http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Adelaide say treatment for people affected by video game "addiction" would be improved if a standard definition of the problem were adopted by psychologists. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-video-game-addiction-standard-definition.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 19 Apr 2013 07:21:02 EST news285574540 Methadone treatment for opioid dependence remains widely unavailable behind bars in the United States, and many inmates are forced to discontinue this evidence-based therapy, which lessens painful withdrawal symptoms. Now a new study by researchers from the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, a collaboration of The Miriam Hospital and Brown University, offers some insight on the consequences of these mandatory withdrawal policies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-methadone-barrier-treatment.html Addiction Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:49:51 EST news283603784 In addition to its well-known effects on the CNS, alcohol consumption has a significant impact on metabolism. After consumption, the body rapidly begins converting ethanol to acetate, which can serve as an energy source for the brain and other organs. Lihong Jiang and colleagues at Yale University used a brain imaging technique, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, to track acetate uptake and metabolism in the brains of heavy drinkers (consumed at least 8 drinks/week) and light drinkers (consumed less than 2 drinks/week). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-brain-acetate-metabolism-reward-heavy.html Addiction Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:00:02 EST news281963455 (Medical Xpress)—A powerful anti-anxiety drug has been involved in a rising number of heroin-related deaths (HRDs) in Victoria in recent years, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-alprazolam-heroin-deaths.html Addiction Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:00:05 EST news281604482 The European Union has given the green light for the sale of a medication that will help quench the urge for alcoholics to drink, the companies behind the new treatment said Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-eu-medication-quenches-urge-alcohol.html Addiction Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:55:38 EST news281278531 (Medical Xpress)—A new study reveals that two-thirds of middle aged smokers who have been hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction resume smoking within twelve months, despite being treated with bupropion (sold as Zyban), which is prescribed to help those trying to quit because of its demonstrated capacity to reduce nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms without increasing heart rate or blood pressure the way nicotine replacement therapies will. This surprising finding, revealed in a study led by Dr. Mark Eisenberg, a cardiologist and epidemiologist at the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital, is published in the latest edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-majority-smokers-re-ignite-habit-heart.html Cardiology Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:00:01 EST news278758148 Even before obesity occurs, eating fatty and sugary foods causes chemical changes in the brain, meaning that going on a diet might feel similar to going through drug withdrawal, according to a study published today by Dr. Stephanie Fulton of the University of Montreal's Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated CRCHUM Hospital Research Centre. "By working with mice, whose brains are in many ways comparable to our own, we discovered that the neurochemistry of the animals who had been fed a high fat, sugary diet were different from those who had been fed a healthy diet," Fulton explained. "The chemicals changed by the diet are associated with depression. A change of diet then causes withdrawal symptoms and a greater sensitivity to stressful situations, launching a vicious cycle of poor eating." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-fatty-food-habit-symptoms-depression.html Overweight and Obesity Wed, 12 Dec 2012 04:24:51 EST news274508677 Mice drink more alcohol during the dark cycle compared to daytime.  The discovery made by scientists from  Portland Alcohol Research Center and The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at University of Illinois, led by John C. Crabbe and described in a paper published recently in Addiction Genetics by Versita – ties in with the reports describing a restricted access ethanol consumption paradigm where mice drink until intoxicated. Termed 'Drinking in the Dark' – this pattern has been used as model of binge drinking in humans. The paper demonstrates that genetic factor contributes to the drinking pattern. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-tendency-binge-blood.html Addiction Thu, 08 Nov 2012 07:33:22 EST news271582372 Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have identified mechanisms in the brain responsible for regulating cocaine-seeking behavior, providing an avenue for drug development that could greatly reduce the high relapse rate in cocaine addiction. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-memories-trigger-cocaine-relapse.html Neuroscience Wed, 17 Oct 2012 09:41:23 EST news269685673 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 Many young adults explore and define their sexual identity in college, but that process can be stressful and lead to risky behaviors. In a new study, students whose sexual self-definition didn't fall into exclusively heterosexual or homosexual categories tended to misuse alcohol more frequently than people who had a firmly defined sexual orientation for a particular gender, according to University of Missouri researchers. These findings could be used to improve support programs for sexual minorities. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-sexual-fluctuation-alcohol-misuse.html Addiction Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:51:39 EST news258209493 (Medical Xpress) -- Antidepressive drugs reduce the mortality rate of schizophrenic patients, while treatment with bensodiazepines greatly increases it, especially as regards suicide. Giving several antipsychotics simultaneously, however, seems to have no effect at all. This according to a new study examining different drug combinations administered to patients with schizophrenia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-suicides-antidepressive-treatment-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 08 May 2012 06:20:57 EST news255676847 While smoke-free policies on hospital grounds make sense for the objective of clean air, managing the tobacco withdrawal symptoms of hospitalized patients must also be addressed, states an article in CMAJ. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-hospital-smoke-free-policies-patient.html Health Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:29:37 EST news239282970 Resistance training, or weight lifting, can do more than just build muscle: it may also help smokers kick the habit, say researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-smokers-regularly-weights.html Addiction Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:39:41 EST news232105165 Research led by the University of Cambridge has found a link between impulsivity and flawed reasoning (such as believing in superstitious rituals and luck) in problem gamblers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-good-luck-leaf-clovers-impulsivity.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:04:03 EST news228539016 A shift toward more conservative medication-prescribing practices would serve patients better, according to a review article published Online First today by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-article-outlines-principles-approach-medication.html Medications Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:00:08 EST news227199470 Dozens of studies on whether moderate exercise can curb the nicotine cravings of women smokers have added up to an apparent contradiction: it seems to work in short-term, well controlled lab experiments, but then fizzles out in treatment trials. A new study may explain why and help researchers devise a practical therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-women-cravings-effect-short-lived.html Health Thu, 19 May 2011 10:53:46 EST news225021209