In Females, Childhood Head Injury Could Lead to Alcohol Abuse Later in Life
Ohio State UniversityGirls who suffer a concussive bump on the head in childhood could be at increased risk for abusing alcohol as adults, a new study suggests.
Girls who suffer a concussive bump on the head in childhood could be at increased risk for abusing alcohol as adults, a new study suggests.
More than one in four Americans has taken prescription painkillers in the past year, even as a majority say that abuse of these medications is a very serious public health concern, according to new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research.
Given their findings, the researchers note the health-related benefits of early engagement, especially since the new HCV treatments feature shorter drug regimens that are very likely to result in cure.
Research by Shima Baughman, an associate professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, is being used in public policy discussions surrounding changes to mandatory minimum sentences involving nonviolent drug offenders through the Smarter Sentencing Act.
The results of a five-year trial from faculty at the University of Michigan Injury Center found giving youth in the emergency department a short intervention during their visit decreased their alcohol consumption and problems related to drinking over the following year.
A new study from The Scripps Research Institute has shown that a specific molecule controls morphine receptor signaling in a small group of brain cells. The findings could lead to a new drug target for developing less-addictive pain medications.
Following substance abuse treatment, individuals who live in a collaborative housing setting with community rules and responsibilities have their substance abuse treated more effectively than those not provided supportive housing, according to research led by Leonard Jason, a community psychologist at DePaul University.
Data support the call to increase global awareness of the harmful use of alcohol and the need to further identify and target the modifiable determinants of harmful alcohol use. The authors also identified differences between countries of different levels of prosperity.
Marijuana use among American high school students is significantly lower today than it was 15 years ago, despite the legalization in many states of marijuana for medical purposes, a move toward decriminalization of the drug and the approval of its recreational use in a handful of places, new research suggests.
This is the first study reporting on use of a variety of new drugs in a nationally representative U.S. sample. Researchers are confident that use was severely underreported, as the subjects were not asked about most of these new drugs specifically. The researchers advocate for health surveys to ask about use of new drugs, in addition to traditional drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, in order to quickly pick up on potential drug epidemics.
Staying on an internal schedule is important for health, and disease can occur if the body’s internal clock is disrupted. A new study reinforces the importance of circadian rhythm, reporting that chronic drinking contributes to alcoholic liver disease because it impairs the liver’s production schedule of molecules that power it to run.
Scientists have pinpointed a population of neurons in the brain that influences whether one drink leads to two, which could ultimately lead to a cure for alcoholism and other addictions. A study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, finds that alcohol consumption alters the structure and function of neurons in the dorsomedial striatum, a part of the brain known to be important in goal-driven behaviors.
Daily marijuana use among the nation's college students is on the rise, surpassing daily cigarette smoking for the first time in 2014.
African women in polygamous marriages or with alcoholic husbands have a significantly higher risk of being physically abused by their husbands than women in monogamous marriages or women whose husbands don’t abuse alcohol, new research shows.
In-depth interviews conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine of 20 young women attending an urban sexually transmitted disease clinic have documented a variety of unexpected, unintended sexual encounters linked to their alcohol use before sex occurs.
Heroin use has increased 63 percent over the last 10 years according to (CDC). That increase, according to the agency, is closely tied to the growing abuse of prescription opioids such as oxycodone (Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin) and codeine. An alarming 45 percent of Americans addicted to heroin are also addicted to prescription opioids.
Two Florida laws, enacted to combat prescription drug abuse and misuse in that state, led to a small but significant decrease in the amount of opioids prescribed the first year the laws were in place, a new study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers suggests.
One of the most commonly used treatment models in addiction is the 12-step model developed in the 1930s and rooted in spirituality. Yet, surprisingly, there is no clear understanding about how to nurture spirituality among people struggling with addictions.
Alcoholism inflicts a heavy physical, emotional and financial toll on individuals and society. Now new discoveries and promising animal studies are offering a glimmer of hope that a new class of drugs could treat the disease without many of the unwanted side effects caused by current therapies. The scientists are presenting their work today at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
The study shows that there is growing awareness many subgroups of youth experience high levels of chronic stress, to the extent it impedes their abilities to succeed academically, compromises their mental health functioning, and fosters risk behavior. Furthermore, this chronic stress appears to persist into the college years, and researchers warns it may contribute to academic disengagement and mental health problems among emerging adults.
A study by researchers at NYU Steinhardt finds that the severity of drunk driving within the state is not the most important predictor of whether states adopt new laws to restrict drunk driving – nor is the political makeup of the state government. Instead, the two strongest predictors of states adopting their first drunk driving laws were having a large population of young people and a neighboring state with similar driving laws.
Though many academic disciplines have studied the Twelve Step program of recovery, philosophers haven’t yet paid much attention. That may be changing. A recent collection of essays, Sobering Wisdom, co-edited by Salisbury University's Dr. Jerome Miller, offers a unique exploration of the program’s spirituality from a philosophical standpoint.
A large randomized clinical trial of an emergency department (ED)-based program aimed at reducing incidents of excessive drinking and partner violence in women did not result in significant improvements in either risk factor, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Despite the growing use of online support groups such as those on Facebook to help curb substance abuse, attending traditional face-to-face meetings may continue to be more effective for people trying to maintain sobriety, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention.
Women who have gastric bypass surgery to lose weight should keep a close eye on their alcohol consumption, according to a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers found that changes in how alcohol is metabolized after surgery can speed its delivery into the bloodstream, resulting in earlier and higher peaks in blood-alcohol levels.
Research on alcohol-use disorders consistently shows problem drinking decreases as we age. Now, researchers collaborating between the University of Missouri and Arizona State University have found evidence that marriage can cause dramatic drinking reductions even among people with severe drinking problems. Scientists believe findings could help improve clinical efforts to help these people, inform public health policy changes and lead to more targeted interventions for young adult problem drinkers.
The research seeks to identify the potential role of drug use in increasing risk of sexual violence among young adult opioid users in NYC, and to identify the specific social and contextual factors surrounding this group’s experiences of sexual violence.
Chronic marijuana use by teenage boys does not appear to be linked to later physical or mental health issues such as depression, psychotic symptoms or asthma, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association.
Abstinence is the best way to avoid drug addiction. But in many societies, drug use is the norm, not the exception, especially by youth. What keeps the majority of users from becoming addicted? How drugs are taken has something to do with it, according to pharmacology researchers at the University of Montreal.
An analysis of responses to questionnaires administered to U.S. active component service members who had returned from deployment during a 7-year surveillance period found that 3.4 percent and 4.8 percent of them, respectively, indicated a severe risk for alcohol abuse.
A biomarker found in the blood of alcohol users is significantly higher in binge drinkers than in those who consume alcohol moderately, according to a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The biomarker, called phosphatidylethanol (PEth), could be used to screen young adults for harmful or heavy drinking such as binge drinking.
Both prescription and illegal drugs such as morphine, cocaine and oxycodone have been found in surface waters in Canadian rivers. New research from McGill shows that wastewater discharged from wastewater treatment plants in the Grand River watershed of southern Ontario has the potential to contaminate sources of drinking water with these drugs.
33% of students who used bath salts reported using only once or twice; however, frequent use was also common among users with an alarming 18% of users reporting using 40 or more times in the last year.
For people who use cocaine, stopping or reducing cocaine use is associated with decreased levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1)—a protein that plays a key role in the development of coronary artery disease, reports a study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
In a nationwide study, researchers from the University of Georgia School of Social Work found that individuals of any age who used illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine or heroin within the past year had a higher likelihood of misusing prescription pain relievers as well.
Other topics include neurology, obesity, statins, and the risks of wearing high heels.
While most Americans do not support policies designed to increase distribution of naloxone – a medication that reverses the effects of a drug overdose – certain types of educational messages about its lifesaving benefits may bolster support for its use, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.
Other topics include; do x-rays really cause cancer? And more.
Despite concerns that use of antipsychotic medications in treating young people has increased, use actually declined between 2006 and 2010 for children ages 12 and under, and increased for adolescents and young adults.
Opioid painkiller addiction and accidental overdoses have become far too common across the United States. To try to identify who is most at risk, Mayo Clinic researchers studied how many patients prescribed an opioid painkiller for the first time progressed to long-term prescriptions. The answer: 1 in 4. People with histories of tobacco use and substance abuse were likeliest to use opioid painkillers long-term.
People with blue eyes might have a greater chance of becoming alcoholics, according to a unique new study by genetic researchers at the University of Vermont.
The first study of its kind measuring the brain’s role in mediating caloric intake following alcohol consumption among women shows that alcohol exposure sensitizes the brain’s response to food aromas and increases caloric intake.
A new study, published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse by researchers affiliated with New York University's Center for Drug Use and HIV Research (CDUHR), examines how reasons for illicit marijuana use relates to the use of other drugs individually, rather than grouping them into a single “illicit drug” group.
Other topics include dietary guidelines, smart traffic lights, breast cancer, and biomarker tests for cancer treatment.
A new study conducted at the University of Iowa’s National Advanced Driving Simulator has found drivers who use alcohol and marijuana together weave more on a virtual roadway than drivers who use either substance independently. However, the cocktail of alcohol and marijuana does not double the effect of the impairment.
Topics include: women's health, cancer care, research at the Large Hadron Collider, dementia drug treatment, dermatology, skin cancer, breast cancer, smoking risks, and genetics.
Topics include: treating advanced skin cancer, big data and bioenergy, cancer research, 10 reasons to eat quinoa, sleep issues in the nursing field, advances in cancer surgery, genes for sleep, brain receptor for cocaine addiction, and nano imaging on insect adaptations.
New research offers further evidence that cocaine use disrupts the immune system, making people who use it more likely to become infected with HIV.
By manipulating the activity of Activin receptors in the brain, researchers were able to increase or decrease cocaine-taking and relapse behavior in animal models. The study focused on receptors in regions of the brain involved in pleasure and reward.
Adults across the country share the same top concern about the new alcohol-on-the-go product: potential misuse among underage youth.