RSS Feed
Facebook
MySpace
Comorbidity, a Word for Thought…
0 Comments 
This is a guest SBB post from NIDA intern Giselle.
“Comorbidity” is a strange word, right? Well, at least for me it was. I have to admit it that it was the first scientific word I learned during my internship here at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)–my Spanish accent still gives me a hard time pronouncing it. On the first day of my internship I had to read and get acquainted with the extensive research that NIDA has done and published. Comorbidity was featured in NIDA’s Research Report Series.
So, what’s co-mor-bi-di-ty? Here’s what NIDA scientists say: “When two disorders or illnesses occur in the same person, together or one after the other, they are called comorbid.” Having two disorders together can also cause them to interact in ways that make both of them worse.
So what does all of that really mean? It means that sometimes two illnesses go together. For example, people who have depression or other mental illness are often addicted to drugs as well, and vice versa-so that’s why scientists say depression is often “comorbid with” drug abuse.
NIDA scientists aren’t completely sure why depressed people are more likely to have a drug abuse problem. But here’s my take on it. Everyone has had the so-called ‘mood swings.’ If someone feels really bad, they may want to ‘ease their mind’ with drugs. Unfortunately, that can lead to a second disease - addiction to drugs - and then they feel even worse than they did before.
That’s what’s really bad about comorbid diseases: they can make each other worse! If someone is depressed, it’s harder to be motivated to quit using drugs. And if someone is using drugs, it can interfere with their treatment for depression.
What other diseases could you think could be comorbid? And why? It’s food for thought.
Meth Dead Don’t Get Eaten
That’s what 17 year old Daniel Jeffrey Martin from Desert Vista High School heard from his mom one day while driving near a piece of the desert near his home town of Phoenix, Arizona. “Huh?” he asked. His mom, a forensic scientist (think: CSI), explained to him that when dead bodies are found in the desert by animals like coyotes, bobcats, and wolves, these scavengers will usually eat them—except for the bodies of methamphetamine users (proven by an autopsy).
Daniel thought this would be a perfect science fair project so he studied the records from the local county coroner’s office. And sure enough—he learned that even scavenging animals don’t want to go near the nasty chemicals left in the body by meth. YUK!
These photos from Daniel's science fair poster show the type of marks left by animal scavengers on bones. In his study, Daniel learned that the coroner found fewer scavenging marks on bodies that contained traces of methamphetamines.
The science project was so well done that Daniel won a Second Place Addiction Science Award from NIDA at the 2009 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 
. You can read more about his project at NIDA’s website.
Winner Daniel Jeffrey Martin with NIDA science fair judges at the 2009 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
A Summer at NIDA!
This is a guest SBB post from NIDA intern Giselle.
Hello all! My name is Giselle and I’m from the enchanting island of Puerto Rico. This summer I’m doing an internship at the Office of Science Policy and Communications, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)—yeah, acronyms are big here. I will not have pristine beaches to visit, but while I’m here at the Neuroscience Center in Rockville, Maryland, I’m looking forward to learning about the science behind the brain, drug abuse, my body, and a lot more! I’m hoping to write a couple of blog posts about this so stay tuned. And by the way, cool scientists are blogging too!
Have you already visited all the sections of the NIDA website? If not, you should! It feels great when you know how your body works. Start learning!
Real Teens Ask: Can your brain size change from drug use?
At NIDA’s last Drug Facts Chat Day, mendythepenty asked this question:
“is it possible that you do so much drugs, that your brain can change into the size of a pea?”
When you do drugs, your brain changes. According to NIDA scientists, the brain weighs about three pounds and doing drugs, even for the first time, can change how our brain looks and works. Assuming you’re serious, does this literally mean it can shrink to the size of a pea? Probably not, but the fact that drugs can change your brain, never mind damage or kill brain cells, is enough for me!
I want to be smart. To me, smart means cool, and it means healthy. And healthy means being able to live the life you choose, whether that’s trying out for the basketball team, skateboarding with friends, or going to the school dance.
Discover more about how drugs affect the brain. And pass it on! You can read more real questions from kids in our NIDA Drug Facts Chat Day transcripts.
Steroids: More than Meets the Eye
Regardless of whether or not teens should care about body image or physical appearances, the truth is that we do care, a lot. And working out is a healthy way to look and feel better. The trouble comes when people sacrifice their health to look buff—like by taking steroids.
While not that many teens try steroids even once, according to NIDA surveys (about 3 in 100), those who do use steroids are getting a lot more than just larger muscles. Steroids can cause acne and make your hair fall out. They can also damage your heart and change your hormone levels so that girls might grow facial hair, and boys could develop breasts. Seriously.
NIDA scientist Dr. Baler reveals more about what steroids can do in the video to the left.
