Archive for the ‘Cocaine’ Category

Rehabilitation for Cocaine Addiction Works, According to New Study

Monday, March 15th, 2010

According to a new study from the UK’s National Treatment Agency for Substance Abuse (NTA), cocaine addiction recovery is very possible with addiction treatment that includes individual psychotherapy.


According to a recent study, an astounding one in ten entering drug addiction treatment in England are entering for cocaine addiction, a four-percent increase in the last four years.

Of these, more than one-third are 18-24 year olds from a broad spectrum of social backgrounds. They are also more likely to have jobs and are less likely to have housing problems.

According to Paul Hayes, NTA chief executive, although there has been an increase in the number of people using cocaine, they are also seeing more people seeking addiction treatment. Very good news indeed.

About 70% of the cocaine addicts in treatment stay in treatment, and either stop using cocaine completely or substantially reduce their use within six months of entering treatment—that is, 61% stop cocaine altogether and 11% substantially reduce their use.

Furthermore, those who are newly entering drug rehab for cocaine addiction also reduce their use of other drugs, including cannabis, alcohol, and amphetamines.

The study, which monitored over 3,000 study participants, represents the largest ever study into the effectiveness of cocaine addiction treatment in England.

Source: The NTA

Posted in Addiction Treatment, Cocaine | 1 Comment »

Hormone Dopamine Linked to Addiction and Risk-Taking

Monday, February 15th, 2010

New research on dopamine and dopamine receptor profiles could lead to new drug addiction prevention and treatments.

Japanese and Danish scientists have shown in new research that those with higher dopamine levels in the brain have a greater need for stimulation, due in part to the lowered dopamine-sensitivity.

Dopamine is the “gratification” hormone, widely known to relate to the physiology of addiction. Previous research has discovered that drug addictions such as cocaine addiction work by causing a build-up of dopamine in the brain. This build up, in turn, causes a lower sensitivity to the neurotransmitter.

However, according to the new research, it is the naturally occurring higher levels of dopamine in the brain that can lead to addictive behaviours. Dopamine levels can indicate a natural predisposition to risk-taking, and addiction.

Dopamine has been connected to both behaviours—each involve chasing a high, whether naturally induced or chemically. As well, drug addiction can be classified as a high-risk behaviour. Studies have shown that sensation seeking, the constant need for stimulation, and drug or alcohol abuse involves the same reward system in the brain.

Higher levels of dopamine, and lower sensitivity to the hormone, leads to greater risk-taking—and thus greater chance of addiction to drugs, gambling, and more.

Lead by Albert Gjedde of Copenhagen University, researchers used brain scans of volunteers to measure dopamine and dopamine receptor levels. Those on the higher end of the dopamine scale felt less affects from the same amount of the hormone than those on the lower end of the scale.

They also discovered that those who fell on opposite ends of the scale had significantly different dopamine and dopamine receptor profiles.

Their research suggests that it could be more effective to increase or decrease dopamine levels, rather than try to block dopamine receptors in the brain, to treat drug addiction. These findings could help to develop new ways to prevent and treat addiction.

Source: The National Post

Posted in Addiction Treatment, Cocaine, Drug Addiction | No Comments »

How Cocaine Addiction Works

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

What is Cocaine
Cocaine is a stimulant, a psychoactive drug that temporarily increases mental and/or physical functioning. Unlike other stimulants, cocaine is not used as a prescription medicine, but is an illicit drug carefully controlled throughout the world. Cocaine is used primarily recreationally and is a widely abused drug.

Cocaine is highly addictive.

Cocaine was very popular throughout most of the 1980s and 90s, and recent studies suggest that its popularity continues strong. Cocaine, also known as “coke”, “c”, “snow”, “flake” and “blow” among other nicknames, is commonly sold on the streets as a fine white powder.

“Crack”, on the other hand, is freebase cocaine—a water-insoluble cocaine base. Crack is processed to be smokeable. It is the crackling noises of smoking the drug that has given it its name.

In 2007, there were approximately 2.1 million cocaine users in the US alone, 610,000 of who were current crack users. Eighteen to 25 year olds represent the highest number of current users.

Cocaine Addiction & Other Dangers
Repeated cocaine use can result in addiction. New research into cocaine addiction in the brain is uncovering why. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in 2007 close to 1.6 million Americans could be classified as addicted to or abusing cocaine, according to the general diagnostic guidelines.

Cocaine is a very dangerous drug, especially when over- or misused. A 2005 study reported that almost 450,000 of the 1,450,000 visits to emergency rooms across the US were due to cocaine use/misuse. This boils down to almost 1 in 3 ER visits involving cocaine.

There is no safe form of cocaine. Nor is there a safe way to use cocaine. Whether by snorting, injecting or smoking cocaine, you are still at risk of imbibing toxic amounts of the drug. Too much cocaine can result in acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular emergencies, seizures, and sudden death.

How Cocaine Works in the Brain
Cocaine causes pleasurable effects by stimulating the pleasure and reward centers of the brain. Cocaine stimulates the central nervous system, causing increased levels of dopamine in the reward center. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and movement. Normally, certain brain cells, called neurons, use dopamine to communicate amongst each other. In this process, dopamine is released in the brain in response to a pleasure signal. The dopamine-releasing cell recycles the neurotransmitter, shutting off the communication between the neurons.

However, cocaine prevents the dopamine recycling process, resulting in a build up of dopamine in the brain. This causes a never-ending chatter between the neurons—the euphoric high.

Repeated long-term cocaine use causes changes to the brain’s functioning leading to addiction.

How Cocaine Addiction Works
The risks for cocaine addiction are high. New research suggests that prolonged use of cocaine changes a genetic expression, or the behaviour of the gene, in the brain resulting in the prevention of specific enzymes from shutting genes off in the pleasure circuits of the brain. This causes heightened cravings for the drug, and thus drug-seeking behaviours.

As well, with continued use, the brain builds a tolerance for the drug. Continued and prolonged exposure to the drug causes the brain to adapt so that the reward pathways become less sensitive to both natural reinforcements as well as cocaine itself. This decreased sensitivity is a result of decreased amounts of dopamine receptors in the brain, and is also the root of the drug addiction.

Furthermore, the risks of relapse are high with cocaine, as the drug will have a strong hold on the addicted brain even after long periods of sobriety. Research has shown that physical cues, or triggers, cause visceral memories of the using experience that result in intense cravings and even relapse.


Cocaine Addiction Treatment
A Cocaine Addiction Treatment Program is vitally important to a successful recovery from addiction. Rarely does going it alone or going cold turkey work. Addiction is a complicated process with deep roots. Addiction recovery requires support, therapy, and a retraining of the brain.

We believe in an all-encompassing approach to cocaine and all drug addiction treatments. Our Cocaine Addiction Treatment Program treats more than the physical addiction, healing the underlying issues at play. We work together with each of our clients to design an addiction treatment program that works for each individual.

With our different therapies, clients learn to take personal responsibility for their decisions, good and bad, to recognize addiction triggers, and to cope with life’s stresses in a healthy and productive fashion.

Heritage Home also has several non-traditional therapies available, from native healing circles, to laughter therapy, and creative art therapies. Through these classes, clients learn about themselves in new situations, how to interact with others sober, and how to have fun without cocaine.

For more information on cocaine and cocaine addiction:
Heritage Home Drug Rehab Center
Cocaine Addiction Vaccine Research
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Cocaine Research Report
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Cocaine InfoFacts
Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH) Cocaine Information

Posted in Addiction Treatment, Cocaine | 1 Comment »

Cocaine Addiction: Gene Alterations From Prolonged Cocaine Use

Monday, January 18th, 2010

US Researchers at NIDA report having identified a key brain mechanism, better explaining how and why cocaine addiction occurs.

Announced last week, January 7th 2009, government scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) said that the new discoveries about the root of cocaine addiction could lead to the development of new drug treatments.

In experiments with mice, scientists showed how cocaine affects the epigenetic process histone methylation. Prolonged cocaine use, they found, can cause permanent changes to the way certain genes turn on and off.

Epigenetic is a process that influences a gene’s expression or appearance without changing the underlying DNA sequence, causing the gene to behave, or express, itself differently.

Histone methylation is the modification of certain amino acids in a histone protein, or the protein around which a DNA strand wind, which essentially turns the DNA off.

Cocaine in the brain prevents the enzyme from shutting off genes in the pleasure circuits of the brain, heightening cravings for more cocaine.

Furthermore, scientists were able to reverse the effects by increasing the activity of that particular gene, completely reversing the effects of chronic cocaine use. As well, scientists reported that it is likely that this be the same process for other addictions, including alcohol addiction, thereby potentially leading to new, more effective, addiction treatments.

“This fundamental discovery advances our understanding of how cocaine addiction works,” Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of NIDA, said via press release. “Although more research will be required, these findings have identified a key new player in the molecular cascade triggered by repeated cocaine exposure, and thus a potential novel target for the development of addiction medications.”

The findings also help to explain addiction’s long-term cravings and relapse despite periods of total abstinence.

Source: Business Week & Ottawa Citizen

Posted in Addiction Treatment, Alcohol Addiction, Cocaine, Drug Addiction | 1 Comment »

New Cocaine Addiction Treatment on the Horizon: A Bacterial Enzyme

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Researchers in the UK have identified a bacterial enzyme that, they say, breaks cocaine down in the body, effectively reducing the drug’s addictiveness and may help fight both cocaine addiction and overdose.

The naturally occurring bacterial enzyme, Cocaine esterase or CocE, essentially breaks cocaine molecules down in the body, reducing its physical addictiveness and eventually lead to a new way to treat cocaine addiction, as well as help reduce cocaine overdose.

CocE, researchers found, is only active in the body for a rather short period of time. However, they have also found a more stable version in a double mutant bacterial version, DM CocE.

In their clinical trial, published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, researchers from The Scripps Research Institute trained rats to self-administer cocaine. By pressing a button, cocaine would be released to the rats, mimicking human drug-seeking behaviour common to all addictions.

Once given the double mutant bacterial enzyme, the rats pressed the cocaine-administering button far less, suggesting that the enzyme successfully broke the cocaine down and rendered it far less physically addictive.

Lead researcher told reporters that although the enzyme is not a fail-safe cure for “determined users”, it could nonetheless prove to be a new effective therapeutic approach.

As with all medical interventions to treat addiction, this new treatment should be used in conjunction with a therapeutic drug addiction treatment program.

However, unlike others, it seems at first to have far less harmful side effects and be less addictive in the long term, and could very well prove to be an exciting development in the treatment of cocaine addiction.

Source: The Telegraph

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Prescription Drug Abuse Among US Teens Alarmingly High : NIDA

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) annual survey, Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) of 2009, the number of high school students reporting prescription drug abuse in the US continues to be high, while the use of other illicit drugs decreases.

Major usage trends among US teens include a significant decrease in methamphetamine use, stalled declines of marijuana use, and consistently high abuse of prescription drugs.

Findings, released yesterday December 14th 2009 at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., were announced by President Obama’s so-named drug czar Gil Kerlikowske (http://www.sobriety.ca/blog/2009/07/shifting-rhetoric-from-war-to-treatment.html).

The Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) is a series of classroom surveys of 8th, 10th and 12th grade students across the US. In all, researchers from the University of Michigan, under a grant from NIDA, surveyed 46,097 students from 389 public and private schools.

The number of high school students reporting past year use of methamphetamine in 2009 was at its lowest since 1999, when questions regarding the drug were first added to the survey. In 1999, 4.7 percent of students reported having used methamphetamine in the 12 preceding months. In 2009, this number is now at 1.2 percent of students.

Smoking tobacco was also at its lowest rate in the MTF’s history across all grades.

The past year use of cocaine also decreased, to 3.4 percent of 12th grade students—down an entire percentage point from the 2008 survey. Hallucinogen use also decreased in the last year, down over a percentage point to 4.7 percent of 12th graders.

The perceived harmfulness, a factor in determining future drug addiction and abuse, of LSD, amphetamines, sedatives/barbiturates, heroin, and cocaine all increased, while the perceived availability of many of these illicit drugs decreased significantly—both good signs.

However, marijuana use across all three grades, having showed a consistent downward trend since the mid-1990s, seems to have stalled in 2009. Rates of marijuana use among the high school students were the same as five years ago, with about 32.8 percent of 12th graders, 26.7 percent of 10th graders, and 11.8 percent of 8th graders all reporting past year use of the drug.

Nevertheless, this is still significantly lower than in the mid-1990s.

Furthermore, slightly more than half the students, about 55.2 percent, did not perceive the occasional use of marijuana as potentially harmful.

There is also a continued high rate of the non-medical use of prescription drugs and cough syrup among US teens. Seven of the top 10 drugs abused by 12th grade students, for example, in the past year were either prescribed or bought over the counter. Furthermore, about 10 percent of students reported non-medical use of Vicodin, and five percent non-medical Oxycontin use. Finally, more than five percent of 10th and 12th grade students also reported non-medical use of Adderall.

Non-medical use of these painkillers has increased among 10th graders in the past five years.

The 2009 MTF also measured how students obtained their prescription drugs, a recent addition to the survey. Researchers found that 19 percent of 12th grade students reported to have obtained their prescription drugs with a doctor’s prescription, eight percent from a dealer, and 66 percent reported having obtained the drugs from a friend or relative. Of this last group, 12 percent reported that they “took them, 21 percent that they “bought them”, and 33 percent that they were “given them”. The Internet does not appear to be a major source for these drugs.

Teen prescription drug abuse has been a very hot topic as of late, attracting much media attention. NIDA’s survey points to this generation’s apparent preference for prescription medication for those in search of a high, serving to highlight where policymakers, educators, counsellors, and parents need to focus their attention and preventative measures—before it’s too late.

Results can be viewed at the Monitoring the Future website: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/

Source: NIDA

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Cocaine Growing in Popularity in the UK

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

New statistics, released by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) in the UK show more young people are seeking treatment for cocaine addiction in the last four years.

According to the National Health Service (NHS), Britain’s government health department, the number of 18 to 24 year olds who sought cocaine addiction treatment at NHS funded treatment centres has increased by 88 percent in the last four years.

The total number of 18 to 24 year olds who sought treatment with the NTA rose from 1,591 in 2005-06 to 2,998 in 2008-09. From this group, the number of women seeking drug addiction treatment rose 80 percent to 592, while the number of men rose 91 percent to 2,406.

Among those under 35 years, the number of women seeking cocaine addiction treatment rose 60 percent, and the number of men 75%, during the same time period. The average age of first cocaine use, according to data gathered by the NTA, was 21 years.

Conversely, the number of women in the UK seeking treatment for heroin and crack cocaine dropped ever so slightly, by eight percent. Experts say it is encouraging to see women drug users start to turn away from heroin and crack cocaine, which involve the most crime, physical harm, and family problems.

However, experts in the UK say that it is still very concerning to see such great increases in the number of cocaine users. There seems to be mounting evidence of a generational shift in hard drug users, and a growing preference for cocaine.

Experts say that these new findings not only demonstrate cocaine’s growing popularity in the UK, but of its capacity to damage users.

The NTA’s findings can be viewed on BBC News’ website.

Source: BBC News

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Stress-Induced Responses Linked to Cocaine Addiction Relapse

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

New research out of the US, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that changes to the brain’s circuitry brought on by stress may lead to cocaine-use relapse.

Changes to the circuitry are related to the regulation of serotonin—the neurotransmitter that regulates mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction, and some cognitive functions as memory and learning. Changes to serotonin levels in the studied mice, it is believe, causes low moods, thus triggering the drug-seeking behaviour.

Until recently, it was commonly believed that dopamine regulated drug seeking, by affecting the area of the brain where the motivation and reward seeking is controlled. It was believed that stress caused the prevention of dopamine in the brain, making the mice feel miserable. Resulting drug-seeking behaviours were thought to be an aversive response to the reduction in dopamine—an aversion to the negative feelings.
Scientists were quite surprised then to see adverse effects of stress converging on the region of the brain where serotonin-using nerves are located.

Dopamine-deficient bred mice, or mice with continuous ‘low moods’, continued to respond to stress-inducing scenarios with aversive behavior. When the scientists were able to deactivate the receptors in the serotonin-rich area of the brain, where there was much activity, they were able to effectively stop the aversive response and cocaine-seeking behaviors in the mice.

Researchers concluded that activation of receptors in the serotonin-rich area of the brain, either through pharmaceuticals or a stress-evoking trigger, may regulate the serotonin system. Furthermore, it may be possible to regulate drug-seeking behaviours through regulation of this system.

The findings, although very preliminary with a number of other factors still needing investigaton, the evidence is interesting for relapse prevention as manipulation of the brain’s serotonin levels could, theoretically, control the re-ignition of drug-seeking impulses.

By the same accord, earlier in October at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, findings on amino acid’s effect on cocaine addiction were presented. This study showed that the amino acid derivative NAC reverses changes to the brain’s circuitry made by cocaine addiction.

With advanced brain imaging, scientists can now map what occurs when the brain is exposed to drug-associated cues—or craving triggers. Cocaine, it was found, causes imbalances in the circuits regulating reward and cognitive control.

NAC, on the other hand, seemed to return normal function to the circuits of previously cocaine-addicted rats. Furthermore, after having received the amino acid, the rats did not return to their drug seeking behaviours, even while in the presence of drug cues.

Currently, a phase III clinical trial of NAC is underway. Findings could lead to an extremely useful biomedical treatment and relapse-prevention option.

Source: ScienceDaily.com

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