news, journals and articles from all over the world.
A research team – co-led by Penn Nursing – has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the complex neural circuitry underlying reward and addiction by identifying 34 distinct subtypes of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain region involved in pleasure and motivation. The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports by Nature, offer insights into the diversity of these neurons and their potential roles in substance use disorders.
Peer social genetic effects – the influence of a social partner’s genotype on the observable traits of another – influence risk for addiction and psychiatric disorders later in life, a Rutgers researcher finds
Compared to their cisgender/heterosexual peers, LGBTQ+ college students are at an elevated risk of substance use and mental health challenges. While collegiate recovery programs provide an array of support to students in recovery from substance use disorders, scarce research has examined the unique needs of LGBTQ+ students within this population.
A clinical trial on a two-drug therapy for methamphetamine use disorder reduced use of the highly addictive drug for up to 12 weeks after initiation of treatment. To date there is no FDA-approved medication for it.
Increased alcohol use among pregnant and postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with autonomic nervous system dysregulation, known to negatively affect resilience to change and further exacerbate the risk of stress-related mental health disorders and substance use, a new study suggests. The findings, although preliminary, underline the potential for a new clinical biomarker and novel personalized mobile health apps in facilitating treatment interventions. Previous research linked the pandemic to increased stress levels and drinking, including in pregnant and postpartum women. Alcohol use, and stress-related conditions such as depression and anxiety, are associated with dysregulation in the feedback loop between the body and the brain. This process involves the peripheral autonomic nervous system, which regulates the heartbeat. Healthy, resilient people tend to have higher heart rate variability than people with stress and substance use disorders. Heart rate variab
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The National Vital Statistics System, drug-related overdose deaths have been rising over the past two decades in the United States. In 2021, 106,699 drug overdose deaths occurred. Adults aged 65 and over…
New research from Boston Medical Center found that substance use disorders do not increase the likelihood of dying from COVID-19. Published in Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, the study showed that the increased risk for severe COVID-19 in people with SUD that has been seen may be the result of co-occurring medical conditions.
New research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis identifies a common genetic signature that may increase a person’s risk of developing substance use disorders. The work eventually could lead to universal therapies to treat multiple substance use disorders and potentially help people diagnosed with more than one.
An 8-year study of nearly 1300 low-income adolescents in Los Angeles found that students who attended high performing charter high schools were much less likely to engage in risky substance use by the time they reached age 21. Males who attended the high-performing schools also had better physical health and lower obesity rates as young adults while females had substantially worse outcomes in those two areas.
Sanford Burnham Prebys Professor Nicholas Cosford, Ph.D., has been awarded $6.4M from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to test new potential drugs to treat opioid and methamphetamine use disorders. The three-year project will be completed with partners from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Camino Pharma, LLC.
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School faculty, along with School of Medicine colleagues, will create a cutting-edge pathway for substance use disorder researchers to develop new treatment options thanks to a $1.6 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which does not typically award grants to business schools.
New research from Tufts University School of Medicine suggests critical changes to the process of transitioning people out of jail while on substance use treatment can reduce opioid deaths among the highly susceptible population.
Phone-based and video-based telehealth visits both helped veterans with opioid addiction stay on buprenorphine medication to treat their opioid use disorder during the pandemic. The findings could inform telemedicine policy.
Despite the ability of any Michigan pharmacy to dispense medication to combat opioid overdose without writing prescriptions, slightly more than half of pharmacies in the state offer the drug in such a way.
New research in the July 2021 issue of JNCCN indicates a need to increase substance use and mental health support capabilities at cancer centers across the United States. Researchers found 85.4% of centers offered mental health services but only 45.5% had chemical dependency services.
Recognizing the urgent need for comprehensive approaches to opioid use disorder that address the needs of the entire family, the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) is today issuing a new Request for Proposals for projects that will engage and empower vulnerable families and communities to prevent opioid use disorder and overdose.
Now that a key policy regarding prescription of a medication for opioid use disorder has been changed, experts reflect on the remaining challenges standing in the way of more people getting effective medication-assisted treatment, and discuss efforts to overcome those barriers.
A new research review identifies personality traits that have been associated with positive and negative experiences on psychedelics being tested for therapeutic purposes in previous studies, information that could help predict how future clinical trial participants will respond to the drugs.
Researchers at Penn Medicine used machine learning-aided analysis to uncover top positive and negative themes in patient Yelp reviews of substance use treatment facilities
People who take opioid medications for chronic pain may have a hard time finding a new primary care clinic that will take them on as a patient if they need one, according to a new “secret shopper” study of hundreds of clinics across the country.
Scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine have recorded real time changes in dopamine and serotonin levels in the human brain that are involved with perception and decision-making. These same neurochemicals also are critical to movement disorders and psychiatric conditions, including substance abuse and depression.
The University of Texas at El Paso’s Minority AIDS Research Center (MARC) is the subrecipient of a $1 million implementation grant to target substance use disorders and opioid use disorders in five rural counties along the Texas-Mexico border.
A recent study from IUPUI found risk factors for substance use disorder affect age groups differently and proposes a primary prevention strategy for substance use disorder that is individualized for people within defined age groups.
First responders in Texas can now call a confidential helpline to seek treatment for substance use and mental health disorders through a new clinical research program at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The Heroes Helpline comes at a time when first responders are serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new study led by University of Kentucky researcher April Young and Emory University researcher Hannah Cooper shows that a number of pharmacies in the Appalachian region of Kentucky are limiting the dispensing of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD).
Committed to supporting healthcare professionals serving on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Parkdale Center and American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) have launched the free “Support The Front” program to service healthcare professionals dealing with grief, trauma, exhaustion, and fear.
Similar to treatment resistant depression, there is a subpopulation of those addicted to opioids who do not respond to standard opioid use disorder (OUD) treatments. In a new paper, an addiction expert at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis suggests a new category for these types of patients: treatment resistant opioid use disorder (TROUD).
A growing number of young adults are dealing with a substance use disorder – in some cases, multiple substance use disorders – and not seeking help, according to a study led by an Iowa State University researcher. The results show two in every five young adults reported a past-year SUD.
June 21, 2019 – Tobacco dependence is very common in patients hospitalized with substance use disorders (SUDs) – but most don’t receive recommended treatment for tobacco dependence while in the hospital, reports a study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine,…
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