Quantum Units Education

A missing brain enzyme increases concentrations of a protein related to pain-killer addiction, according to an animal study.

The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

Opioids are pain-killing drugs, derived from the opium plant, which block signals of pain between nerves in the body. They are manufactured in prescription medications like morphine and codeine, and also are found in some illegal drugs, like heroin. Both legal and illegal opioids can be highly addictive.

In addition to the synthetic opioids, natural opioids are produced by the body. Most people have heard of the so-called feel-good endorphins, which are opioid-like proteins produced by various organs in the body in response to certain activities, like exercise.

Drug addiction occurs, in part, because opioid-containing drugs alter the brain’s biochemical balance of naturally produced opioids. Nationwide, drug abuse of opioid-containing prescription drugs is skyrocketing, and researchers are trying to identify the risk factors that differentiate people who get addicted from those who do not.

Full story of enzyme linked to drug addiction at Science Daily

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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found evidence that an emotion-related brain region called the central amygdala — whose activity promotes feelings of malaise and unhappiness — plays a major role in sustaining cocaine addiction.

In experiments with rats, the TSRI researchers found signs that cocaine-induced changes in this brain system contribute to anxiety-like behavior and other unpleasant symptoms of drug withdrawal — symptoms that typically drive an addict to keep using. When the researchers blocked specific brain receptors called kappa opioid receptors in this key anxiety-mediating brain region, the rats’ signs of addiction abated.

“These receptors appear to be a good target for therapy,” said Marisa Roberto, associate professor in TSRI’s addiction research group, the Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders. Roberto was the principal investigator for the study, which appears in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Carrot or Stick?

In addition to its clinical implications, the finding represents an alternative to the pleasure-seeking, “positive” motivational circuitry that is traditionally emphasized in addiction.

Full story of the brains dark side at Science Daily

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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education

A drug used to treat liver toxicity in Tylenol overdoses may be helpful in treating teens dependent on marijuana, when it is combined with behavioral therapy, according to an expert speaking at the recent American Psychiatric Association annual meeting. The drug is one of a number of new treatments being tested for marijuana dependence, but is the only one so far tested solely in adolescents.

“Young people should be a particular focus of treatment for marijuana dependence,” says researcher Kevin M. Gray, M.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “We want to treat it early, before a lot of serious outcomes occur when they transition to adulthood.”

His placebo-controlled study of the drug, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), found it was effective when given to teens who were dependent on marijuana. The 116 teens in the study also received weekly, brief skills-based counseling and received compensation for having drug-free urine tests, through an intervention called contingency management, said Dr. Gray, who published the results last year in the American Journal of Psychiatry. He is now setting up a similar study of NAC in marijuana-dependent adults. Both studies are funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Full story of teen marijuana dependence at DrugFree.org

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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education

Addiction to drugs, alcohol and tobacco are the most common mental health problems in teenagers, a new government report concludes. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed problem overall in youth ages 3 to 17, NBC News reports.

The findings, from a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found almost 7 percent of children under 18 are diagnosed with ADHD, while 3.5 percent have behavioral problems and 1.1 percent have autism.

An estimated one million teenagers abuse drugs or alcohol, and more than 695,000 are addicted to tobacco, the CDC found. The agency found during 2010-2011, a total of 4.2 percent of teens were dependent on or abused alcohol in the past year. An estimated 4.7 percent of teens had an illicit drug use disorder in the past year.

Full story of teen addictions at DrugFree.org

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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education

Exercise may help protect the brains of people who drink heavily, a new study suggests. Researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder found exercise may help prevent damage to white matter in heavy drinkers. White matter is involved with learning, processing, thinking and communication between various regions of the brain.

Previous research found heavy alcohol exposure may have an adverse effect on white matter, U.S. News reports. The new study indicated that regular aerobic exercise, such as walking, running or bicycling, is associated with less damage to white matter in heavy drinkers.

The 60 participants, who were moderate or heavy drinkers, were asked about their drinking behaviors, their attempts to control their drinking, and their exercise routines. They also underwent brain scans that looked at white matter.

Full story of protecting the brain from alcohol at DrugFree.org

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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education