Posts tagged with ‘cocaine’

Cocaine is a stimulant of the central nervous system and an appetite suppressant with a high potential for addiction. Cocaine is the second most commonly used illicit drug in the United States with an estimated 1 million users per year. There are two main types of cocaine: a white, powdery substance used for snorting or injecting and a smoking version which looks like a small rock or chip and is referred to as “crack” cocaine because of the sound it makes while being heated.

Cocaine Use Increase Can Lead to Stroke Within 24 Hours

Researchers looking into leading risk factors for stroke in young people took a look at cocaine, not expecting it to be a large factor. But they were wrong, finding the drug to be the leading cause of stroke in young people.

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Cocaine Prevents Fat Storage, Study Finds

Many people addicted to cocaine gain substantial amounts of weight once they enter recovery, and the mental/physical effects of this weight gain can contribute significantly to the risks for relapse and a return to drug use. Until now, doctors and researchers have tied weight gain in recovering cocaine addicts to the urge to replace drug consumption with food consumption. However, according to the results of a study published in August 2013 by the University of Cambridge, long-term cocaine use may actually lay the groundwork for recovery-related weight gain by altering the body’s ability to properly store fat.
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Cocaine Use Shown to Speed Brain Aging

Brain aging is a general term used to describe structural, chemical and psychological changes that commonly occur in the brains of older individuals. While this process doesn’t affect everyone in the same way, aging in the brain is associated with a number of significant health problems, including Alzheimer’s disease and depression. Current evidence indicates that people who habitually abuse cocaine develop changes in their brains that point toward the onset of premature brain aging. In particular, habitual cocaine abuse can destroy grey matter, the material that forms the core of the brain’s communications network. Full Story

Cocaine Use Shown to Speed Brain Aging

Brain aging is a general term used to describe structural, chemical and psychological changes that commonly occur in the brains of older individuals. While this process doesn’t affect everyone in the same way, aging in the brain is associated with a number of significant health problems, including Alzheimer’s disease and depression. Current evidence indicates that people who habitually abuse cocaine develop changes in their brains that point toward the onset of premature brain aging. In particular, habitual cocaine abuse can destroy grey matter, the material that forms the core of the brain’s communications network. Full Story

Nicotine as a Gateway Drug for Cocaine

Have you ever thought that the nicotine in cigarettes could lead to addiction to another drug? According to recent studies, nicotine is actually boosting the chances of becoming addicted to cocaine. Full Story

Vigabatrin Tested as Cocaine Addiction Treatment

Cocaine addiction has been a rock against which many a wave has broken without creating any movement or diminishment. Researchers and those who treat cocaine addicts directly are forever in search of new ideas and methods which might prove successful. Full Story

Study Examines Addictiveness of Cocaine

It is a well-known fact that cocaine is highly addictive, but understanding exactly what causes this addiction could help in the development of effective treatments in the future. A recent Science Daily post highlighted that researchers have identified a key epigenetic mechanism in the brain that could help explain the addictiveness of cocaine.

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George Michael Opens Up About Drug Use

Simon Hattenstone of the Guardian says that compared to four years ago, British pop singer George Michael looks better, bigger, and stronger. “I was probably more stoned in those days,” the singer told Hattenstone during a recent interview. “I was existing on a balance of Starbucks and weed.” In the bad old days, Michael estimates he was smoking around 25 joints a day, and was worried he’d permanently damage his voice.

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Cocaine Users Risk Permanent Damage in Brain

Cocaine addiction can be very difficult to overcome as individuals develop this addiction as a result of the drugs ability to generate a feeling of euphoria. Not only can such an addiction alter a person’s life, it can also create severe biological and behavioral problems.

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