Day: 11/28/2014

11/12/2014, Medical research: If depression were cancer

http://www.nature.com/news/medical-research-if-depression-were-cancer-1.16307

If the extent of human suffering were used to decide which diseases deserve the most medical attention, then depression would be near the top of the list. More than 350 million people are affected by depression, making it one of the most common disorders in the world. It is the biggest cause of disability, and as many as two-thirds of those who commit suicide have the condition.

Depression research also gets a great deal less funding than that gobbled up by cancer. The US National Institutes of Health pumped about US$5.3 billion into cancer research in 2013 — a stark contrast to the $415 million it spent on depression research and the $2.2 billion on mental-health research as a whole.

Jonathan Flint, a psychiatrist at the University of Oxford, UK, who has been looking for genetic links to depression for nearly two decades, says that some colleagues ask him why he is still working on the problem. “What has held back the entire field is the belief that it’s intractable,” he says. “What is the point of doing something if you’re not going to get anywhere with it?”

11/26/2014, DEA having success with tip line after new promotions

http://www.koat.com/news/dea-having-success-with-tip-line-after-new-promotions/29952896

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —The Drug Enforcement Administration is promoting its tip line — something that has been around for three years already — with a new television advertisement.

Agency said one tip led to seizure of 1,000 marijuana pants.

The DEA, begging our neighbors, family, and friends to report marijuana activity.  Using tips from ordinary folks, getting them involved in the drug war, convincing people that prohibition is the answer…  When will someone reign in this out-of-control agency?

Bioengineering Approach to Understanding TMJ Pathology (2011)

http://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?projectnumber=5F31DE020230-02

“Characterization of the nutrient transport and consumption rates is a preliminary step in defining the potential causes and symptoms of TMJ disorders. A better understanding of the cause of the disease is necessary to properly treat the problem rather than just the symptoms for the millions of Americans suffering from TMJ disorders. “

Gender Differences in Peripheral Cannabinoid Mediated Analgesia (2012)

http://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?projectnumber=5F30DE020988-02

“Peripheral uses of cannabinoids have emerged as attractive alternatives or adjuncts to treatment with opioids, due to the centrally related side effects associated with opioids treatments. Peripheral administration of cannabinoids produces sex-dependent analgesic responses under inflammatory conditions and is likely due to the differential CB1 expression in trigeminal ganglia (TG).”

5/19/2014, No way out: Heroin addicts trapped in deadly maze

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/05/17/way-heroin-addicts-trapped-deadly-maze/2235508/

“While the majority of today’s addiction treatment clinical directors – 57 percent – have a master’s degree, just 1 percent have a medical degree, and 7 percent have no college degree at all…”

“Widespread addiction to opium-based drugs has raged off and on through the decades, often following war – including the Civil War and both World Wars – when soldiers’ pain was treated with morphine and they became addicted to it.”

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Well, there you have it folks, the main reason for the opioid abuse “epidemic” — the recent Middle East wars, and the VA’s over-use of opioids to treat mental conditions, like PTSD.  Want to know where all the pain pills on the underground market come from?  Who’s responsible for diversion?  Well, perhaps it’s veterans and the VA.