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Addiction news

Psychology & Psychiatry

Study finds increased substance use with direct, indirect exposure to mass terrorism

For adults, increased substance use (ISU) is seen in populations with direct, indirect, and media exposure to mass terrorism, according to a study published online July 24 in JAMA Network Open.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Antidepressants may increase risk of relapse in some people with alcohol use disorder

According to a new study, antidepressants may reduce the risk of relapse in people with alcohol use disorder—but only if the antidepressants are effective in reducing their depression symptoms. People whose depression symptoms ...

Medications

New analgesic could replace opioids over the long term

Opioids have long been known as natural substances with substantial pharmacological effects and have been used as effective painkillers. A very prominent example is morphine, which was first isolated and synthesized in the ...

Health

Vaping: lighting up, stubbing out

Two decades after they first appeared, e-cigarettes have been widely credited with helping people quit smoking.

Medications

Pain relief without dependence

Much attention has recently focused on the use of opioids, which include morphine and related painkillers such as oxycodone. Though regarded as a blessing for patients suffering from severe and acute pain, they can also be ...

Addiction

Increase in child suicide linked to the nation's opioid crisis

The rise in child suicides in the U.S. since 2010 was fueled in part by the nation's opioid crisis, which previous studies found increased rates of child neglect and altered household living arrangements, according to a new ...

Neuroscience

Study identifies peptide as key mediator in heavy alcohol drinking

Alcohol is the most common addictive substance in the world. Every year in the U.S. excessive alcohol use costs $249 billion and causes approximately 88,000 deaths, as well as various chronic diseases and social issues. Alcohol ...

Addiction

Should parents buy video games for their children at Christmas?

Playing video games is arguably the most popular leisure activity in the U.K. This Christmas, the sales of video game hardware and software are likely to be astronomical. But with all the media hype surrounding the more negative ...

Obstetrics & gynaecology

Cannabis use in pregnancy may raise infant health risks

A large study of more than 360,000 mothers and infants found increased risk of low birth weight and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for babies whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy.