Thursday, October 21, 2010
New Drugs to Treat Addictions
From South Dakota State University
A plant-derived compound used to treat nicotine addiction also has significant effects against alcohol addiction.
Scientists are now investigating whether the compound may offer lasting treatment against alcohol relapse, craving, and perhaps alcohol-nicotine co-addiction as well.
“Alcohol and tobacco smoking are the top causes of preventable deaths in the U.S.,” associate professor Shafiqur Rahman in South Dakota State University’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences said. “Total economic costs for alcoholism and tobacco-related diseases are about $900 billion per year in the U.S. Millions of Americans are at the heart of this crisis. So there are enormous medical, social and economic consequences for these kinds of addictive disorders.”
Read the full article here.