Seeking a Cure

Any time a new study claims there is a pill that will help people stop drinking it makes national headlines, because currently there is no cure for alcoholism and there is no "magic pill" that will stop the craving for alcohol in every alcoholic.

Two new vaccines have been developed to relieve cocaine and methamphetamine addiction also minimize withdrawal symptoms, researchers say.

A new anti-obesity pill that has been shown to not only help lose weight and quit smoking could also be effective in helping people stop drug and alcohol addiction, scientists claim.

A three-year study of 1,383 of alcohol dependent patients in treatment has shown that the medication naltrexone and up to 20 sessions of alcohol counseling by a behavioral specialist are equally effective treatments for alcohol dependence when combined with structured outpatient medical management.

The same neuronal growth factors responsible for the development of nerve cells and keeping them alive also play a role in the regulation of the behavioral effects of alcohol, according to Research Society on Alcoholism scientists.

Scientists have identified a molecule that appears to trigger the brain to learn a craving for cocaine to the extent that addiction is a result of a "rewiring" of the brain, more compelling than the simple memory of drug-induced pleasure.

An international research team has found a signaling pathway in the brain and a way to block its action that could result in the development of a single treatment strategey for most substance addictions.

A study at the Unversity of Vermont comparing two drugs used to treat teen addicted to heroin and other opioids found that buprenorphine was more effective, especially in keeping teens in treatment.

A drug currently used to fight nausea in cancer patients may help the hardest-to-treat alcoholics reduce their drinking.

An analytical method for evaluating alcoholism treatment suggests more ways to define success than strictly going cold turkey. The method may help provide some nuance to traditional approaches, the results of a case study suggest.

The Caron Foundation's medical director warns that newly approved medications for the treatment of alcoholism are not a miracle cure and should only be used in conjunction with a complete recovery program.

A new chemical treatment that can block memory-related drug cravings in animals shows potential for new therapies to help with drug-addiction recovery efforts, neurobiologists have found.

Researchers have established the importance of distinguishing between feelings of shame and guilt when providing treatment for substance abuse and in developing substance-abuse prevention programs.

Researchers have found that a newly identified neurotransmitter orexin influences reward and pleasure pathways in the brain -- possibly influencing reward seeking, drug relapse and addiction -- which could lead to finding new treatment for drug addiction.

Measuring how addicts respond to cocaine and methamphetamine, researchers have found distinct differences in onset, pattern and duration of the high produced by the drugs, which could impact the development of different medication treatments for addiction to the drugs.

Researchers have identified several genetic changes in the brains of mice caused by ethanol, which may help researchers better understand how and why people become addicted to alcohol.

A substance similar to a drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease blocks the stimulating effects of cocaine and could potentially be used to develop drug therapy for cocaine abuse.

In the not-too-distant future, people struggling with drug addiction may benefit from new drugs based on a synthetic chemical that targets the brain's "bliss" system.

The new research findings about the drug Ibogaine open the way for development of other drugs to reverse addiction without it's side effects, potentially adding to the small arsenal of drugs that effectively combat addiction.

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine investigators have identified Modafinil – a wake-promoting agent approved for the treatment of narcolepsy – as a possible medicinal treatment for cocaine dependence.

Researchers showed that when the normal function of insulin-like molecules in the brain of fruit flies is reduced, the intoxicating effect of alcohol increases.

There may be a close link between the brain mechanisms that control the motivation to drink alcohol and those that control the intake of food.

By bringing addiction theory into a computational realm, researchers will be able to ask and answer key questions to gain valuable insight into addictive behavior.

A second, small-scale clinical trial of a proposed addiction treatment has produced favorable results in the treatment of long-term addiction to methamphetamine and/or cocaine, with no visual side effects in any of the 30 patients enrolled.

New research about how alcohol affects sleep could lead to medications to address a common reason some alcoholics go back to drinking – disturbed sleep when they try to stop.

Results of proof-of-concept clinical trials indicate that topiramate can reduce consumption and craving in alcohol-dependent patients who are not yet abstinent.

Scientists find that the neurotransmitter dopamine is released from midbrain nerve cells in a much more precise, targeted manner than previously thought.

A new synthetic chemical may provide the framework for future drugs that can treat a variety of brain-based ailments, ranging from overeating and drug dependency to neuropathic pain.

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University are the first to demonstrate a combination of drug therapies targeting the region of the brain that controls drug abuse and addiction significantly reduces cocaine use in nonhuman primates.

Despite heavy use of medical and mental-health services by problem and dependent drinkers, doctors and mental-health professionals often do not address alcohol consumption during visits.

A study has found that educational attainment may be able to predict relapse following alcohol treatment. Those who are less educated are more likely to return to drinking.

"Brain exercises" originally developed for the rehabilitation of head-injury patients improve the cognitive functioning of individuals in substance-abuse treatment and their commitment to the treatment program.

Relatives of a man who killed himself and several members of his family after taking Paxil have won an $8 million lawsuit against the drug's maker.

Baclofen used in conjunction with substance abuse counseling significantly reduced cocaine use in recovering addicts compared to placebo coupled with counseling.

A diuretic commonly used to treat hypertension and congestive heart failure may improve brain blood flow in cocaine addicts, according to a study in the August 2003 issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

A preliminary clinical trial funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests a drug used to treat epilepsy may offer a potentially effective treatment for cocaine addiction.

Disulfiram, a drug used to help selected patients with alcohol disorders remain sober, and cognitive behavioral therapy appear effective in reducing cocaine use, especially among cocaine users who are not dependent on alcohol.

Among those drugs that are abused, cocaine is considered one of the most powerful. Yet no effective medications exist to treat cocaine abuse, dependence or withdrawal.

Study results suggest that encouraging patients to adopt the 12-step philosophy and its associated behaviors may be responsible in part for the therapeutic success of combined individual and group counseling for cocaine addiction.