Recent developments have implicated cannabinoid CB1 receptors as a novel target for a new class of therapeutic agents used to treat drug addiction. CB1 receptors are expressed in the motivational circuitry of the brain and modulate drug seeking. Blockade of the CB1 receptor is particularly effective in reducing cue-induced reinstatement of drug seeking, an animal analogue of cue-induced relapse...

Clinical and preclinical studies provide convincing evidence for persistent neurological/psychiatric impairments and possible neuronal degeneration associated with chronic cocaine/stimulant abuse. These impairments include multifocal and global cerebral ischemia, cerebral hemorrhages, infarctions, optic neuropathy, cerebral atrophy, cognitive impairments, and mood and movement disorders. These ...

Background: Child maltreatment is a global phenomenon with possible serious long-term consequences. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between childhood maltreatment and opiate dependency in older age. Methods: In this study, 212 opiate dependent individuals and 216 control subjects were selected consecutively. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire which consiste...

Conflicting results, both decreased and increased, have been reported concerning the function of T-lymphocytes in heroin addicts. We investigated the alterations of T-lymphocyte proliferative responses and immunophenotypic markers on lymphoid cells in heroin addicts and during different periods of heroin withdrawal in addicted subjects. This study has demonstrated a decrease in the response of ...

Background: Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) agonists have been effective in the treatment of withdrawal from benzodiazepines, sedatives and alcohol, and reducing the craving for cocaine. Valproate is a GABAergic drug effective in the treatment of neuropathic pain and also in withdrawal from benzodiaepines, sedatives, and alcohol. The purpose of this double-blind trial was to evaluate the ef...

Scientific information about the neurobiology of addictive behaviors provides an increasingly important rationale to support opioid agonist pharmacotherapy, primarily methadone maintenance treatment, for long-term heroin addiction. In late 1963 and 1964, the first research was performed at The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research by Dole, Nyswander, and Kreek in an attempt to develop a ne...

Adolescence in humans is a vulnerable period for illicit drug use, and teenage onset of drug use is associated with long-term addiction. Adolescent sensitivity to drug reinforcement, relapse, and withdrawal has not been explored thoroughly in animal models, especially considering opiate drugs such as morphine and heroin. The present series of studies profiles adolescent sensitivity to opiates u...