by University of Ottawa Multi-omic characterization of VXN cancer-selective effect on cell functions. Credit: Nature Cancer (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43018-024-00727-yA new, cutting-edge study from the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has found vanoxerine, a drug initially developed for the treatment of cocaine addiction, could impede advanced colorectal cancer stem cells by essentially re-wiring critical gene networks. This new...
Innovative approach backed by $5 million from National Institutes of Health UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH SYSTEM IMAGE: “THIS TRIAL WILL INFORM US IF FOCUSED ULTRASOUND COULD CHANGE THE WAY SOME PATIENTS FEEL ABOUT COCAINE,” SAID PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR NASSIMA AIT-DAOUD TIOURIRINE, MD, THE DIRECTOR OF UVA’S CENTER FOR LEADING EDGE ADDICTION RESEARCH (CLEAR). “WHAT IF WE...
by Frontiers Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Scientists tend to view substance addiction as primarily a disease of the brain. When we enjoy sex, food, music, or hobbies, regions of our brain within the reward pathway are flooded with pleasure-inducing dopamine. Drugs like cocaine copy this effect, except up to ten times more strongly. Healthy brains...
by Whitney Slightham, Virginia Tech In new findings published in Neuron, neuroscientists at the University of California San Diego and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC singled out the specific brain circuit that triggers cocaine relapse in mice. Credit: Shin Lab / Virginia Tech Relapse is a common feature of addiction recovery—two in three patients...
A study in Biological Psychiatry identifies a critical role of the orexin system in the expression of an addicted state in rats A study in cocaine-addicted rats reports long-lasting increases in the number of neurons that produce orexin–a chemical messenger important for sleep and appetite–that may be at the root of the addiction. The study, performed by researchers at...
Scientists found that rats lacking a brain receptor felt less attached to cocaine Since they had a pre-existing flow of excitement-triggering neurotransmitters, it limited cocaine’s power to induce a high It meant they were less likely to crave the drug after taking it The researchers at the NIDA said this offers a clear path to...
