A new study found that chronic alcohol consumption reduces the number of new brain cells that form in the hippocampus of adolescent rhesus monkeys. This finding suggests these cells are vulnerable to alcohol and their presence may be essential for preventing alcohol dependence.
Adult male monkeys exposed to cocaine while in the womb have poor impulse control and may be more vulnerable to drug abuse than female monkeys, even a decade or more after the exposure, according to a new study. The findings could lead to a better understanding of human drug abuse. The study was presented yesterday at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago.
A new study in rats has found that N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a commonly available and generally nontoxic amino acid derivative, reverses changes in the brain’s circuitry associated with cocaine addiction. The reversal appears to lessen the cravings associated with cocaine, thus providing protection against relapse.
New animal studies suggest that memory and other cognitive problems experienced by cocaine-addicted people can result directly from the cocaine abuse in addition to pre-existing traits or lifestyle factors.
Low alcohol consumption is bad for your health in general, according to a new study. Researchers studied the relationship between alcohol consumption and health to test the current theory which suggests improved health is responsible for the link found between low alcohol consumption and increased wages.
In a recent article published by the Washington Business Journal, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has received $10 million in federal stimulus funding to start running its first late-stage human clinical trials on a smoking cessation vaccine. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awareded its largest grant ever to the Rockville bioteck for the clinical testing of NicVax, a vaccine that prevents nicotine from reaching a patient’s brain, thereby feeding the addiction.
So, could there be hope for those addicted to nicotine?
For so many people who smoke and have had trouble in the past with quitting, this new drug may provide them with some hope. However, there is no guarantee that it will work. Even if the drug ends up turning into something that is mainstreamed, it’s still another drug solving the problem of another drug. Is there too much drug use already? Will those who are addicted to nicotine suddenly find themselves addicted to NicVax or some other form of smoking cessation vaccine?
Researchers have found a genetic “switch” in fruit flies that plays an important role in making flies more tolerant to alcohol. This metabolic switch also has implications for the deadly liver disease cirrhosis in humans. A counterpart human gene contributes to a shift from metabolizing alcohol to the formation of fat in heavy drinkers. This shift can lead to fatty liver syndrome — a precursor to cirrhosis.
There is ample evidence for the genetic influence of alcohol dependence, and ongoing studies are actively looking for specific genes that may confer this increased susceptibility.
People with relatively extreme opinions may be more willing to publicly share their views than those with more moderate views, according to a new study. The key is that the extremists have to believe that more people share their views than actually do, the research found.
A new study suggests that maternal smoking may increase the level of distress of newborns.