April 2012 New research establishes that benzodiazepines cause addiction in a way similar to that of opioids, cannabinoids, and the club drug GHB. The discovery opens the door to designing new benzodiazepines that counteract anxiety but are not addictive.
New research suggests that differences in tobacco consumption reflect, in part, differences in the functional efficacy of a specific type of receptor in a pathway of the brain. In animal studies, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with the α5 subunit played a key role in producing aversive responses to nicotine, thereby dissuading further consumption of the drug.
March 2012 Dr. Thomas Kosten of Baylor College of Medicine and Dr. Peter Burkhard of the University of Connecticut are the recipients of NIDA’s 2011 Avant-Garde Awards for Innovative Medication Development Research. Dr. Kosten is developing a vaccine against methamphetamine abuse and Dr. Burkhard is developing a vaccine to counter nicotine addiction.
Understanding and responding to drug abuse among America’s aging population becomes more urgent as a growing percentage of baby boomers enter the over-50 age bracket.
July 2011 Highlights activities from the 2011 National Drug Facts Week in which communities sponsor events to educate teenagers about drugs and drug abuse.
July 2011 Describes NIDA’s Special Populations Office which promotes addiction science that examines health disparities and foster research careers among members of underrepresented communities.
July 2011 Announces the 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers to Dr. Mauricio R. Delgado for his work with functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how the human brain learns from experiences.
March 2011 Announces the recipients of the 2010 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health, Dr. Eric J. Nestler and Dr. Charles P. O'Brien, prominent addiction scientists.
March 2011 Reports on a study of Latino and African-American smokers of menthol cigarettes who did not benefit as much from a month-long smoking cessation program as smokers of non-menthol cigarettes.