New findings suggest that a kind of protein could help cocaine addicts beat their addiction. The protein, known as cocaine esterase, is a naturally occurring bacterial enzyme that breaks down cocaine. This is thought to make cocaine less addictive, but it doesn’t last long in the body.
Glial cells (which are non-neuronal cells that make up the supportive tissue and participate in signal transmission in the nervous system) have recently been shown to help mediate the effects of opioid drugs such as morphine, including analgesia (pain suppression), tolerance, and dependence—effects that were previously thought to be controlled by neurons alone.
Read more about Suppressing Glial Cell Activity Reduces Effects of Morphine on Rats
You have tried just about everything to get a loved one into treatment. You are at your wits’ end. No matter how much you beg, cajole, or even threaten this person, they just will not budge. You are terrified that their drug or alcohol abuse will only get worse – and you know that nothing you say will ever get through to them.
Is it time for an intervention?
Read more about Should You Hire an Addiction Intervention Specialist?
By LeAnne Bagnall
Writers in Treatment (WIT) is a recovery program unlike any other in that it offers support specifically for writers who are struggling with substance abuse, addiction, or a behavioral disorder.
Read more about Writers in Treatment: A Creative Outlet for Recovering Addicts
New research suggests that fruit flies, which are already used to study dozens of human diseases, could be used as a simpler and more convenient model for studying the effects of cocaine and other drugs on the brain. The study appears online in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, a new monthly journal.
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The intrinsic benefits of a vacation getaway are well recognized, but what about taking that concept a bit further? If a vacation can bring about a renewed purpose and sense of well-being, why not apply the same principles to treatment and recovery? Why not, indeed? In fact, addiction treatment facilities in resort-like settings or geographically desirable locations are becoming increasingly popular – and they’re not only for the super wealthy.
Read more about Treatment and Recovery – Therapeutic Advantages of Getting Away
Drug dependency is a recurrent but treatable kind of addiction. However, not all people who are drug dependent progress in the same way once they stop taking drugs. A new study shows that, in the case of cocaine, a high score on the so-called “scale of craving,” an antisocial personality type, and previous heroin abuse are the factors most commonly involved in relapse.
By LeAnne Bagnall
Binge drinking has always been associated with males, especially college students in fraternities. Despite this prevailing stereotype, studies have found that an ongoing shift in the gender scale has been moving more towards women when it comes to the overindulgence of alcohol. Is this dangerous activity now being idealized by the female population?
Read more about Increasing Numbers of Women Turning to Binge Drinking
When a person uses a chemical substance like cocaine, the drug provokes a response in the immune system, creating special biomolecules that may serve as a permanent record of each exposure.
Read more about Researchers Studying White Blood Cells’ Ability to Retain Memories of Drug Exposure
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported last week that Russia is the world’s biggest target market for heroin distribution and consumes one-fifth of all heroin produced globally. Now, every third person killed by heroin is Russian.
Read more about One in Three People Killed by Heroin are Russian