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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.
Could an aversion to bitter substances or an overall heightened sense of taste help protect some people from becoming addicted to nicotine? That’s what researchers at UVA have found using an innovative new method they’ve developed to analyze the interactions of multiple genetic and environmental factors. Their findings one day may be key in identifying….
A leading surgeon says breast cancer rates could soar unless young women cut back on binge drinking – and that mammograms are being “oversold”. Dr Trevor Smith said alcohol was among the lifestyle choices that contributed towards New Zealand’s having one of the highest breast cancer rates in the world. He called on the Government….
Tarrant County mental health professionals and advocates are drafting a pilot program aimed at treating teens who are slipping into alcoholism. The proposed High School Alcohol Diversion Program, modeled after college programs, would allow teens with alcohol violations to stay at their schools instead of being sent to alternative schools. That would help prevent them….
For alcoholics, experts say the consequences of addiction last long after an evening binge to affect abusers’ entire lives, from restless mornings to sleepless nights. BU School of Medicine is conducting a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a psychiatric medication that could eliminate or significantly reduce heavy drinkers’ cravings for alcohol, according to….
UNM was given $2.5 million this semester to start one of the nation’s first fetal alcohol research centers. The program is funded by a five-year grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The New Mexico Alcohol Research Center will look at the effects of alcohol on the brain. Dr. Daniel Savage, who….
CAN THE WAY you chew a raisin affect the way you experience pain? Trials at St James’s and AMNCH (Tallaght) Hospitals in Dublin are beginning to look at how “mindfulness meditation” can be used to help people cope with a diverse range of problems including chronic pain, depression, anxiety, cardiac difficulties and even psoriasis. “Mindfulness….
Not all alcohol abusers look or act alike. Nor do they start on the road to alcoholism the same way or share the same set of problems. What they have in common is that they are all, in some way, damaging their lives. There are many ways to be diagnosed as being alcohol dependent. Alcohol….
Some people drink to forget, but scientists have found that anyone who binge drinks is more likely to forget only the worst experiences of being drunk – which is why alcohol is such an addictive drug. Alcohol has been found to affect memory in a selective manner. Drinking makes it easier to remember the good….
There may be a very good reason why coffee and cigarettes often seem to go hand in hand. A Kansas State University psychology professor’s research suggests that nicotine’s power may be in how it enhances other experiences. For a smoker who enjoys drinking coffee, the nicotine may make a cup of joe even better. And….
First year college students believe that occasional nonmedical use of prescription pain killers and stimulants is less risky than cocaine, but more risky than marijuana or consuming five or more alcoholic beverages every weekend, according to a new study published in the September issue of Prevention Science, the peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Prevention….
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