The director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse expressed hope about the recent breakthroughs in the treatment of drug addiction.
"The nicotine vaccine may be having the final results in the next year," said Dr. Nora Volkow. "This is very exciting because you can actually vaccinate someone and by so doing prevent them from relapse into drug taking."
There had been nothing previously available for people addicted to marijuana and cocaine, but researchers are now developing a series of mediations to help these addictions.
"So that is also very exciting. So the possibility of being able to help someone that has been struggling with the problem with drug use, to be able to take a medication that makes them actually be able to control it better," Volkow said.
Volkow was speaking recently at a conference in New Orleans, where drug use has increased, especially since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005. Volkow spoke at the conference of the 50 to 70 percent of your predilection to develop a drug addiction that is genetically determined.
"One of the factors is, for example, some of those genes may make you much more sensitive to social stressors," Volkow said.
The promising new research comes at an opportune time when drug abuse, especially of prescription drugs, is at an all-time high in the United States.
"We’ve seen attitudes about drugs erode for the last two or three years, which often predict those increases, especially in regards to marijuana. And we in the administration think that all of this talk, whether it’s about medical marijuana, or about legalization on the other hand, has spurred these kinds of softening about attitudes, because kids are now thinking, ‘Hey, this is medicine, maybe it’s actually not that harmful,’" said Dr. Kevin Sabet, the special advisor for policy to the director of National Drug Control Policy.
Become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter
For most addicts, a quality opiate drug treatment program can be completed in a month. The reality is, however, that treatment can take less time or more time, depending on the individual. Most treatment centers have a comprehensive approach to t ...
Released On: 11/20/2012
Views: 5306
Every day people become ensnared in the web of prescription medication addiction, and the reality is that the addiction most often begins at home. The negative and often deadly consequences of prescription drug abuse are devastating for families ...
Released On: 11/9/2012
Views: 5057
Many drug rehab patients go through drug detox centers unaware of the damage they have done to their bodies until the drugs begin to wear off and they realize they are no longer numb. This experience can be very uncomfortable for drug rehab pati ...
Released On: 11/1/2012
Views: 4620
Drug rehabs are watching two cases that appear before the U.S. Supreme Court this week concerning drug sniffing dogs in Florida. Many substance abuse treatment centers house patients who have been sent to drug rehab as a result of being busted wi ...
Released On: 10/31/2012
Views: 4094
Drug rehabs are intrigued by a recent study conducted by a University of Michigan addiction researcher named Jennifer Cummings. According to drug treatment center experts, Cummings has stumbled upon an interesting difference between cocaine respo ...
Released On: 10/24/2012
Views: 11680
Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles into specific areas of the body along channels of bio-electromagnetic energy known as Qi. Drug rehab physicians understand how beneficial this procedure can be for their drug treatment cente ...
Released On: 10/24/2012
Views: 3993
Researchers from the University of Texas have found that cirrhosis of the liver, a common complication of alcoholism, increases brain damage. Dr. R. Dayne Mayfield was the lead researcher of the study. He and his colleagues found that cirrhotic a ...
Released On: 10/23/2012
Views: 4028
One state in particular with a large heroin problem is Massachusetts. Drug rehabs report that Massachusetts is one of the top ten states for high drug abuse rates.
Released On: 10/18/2012
Views: 3525
The most commonly used drug in New Jersey is marijuana, drug treatment centers report. However, a federally funded report shows that 5 percent of young adults have heroin habits. Nationally, heroin abuse among young adults is at an average of 2.5 ...
Released On: 10/17/2012
Views: 3896
Opioids are often legally prescribed by doctors for pain, or they are taken illegally simply to "get high." Drug detox centers also inform us that some people are so dependent on opioids they need to take them just to feel "normal."
Released On: 10/12/2012
Views: 3902
Experts from addiction treatment centers hope this type of "alcoholic mice" research can help drug rehab therapists to find therapies to help reverse this type of learned response to environments in their addiction treatment center patients.
Released On: 10/9/2012
Views: 4104
The DSM V is published by the American Psychiatric Association. Drug rehab administrators say it influences how doctors diagnose mental disorders. It also influences which conditions insurance companies will cover, including coverage for addictio ...
Released On: 10/4/2012
Views: 4067
The biggest problem with xanax is that, when abused, it has a high tendency to cause overdose deaths. These overdoses are especially prevalent for people who take large quantities of the drug and drink alcohol. Because xanax is a benzodiazapene, ...
Released On: 9/27/2012
Views: 4589
Often, therapists in drug rehabs use a variety of techniques to help addicts curb these destructive personality traits. The addictive personality is not something that can be cured overnight. However, cognitive behavior therapy over long periods ...
Released On: 9/26/2012
Views: 4772
The answer for heroin addiction is total abstinence from the drug. Patients at drug rehabs are learning how to help themselves by acquiring the tools necessary to stay off the street dope.
Released On: 9/21/2012
Views: 4292
Drug rehabs are giving their substance abuse treatment patients the straight truth about cocaine use. They say more emergency room visits occur each year from cocaine than any other drug in the United States. Substance Abuse Treatment Center pati ...
Released On: 9/19/2012
Views: 5885
Teenagers in Ohio are in the midst of a deadly drug epidemic. Many of them do not understand the ramifications of what toll the drug will take on their lives the first time they try heroin. The state health department, police, and other agencies ...
Released On: 9/17/2012
Views: 3908
Dual diagnosis treatment centers assist drug rehab patients who have addiction problems and any of these common mental illnesses: depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorders. Additionally, 29 percent ...
Released On: 9/14/2012
Views: 4235