Use Of Gene Networks Instead Of Individual Genes To Examine Alcohol Use Disorders

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are influenced by multiple genetic, environmental and behavioral factors, which makes it difficult to find individual genetic markers to help identify those at risk of developing AUDs. This study examined how a person's level of response (LR) to alcohol, which is closely linked to the development of AUDs, is related to "gene sets" rather than individual genes. Findings show that glutamate receptor signaling genes that enable brain cells to respond to chemicals, and then to communicate that response, are involved in a person's LR. Results will be published in the May 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

Largest Ever Study Of Cocaine Users In Treatment

One in 10 drug users entering treatment in England are seeking help for addiction to powder cocaine, a rise of four per cent in four years, according to new research for the NTA. More than a third of them are aged 18-24, and they are much more likely to come from a broad range of social backgrounds than the typical heroin users who traditionally form the majority of those in treatment. For example, cocaine users in treatment are more likely to have jobs and are less likely to have housing problems. Geographical analysis also shows a particularly high prevalence of cocaine users in some parts of the country, accounting for one in four of those in treatment in Essex and along the Thames Estuary.

Long-Time Cannabis Use Associated With Psychosis

Young adults who have used cannabis or marijuana for a longer period of time appear more likely to have hallucinations or delusions or to meet criteria for psychosis, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Previous studies have identified an association between cannabis use and psychosis, according to background information in the article. However, concerns remain that this research has not adequately accounted for confounding variables. John McGrath, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.A.N.Z.C.P., of the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Australia, and colleagues studied 3, 801 young adults born between 1981 and 1984.

Study Finds Most HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care Efforts Overlook IDUs

A systematic review of HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users (IDUs) throughout the world, published Monday in the journal Lancet, found that international efforts to fight the disease are largely overlooking this population, the Australian Associated Press/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 3/1). According to the researchers, lack of attention to preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in IDUs is creating a growing "'critical health problem'... in places like Russia, China, Malaysia and Thailand, " Reuters reports. "Of the estimated 16 million injecting drug users worldwide, 3 million are thought to be HIV-positive, and drug users are thought to account for 10 percent of all those living with HIV, " according to the news service.

First Results In United States In 20 Years From Clinical Trials Of Smoked Cannabis

Researchers from the University of California's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) have found "reasonable evidence that cannabis is a promising treatment" for some specific, pain-related medical conditions. Their findings, presented to the California legislature and public, are included in a report available on the CMCR web site at http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu. "We focused on illnesses where current medical treatment does not provide adequate relief or coverage of symptoms, " explained CMCR director, Igor Grant, MD, Executive Vice-Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the UCSD School of Medicine. "These findings provide a strong, science-based context in which policy makers and the public can begin discussing the place of cannabis in medical care.

State Policy Developments: Wisconsin's New 'Public Option,' Iowa's Medical Marijuana Vote, And More

New Hampshire Public Radio : A bill in the state legislature would create an annual public report that details the causes of rising health spending by analyzing now-private information that doctors, hospitals and other health organizations would have to provide to the state's Department of Insurance. The move is partly in response to conflicting narratives: The state's health spending continues to rise, yet hospitals and doctors say they are struggling (Grant, 2/17). Wisconsin Public Radio/Superior Telegram : "Adults who missed the chance to sign up for an expansion of Medicaid in Wisconsin could buy state-sponsored insurance under a plan that cleared the legislature's budget committee.

What Is Alcoholic Liver Disease? What Is Alcoholic Hepatitis?

Alcoholic liver disease, also called alcoholic hepatitis, refers to a range of conditions and related symptoms that develop when the liver becomes damaged due to excessive intake of alcohol. While distinct from cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis is regarded as the earliest stage of alcoholic liver disease. Alcohol has long been associated with serious liver diseases such as hepatitis which is an inflammation of the liver. According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary : Hepatitis is " Inflammation of the liver, due usually to viral infection but sometimes to toxic agents. " However, not all heavy drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis. The disease can occur in people who drink only moderately or binge just once.

Promising New Smoking Cessation Therapy

A novel technology for delivering nicotine to the lungs may soon give smokers a new way to kick the habit. When compared to the nicotine vapor delivery system used in the Nicotrol/Nicorette inhaler, the new technology proved more effective at delivering nicotine to the blood stream. As a result, it provides immediate relief of withdrawal symptoms, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers. Users also reported the new nicotine delivery method was more tolerable than the current inhaler because it caused less throat irritation. "We wanted to replicate the experience of smoking without incurring the dangers associated with cigarettes, and we wanted to do so more effectively than the nicotine replacement therapies currently on the market, " said Jed Rose, Ph.

Drug Addiction And Relapse May Be Prevented By Increasing Neurogenesis

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center hope they have begun paving a new pathway in the fight against drug dependence. Their hypothesis - that increasing the normally occurring process of making nerve cells might prevent addiction - is based on a rodent study demonstrating that blocking new growth of specific brain nerve cells increases vulnerability for cocaine addiction and relapse. The study's findings, available in the Journal of Neuroscience, are the first to directly link addiction with the process, called neurogenesis, in the region of the brain called the hippocampus. While the research specifically focused on what happens when neurogenesis is blocked, the scientists said the results suggest that increasing adult neurogenesis might be a potential way to combat drug addiction and relapse.

Iowa State Researchers Win 16.38 Million In Federal Grants Supported By Stimulus Funding

Iowa State University researchers have so far won 30 grants worth a total $16.38 million from federal agencies awarding money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The grants range from $4.37 million to study how algae can be used for advanced biofuel production, to $1.33 million to build infrastructure and capacity for public health intervention programs, to $351, 513 to establish a 10-week summer program that gives undergraduates research experience in environmental sciences and to $52, 007 to develop new procedures to generate high-quality models of proteins. Nineteen of the awards are from the National Science Foundation. Eight are from the National Institutes of Health.