Latest Cocaine Stories

According to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the best way to detect cocaine in the body of a human drug courier, known as a mule, is through computed tomography (CT)."Cocaine from South America is making its way to Europe through Africa," said Patricia Flach, M.D., a radiologist at University Hospital of Berne and Institute of Forensic Medicine of Berne in Switzerland. "From Africa, drug mules most commonly try...

For the first time, a therapeutic treatment has been shown to block the retrieval of memories associated with drug addictionTwo separate discoveries by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) offer potential for development of a first-ever pharmacological treatment for cocaine addiction.In one study, a common beta blocker, propranolol, currently used to treat hypertension and anxiety, has shown to be effective in preventing the brain from retrieving memories associated with...

Teen brain responds differently to drugs than adultNew research released today shows teenagers respond differently to drugs than adults and explores the long-lasting effects of drug use on brain development. One study shows people who start using drugs at a young age have greater cognitive shortfalls, including mental flexibility. Animal studies also suggest adolescents are more susceptible to lower doses of cocaine, are willing to work more for a cocaine "fix" than adults, and are...

Animal studies suggest the same chemicals and brain circuits may be key to both, and that long-term brain changes make kicking the habit hardNew animal research helps explain why some eat without hunger or to excess. The studies explore the biological effects of poor eating habits, showing that high-fat diets cause lasting brain changes that may impair healthy eating. Additional studies show that food and drugs of abuse engage many of the same brain systems. The findings were presented at...

DETROIT, Nov. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A recent study by researchers at Wayne State University showed that both teens and parents substantially underreported drug use, even when they had knowledge that a certificate of confidentiality protected them as a participant in the research study. According to Virginia Delaney-Black, M.D., M.P.H., professor of pediatrics at Wayne State University's School of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Michigan and lead author of the study,...

When both the effects on the individual and the impact on society as whole is taken into account, alcohol is more dangerous than heroin or crack cocaine, claims a new study published in UK scientific journal The Lancet.In their report, former British government drug advisor David Nutt and researchers with the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD) tested 20 drugs using 16 different measures of harm caused both to the individual taking the substance as well as to wider...

There is much variation between the number of teens who admit to using drugs and the number who actually test positive for drug use, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics. With cocaine use, teens' hair samples were 52 times more likely to test positive for the drug than teens were to admit they were actually using, despite being assured the study was confidential. But researchers say parents should not be quick to reprimand their kids, as their hair samples revealed...

Mount Sinai researchers have discovered how cocaine corrupts the brain and becomes addictive. These findings"”the first to connect activation of specific neurons to alterations in cocaine reward"”were published in Science on October 15. The results may help researchers in developing new ways of treating those addicted to the drug.Led by Mary Kay Lobo, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and first author of the study, researchers...

Intense, passionate feelings of love can provide amazingly effective pain relief, similar to painkillers or such illicit drugs as cocaine, according to a new Stanford University School of Medicine study."When people are in this passionate, all-consuming phase of love, there are significant alterations in their mood that are impacting their experience of pain," said Sean Mackey, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Pain Management, associate professor of anesthesia and senior author of...

A researcher from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta has discovered a mechanism underlying some forms of obesity and addictions which could lead to a treatment for both diseases.When a hungry animal finds food in the wild, it is a rewarding stimulus for the animal and is recognized by the brain by the release of the chemical messenger dopamine. Because narcotics such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamines, and even tasty and highly-caloric foods also cause the...