http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Treatment for alcohol use disorders works best if the patient actively understands and incorporates the interventions provided in the clinic. Multiple factors can influence both the type and degree of neurocognitive abnormalities found during early abstinence, including chronic cigarette smoking and increasing age. A new study is the first to look at the interactive effects of smoking status and age on neurocognition in treatment-seeking alcohol dependent (AD) individuals. Findings show that AD individuals who currently smoke show more problems with memory, ability to think quickly and efficiently, and problem-solving skills than those who don't smoke, effects which seem to become exacerbated with age. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-individuals-heavily-early-aging-brain.html Addiction Fri, 17 May 2013 16:51:13 EST news288028099 He's less than two weeks old, but he has the telltale signs of a baby in pain: a sore on his chin where he's rubbed the skin raw, along with a scratch on his cheek. He suffers from so many tremors that nurses watch him around the clock in case he starts seizing—or stops breathing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-drug-dependent-babies-hospitals.html Addiction Mon, 13 May 2013 02:35:40 EST news287630972 Among infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS; caused by in utero opioid exposure), variants in certain genes were associated with a shorter length of hospital stay and less need for treatment, preliminary findings that may provide insight into the mechanisms underlying NAS, according to a study in the May 1 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on child health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-effects-genetic-variants-infants-neonatal.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:02:56 EST news286534964 A potential new treatment for alcoholism called nalmefene is effective and safe for reducing alcohol consumption in alcohol dependent individuals, says a new study published this week in Biological Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-treatment-option-alcohol-consumption-abstinence.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:02:42 EST news284878955 (Medical Xpress)—Longitudinal studies of children exposed to methadone in the womb need to accompany methadone maintenance treatment for drug-addicted pregnant mothers, according to a research team led by a University of Maine doctoral student in psychology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-early-methadone-exposure.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:30:02 EST news284363011 Smokers have a higher probability of quitting smoking and a better overall cessation experience when taking varenicline compared to bupropion and to placebo – unmedicated assisted smoking cessation –according to a study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-varenicline-depressive-mood-craving-reward.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:00:04 EST news283614777 The UK government's decision to promote abstinence for drug users "is about saving money not science" argues a senior doctor in the BMJ today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-decision-abstinence-drug-users-money.html Medications Thu, 21 Mar 2013 18:30:02 EST news283105184 Once heavy drinking impairs function, a variety of punishment-related threats may motivate people to stop drinking: spouses may threaten divorce, employers may threaten job loss, and courts threaten drunk drivers with losing their driver's license or incarceration. In the face of these threats, many alcohol abusers refrain from drinking, but relapse is very common when the threats of punishment fade, particularly when exposed to alcohol-associated environments (contexts). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-rats-humans.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:50:16 EST news278765410 A comparison of drinking guidelines around the world shows there's little consensus between countries on what constitutes safe or sensible alcohol consumption, say University of Sussex researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-global-guidelines-safe.html Health Tue, 22 Jan 2013 06:08:42 EST news278057260 Researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, and Santo Tomas University in Colombia have found that drug abuse negatively affects sexual performance in men even after years of abstinence. This finding contradicts other studies reporting that men spontaneously recovered their normal sexual performance at three weeks after quitting substance abuse. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-drug-abuse-impairs-sexual-men.html Health Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:04:01 EST news277650216 Relatively small levels of exposure to alcohol while in the womb can influence a child's IQ, according to a new study led by researchers from the universities of Bristol and Oxford using data from over 4,000 mothers and their children in the Children of the 90s study (ALSPAC) and published today in PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-moderate-pregnancy-affect-child-iq.html Health Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:10:22 EST news272130198 Compared to a survey conducted nearly 20 years ago, about twice the proportion of addiction counselors now find it acceptable for at least some of their patients to have a drink occasionally – either as an intermediate goal or as their final treatment goal, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-alcohol-drug-abuse-counselors-dont.html Addiction Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:16:14 EST news271080959 (HealthDay)—Sustained release technologies for administering the opioid antagonist naltrexone (SRX) seem to be effective with an acceptable adverse event profile, according to a review published online Oct. 22 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-sustained-naltrexone-effective-safe-opioid.html Medications Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:50:01 EST news271013800 Chronic alcohol abuse can severely damage the nervous system, particularly cognitive functions, cerebral metabolism, and brain morphology. Building upon previous findings that alcoholics can experience brain volume recovery with abstinence, this study found that recovery of cerebral gray matter (GM) can take place within the first two weeks of abstinence, but may vary between brain regions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-recovery-brain-volumes-abstinence-vary.html Addiction Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:00:17 EST news269614979 Cannabis users have a greater chance of relapse to cannabis use when they experience certain withdrawal symptoms, according to research published Sep. 26 in the open access journal PLOS ONE led by David Allsop of the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) at the University of New South Wales. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-cannabis-symptoms-clinical-importance.html Addiction Wed, 26 Sep 2012 17:00:04 EST news267895124 Alcoholism is known to cause osteoporosis, or reduced bone mineral density (BMD). New findings indicate that as little as eight weeks of abstinence can initiate correction of an imbalance between bone formation and resorption due to alcohol's toxic effects. Physical activity can also serve as a protective factor against reduced BMD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-abstinence-alcohol-physical-reclaim-bone.html Addiction Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:00:01 EST news266846506 Abstinence from smoking seems to affect teens differently than adults in a couple ways, but a new study provides evidence that most of the psychological difficulties of quitting are as strong for relatively new, young smokers as they are for adults who have been smoking much longer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-tough-teens.html Addiction Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:09:05 EST news266684936 (HealthDay) -- Based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the microstructural changes seen in the genu and body of the corpus callosum in recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients are found to improve after one year of abstinence, according to research published online May 2 in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-white-abstinent-alcoholics-recovers.html Addiction Mon, 21 May 2012 14:10:01 EST news256824255 (Medical Xpress) -- Life gets off to a rough start for babies born to drug-dependent women, even when their mothers' addiction is clinically managed during pregnancy with methadone or other therapeutic replacement drugs. Born with their own chemical dependency, approximately 70 percent of these babies spend weeks in intensive care being treated for a cluster of unpleasant and dangerous symptoms of opiate withdrawal known collectively as Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, or NAS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-long-term-effects-methadone-treatment-pregnancy.html Addiction Mon, 19 Mar 2012 07:06:30 EST news251359572 A 15-minute walk can cut snacking on chocolate at work by half, according to research by the University of Exeter. The study showed that, even in stressful situations, workers eat only half as much chocolate as they normally would after this short burst of physical activity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-short-chocolate-consumption.html Health Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:25:41 EST news242475931 Chronic alcoholism is often associated with a disturbed gait and balance, likely caused by alcohol damage to neural systems. While some studies have suggested that abstinence can lead to partial recovery of gait and balance functions, questions remain about duration of abstinence and sample size. This study of both short- and long-term abstinence has found that alcoholics' gait and balance can continue to recover with long-term abstinence from alcohol but that deficits can persist, especially eyes-closed standing balance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-gait-recover-long-term-abstinence-alcohol.html Health Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:23:17 EST news235326182 One of the ways an alcohol dependence (AD) diagnosis can be made is through measurement of biological markers of hepatic injury such as gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). These markers, however, are not always sufficiently sensitive or specific enough for determining AD, nor do their levels change rapidly in response to abstinence or relapse. A new study of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which regulates neuronal plasticity, indicates it may predict relapse in AD individuals undergoing treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-linking-brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor-alcohol.html Medical research Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:00:39 EST news232641766 (Medical Xpress) -- A team of researchers led by the University of Bonn found clear changes in how emotions are processed in smokers. After an abstinence period of 12 hours, the brain’s fear center was mostly out of commission in addicts. The researchers assume that a campaign using images of smokers’ lungs as deterrents on cigarette packs – as both the US and EU are currently planning – will hardly have an effect on this group. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-smokers-receptive-images.html Health Tue, 12 Jul 2011 08:13:21 EST news229677140 Proactive telephone counseling helps smokers quit regardless of how they are recruited to a telephone quitline, according to a study published online June 10th in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-quitlines-smokers-method.html Health Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:49:56 EST news226982971 Whether sex education focuses only on abstinence or teaches students about contraception and other topics as well, it all shares one main message: Wait. In abstinence-only, students are exhorted to wait for sex until they're married. In "comprehensive" or "abstinence-plus," the idea is to delay sexual relations until... later. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-true-wont-safer-lover.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 17 May 2011 13:03:19 EST news224856179