Latest from NIDA | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Collaborative care shows promise for opioid and alcohol use disorders

August 28, 2017 | A NIDA-funded randomized clinical trial found that primary care patients with opioid and alcohol use disorders (OAUD) who were offered a collaborative care intervention were more likely to receive evidence-based...

News Release

Women who inject drugs may be at greater risk of HCV than men

August 25, 2017 | A newly published analysis examining data from more than 1800 people suggests that women who inject drugs have a 38% higher risk of contracting HCV than their male counterparts.

NIDA Notes

Variation in the Gene for the μ-Opioid Receptor May Influence Responses to Methadone

August 23, 2017 | This study found that: A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the messenger RNA of the µ-opioid receptor gene was associated with patients’ responses to methadone treatment for opioid dependence. The...

News Release

Event registration opens for National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week®

August 23, 2017 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) announced that event registration begins today for the next National Drug & Alcohol...

NIDA Notes

Opioid Agonist Treatment Reduces Societal Costs of Crime

August 23, 2017 | Researchers found that: Patients with opioid use disorder generated crime-related costs to society at a lower rate while they were in treatment compared with after they left treatment. Patients who...

Science Highlight

Post deployment behavioral health screens show promise

August 21, 2017 | This study is the first multivariate analysis of the Department of Defense and VHA data to assess treatment linkage for veterans with possible behavioral health needs.

News Release

Grants awarded to address opioid crisis in rural regions

August 16, 2017 | NIDA in partnership with several other federal agencies, have issued nine grants to help communities develop approaches to prevent and treat consequences of opioid injection, including substance use disorder, overdose...

News Release

Energy drinks and risk to future substance use

August 8, 2017 | New research suggests that college students who regularly consume energy drinks are at a greater risk for future alcohol use disorder, cocaine use or nonmedical use (misuse) of prescription stimulants.

NIDA Notes

Why Females Are More Sensitive to Cocaine

August 3, 2017 | New research demonstrates that the hormone estradiol is responsible for females’ increased sensitivity to stimulant drugs.

Science Highlight

NIDA scientists advance DREADD technology

August 3, 2017 | Scientists at the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have discovered new clues to the successful use of the DREADD technology. It has been thought...

News Release

Pain relief most reported reason for misuse of opioid pain relievers

July 31, 2017 | More than one third of adults nationwide reported prescription opioid use in 2015, with substantial numbers reporting misuse and use disorders, according to a report compiled to estimate the prevalence...

Science Highlight

Study identifies quality measures linked to better outcomes in patients with opioid use disorders

July 27, 2017 | A NIDA funded study has identified certain process measures that are linked to lower mortality rates in people with opioid use disorders, and others that do not appear to affect...

Science Highlight

Two D3R selective antagonists provide new leads towards novel drug development

July 26, 2017 | Scientists supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse synthesized a series of molecules to investigate structure-activity relationships at the D3R. Their research resulted in the identification of two noncompetitive...

Science Highlight

Activated Structures of Cannabinoid Receptor Revealed

July 21, 2017 | Science supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has revealed three-dimensional crystal structures of the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) in its activated state.

Science Highlight

Glutamate Receptor’s Role in Cocaine Reward and Relapse

July 19, 2017 | Scientists supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that rats lacking mGluR2 self-administered more cocaine than wild-type rats when little work was needed to obtain the drug...

News Release

Intensive intervention increases clinical adherence to opioid prescribing guidelines in chronic care

July 17, 2017 | A NIDA-funded randomized controlled trial that compared two organizational strategies to improve adherence to guidelines suggests that a multi-component approach is more effective than electronic decision tools alone.

Science Highlight

Microglia Revealed

July 6, 2017 | Neuroscientists at the NIDA Intramural Research Program, with colleagues from the Johns Hopkins University, conducted the most extensive analysis to date of microglia in the midbrain of healthy mice. They...

Testimony

Research on the Use and Misuse of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids

June 30, 2017 | Testimony by Wilson M. Compton, M.D., Deputy Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Science Highlight

Scientists explore brain region’s role in compulsive drug seeking

June 15, 2017 | A new report suggests that impairment of the lateral habenula contributes to the transition from controlled drug use to the compulsive use seen in addiction.

Science Highlight

Strategies needed to reduce treatment dropout rate for veterans with PTSD and Substance Use Disorders

June 9, 2017 | Research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Department of Veterans Affairs looked for predictors of dropout from one such empirically proven treatment, integrated prolonged exposure therapy.

NIDA Notes

Researchers Speak: The ABCD Study

June 5, 2017 | In this video, Dr. Terry Jernigan describes the purpose and goals of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.

News Release

Long-term anabolic steroid use linked to damage to heart and arteries

May 23, 2017 | New research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that long-term exposure to anabolic-androgenic steroids may be associated with substantial impairment of the heart, including a reduction...

News Release

Epigenetics takes center stage with this year’s Addiction Science Awards

May 19, 2017 | A project applying the science of epigenetics to demonstrate the health dangers of hookah smoke won a first-place Addiction Science Award at the 2017 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair...

News Release

NIDA hosts sessions on pain at APA annual meeting

May 11, 2017 | To help address the ongoing prescription opioid overdose epidemic, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will host sessions on the management and treatment of pain as it relates to...

Science Highlight

Combined HIV and heroin vaccine shows promise

May 10, 2017 | A novel combination vaccine designed to treat heroin addiction and target HIV was found to elicit immune responses in mice and dull their response to injected heroin in a recent...

Science Highlight

Smoking cessation medications alleviate symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, but not long-term brain changes

May 8, 2017 | Researchers now report that nicotine replacement therapy and the smoking cessation medication varenicline alleviate ex-smokers’ deficits in decision-making, but do not restore reward sensitivity. The new study pinpoints the types...

News Release

Study shows buprenorphine more effective than morphine for treatment of opioid withdrawal in newborns

May 4, 2017 | A newly published study showed that buprenorphine is more effective than morphine in treating withdrawal symptoms in newborns prenatally exposed to opioids, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).

News Release

Illicit cannabis use and use disorders increase in states with medical marijuana laws

April 26, 2017 | An analysis of national survey data indicates that laws legalizing medical marijuana use are associated with increases in illicit cannabis use and cannabis use disorders among adults.

Science Highlight

High mortality among opioid use disorder patients in a general health care setting

April 24, 2017 | A new report provides information that primary care physicians and health care systems can use as they develop responses to the reforms and measure their success. The findings provide a...

News Release

College students at increased risk for smoking marijuana

April 21, 2017 | An analysis of national survey data indicates that students attending college are at a significantly higher risk of beginning to use marijuana than those not enrolled in college, underscoring the...