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Direct Links Between Substance Abuse and Eating Disorders

Oct16

Direct Links Between Substance Abuse and Eating Di…

There is definitely a direct link between substance abuse and eating disorders. As many as 50% of girls with eating disorders have a co-morbid addiction, and suffer from chemical dependency as well. The risk factors and the characteristics of the two diseases are almost identical.
Substance Abuse and Eating Disorders Facts and Figures
As many as 50% of those with eating disorders suffer from chemical dependency according to studies performed by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Conversely, 35% of those with drug problems also have an eating disorder of some sort. The direct link between substance abuse and eating…

Ground-Breaking Effort To Prevent Opioid Abuse And…

Fatal overdoses involving prescribed opioids tripled in the United States between 1999 and 2006, climbing to almost 14,000 deaths annually – more than cocaine and heroin overdoses combined. Hospitalizations and emergency room visits related to prescription opioid pain medicines such as oxycodone (brand name Oxycontin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) also increased dramatically in the same period. 
Now a report in the August issue of Health Affairs describes a major initiative at Group Health to make opioid prescribing safer while improving care for patients with chronic pain. Health Affairs is the nation’s premier health policy…


Stress Damages DNA

Oct13

Stress Damages DNA

For years, researchers have published papers that associate chronic stress with chromosomal damage.
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“We believe this paper is the first to propose a specific mechanism through which a hallmark of chronic stress, elevated adrenaline, could eventually cause DNA damage that is detectable,” said senior author Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D., James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator at Duke University Medical Center.
The paper was published in the Aug. 21 online issue of Nature.
In the study, mice were infused with an adrenaline-like compound that works through a receptor…

Primary Physicians May Hold Key to Suicide Prevent…

Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. Every year millions of Americans think about taking their own lives. Sadly, each year tens of thousands die by suicide. While suicides can be a shock to family and friends, some warning signs exist. Often a simple question from a family doctor can be enough to start a person toward help and treatment.
 A new review in the August issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings by researchers at Mayo Clinic and the University of Washington, Seattle highlights the opportunity primary care physicians have to establish a successful treatment plan for these patients.
“As doctors, we know…

Harmful patterns of painkiller prescriptions seen …

A new study has shown harmful prescription patterns of powerful painkillers among a substantial number of Ontario patients who received methadone therapy to treat their opioid addiction.
Methadone, which is a type of long-acting opioid, has proven to be an effective therapy for opioid dependence.
 
According to a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), 18% of methadone maintenance therapy patients also received prescriptions for more than a week’s supply of other opioids.
“It is concerning when large quantities of these types of opioids are combined with…

Chronic Drinking Leads to Reduced Cortical Thickne…

Researchers already know that chronic misuse of alcohol can cause widespread damage to the brain. While previous studies examined cortical atrophy in individuals with alcoholism, none examined alcohol-associated atrophy using cortical thickness measurements to obtain a regional mapping of tissue loss across the full cortical surface. This study does so, finding that alcohol damage occurs in gradations: the more alcohol consumed, the greater the damage.
 
Results will be published in the December 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
 
“Before advances in…

Meditation for Addiction

A small but growing body of research is lending support to meditation’s effectiveness in treating addiction, either alone or in combination with other more conventional treatments.
Medical studies have shown meditation’s effectiveness at decreasing substance use and relapse in several settings. The changes in thought processes and brain function that accompanies meditation also have contributed to scientists understanding of the biological addiction process.
Why use Meditation to Treat Addiction?
Conventional treatment for drug addiction can take place through groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, on an outpatient…

“Bath Salts” Now Ill…

Illinois has become the latest state to ban “bath salts,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Until now, bath salts have been sold legally at convenience stores and tobacco shops in the state. The drug provides a hallucinogenic high that is similar to Ecstasy. The new law adds chemical…


Ohio’s Fight Against Opioid Abuse Shows Early Signs of Success

Oct04

Ohio’s Fight Against Opioid Abuse Shows Early Sign…

Among the many signs of a turnaround is a new substance abuse center in Portsmouth, Ohio. The newspaper describes other successes, including the closing of eight of nine pain clinics that prescribed millions of doses of opioids in one Ohio county. A new state law gives the state’s Medical Board more power to regulate “pill mills.” And a new spirit of cooperation is allowing federal, state and local agencies to work together on prescription drug abuse.
But, there are still ample signs that prescription drug abuse remains a major problem in the state. In Scioto County, in the south central part of the state, 10 percent of babies born so…