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Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 12:32:53 PM |
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Substance Abuse
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Cocaine
Scientists design simple dipstick test for cocaine, other drugs
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a simple "dipstick" test for detecting cocaine and other drugs in saliva, urine or blood serum. The test is based upon DNA-gold nanoparticle technology, and can be packaged in user-friendly kits similar to those used for home pregnancy tests.
Nov 14, 2006 - 2:44:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Substance Abuse
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Cocaine
Biochemical signature of cocaine craving revealed
Ask anyone who has been addicted to drugs and they'll tell you that the mere sight of someone using their drug of choice -- or even people, places, or objects associated with drug use -- can trigger an intense desire for the drug. Using sophisticated brain-imaging techniques at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, scientists from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Brookhaven Lab, and the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered the brain chemistry that underlies such "cue-induced" craving in cocaine addicts. The work, which appears in the June 14, 2006 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, suggests new targets for medications aimed at treating addiction.
Jun 15, 2006 - 11:48:00 AM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Substance Abuse
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Cocaine
Eliminating the rewarding effect of cocaine by genetic alterations
Researchers found that they could eliminate the rewarding effect of cocaine on mice by genetically manipulating a key target of the drug in the animal's brain. While the researchers aren't suggesting that these genetic modifications be made in humans, the work brings to light the key protein that controls cocaine's effects in the body, which may help scientists develop medications that achieve the same results and therefore help addicts overcome their dependence.
Jun 1, 2006 - 1:08:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Substance Abuse
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Cocaine
Prenatal cocaine exposure not linked to bad behavior in kids
Toddlers exposed to cocaine before birth exhibit no more behavioral problems than other children their age, despite early predictions that "crack babies" would grow up to be delinquents, University of Florida researchers say.
May 7, 2006 - 6:48:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Substance Abuse
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Cocaine
Strength of cocaine cravings linked to brain response
Rats that have a strong craving for cocaine have a different biochemical response to the drug than their less-addicted counterparts, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
Mar 22, 2006 - 6:50:00 AM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Substance Abuse
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Cocaine
Cocaine use linked to brain hemmorhage in young adults
A fifth of young adults whose blood vessels ruptured inside their brain abused drugs and more than 40 percent had malformed blood vessels, according to a study reported Feb. 17 at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2006 in Kissimmee, FL. The study included 307 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) -- a stroke caused by a blood vessel bursting inside the brain. Of the 75 patients 49-years-old or younger, 20 percent had drugs in their system.
Feb 19, 2006 - 5:20:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Substance Abuse
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Cocaine
Transcriptional activation is a key molecular mechanism in cocaine addiction
Researchers are now understanding in greater detail the molecular machinery underlying the short-term brain changes that produce the high of cocaine, as well as the longer-term changes behind addiction. Their findings offer hope for targeted drugs that can short-circuit that addiction machinery. In the October 20, 2005, issue of Neuron, researchers led by Eric J. Nestler and Arvind Kumar of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have pinpointed a key molecular mechanism by which genes are switched on in the brain that govern both short-term and long-term effects of cocaine. Such activation is called transcriptional activation because it induces the gene to begin making copies of itself into messenger RNA that trigger protein production.
Oct 20, 2005 - 4:05:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Substance Abuse
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Cocaine
Disrupting reconsolidation of the cocaine-related memory
Addicts crave drugs and suffer relapse not just because of the alluring high of drugs, but also because they are compelled by the powerful, haunting memory associations with the environment surrounding their drug taking. Thus, treatments that could eliminate those memory associations could prove effective in treating addiction, researchers believe.
Sep 15, 2005 - 6:09:00 PM
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