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Brain and relaxation drinks – the new fad
You’ve seen them advertised an on store shelves – drinks with names like Neuro, IDrink, and Dreamwater promise that their combinations of hormones, neurotransmitters, and related amino-acids will keep you relaxed, focused, happy, and improve your sex life. We’ve seen these sorts of promises before from unregulated dietary supplements. The problem is that, since these…
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Forgetting astrocytes – marijuana, memory, and the brain
My favorite thing about science are those discoveries that remind us we simply don’t know everything. A recent article by a group of researchers from Canada, China, and France (see original research article in the journal Cell here and a nice summary here) summarizes findings that reveal some surprises about the ways marijuana use affects…
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Treating alcohol withdrawal with benzodiazepines – Safe if mindful
Contributing co-author: Andrew Chen Alcohol withdrawal can be extremely unpleasant (see here for an overview). Symptoms vary from person to person, but most people will experience some negative symptoms of alcohol withdrawal if they try to stop drinking after long term use. Mild to moderate symptoms include headache, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, rapid heart rate, abnormal…
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Will you get addicted? Signs of drug abuse
Everyone wants to know if they, or someone they love will get addicted to alcohol or drugs. • Parents want to know if their children are likely to become addicts, especially if there is a family history of addiction. • Teens wonder if trying a drug will lead to a life of crime and shame.…
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The alcoholism gene? That’s quite a long story!
If you were trying to find something to blame alcoholism on, genetics would be a good place to start: As much as 50-60% of the risk of becoming an alcoholic is determined by a person’s genes (1). We’ve discussed the genetics of addiction in general as they relate to other condition like ADHD, depression, and…
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Addiction brain effects : Opiate addiction – Heroin, oxycontin and more
Okay, we’ve talked about crystal meth and cocaine and how they affect the brain during drug use. As I mentioned, both cocaine and meth interfere with the way the brain stores and cleans up important neurotransmitters, including, most importantly, Dopamine and Norepinephrine. The class of drugs known as opiates, which includes morphine, heroin, codeine, and…
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Brittany Murphy dead at 32 – Anemia, pneumonia, and yes, drugs…
Toxicology update Well, it seems the toxicology reports are in and Brittany’s death was, at least partially, caused by her taking of multiple prescription drugs. Still, it seems that she was trying to medicate a host of conditions brought on by her underlying anemia and pneumonia. It’s sad to think that this death could have…
