http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A growing number of college students are abusing the ADHD medication Adderall to give them an academic edge, and they're tweeting about it. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-twitter-analysis-adderall-abuse-aid.html Health Wed, 01 May 2013 16:10:01 EST news286642497 Long distance commercial drivers who consume caffeinated substances such as coffee or energy drinks, to stay awake while driving, are significantly less likely to crash than those who do not, even though they drive longer distances and sleep less, finds a study published today in BMJ. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-caffeine-significantly-distance-heavy-vehicle.html Health Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:55:05 EST news282938091 Annual deaths related to heroin and morphine are continuing to drop significantly, falling from 41 per cent of total drug-related deaths in the UK in 2010 to 32 per cent in 2011. Meanwhile, deaths from 'legal highs' – some of which have now been banned – remained steady following a large increase in the previous year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-annual-uk-deaths-heroin-morphine.html Addiction Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:30:01 EST news281261864 (HealthDay)—There is considerable local and regional variation within the United States in the use of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and stimulants, according to a study published online Jan. 7 in Health & Place. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-geographic-variation-mental-health-medication.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:20:01 EST news278341410 Electronic cigarettes are experiencing somewhat of a boom at the moment. An estimated two million people in Germany have already turned to the vapor cigarette, which many view as a healthy alternative to conventional smoking. However, a number of voices, primarily from the political sphere, are warning of possible health risks, claiming that the long-term consequences cannot yet be foreseen. Studies to date have come to mixed conclusions. There is a general lack of substantiated facts, fuelling an ongoing battle between supporters and opponents. By carrying out a new, independent study, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research WKI in Braunschweig hope to introduce a degree of objectivity into this emotional topic of debate. The scientists' goal was to find out whether e-cigarettes pollute the surrounding air, thus affecting bystanders of an e-cigarette user. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-electronic-cigarettes.html Addiction Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:00:02 EST news274098753 The US Food and Drug Administration is investigating 13 deaths that may be linked to consumption of an energy drink called 5-hour Energy, an FDA spokeswoman said Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-fda-energy-drink-linked-deaths.html Health Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:36:28 EST news272223368 Lance Armstrong's doping scandal may be considered by U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) as "more extensive than any previously revealed in professional sports history," but a new editorial in The FASEB Journal by USADA's Larry D. Bowers shows that it is clearly not the first. From early athletes who used rat poison and heroin to fight fatigue to modern Olympians who perform under the ever-present shadow of high tech hormones, stimulants and steroids, this editorial lays out both the history and the science behind athletic "doping" scandals. Bowers traces modern antidoping regulation to tragic accidents such as the death of British cyclist Tommy Simpson in the 1967 Tour de France, a race then notorious as a pharmaceutical free-for-all. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-usada-chief-science-officer-publishes.html Other Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:58:48 EST news269279907 (Medical Xpress)—A new study by scientists in the US has found that the opiate morphine and the stimulant cocaine act on the reward centers in the brain in different ways, contradicting previous theories that these types of drugs acted in the same way. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-morphine-cocaine-affect-reward-sensation.html Medical research Fri, 05 Oct 2012 05:30:11 EST news268633788 (Medical Xpress)—Mixing energy drinks with alcohol (AEDs) as party beverages is a growing trend among young Australians, who are putting their health at risk by consuming amounts beyond what is deemed safe, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-alcohol-energy-bad.html Health Mon, 01 Oct 2012 06:20:01 EST news268289932 The use of the synthetic stimulants collectively known as "bath salts" have gained popularity among recreational drug users over the last five years, largely because they were readily available and unrestricted via the Internet and at convenience stores, and were virtually unregulated. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-synthetic-salts-brain-cocaine.html Addiction Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:22:28 EST news262279276 People with an opioid addiction had the highest risk of death when compared with rates for alcohol and other drugs, according to a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-opioids-highest-death.html Addiction Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:14:48 EST news253876483 (Medical Xpress) -- While stimulants may improve unengaged workers’ performance, a new University of British Columbia study suggests that for others, caffeine and amphetamines can have the opposite effect, causing workers with higher motivation levels to slack off. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-coffee-drugs-high-slack.html Neuroscience Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:35:20 EST news252178506 A new study from the Université de Montréal shows an increase in prevalence of Canadian children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and in the use of medications associated with ADHD in school-age children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-hyperactivity-prevalence-children-adhd.html Attention deficit disorders Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:33:03 EST news250169569 The street drug commonly referred to as "bath salts" is one of a growing list of synthetic and unevenly regulated narcotics that are found across the United States and on the Internet. New research on this potent drug paints an alarming picture, revealing that bath salts pack a powerful double punch, producing combined effects similar to both methamphetamine (METH) and cocaine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-street-drug-salts-mimics-effects.html Medical research Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:59:40 EST news249220763 (Medical Xpress) -- A new Australian drug study published today in The Lancet has found that cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug globally, while opioid use is a major cause of death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-latest-global-snapshot-drug-related.html Health Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:08:59 EST news245059730 Caffeine is regarded by some as being a potent stimulant, but the debate continues as to whether it enhances exercise performance. A range of expert opinions capture the scope of this ongoing debate in an informative roundtable discussion published in Journal of Caffeine Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-caffeine-debate.html Health Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:16:58 EST news243083810 Ditching the diet for Thanksgiving? Turkey with all the fixings isn't the only temptation causing would-be dieters to miss their goals, according to a new Cornell University review article that finds powerful environmental cues are subconsciously bending willpower every day. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-gobbling-extra-stuffing-willpower-cheap.html Health Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:30:01 EST news240674756 A new analysis of teenage drug abuse finds widespread problems among whites, Native Americans, Hispanics and youngsters of multiple races, with less severe abuse among Asian and African-American teens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-white-hispanic-teens-abuse-drugs.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:00:09 EST news239897353 Parents of young caffeine consumers take heed: that high-calorie energy drink or soda might present more than just obesity risk. In fact, according to a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that examined responses to stimulants, an individual's subjective response to caffeine may predict how he or she will respond to other stimulant drugs, possibly reflecting differences in risk for abuse of other more serious drugs of abuse, such as amphetamine and cocaine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-jonesing-java-caffeine-cocaine-abuse.html Other Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:59:45 EST news237203973 Universities and colleges need to do more to protect young adults from the dangers of illicit stimulant use and to educate them about harms, argue the authors of an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-abuse-campuses.html Health Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:34:25 EST news234531232 People who abused methamphetamine or other amphetamine-like stimulants were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those who did not, in a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-parkinson-disease-methamphetamine-users.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 26 Jul 2011 09:34:46 EST news230891666 (Medical Xpress) -- In a recent study published in Pediatrics, Dr. Holly Benjamin from the American Academy of Pediatrics, urged parents and pediatricians to keep sports drinks and energy drinks away from children and adolescents. Citing that the drinks contain caffeine, other stimulants, and sugar, they state that they are not recommended or nutritional for children and can be contributing to childhood obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-energy-sports-kids.html Health Tue, 31 May 2011 10:55:24 EST news226058106