Opiate Addiction & Substance Abuse Articles

Effective Options for Treating Alcohol Dependence
Results from a recent study show the medication naltrexone and up to 20 sessions of alcohol counseling by a behavioral specialist are equally effective treatments for alcohol dependence when delivered with structured medical management.

Older Men More Likely to Seek Treatment for Alcohol
Americans ages 50 and older are more likely to seek treatment for alcohol dependence than any other drug addiction, and older men are particularly at risk of problem drinking.

Marijuana's Memory Effects Tied to Misfiring Brain Cells
Marijuana's well-known effects on short-term memory may be the result of misfiring brain cells, according to neuroscientists.

How Much Drinking Is Too Much?
A new survey estimates that as many as three-fourths of American adults think they know enough about how drinking affects their blood alcohol levels, while in fact, most don't even know the legal limits in their own state. The Century Council, a group backed by major distillers, is campaigning to better educate the public about those limits and how much you have to drink to exceed them.

Substance Abuse Among Troops, Veterans, and Their Families
In one study, one in four veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan reported symptoms of a mental or cognitive disorder; one in six reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These disorders are strongly associated with substance abuse and dependence, as are other problems experienced by returning military personnel, including sleep disturbances, traumatic brain injury, and violence in relationships.

OxyContin...Potential Fast Track To Addiction
Diversion and abuse of the prescription pain reliever OxyContin has become a major problem. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that, in the United States, oxycodone products, including OxyContin, are frequently abused pharmaceuticals.

Methamphetamine Remains Number One Drug Problem
According to a new survey released July 18, 2006 by the National Association of Counties (NACo), county law enforcement officials across 44 states reported that methamphetamine remains the number one drug problem in their county.

Study Shows Most Treatment Effective Against Alcoholism
A complex study of alcoholism treatment medications and counseling has found that most stand-alone and combined therapies were effective in promoting short-term abstinence, with only the drug acamprosate (Campral) proving to be disappointing.

Binge Drinking: Too Often a Deadly "Game"
In recent national surveys about a third of high school seniors and 42 percent of college students reported at least one occasion of binge drinking within the previous 2 weeks. Alcohol poisoning – a severe and potentially fatal physical reaction to an alcohol overdose – is the most serious consequence of binge drinking.

Neuroimaging Identifies Brain Regions Possibly Involved in Alcohol Craving
Viewing pictures of alcoholic beverages activates the prefrontal cortex and the anterior thalamus in alcoholics but not in moderate drinkers, report Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) researchers in the April Archives of General Psychiatry. The research team is the first to use fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to examine whether alcohol cues stimulate specific brain regions.