1.877.392.3342

Posts Tagged ‘substance abuse’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Prescription Drugs is Now Big Death Threat

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

It is not news that prescription drug abuse has become a significant health and social issue in the United States. In Tennessee, however, more than 1,600 people died as a result of prescription drug use. A researcher from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy has decided to work with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the state medical examiner’s office to study substance abuse deaths from 2006 to 2008. Between 2006 and 2008, deaths from substance abuse grew to more than two each day in Tennessee.

“You can see that we’ve got a trend going up in the state,” said Todd Bess, assistant dean of the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy.

Bess and his research team discovered that prescription drugs played a significant role in 77 percent of the Tennessee deaths. Only 8 percent of the deaths were documented suicides and most were ruled accidental by the medical examiner. In 29 percent of the deaths, prescription drugs were taken by the deceased along with a combination of alcohol and other illegal drugs.

 Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

 

Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

 

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Depression and Alcohol Addiction Hand in Hand

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

Researchers in New Zealand have discovered a genetic connection between depression and an addiction to alcohol. The researchers found that 58 percent of study participants have immediate relatives who are struggling with depression and alcohol addiction at the same time.

 oth depression and alcohol addiction are disabling conditions, but are often treated independently of each other.

“One in five New Zealand adults experiences a mood disorder at some time in their lives and one in eight has a substance use disorder. In alcohol and drug treatment settings over half are alcohol dependent and a third have a current mood disorder,” said Dr. Simon Adamson, the lead researcher of the study.

Adamson called depression the “common cold” of mental illness. Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused substance.

Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Marijuana is Dangerous

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

More teenagers than before are using marijuana and experts believe it could be because marijuana has the perception of being less dangerous than other drugs.

With the issue of medical marijuana featuring prominently in the news, many teenagers may think that the drug is not as harmful and addictive as it truly is. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one in three high school seniors reported that they had used marijuana in the past year. This is a slight increase from previous years and an increase of note since the numbers had been falling for about ten years.

It is important to reinforce the dangers and addictive nature of marijuana to your teenager. A frank and open discussion about marijuana and other drugs will only strengthen your relationship with your teenager and reduce the likelihood of drug abuse in the future.

 Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Alcohol the Most Dangerous of Addictive Drugs

Monday, November 8th, 2010

A new study from England finds that alcohol is more dangerous than heroin and crack cocaine. The researchers ranked alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana according to the damage each substance creates for both the person and society.

The researchers also examined how addictive a particular drug is and what damage it creates to the human body. They looked at environmental damage, the drug’s role in damaging families and the underlying economic costs – health care, prison and social services.

It was discovered that heroin, crack cocaine and crystal methamphetamine were the most damaging to people. When including social and societal damage, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the most dangerous. Alcohol, however, outranked all other abused substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy and LSD were the least damaging substances.

The study was paid for by Britain’s Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and was published in the online edition of Lancet, the journal of the British Medical Association.

 Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Teen Drug Use Continues to Increase

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

According to a new study, teen drug use is increasing, especially in urban communities, though many often do not voluntarily disclose their drug use. The study is published in the November print issue of Pediatrics. The researchers confidentially surveyed more than 400 high-risk urban teens and their parents. After asking about their drug use, the researchers tested the teens’ hair samples. The teens were 52 percent more likely to test positive for cocaine in their hair samples than they were to report using cocaine on the questionnaires. Like their children, the parents significantly underreported their own cocaine use. Parents were 6.5 times more likely to test positive for cocaine use in a hair sample, and 5.5 times more likely to test positive for opiates, than they were to report using these drugs in the questionnaires.

Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Certian Medications Can Be Helpful Towards Some Addiction

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has been renewed as a “Center of Excellence” by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The designation comes with a five-year, $11 million dollar grant. The money will be used for more research studies in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

“We are using novel medications, imaging methodologies and clinical trial designs that will provide a greater understanding of the behavioral neurobiology of cocaine dependence and translate this knowledge into effective pharmacotherapies for the disorder,” said F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., University of Texas Health professor of psychiatry and director of the University of Texas Health’s Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction.

Over the past ten years, National Institute on Drug Abuse has funded research at the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction. It has included research indicating that several medications can be helpful in reducing the use of cocaine, especially when they are combined with good cognitive-behavioral therapies.

Research has also proved that drug addiction is a complex behavioral disorder. The disorder includes impulsivity and impaired decision making. Before the research, addiction was viewed as being connected only to the rewarding effects of the drugs and not considering the cognitive facets of the addicted person.

 

Let us know what you think about our blog.

Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

 

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Men’s Brains View Alcohol as a Reward

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

Men are about twice as likely to develop alcoholism than women. Until now, the reason for this difference has been unclear, but a new study finds that dopamine may play an important role. Researchers from both Columbia University and Yale University studied both male and female college-age social drinkers. After having an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink, each study participant had a specialized PET (positron emission tomography) scan to measure the amount of alcohol-induced dopamine released in the brain.

Dopamine plays many roles in the brain, but is important because of its pleasurable effects when it is released by indulging in a rewarding experience like sex or drugs. In the study, despite similar consumptions of alcohol, the men in the study had greater dopamine release than women. This dopamine increase was found in the ventral striatum, an area of the brain connected with pleasure, reinforcement and the formation of addiction.

Let us know what you think about our blog.

Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“In men, increased dopamine release also had a stronger association with subjective positive effects of alcohol intoxication,” said study author Dr. Nina Urban. “This may contribute to the initial reinforcing properties of alcohol and the risk for habit formation.”

Let us know what you think about our blog.

Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Man Taking Advantage of Addicts

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

A controversial charity has paid a British man about $320 dollars to get a vasectomy. The man, called “John” is the first British participant in the program offered by Project Prevention.

The organization was founded by a North Carolina woman who was troubled by the damage inflicted on children from the effects of drug addiction. To date, Barbara Harris’s organization has paid more than 3,500 drug addicts in the United States to be sterilized. The sterilization scheme has created widespread criticism for Harris and her organization. Some addiction advocacy groups have accused Harris of taking advantage of vulnerable people struggling with a medical illness.

“It exploits very vulnerable people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol at probably the lowest point in their lives,” said Simon Antrobus, chief executive of Addaction, an addiction advocacy group in Britain.

 ”I think Barbara uses some very extreme examples to get her point across. It might work in America but Great Britain is a very different country,” said Maria Cripps, who runs a center for addicts in the East End of London.

Let us know what you think about our blog.

Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Social, Economic and Educational Factors and pregnant Women

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Research continues to reinforce the fact the drinking a large amount of alcohol during pregnancy is harmful to the unborn child. Recent studies indicate little or no effects of occasional or light drinking during pregnancy. The studies show how social, economic, educational and other lifestyle factors of the pregnant woman influence the health of the unborn baby and child.

A new study from England discovered that at the age of 5, the children of women who drank no more than one or two units of alcohol each time, did not show any damage in their behavioral, emotional or cognitive functions. There was a tendency for the male children of women who drank heavily during pregnancy to have lower behavioral scores, but this was not the case with female children.

A second study based on a population in western Australia looked at the associations between dose, pattern and timing of prenatal alcohol use and found that there was no association between low to moderate prenatal alcohol use and birth defects.

Let us know what you think about our blog.

Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Students Drink More when Study Abroad

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

According to a new study, American college students who study abroad are more likely to drink more alcohol in their host country. Researchers from the University of Washington identified why some students drink more alcohol while abroad than when on their college campus.

“We hear stories in the media and elsewhere about students going abroad, drinking too much and getting into trouble. But no one has over measured this risky drinking behavior and there are no published studies of prevention strategies before they go abroad,” said Eric Pedersen, a University of Washington psychology graduate student.

The study found that students doubled their alcohol consumption to eight drinks per week while they were in a foreign country. Heavy drinking anywhere can create a myriad of problems, but heavy drinking in another country can create disrupted travel plans, negative stereotypes of poorly behaved American youth, and legal issues with a foreign government.

 

 

Students who traveled to Europe, Australia and New Zealand drank more alcohol while in those countries than those students who traveled to Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

Let us know what you think about our blog.

Become a fan on Facebook  or  follow us on Twitter

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »