http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-deep-brain-drugs-dont.html Neuroscience Fri, 17 May 2013 09:29:38 EST news288001707 A study published in the most recent version of the journal Obesity found that the body's internal clock, the circadian system, increases hunger and cravings for sweet, starchy and salty foods in the evenings. While the urge to consume more in the evening may have helped our ancestors store energy to survive longer in times of food scarcity, in the current environment of high-calorie food, those late night snacks may result in significant weight gain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-triggers-late-night-snack-cravings.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:43:01 EST news286533773 (Medical Xpress)—Monitoring heart rate patterns can help identify risk and treat people who are dependent on alcohol by predicting their craving levels, researchers at the University of Sydney have shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-heart-alcohol.html Addiction Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:57:35 EST news285836249 Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but up to 60 percent of American young people consistently skip it. Now, Heather Leidy, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, says eating a breakfast rich in protein significantly improves appetite control and reduces unhealthy snacking on high-fat or high-sugar foods in the evening, which could help improve the diets of more than 25 million overweight or obese young adults in the U.S. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-protein-rich-breakfasts-unhealthy-snacking-evening.html Health Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:51:31 EST news283535433 Support for quitting smoking via text and video messages can help smokers kick the habit according to a new Cochrane systematic review. The authors of the review found that people were more likely to stay away from cigarettes over a six month period if they received motivational messages and advice to their mobile phones. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-mobile-smokers.html Addiction Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:00:08 EST news272047068 (HealthDay)—People who skip breakfast may end up eating more and making less healthy food choices throughout the day, according to a new study. Eating breakfast, on the other hand, helps people avoid overeating and cravings for high-calorie foods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-brain-scans-downside-breakfast.html Neuroscience Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:40:01 EST news269714349 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Aptuit Centre for Drug Discovery and Development in Italy, have found that a drug called GSK598809 is able to block a type of dopamine receptor in the brain that has been linked to nicotine addiction. The team, studying the impact of the drug on baboons and mice has found, as they describe in their paper published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, that when delivered to the brain, the drug appears able to reduce the cravings for nicotine found in the smoke of cigarettes and thus may someday soon serve as an aide to quitting the habit that kills millions the world over every year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-experimental-drug-nicotine-craving.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Sep 2012 07:16:15 EST news266739348 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 Dieters have less hunger and cravings throughout the day and are better able to keep off lost weight if they eat a carbohydrate-rich, protein-packed breakfast that includes dessert. These findings come from a new study that will be presented at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-dessert-breakfast-diet-weight-regain.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:40:01 EST news259844603 A drug made from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard is effective in reducing the craving for food. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have tested the drug on rats, who after treatment ceased their cravings for both food and chocolate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-drugs-lizard-saliva-cravings-food.html Neuroscience Tue, 15 May 2012 15:19:46 EST news256313978 (Medical Xpress) -- Traditionally, treatment for drug addicts has centered around so-called extinction procedures designed to disassociate memories tied with taking drugs to help reduce the cravings that so often result in relapse. Unfortunately, while such procedures help addicts while still in treatment, they don’t do much for them afterwards in the real world. Because of this, treatment specialists often turn to drug related therapies to help reduce associative memories. The problem with that approach though is that it’s counterintuitive. Treating drug abuse by administering drugs just goes against common sense. Plus there are sometimes unpleasant side effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-kind-memory-drug-addicts-recover.html Addiction Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:40:27 EST news253528799 Of 190 million obese Americans, approximately 10-15 percent engage in harmful binge eating. During single sittings, these over-eaters consume large servings of high-caloric foods. Sufferers contend with weight gain and depression including heart disease and diabetes. A new clinical trial, called Regulation of Food Cues, at UC San Diego Health System, aims to treat binge eating by helping participants to identify real hunger and to practice resistance if the stomach is full. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-clinical-trial-binge-eaters-toss.html Health Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:17:54 EST news248077030 When it comes to addiction, sex matters. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-addicts-cravings-roots-men-women.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:36:06 EST news247163753 Cancer cells tend to take up more glucose than healthy cells, and researchers are increasingly interested in exploiting this tendency with drugs that target cancer cells' altered metabolism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-enzyme-flips-cells-sugar-cravings.html Cancer Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:30:55 EST news243786621 Overeating, whether in children or adults, often takes place even in the absence of hunger, resulting in weight gain and obesity. Current methods to treat such overeating in youth focus on therapies that restrict what kids may eat, requiring them to track their food intake and engage in intensive exercise. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-approach-overeating-children.html Health Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:57:43 EST news242539054 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 (Medical Xpress) -- What drives addicts to repeatedly choose drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, overeating, gambling or kleptomania, despite the risks involved? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-scientists-brain-circuitry-linked-healthy.html Neuroscience Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:00:31 EST news239200577 Addiction isn't just about willpower. It's a chronic brain disease, says a new definition aimed at helping families and their doctors better understand the challenges of treating it. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-addiction-brain-disorder-bad-behavior.html Medical research Tue, 16 Aug 2011 03:22:01 EST news232683700 (Medical Xpress) -- In a new study published in Neuropsychopharmacology, Dr. Alasdair MacKenzie has found a genetic switch that regulates thirst and appetite and is believed to be the reason many people from Western countries are more prone to high fat diets and alcohol consumption that those in Asian countries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-fatty-food-cravings-genetically.html Genetics Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:21:13 EST news230206849