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Addiction news

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Illicit fentanyl use linked to increased risk of hepatitis C among people who use drugs

An international team of researchers from University of California San Diego and el Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Mexico have revealed a significant association between the use of illicit fentanyl and the transmission of ...

Health

English school children unwittingly smoking spice-spiked vapes, finds study

Testing hundreds of confiscated vapes in 38 schools in England reveals 1 in 6 (16.6%) contained spice.

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

What long-term opioid use does to your body and brain

In his new autobiography, Matthew Perry reveals that his colon burst as a result of his addiction to opioid painkillers. The 53-year-old actor, who played Chandler Bing in Friends, was in a coma for two weeks following the ...

Genetics

Researchers delve deep into the genetics of addiction

Danielle Dick, a professor of psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School who leads the Rutgers Addiction Research Center, has spent decades hunting genes that contribute to drug and alcohol addiction.

Neuroscience

How gut bacteria influence the effects of cocaine in mice

Common gut bacteria can enhance the effects of cocaine in mice, researchers report November 1 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. Their study demonstrates how cocaine use supports the growth of the bacteria, which in turn ...

Health

Polydrug use represents a dangerous mix for young people

At least 33 young people have died from polydrug use in Switzerland since 2018. Polydrug use refers to taking two or more psychoactive substances at the same time. The young adults are often unaware of the associated risks ...

Health

In France, the tough debate about hunting and alcohol

In just the month of October in France, a 67-year-old woman died in Brittany, a 33-year-old mother and her two children were shot in the legs in the Rhône region, and a 62-year-old mushroom picker was shot in the abdomen ...