In may of this year, 13-year-old Evan Hamilton was dared by "friends" to down eight shots of tequila. After his attempt, he passed out due to alcohol poisoning and was subsequently rushed to the ER at the UC Davis Medical Center. After a CT scan, a brain tumor was found. According to his family, "the dangerous lapse in judgment turned out to be a blessing".
Within a week, the doctors removed the tumor and months later he recovered well enough that he was able to return home. Although the tumor is completely gone, a tracheotomy was performed. Currently, a tube still supplies his stomach with food and uses a machine to assist his breathing while sleeping.
While there are some people who still argue about whether drug addiction is a disease or a condition that results from the moral failing of an individual, most of the scientific community has long agreed that there are at least some influences on it that are far beyond a person’s control.
I’ve mentioned the genetic influences that have been shown to be associated with a risk for addiction before (look here). However, most of the research I’ve been involved in myself recently has more to do with the way that trying drugs changes your brain in ways that make it more likely that you’ll try them again.
Along these lines, a recently published study has shown that very specific molecular targets can have a huge impact on the probability that addicts will keep going after drugs. The molecules studies were common targets of cocaine that are altered long-term when a person uses coke.
The interesting thing is that the research found that deactivating each of these targets produced completely different effects:
Animals that had the GluR1 receptor subunit turned off were unable to stop themselves from searching for cocaine in a spot where it used to be long after normal mice gave up. I don’t know about you, but that sounds more than a little relevant for addiction given what I know, and have experienced. We’ve been studying this sort of stuff for a while, but the fact that a single molecule can make an animal pursue drugs in a way that is completely irrational is amazing!
Animals that had the NR1 receptor subunit turned off experienced a different effect. While normal mice relapse to drug use when they experience a drug after a long break, the NR1 deficient mice just wouldn’t go back to their addictive behavior when they got a little sample. Again, the implications for relapse preventions are promising to say the least.
In short, while some people may think there’s still a reason to argue whether people with addiction should simply be left to god’s mercy, ongoing work is showing us that we can uncover specific molecular mechanisms that may one day allow us to combat addiction with much more success. I for one welcome that.
Brain tumor found in 13-year-old boy after passing out from a dare to down eight shots of tequila
Within a week, the doctors removed the tumor and months later he recovered well enough that he was able to return home. Although the tumor is completely gone, a tracheotomy was performed. Currently, a tube still supplies his stomach with food and uses a machine to assist his breathing while sleeping.
CBS13 has the entire story here.
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December 23, 2009 @ 6:43 PMProteins and cocaine: addiction is a disease, not a question of morality
While there are some people who still argue about whether drug addiction is a disease or a condition that results from the moral failing of an individual, most of the scientific community has long agreed that there are at least some influences on it that are far beyond a person’s control.
I’ve mentioned the genetic influences that have been shown to be associated with a risk for addiction before (look here). However, most of the research I’ve been involved in myself recently has more to do with the way that trying drugs changes your brain in ways that make it more likely that you’ll try them again.
Along these lines, a recently published study has shown that very specific molecular targets can have a huge impact on the probability that addicts will keep going after drugs. The molecules studies were common targets of cocaine that are altered long-term when a person uses coke.
The interesting thing is that the research found that deactivating each of these targets produced completely different effects:
Animals that had the GluR1 receptor subunit turned off were unable to stop themselves from searching for cocaine in a spot where it used to be long after normal mice gave up. I don’t know about you, but that sounds more than a little relevant for addiction given what I know, and have experienced. We’ve been studying this sort of stuff for a while, but the fact that a single molecule can make an animal pursue drugs in a way that is completely irrational is amazing!
Animals that had the NR1 receptor subunit turned off experienced a different effect. While normal mice relapse to drug use when they experience a drug after a long break, the NR1 deficient mice just wouldn’t go back to their addictive behavior when they got a little sample. Again, the implications for relapse preventions are promising to say the least.
In short, while some people may think there’s still a reason to argue whether people with addiction should simply be left to god’s mercy, ongoing work is showing us that we can uncover specific molecular mechanisms that may one day allow us to combat addiction with much more success. I for one welcome that.
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November 1, 2009 @ 9:56 PM