A UCLA-led study of adolescents receiving treatment for methamphetamine dependence has found that girls are less successful in giving up the drug and likely to continue using the drug during treatment than boys, prompting the need for new approaches for treating meth abuse among teen girls.
Results from the study, conducted by the UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine and the community-based substance abuse treatment program Behavioral Health Services Inc., are published in the April edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Recreational Drugs are not Completely Safe
Recreational drugs are commonly used in rave parties. Serotonin syndrome can occur in patients taking N-benzylpiperazine.
Advertisement
"The greater severity of methamphetamine problems in adolescent girls compared to boys, combined with results of studies in adults that also found women to be more susceptible to methamphetamine than men, suggests that the gender differences in methamphetamine addiction observed in adults may actually begin in adolescence," said the study's lead author, Dr. Keith Heinzerling, a health sciences assistant clinical professor of family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The clinical trial focused on use of the antidepressant bupropion for treating methamphetamine addiction. Nineteen adolescents — nine boys and 10 girls — with meth addiction who were receiving counseling at Behavioral Health Services were given either bupropion or placebo pills. The average age of participants was approximately 17.5 years.
![Drug Abuse]( "Drug Abuse")
The use of Drugs for reasons other than its prescribed recommendation, is known as Drug abuse or substance abuse. Drug abuse or substance abuse is initiated by various biological and social factors.
The researchers found that the study subjects who received the antidepressant provided significantly fewer meth-free urine samples than did those who were given placebos, suggesting that bupropion was an ineffective treatment for addiction in this small sample.
Overall, boys in both groups provided more than twice as many meth-free urine drug tests during treatment as girls in both groups.
While the results did not support continued research into the use of bupropion for methamphetamine addiction, they did suggest the need for research to develop new interventions to improve the outcomes of treatment for addiction in adolescent girls, the researchers said.
Heinzerling noted the importance of collaborations such as the one between UCLA and Behavioral Health Services.
"It shows that partnerships between researchers and community organizations are critical to insuring that research is translated into improvements in the health of real people," he said.
Source: Eurekalert
Drug Abuse
The use of Drugs for reasons other than its prescribed recommendation, is known as Drug abuse or substance abuse. Drug abuse or substance abuse is initiated by various biological and social factors.
Advertisement
The researchers found that the study subjects who received the antidepressant provided significantly fewer meth-free urine samples than did those who were given placebos, suggesting that bupropion was an ineffective treatment for addiction in this small sample.
Overall, boys in both groups provided more than twice as many meth-free urine drug tests during treatment as girls in both groups.
While the results did not support continued research into the use of bupropion for methamphetamine addiction, they did suggest the need for research to develop new interventions to improve the outcomes of treatment for addiction in adolescent girls, the researchers said.
Heinzerling noted the importance of collaborations such as the one between UCLA and Behavioral Health Services.
"It shows that partnerships between researchers and community organizations are critical to insuring that research is translated into improvements in the health of real people," he said.
Source: Eurekalert
Weight Loss Drugs
Diet pills are medicines that help control or reduce weight. Diet pills are otherwise know as weight loss drugs or anti-obesity medications.
Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Readings
Latest Drug News
Researchers create needle-free Zika vaccine patch, using HD-MAP tech, aiming to protect against fatal virus spread by mosquitoes.
Examining FDA and patent records, researchers found that insulin manufacturers prolong market exclusivity for brand-name products.
The rise in FDA ODD awards indicates a collective endeavor to create new myelofibrosis medications devoid of mechanisms inducing anemia.
The most significant decrease in autoimmune thyroid disease risk was observed in rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving immunomodulatory drugs or 'biological DMARDs'.
Human apotransferrin injected to mice models suffering from intracerebral hemorrhage was found to mitigate the serious effects of stroke.