Many of us have heard the story of the starving lab rat that will choose cocaine over food and water, and, just last month, how Oreos light up a rodent brain’s “pleasure center” more than cocaine or morphine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced steps that would ban trans fat, the unhealthy preservative in processed foods such as chips, crackers and microwave popcorn, effectively ridding it from the American food supply. Eliminating the ingredient, added to extend a product’s shelf life but packing the worst fat for heart health, is expected…
The federal agency entrusted with the health and well-being of America’s military veterans has over-prescribed them with opiates, a pain-killer fix to more complex problems, according to a new report by the Center for Investigative Reporting. The national non-profit news organization found, based on records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and other data,…
Promises family of treatment centers expands to the Southwest with the introduction of luxury Texas drug rehabilitation center Promises Austin, formerly Spirit Lodge.
Cannabis use disorder is a new mental health term used to identify people seriously affected by issues related to cannabis (marijuana or hashish) abuse or addiction. It belongs to a range of abuse- and addiction-related problems called substance use disorders. According to the results of a study published in November 2013 in the journal Drug…
Advertisements, television commercials, greeting cards and comments wishing Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas (Kwanza, Hanukkah) and Happy New Year may be enough to send you over the top and diving straight for a shot of alcohol or your drug of choice just to cope.
It’s no secret that drug abuse occurs in every community and every state in the U.S. But how, exactly, do the rates of drug use, and the drugs themselves, vary across the nation? Recent numbers released by the 2010-2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) are now available in graph and map form,…
Clinical depression is an alternate term for major depression, a serious mental health concern that affects relatively large segments of the U.S. population. This ailment is known for its potential to increase the risks for the onset of other dangerous health problems. In a study published in October 2013 in the journal Neurology, a team…
Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant drug derived from another powerful stimulant called amphetamine. Like amphetamine, it has legitimate medical uses, but is also frequently produced and used illegally, and presents clear risks for abuse and addiction. According to the results of a study published in October 2013 in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis, a…
Pornography addicts show the same kind of brain activity as drug addicts and alcoholics in response to the source of their addiction, according to a new study from Cambridge University. The as-yet unpublished study was featured in a documentary entitled “Porn on the Brain,” which aired in the United Kingdom in September 2013. The study…