-cigarettes. A new study published in Risk Analysis: An International Journal found that people’s opinions of public vaping, are heavily influenced by what they see around them, how risky they think it is and what they think about addiction.

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The book, titled “Drinking, Drug Use and Addiction in the Autism Community,” explores why addiction is more common among individuals with ASD than it is within the general population and investigates how addiction and autism affect one another.

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Surgeons performing 11 common operations can turn to a free new prescribing tool based on data about how many opioid painkillers patients across Michigan actually took after their operations.

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Sometimes scientists do not see the value of sharing their knowledge and expertise with non-scientists and members of the public may believe that researchers enjoy a rarefied existence. This critical review addresses the important, yet limited gap that exists between these two realms by discussing the Spit for Science project. Spit4Science is a university-wide research undertaking at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) that focuses on alcohol and other drug use and related mental-health outcomes. It incorporates two forms of participatory research that have gained increasing attention in recent years, community-engaged research and citizen science.

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Public Health Officials Leverage APL-Developed Disease-Surveillance System to Manage Opioid Epidemic