Disrupting Brain's Stress System Intensifies Opiate Withdrawal Avoiding the severe pain, nausea, agitation, sweats and other symptoms of opiate withdrawal are among the many reasons addicts are motivated to continue taking drugs. Now, researchers have found that disrupting the brain's stress-response mechanism exacerbates behavioral withdrawal symptoms in mice, and that giving the mice the hormone corticosterone alleviates those symptoms. The researchers said their findings suggest new approaches to reduce withdrawal symptoms. [click link for full article] Publ.Date : Tue, 20 Feb 2007 18:00:00 PST
Parkinson's Disease Medications And Characteristics Of Increased Risk For Compulsive Gambling Linked Patients with Parkinson's disease who are younger when they develop the condition, have a personality trait known as novelty-seeking or whose personal or family history includes alcohol abuse may be more likely to develop pathological gambling as a side effect of medications used to treat their condition, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. [click link for full article] Publ.Date : Thu, 15 Feb 2007 10:00:00 PST
Women And Recovery From Alcoholism PhD candidate Ms Janice Withnall, from the UWS School of Education, is carrying out the project in a bid to better understand the experiences of women who have successfully stopped drinking.National statistics show that alcohol-related illness hospitalises 95,000 Australians a year. Of that group, 7 per cent are women who are alcohol dependent. [click link for full article] Publ.Date : Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:00:00 PST
Long-Term Marijuana Smoking Leads To Respiratory Complaints Long-term exposure to marijuana smoke is linked to many of the same health problems as tobacco smoke, such as increased respiratory symptoms like cough, phlegm and wheeze, according to a new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine.Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, and abuse of the drug is on the rise. The study is published in Archives of Internal Medicine. First author Jeanette M. Tetrault, M.D. [click link for full article] Publ.Date : Thu, 15 Feb 2007 07:00:00 PST
Possible Genetic Link To Schizophrenia, Alcoholism, Parkinson's Disease Identified Several neurological and psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, alcoholism, and Parkinson's disease, are associated with changes in the brain that affect the nerves that communicate with each other through the naturally-produced chemical dopamine. One protein that is crucial for dopamine-mediated neuronal communication in animals is DARPP-32. However, very little is known about the function of this protein in humans. [click link for full article] Publ.Date : Sat, 10 Feb 2007 15:00:00 PST
