Howard Shaffer

FRIDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- Alcoholics who smoke have more problems with memory, problem solving and quick thinking than those who are nonsmokers, researchers have found.

This "early aging" of the brain gets worse over time, according to the study published online May 17 and in the...Full Article

FRIDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- It comes as little surprise that college students sometimes binge drink, but new research shows that college women are more likely to drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol on a weekly basis than are college men.

Much of this difference is probably because ...Full Article

FRIDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) -- A vaccine that could help fight heroin addiction shows promise in early tests in rats, researchers report.

The vaccine targets heroin and its psychoactive breakdown products in the bloodstream, preventing them from reaching the brain, explained the scien...Full Article

FRIDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- Noninvasive stimulation of an area of the brain linked to addiction seems to temporarily ease smokers' cravings for nicotine, a preliminary study finds.

The technique, called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), is already approved in the United St...Full Article

TUESDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- The United States appears to be in the throes of a prescription drug abuse crisis among teens, with a new survey showing that 24 percent of high school students -- more than 5 million kids -- have abused these medications.

That's a 33 percent increas...Full Article

TUESDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- In an effort to help curb the epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said it is approving new labeling for a reformulated version of Oxycontin that its maker claims will be harder to abuse.

The agen...Full Article

FRIDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) -- People who smoke a cigarette as soon as they wake up in the morning are more likely to develop lung and oral cancer than other smokers, a new study reveals.

Penn State researchers analyzed data from nearly 2,000 adult smokers who took part in the U.S. N...Full Article

FRIDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- Many sports gamblers consider their extensive betting experience and insight into college basketball a slam-dunk for success during the three-week U.S. championship dubbed "March Madness." But that sense of control over their wagers is an illusion, according t...Full Article

FRIDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Having an addiction can be stigmatizing, but new research suggests that having a food addiction may be viewed less negatively by others than an addiction to tobacco or alcohol.

For people who are obese, however, being a food ad...Full Article

THURSDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Prescription painkillers are second only to marijuana when it comes to drug abuse, a new government report claims.

Some 22 million Americans have misused prescription painkillers since 2002, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Serv...Full Article

TUESDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Regular social users of cocaine are more likely to have health factors that increase their risk of heart attack, a new study reports.

Australian researchers used MRI scans to assess 20 otherwise healthy adults who regularly us...Full Article

MONDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Smokers admitted to hospitals that do not have a full smoking ban often go outside to light up, a new study shows.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital found 18.4 percent of patients who smoke reported having a cigarette during their hospital ...Full Article

TUESDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that people who are alcohol-dependent, particularly women, may be cutting their lives even shorter than smokers.

In the study, German researchers found death rates were 4.6-fold higher among alcohol-dependent women and 1.9-fold hi...Full Article

TUESDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Two weeks of abstinence from drinking can reverse damage to the brain caused by chronic alcohol abuse, according to a new study.

However, recovery may vary among different parts of the brain.

The findings may offer new hope to recovering alcoho...Full Article