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Alternative News:

• Vitamin D reduces the need for opioids in palliative cancer - Science Daily, 8/5/21 - "They received either 12 weeks of treatment with vitamin D at a relatively high dose (4000 IE/day) or a placebo ... The effects were quite small, but statistically significant and may have clinical significance for patients with vitamin D deficiency who have cancer in the palliative phase. This is the first time it has been shown that vitamin D treatment for palliative cancer patients can have an effect on both opioid-sensitive pain and fatigue" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com and vitamin D at iHerb.
• Vitamin D Deficiency Drives Opioid Addiction in Mice - Scientist, 6/16/21 - "Mice with low vitamin D had exaggerated craving for opioids and felt the drugs’ effects more strongly—results supported in part by human medical records—suggesting that supplements should be explored as treatments for opioid use disorders" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Natural compound mitigates effects of methamphetamine abuse - Science Daily, 11/19/13 - "Resveratrol has been shown to regulate these dopamine neurons and to be protective in Parkinson's disease, a disorder where dopamine neurons degenerate ... rats received resveratrol once a day for seven days in about the same concentration as a human would receive from a healthy diet. After a week of resveratrol, researchers measured how much dopamine was released by methamphetamine. Researchers found that resveratrol significantly diminished methamphetamine's ability to increase dopamine levels in the brain. Furthermore, resveratrol diminished methamphetamine's ability to increase activity in mice, a behavior that models the hyperactivity observed in people that use the stimulant"
• Amino acid offers potential therapeutic alternative in psychiatric disorders - Science Daily, 10/8/13 - "drug discovery is at a near standstill for treating psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and common forms of autism ... According to Professor Berk, there is now an incontrovertible evidence base that these disorders share inflammation and oxidative stress as part of their disease physiology ... The amino acid, NAC, seems to have multiple effects on all these pathways: it boosts glutathione, which is the body’s major antioxidant defence; has anti-inflammatory properties; enhances levels of nerve cell growth proteins and the growth of new neurons; and reduces cell death pathways. It also appears to reduce dysfunction of mitochondria ... NAC reduces the core symptoms of schizophrenia including negative symptoms such as improved apathy, social interaction and motivation. It also appears to reduce depression in people with bipolar disorder and at this meeting ... there is intriguing evidence that it reduces cravings in a number of addictions including cocaine, cannabis and cigarette smoking" - See n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com.
• N-acetylcysteine in psychiatry: current therapeutic evidence and potential mechanisms of action - J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2010 Nov 1;35(6):100057 - "This review outlines the current literature regarding the use of NAC in disorders including addiction, compulsive and grooming disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. N-acetylcysteine has shown promising results in populations with these disorders, including those in whom treatment efficacy has previously been limited. The therapeutic potential of this acetylated amino acid is beginning to emerge in the field of psychiatric research" - See n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com.
• Amino Acid May Help Reduce Cocaine Cravings - Science Daily, 10/23/09 - "N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a commonly available and generally nontoxic amino acid derivative, reverses changes in the brain's circuitry associated with cocaine addiction. The reversal appears to lessen the cravings associated with cocaine, thus providing protection against relapse" - See n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com.
• N-Acetylcysteine May Reduce Cocaine Craving - Medscape, 7/26/07 - See n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com.
• Addiction: Supplement May Stifle the Craving for Cocaine - New York Times, 12/20/05
• Is Methadone Maintenance Safe? - Dr. Weil, 1/26/04
• Magnesium Reduces Opiate Dependency and Cocaine Cravings - New Hope Natural Media, 8/14/03
• Overcoming Addictions? - Dr. Weil, 11/12/02

Other News:

• Naltrexone Alters Responses to Social and Physical Warmth: Implications for Social Bonding - Medscape, 8/14/19 - "Socially warm experiences, when one feels connected to others, have been linked with physical warmth. Opioids, hypothesized to support social bonding with close others and, separately, physical warmth, may underlie both experiences. In order to test this hypothesis, 80 participants were randomly assigned to the opioid antagonist, naltrexone or placebo before neural and emotional responses to social and physical warmth were collected. Social and physical warmth led to similar increases in ventral striatum (VS) and middle-insula (MI) activity. Further, feelings of social connection were positively related to neural activity to social warmth. However, naltrexone (vs placebo) disrupted these effects by (i) reducing VS and MI activity to social and physical warmth, (ii) erasing the subjective experience–brain association to social warmth and (iii) disrupting the neural overlap between social and physical warmth"
• Every U.S. Public Library and YMCA Will Soon Get Narcan for Free - Time, 10/24/18 - "Emergent BioSolutions, which this month completed its acquisition of Narcan maker Adapt Pharma, will provide a free kit including two doses of the nasal spray, as well as educational materials, to each of the 16,568 public libraries and 2,700 YMCAs in the U.S., according to an announcement released Wednesday. The initiative builds on the Narcan in Schools program, through which the company offers four free doses of Narcan to each U.S. high school, and up to eight doses to degree-granting two- or four-year institutions"
• Substance Abuse and Addiction Health Center - WebMD, 11/18/15
• High IQ in Childhood May Predict Later Drug Use - WebMD, 11/14/11 - "In the study, women with high IQ scores at age 5 were more than twice as likely to have used marijuana and cocaine by age 30 than those with lower IQs at age 5 ... Men with high IQ scores at age 5 were about 50% more likely to have used speed (amphetamines), 65% more likely to have used ecstasy, and 57% more likely to have used multiple illicit drugs by age 30, compared with those who did not perform as well on IQ tests at age 5"
• Nearly Half of U.S. Teens Smoke, Drink Alcohol, or Use Drugs - WebMD, 6/29/11 - "Nearly half of all American high school students smoke, drink alcohol, or use illicit drugs"
• Do recreational drugs make us fail to remember? - Science Daily, 2/23/10
• Antibiotic That Appears To Control Phobias May Also Be Useful In Treating Addiction - Science Daily, 11/6/07
• New Treatment for Cocaine Dependence Found - Doctor's Guide, 5/23/06
• Clinically Beneficial Treatment for Methamphetamine Addiction Announced - Doctor's Guide, 5/16/06
• New drug treats the new face of addiction - USA Today, 1/23/06
• Antidepressant May Ease Meth Addiction - WebMD, 11/23/05
• Many Teen Substance Abuse Programs Lack Key Components Deemed Necessary for Effective Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 9/7/04
• Alcohol Treatment Medication, Behavioral Therapy Effective for Treating Cocaine Addiction - Doctor's Guide, 3/1/04
• Long-Lasting Depot Medication, Buprenorphine, Appears Safe and Effective for Treatment of Narcotic Addiction - Doctor's Guide, 1/7/04
• Buprenorphine Is Underused as Addiction Detox Treatment - Clinical Psychiatry News, 12/03
• Baclofen Holds Promise For Cocaine Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 12/16/03
• Getting Past Painkiller Abuse - WebMD, 12/8/03
• Methadone: Long-Acting, Less Costly Option for Chronic Pain - Clinical Psychiatry News, 11/03
• Naltrexone May Be Beneficial in Treating Amphetamine Dependence - Doctor's Guide, 11/20/03
• Reduced Cocaine And Amphetamine Craving After Discontinuation Of Typical Antipsychotic Therapy - Doctor's Guide, 9/26/03
• Treating Opiate Addiction in Doctor's Office Possible - WebMD, 9/3/03
• Amiloride May Help Increase Brain Blood Flow In Cocaine Addicts - Doctor's Guide, 8/26/03
• Substances Abusers at Risk of Chronic Severe Pain - Doctor's Guide, 6/5/03
• Dropping Out of 12-Step Groups Common; Physicians Can Encourage Persistence - Doctor's Guide, 5/23/03
• Cocaine Pains Brain - WebMD, 1/2/03
• Your Brain On Cocaine - CBS News, 1/1/03
• Treat Addicts' Mental Illness - Intelihealth, 12/2/02
• Child Externalising Behaviours May Be Clue to Severity of Parent's Drug Addiction - Doctor's Guide, 10/29/02
• US FDA Marketing Approval For Reckitt Benckiser's Subutex (buprenorphine hydrochloride/naloxone hydrochloride) & Suboxone (buprenorphine hydrochloride) - Doctor's Guide, 10/9/02
• 'Rapid detox' a quick fix for opiate addiction? - USA Today, 8/13/02
• Calcium Channel Blockers Effective In Opiate Withdrawal - Doctor's Guide, 8/13/02
• Inhalants hold a hidden threat for families - USA Today, 6/25/02
• Cocaine Abuse In Warm Environments Impairs Body's Perception Of Heat, Ability To Sweat -- And Can Be Lethal - Doctor's Guide, 6/4/02
• Methamphetamines Kill Dopamine Transporters - Clinical Psychiatry News, 4/02
• Compulsion traced to part of the brain - USA Today, 4/18/02
• Cocaine-Exposed Babies Show Deficit in Cognitive but not Motor Development - Doctor's Guide, 4/17/02
• 'Crack Kids' May Face Development Delays - WebMD, 4/16/02
• Lethal Heart Condition Traced To Cocaine Use - Doctor's Guide, 3/11/02
• Structured Tool Increases Diagnosis of Major Depression in Substance Abusers - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/02
• Substance Abuse Hard to Detect in Physicians - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/02
• Push Better Parenting in Substance Abuse Patients - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/02
• Challenges in Treating Substance Abuse - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/02
• Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Affects Function And Structure of Brain - Doctor's Guide, 1/29/02
• Qigong: An Effective Alternative For Heroin Addicts? - Intelihealth, 1/23/02
• Common Legal Drugs Trigger False-Positive Opiates Tests - Doctor's Guide, 1/7/02
• Acupuncture Ineffective For Kicking Cocaine Habit - Intelihealth, 1/10/02
• Study Finds Beating Cocaine Takes More Than Acupuncture - Intelihealth, 1/3/02
• Twelve-Step Program Aids Addicts On Methadone Maintenance - Doctor's Guide, 12/19/01