Feature Channels: Drugs and Drug Abuse

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Researchers have identified a brain mechanism that could be a drug target to help prevent tolerance and addiction to opioid pain medication, such as morphine, according to a study by Georgia State University and Emory University.

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An international team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has found strong evidence supporting a new strategy against drug addiction.

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An international team of researchers has developed a new opioid drug candidate that blocks pain without triggering the dangerous side effects of current prescription painkillers. Their secret? Starting from scratch — with computational techniques that let them explore more than four trillion different chemical interactions.

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David Bradford's recent research showed medical marijuana is having a positive impact on the bottom line of Medicare's prescription drug benefit program.

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The list of substances that can mean the difference between winning and not winning is long, and includes everything from testosterone and anabolic steroids to red-cell boosters. But their effect on the body can be detrimental -- and even deadly.

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A new study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, suggests increased levels of a molecule in the brain, called hypocretin, may contribute to cocaine addiction.

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Olympics officials already contending with the illegal use of steroids among athletes are now being proactive about a potential new trend in performance enhancement: gene doping. Although tests for this type of cheating won't be performed until after the Games, the results could still mean bad news for implicated athletes. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explores how experts are planning to catch cheating athletes.

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More than a hundred years ago, Ivan Pavlov conducted what would become one of the most famous and influential psychology studies — he conditioned dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell. Now, scientists are able to see in real time what happens in the brains of live animals during this classic experiment with a new technique. Ultimately, the approach could lead to a greater understanding of how we learn, and develop and break addictions.

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The need for psychiatric services in inpatient hospitals continues to grow, according to the latest annual survey from the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS).

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Riverview Medical Center Foundation is honored to announce a gift of $120,000 from the Tigger House Foundation that will support the addition of an Addictions Counselor in the hospital’s emergency department. The majority of patients seeking help for addiction arrive in the Alton A. Hovnanian Emergency Care Center in a state of crisis. The addition of a licensed chemical dependency counselor would provide timely and critical assessment and outreach to patients during this severe time of need.

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There is a high rate of prescription pain reliever abuse in Europe, largely accounted by opioids, according to the first comparative study of prescription drug abuse in the European Union, which was conducted by researchers at RTI International and published in BMC Psychiatry.

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Pacific University (Ore.) Pharmacy Professor John Harrelson Awarded More Than $375,000 to Research New Therapies for Tobacco Addiction

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Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center are one step closer to understanding what causes cocaine to be so addictive.

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A new study shows the potential for patients who have both addiction issues and chronic pain to be helped by an approach that combines behavioral therapy and social support to help them manage their pain without medications that themselves pose an addiction risk.

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New research sheds light on what’s going on inside our heads as we decide whether to take a risk or play it safe. Scientists located a region of the brain involved in decisions made under conditions of uncertainty, and identified some of the cells involved in the decision-making process. The work could lead to treatments for psychological and psychiatric disorders that involve misjudging risk, such as problem gambling and anxiety disorders.