EurekAlert! - National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 8-Aug-2012

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Adolescents in substance abuse programs report using other's med marijuana
A recent study by University of Colorado School of Medicine researchers shows that it is very common for adolescents in substance abuse treatment to use medical marijuana recommended to someone else (also known as "diverted" medical marijuana).

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 8-Aug-2012

Science Translational Medicine
Scientists show 2-drug combination has potential to fight cocaine addiction
A fine-tuned combination of two existing pharmaceutical drugs has shown promise as a potential new therapy for people addicted to cocaine -- a therapy that would reduce their craving for the drug and blunt their symptoms of withdrawal.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, Pearson Center for Alcoholism

Public Release: 1-Aug-2012
BMC receives $2.67 million to reduce opioid risk in primary care settings
Researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) have received a $2.67 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to implement and evaluate a new model of care in primary care settings aimed at decreasing the misuse of and addiction to opioids among patients with chronic pain.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 25-Jul-2012

Journal of Caffeine Research
Study links alcohol/energy drink mixes with casual, risky sex
A new study from the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions has found a link between the consumption of caffeinated energy drinks mixed with alcohol and casual -- often risky -- sex among college-age adults.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 23-Jul-2012

Behavioral Brain Research
Synthetic stimulants called 'bath salts' act in the brain like cocaine
Results of a new study offer compelling evidence for the first time that mephedrone, like cocaine, does have potential for abuse and addiction.

NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 23-Jul-2012
ICAP study finds concerningly high HIV infection rates for young black gay and bisexual men in US
Researchers at ICAP's Harlem Prevention Center joined the HIV Prevention Trials Network today to announce study results that showed disturbing rates of new HIV infections occurring among black gay and bisexual men in the US (also known as men who have sex with men, or MSM), particularly young black MSM.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 23-Jul-2012

XIX International AIDS Conference
HPTN study finds greatly elevated HIV infection rates among young black MSM in the US
Study results released today by the HIV Prevention Trials Network show disturbing rates of new HIV infections occurring among black gay and bisexual men in the US.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 18-Jul-2012

Neuropsychopharmacology
Long-term ADHD drug use appears safe
Drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not appear to have long-term effects on the brain, according to new animal research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 12-Jul-2012

Science
Large, medically important class of proteins starts to yield its secrets
A recent wave of articles, most recently in the July 13, 2012, issue of Science, all published this year by collaborations headed by the Scripps Research Institute laboratory of Professor Raymond Stevens, illuminate a large and medically important family of proteins called G protein-coupled receptors.

NIH Common Fund Joint Center for Innovative Membrane Technologies, NIH/National Institute for General Medical Sciences, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 10-Jul-2012

Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Multiracial youths show similar vulnerability to peer pressure as whites
Experts have thought that multiracial adolescents, the fastest growing youth group in the United States, use drugs and engage in violence more than their single-race peers. But in a new study, researchers find that mixed-race adolescents are more similar to their white counterparts than previously believed.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council

Public Release: 2-Jul-2012

Archives of General Psychiatry
Uncontrollable anger prevalent among US youth
Nearly two-thirds of US adolescents have experienced an anger attack in their lives that involved threatening violence or violent behavior. These severe attacks of uncontrollable anger are much more common among adolescents than previously recognized. Nearly one in 12 adolescents -- close to six million young people -- meet criteria for a diagnosis of Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED), a syndrome characterized by persistent uncontrollable anger attacks not accounted for by other mental disorders.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 20-Jun-2012

Anesthesiology
Stanford study shows opiates' side effects rooted in patients' genetics
Genetics play a significant role in determining which patients will suffer the most from the disturbing side effects of opiates, commonly prescribed painkillers for severe to moderate pain, according to a new Stanford University School of Medicine study, which pinpoints nausea, slowed breathing and potential for addiction as heritable traits.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 19-Jun-2012

Journal of Neuroscience
Adaptable decision making in the brain
Researchers at the University of Iowa, together with colleagues from the California Institute of Technology and New York University, have discovered how a part of the brain helps predict future events from past experiences. The work sheds light on the function of the front-most part of the frontal lobe, known as the frontopolar cortex, an area of the cortex uniquely well developed in humans in comparison with apes and other primates.

NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 15-Jun-2012

Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Graduated driving laws reduce teen drunk driving
State laws that limit driving privileges for teens have reduced the incidence of drinking and driving among the nation's youngest licensees, according to a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The vast majority of states now have laws that limit teen driving privileges and impose stiff penalties for driving under the influence.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research.

Public Release: 14-Jun-2012

International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research
New open-access journal fills niche for addictions research
A new open-access journal dedicated to international perspectives on substance use and addictions research was launched at the annual meeting of the Kettil Bruun Society for Social and Epidemiological Research on Alcohol.

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 14-Jun-2012

Journal of Addiction Medicine
Take-home methadone maintenance treatment associated with decreased hospital admissions
A recent study conducted by researchers at Boston Medical Center shows that patients receiving "take home" methadone maintenance treatment were less likely to be admitted to the hospital as compared to those not receiving take home doses.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 12-Jun-2012

Children and Youth Services Review
Intervention to improve foster families' lack of trust, connectedness
Researchers adapted a parenting program to help foster families address their greatest challenges, including overwhelmed foster parents and a lack of trust between caregivers and foster children.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 11-Jun-2012

Public Health Reports
More than 27 percent of L.A homeless adults have hepatitis C, and nearly half don't know it
Researchers found that 26.7 percent of homeless adults tested and surveyed in downtown Los Angeles' skid row were infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) -- more than 10 times the 2 percent rate among the general US population. Of those surveyed, 46.1 percent were unaware that they were infected. Four percent of the sample were HIV-positive.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Generalist Physician Faculty Scholar, others

Public Release: 11-Jun-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Chinese meditation IBMT prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Scientists studying the Chinese mindfulness meditation known as integrative body-mind training (IBMT) say they've confirmed and expanded their findings on changes in structural efficiency of white matter in the brain that can be related to positive behavioral changes in subjects practicing the technique regularly for a month.

National Basic Research Program of China, Office of Naval Research, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
Medical marijuana outlets not linked to crime
Despite some concerns to the contrary, neighborhoods with medical marijuana dispensaries may not have higher crime rates than other neighborhoods -- at least in one California city.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Public Release: 30-May-2012

American Journal of Psychiatry
Genes predict if medication can help you quit smoking
A new study shows the same gene variations that make it difficult to stop smoking also increase the likelihood that heavy smokers will respond to nicotine-replacement therapy and drugs that thwart cravings. The finding suggests it may one day be possible to predict which patients are most likely to benefit from drug treatments for nicotine addiction.

NIH/National Cancer Institute, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH/National Center for Research Resources