Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant drug, but ironically, new research suggests that another stimulant may actually help cure cocaine addiction.
Just a single dose of Ritalin was found to modify connectivity in some of the brain circuits linked to craving and self-control among cocaine addicts, according to a study published June 26 in JAMA Psychiatry.
Ritalin (methylphenidate) is a stimulant medication used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), which works by raising dopamine and norepinephrine activity in the brain. Prior studies have shown how oral methylphenidate normalizes task-related regional brain activity and associated behavior in cocaine users.
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While cocaine also raises dopamine levels in the brain, oral Ritalin takes longer than cocaine to reach peak effect, which therefore reduces the risk of abuse. In other words, Ritalin extends dopamine activity in the brain; thus, improving communication between the brain?s neurotransmitters, which leads to improved cognitive functioning, including attention and information processing.
"Orally administered methylphenidate increases dopamine in the brain, similar to cocaine, but without the strong addictive properties,? said study leader, Rita Goldstein, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai.
?We wanted to determine whether such substitutive properties, which are helpful in other replacement therapies such as using nicotine gum instead of smoking cigarettes or methadone instead of heroin, would play a role in enhancing brain connectivity between regions of potential importance for intervention in cocaine addiction," explained Goldstein.
Another researcher involved in the study said that stimulants, like Ritalin, can improve cognitive functioning in areas of the brain that have been impaired by drug addiction.
"Using fMRI, we found that methylphenidate did indeed have a beneficial impact on the connectivity between several brain centers associated with addiction," said first author, Anna Konova.
For the study, 18 cocaine addicts were randomly selected into two groups:
1. The oral dose of methylphenidate group
2. The oral dose of placebo group
The research team then used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to examine the strength of the connections in parts of the brain that are associated with addiction.
Imaging scans were conducted both before and during the time the drug reached its peak effects. The researchers also assessed each study participant to determine the severity of their cocaine addiction in an effort to learn if it had any bearing on the results.
In addition, the fMRI scans showed that methylphenidate improved connectivity between a number of areas of the brain that regulate emotions and self-control that are disrupted in those addicted to cocaine.
"The benefits of methylphenidate were present after only one dose, indicating that this drug has significant potential as a treatment add-on for addiction to cocaine and possibly other stimulants,? said Goldstein. ?This is a preliminary study, but the findings are exciting and warrant further exploration, particularly in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy or cognitive remediation."
Another exciting development on the horizon is an anti-cocaine vaccine. Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College report that a new anti-cocaine vaccine was successfully tested on primates. In the study, published last May in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, the researchers say they believe that human clinical trials are not far off.
"The vaccine eats up the cocaine in the blood like a little Pac-man before it can reach the brain. We believe this strategy is a win-win for those individuals, among the estimated 1.4 million cocaine users in the United States, who are committed to breaking their addiction to the drug. Even if a person who receives the anti-cocaine vaccine falls off the wagon, cocaine will have no effect," said lead researcher Dr. Ronald G. Crystal.
Meanwhile, cocaine may not be the most widely abused drug in America, but it is one of the most dangerous.
"Cocaine addiction may not be number one in the charts, but it's number one in terms of emergency room visits," Goldstein pointed out.
Indeed, cocaine was involved in nearly 423,000 emergency room visits in 2009 according to SAMHSA. That?s more than marijuana, heroin, and other stimulants and illicit drugs.
SOURCES: 1. JAMA Psychiatry, "Effects of Methylphenidate on Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Mesocorticolimbic Dopamine Pathways in Cocaine Addiction", Anna B. Konova, MA, Scott J. Moeller, PhD, Dardo Tomasi, PhD, Nora D. Volkow, MD, Rita Z. Goldstein, PhD, published online June 26, 2013;():1-11. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.1129. 2. Neuropsychopharmacology, "Adenovirus Capsid-Based Anti-Cocaine Vaccine Prevents Cocaine from Binding to the Nonhuman Primate CNS Dopamine Transporter" (May 10, 2013) | doi:10.1038/npp.2013.114
Source: http://www.emaxhealth.com/11400/single-dose-ritalin-may-cure-cocaine-addiction
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As Pride month comes to a close, YouTube is following in the footsteps of parent company Google in showcasing a collection of LGBT-themed videos on the YouTube spotlight channel to celebrate a historic month in the LGBT community. Just yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States weighed in on two major cases that could affect the rights of the gay community with regards to marriage equality. SCOTUS struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional, and dismissed an appeal by defenders of Prop. 8, thereby clearing the way for same-sex marriages in California to resume. With these decisions setting the stage, this weekend should be the best Pride celebration ever (at least in NYC), and YouTube is here to help usher in the gayness. Here’s what the company said in an official blog post: At YouTube, we?re proud to stand with the LGBT community to support equal rights and marriage equality ? we believe that everyone has the right to love and be loved. Pride Month may be coming to a close, but we hope YouTube is a place where you can feel proud and build a community all year long. Google has always been a huge proponent of gay rights, and YouTube has been one of the most important online destinations for the LGBT community to find a voice. The “It Gets Better” campaign, which saw participation from some big-name celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Aleksander Skarsgard, was one of the biggest pro-LGBT campaigns in the world, and surely helped some young people find some hope and comfort. Other tech companies have chimed in as well, including Facebook’s release of the particular statistic that over 70 percent of Americans are friends with someone who is gay on Facebook ? something that should make us think twice before posting a thoughtless status update. Those who want to participate in YouTube’s #ProudToLove campaign should include the #ProudToLove hashtag in their videos for a chance to be featured in the YouTube spotlight channel. Happy Pride, everyone! Warning: This video may induce tears.
Data is like oil. It only has a future value just sitting in a big pool. “Pure data,” as my fellow panelists said Friday night at API Days, has not proven to have much market play. I agreed with them but it’s the wrong way to look at the matter. More so, it’s about how the data is processed and refined. Explore that dimension and it’s apparent that a data economy has emerged that has the virtual equivalence in power to oil and its impact everywhere. But like oil, people don’t immediately equate data with everyday products or services. They know the data is there, but its uses are as infinite as space and its endless possibilities. How to understand the impact of data as an infinite concept is an intellectual exercise. That’s an important pursuit, but in our world, we need relevance to drive understanding. The API has emerged as the means for connecting software and services. It serves as an intellectual vehicle for understanding how we can connect anything to make new things. And so it makes sense that the API itself is also discussed in an economic context. For example, the theme for API Days was all about the “API Economy.” APIs are tangible because they are real. “Big data” is just a term. It has no meaning because it is not really anything at all. But an API is something that people use to connect services like Twitter, Facebook or Dropbox. The quantified-self movement relies on APIs to connect the data from our bodies to apps that give people new ways to measure their health. Netflix supports more than 1,000 devices with its API. About 20,000 developers use the Netflix API. In an oil-based economy, industrial processes help make gasoline for cars or fibers for clothing. Data-driven processes help developers build software. And APIs connect that software to create new types of services that span the physical and virtual world. 3SCale Co-Founder Steve Willmott presented at API Days. His theory: software is eating the world and APIs are eating software. But by itself software has limited value. Connect it and the software turns things into programmable nodes. By itself, data is irrelevant. The enterprise model has demonstrated that software on-premise has limited value when isolated in silos. But connect it with APIs, and transformations can occur that just were not possible before. But are we just
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The ages of some of our favorite celebrities can be surprising, some looking much younger while others look well beyonc their years. We are going to take a look at celebrities that are the same age…but don’t look it! Here are the celebrities who surprisingly share the same age: Coco Austin and Rachel McAdams are ...