|
Contributing to a steady decline in drug use among teens. Since the peak years of the mid-1990's, drug abuse has declined substantially and continues to do so. In fact, according to NIDA's 2006 Monitoring the Future Survey of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students, approximately 800,000 fewer young people are using drugs today than just five years agoÑan impressive 23 percent reduction.
Identifying the molecular sites and systems in the brain where every major drug of abuse has its effect. Such discoveries have led to the development and approval of nicotine replacement therapies for cigarette smoking cessation and new medications like buprenorphine, now prescribed by physicians in office settings, for opiate addiction.
Discovering a new communications network that opens the way to novel medical therapies. NIDA-supported research was pivotal to the discovery of a cannabinoid system distributed throughout the brain and body and composed of the body's own compounds chemically related to marijuana's active ingredient. This network promises new and novel interventions for a range of diseases and conditions, including: addiction, obesity, pain, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, and anxiety disorders.
Demonstrating that addiction is a treatable disease. Medications and behavioral therapies can provide long-lasting benefits for people trying to overcome addiction, especially when used together. Addiction treatment promotes continued abstinence, which can reverse some of the detrimental brain changes caused by addiction, as shown in pioneering imaging studies. Successful drug abuse treatment also reduces crime and other societal costs, including health costs, now in the billions.
Optimizing research findings to create individually tailored treatments. Researchers are taking advantage of ongoing discoveries from the Human Genome Project, identifying genetic markers of complex disorders like addiction. Now, gene variants are being discovered that can predict who will respond to a medication and who will not. These breakthroughs herald a new era of individualized therapies that will optimize outcomes, promote cost-efficiency, and relieve suffering.
Decreasing the spread of HIV. Through the development of treatments for injection drug use (IDU), NIDA has contributed to the decline in IDU-associated HIV infections. Innovative community-based research shows that drug abuse treatment reduces risk behaviors leading to HIV transmission; thus, drug abuse treatment is HIV/AIDS prevention.
Changing the course of drug abuse treatment in this country. NIDA engages in myriad efforts to "translate" the results of basic and clinical research for real-world use. Our goal is to get research-based treatments into the hands of providers in community treatment centers, the criminal justice system, and physicians' offices. To that end, NIDA has established collaborative networks of researchers and practitioners, Federal Agencies, and State Substance Abuse Directors to integrate research findings into drug abuse treatment settings nationwide.
|
