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It’s challenging for some to understand why addiction affects one individual and not the next. In fact, even doctors and treatment professionals are sometimes at a loss of words when it comes to explaining the science behind addiction and what it is that makes some people become addicted to drugs or alcohol while others steer clear of the problem. Scientific advances have helped doctors, treatment professionals and others to better understand the science behind addiction and continued research embarks on the consistent journey to discover more about what it is that causes addiction and addictive behaviors.
People of all ages suffer the harmful consequences of drug abuse and addiction.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA, estimates that the total cost of addiction to drugs, alcohol, nicotine and illegal substances is upwards of half a trillion dollars each year in America alone. This includes the impact that drug abuse and addiction has on the economy, the criminal implications that arise from addiction, the medical needs that result and the overall social impact of addiction. More than half a million people die as a result of addiction related causes each year in the United States.
There are a number of ways that science has helped to provide solutions for those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Scientists study the ways that drugs, alcohol and other substances affect the brain and how these chances impact human behavior. The information that is gained helps in making better judgment calls when it comes to addiction treatment and also when it comes to finding new methods of helping people to effectively recover.
Addiction is a chronic disease that is characterized by changes in the brain which result in a compulsive desire to use a drug. Through science, it has been determined that an individual’s risk of becoming addicted can be influenced by a number of factors including both genetics and environmental influence. Addiction science focuses on taking a closer look at how all of these factors, everything from biology to the environment to family, influence people to used drugs or alcohol and to potentially become addicted.
The patient sat with his eyes closed, submerged in the rhythm of his own breathing, and after a while noticed that he was thinking about his troubled relationship with his father. “I was able to be there, present for the pain,” he said, when the meditation session ended. “To just let it be what it….
Shops and supermarkets could face new legal curbs on the sale of cut-price alcohol in an attempt to control rising levels of under-age and binge drinking. An audit commissioned by the Home Office has found widespread abuse by drinks retailers of voluntary codes of practice intended to prevent alcohol abuse. The conclusion of the study,….
MEET MRINAL from Kanpur. He is 16 years old and has already been to a rehabilitation centre. He started drinking and smoking since he was 13. Meet Manoj and Vijay from Delhi, aged 17. They are famous among their group for throwing big parties with unlimited flow of alcohol and marijuana. These characters have not….
People are being urged to think before they drink as part of a research project aimed at changing people’s binge drinking habits. A team of health psychologists at The University of Nottingham plan to discover whether using the workplace to supply information on the health effects of binge drinking and asking employees for a small….
Up to a third of all cancers could be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle. At the start of Cancer Prevention Week, Lisa Cooney, head of education at the World Cancer Research Fund, examines how what we eat and drink affects our cancer risk IT HAS become increasingly clear over the past few years that….
A new study of young adults in nine European countries found that nearly one in four women and one in three men deliberately engage in binge drinking and drug use to improve their chances of sex. The study also found that young people were more at risk of unsafe sex while under the influence of….
Los Angeles, May 10: Alcohol dependence has increased substantially among American women, particularly white and Hispanic women born since 1945, a new study shows. Alcohol use and dependence appear to have remained stable for men, while young Americans report having more lifetime alcohol problems than older Americans, despite having had less time to develop issues….
* The search for genes associated with alcohol dependence (AD) has recently been extended to the tachykinin receptor 3 gene (TACR3), located within a broad region on chromosome 4q. * Researchers have found that seven of the nine single nucleotide polymorphisms – DNA sequence variations – in the 3′ region of TACR3 have a significant….
An analysis of brain tissue samples from chronic alcoholics reveals changes that occur at the molecular level in alcohol abuse – and suggests a potential treatment target, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Reporting in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the scientists said that a protein known as beta-catenin that is….
Managers may not be able to increase productivity by giving their employees serotonin — well, legally — but they can boost production by making the work area a little more brain-friendly. Daniel Amen, the medical director of Amen Clinics, focuses on making brain theory function in the day-to-day grind. His audience at California State University,….
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