Welcome to Drug and Alcohol Treatment
| ||
Drug Treatment Huntington Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Drug Treatment Huntington. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
from:
Alcohol and Drug Rehab: Triggers, Cravings, Relapse and Recovery
By Jonathan Huttner
It has taken some time but, researchers have come to the conclusion that drug addiction and alcoholism are diseases and like other diseases, are chronic and those afflicted are subject to relapse. From a medical perspective, addiction can be compared to diabetes in that it will require long term treatment, lifestyle changes, medication at times and if not monitored, relapse will occur.
Experts with The National Institute of Drug Abuse feel it is not reasonable to expect a recovering addict or alcoholic to maintain lifelong abstinence with just one treatment or rehab experience. Furthermore, Dr. George Koob, a professor with the Scripps Research Institute agrees. His research has shown that approximately 80 percent of the addicts and alcoholics who experience detox return to drug or alcohol use within a year.
Discovering why addicts and alcoholics are so prone to relapse is an area of great concern to all of us. One aspect we identified is that of craving. Craving is the incredible desire an addict or alcoholic still feels for the substance days, months or even years into recovery. Research has shown us that the cravings that the addict or alcoholic experience could be directly related to the long term changes in brain function, due to the drug and alcohol abuse. In essence, the brain has become conditioned to function under the influence of drugs or alcohol and does not function efficiently without it.
Secondly, it has been established that cravings can be a conditioned response to triggers that the recovering addict or alcoholic may encounter, for example old people, places or things associated with the person’s prior drug or alcohol use. Relapse triggers, as they are termed, can create powerful emotional and sometimes physical responses that can lead up to incredible urges to use drugs and alcohol again. It is for this reason individuals early in sobriety are urged to change so many aspects of their life. With all of this said, it is clear that a person’s relapse is usually preceded by other difficulties which result in the addict or alcoholic feeling angry, lonely, depressed or in self pity.
The issue with relapse that is infinitely grave is not necessarily the fact that the addict or alcoholic has used or drank again, but the quantity and frequency with which they use is almost identical to right before they began their recovery. Very few, ease their way back into their drug or alcohol use. They begin as if they never stopped.
An experiment performed by Dr. Koob demonstrated that when alcohol was removed from alcoholic or addicted rats for three or four days and then returned, the rats consumed 50 percent more drugs or alcohol as they consumed before. As common as this behavior is among the people that relapse, it is one of the most misunderstood.
There is good news and that is if a relapse is caught early, it can prove to be a very valuable educational tool. The recovering addict or alcoholic might then practice the principles taught to them in their alcohol and drug rehab program with more willingness and motivation than ever before.
It appears that for those people that are able to maintain long term recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism the solution is much greater than just abstaining from drugs and alcohol. The other part of the equation lies in being able to identify cravings, wait out the feelings and become aware of what actually triggered them. Through becoming aware of what triggers the craving, the recovering person can make effective changes in their “life style” which can result in fewer urges to drink or drug. Finally, there are a number of well-known alcohol and drug rehab support groups that provide much needed support to help addicts (and their families) cope with the long term issues associated with drug addiction and alcoholism.
Jonathan Huttner is one of the the principals at Lakeview Health Systems, an addiction treatment, alcohol and drug rehab facility. Addiction treatment information and free live help 24/7 is being provided online at RecoveryConnection.org.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Huttner
http://EzineArticles.com/?Alcohol-and-Drug-Rehab:-Triggers,-Cravings,-Relapse-and-Recovery&id=154938
Drug Treatment Huntington Specific links
Drug Treatment Huntington News
MGH research aids in potential Huntington Disease treatment
A drug candidate to treat Huntington Disease being developed by Australian pharmaceutical company Prana Biotechnology, which is based in part on research from Massachusetts General Hospital, was supported by a paper published in the Archives of Neurology.
Read more...Lundbeck and CHDI Foundation Announce Research Collaboration to Investigate Candidate Therapy for Huntington’s Disease
CHDI Foundation, Inc. and Lundbeck today announced a research collaboration to investigate a targeted therapy for Huntington’s disease . Currently, no treatment exists to slow
Read more...Oryzon Nominates Specific LSD1 Inhibitor as Drug Candidate to Enter Preclinical Development in Acute Leukemia and ...
Oryzon announced today that it is entering preclinical development with its second drug candidate, a first-in-class specific Lysine Specific Demethylase 1 (LSD1) inhibitor for the treatment of hematological cancers. LSD1 inhibition reduced tumor load especially in acute leukemia models by targeting Leukemia Stem Cells, while normal myeloid progenitor cells were spared. ...
Read more...Wayne drug court, MCTC forge partnership
HUNTINGTON — While the combat against drug abuse in West Virginia remains a statewide issue, there is only one place in the state where rehabilitated drug addicts have a guaranteed chance to make getting an education part of their recovery.
Read more...CHDI, Lundbeck enter collaboration to investigate targeted therapy for Huntington's disease
CHDI Foundation, Inc. and Lundbeck today announced a research collaboration to investigate a targeted therapy for Huntington's disease (HD). Currently, no treatment exists to slow or halt the progression of HD, a challenging hereditary neurodegenerative disease characterized by a triad of behavioral, cognitive, and motor symptoms.
Read more...Prana Comments on Archives of Neurology Publication Which Highlights Critical Role of Brain Metals in Huntington ...
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA-- - Prana Biotechnology today commented on the publication of new data of relevance to the current clinical trial, testing Prana's PBT2 as a treatment for Huntington disease.The authors ...
Read more...Sigmoid Pharma Completes Phase II trial of CyCol™ in more than 100 Ulcerative Colitis Patients and Raises €3 million
DUBLIN--(BUSINESSWIRE)-- Update on Operational, Organisational and Financial Progress before Annual General Meeting Sigmoid Pharma Ltd . (Sigmoid), a privately-owned, specialty pharmaceutical and drug ...
Read more...Huntington's disease: genetic disorder of cognitive and motor decline
Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder that causes involuntary movements, emotional disturbances and diminished cognitive abilities.
Read more...Alnylam and PBL Sign License Agreement for Baulcombe & Hamilton RNAi Patent
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , a leading RNAi therapeutics company, and Plant Bioscience Limited , a technology development and intellectual property management company, announced today that they have entered into a licensing agreement.
Read more...Intellect Neurosciences Expands Its Immunotherapy Pipeline with New Technology Platforms Targeting Pathogenic Protein ...
NEW YORK, May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Â Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (ILNS.PK), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the ...
Read more...