Phoenix Cocaine Addiction - Traces of Cocaine Found in Red Bull

Phoenix Cocaine Addiction - The maker of the Red Bull energy drink, GmbH, is under fire after traces of cocaine were found in the soft drink in Germany.

After authorities found trace amounts of cocaine in the drink, they started pulling Red Bull Simply Cola off of shelves. A study by German state Northrhine Westfalia was released on May 19 and confirmed that the cola contained small amounts of cocaine.

The amounts found in the soda were too small to be addictive or harmful. However, the amounts were enough to qualify Red Bull as a hypercaffeinated beverage and a narcotic as defined by German law.

Red Bull isn't the first soft-drink maker to use coca to flavor its drinks. Infamously, Coca Cola did the same thing in the early 1900s until the practice was outlawed in the U.S.

Arizona Cocaine Addiction - Cocaine Addicts Show Disconnect Between Behavior and Brain

Arizona Cocaine Addiction - The portions of the brain responsible for monitoring emotions and behaviors display different activity levels in cocaine users compared to non-drug users.

These results were discovered by the Brookhaven Institute by using brain-imaging technology. The existence of these impairments in the brain may explain vulnerability to addiction.

Researchers theorize that treatments geared at correcting these impaired functions may help cocaine addicts resist the drug. They are unsure whether the impairments are an antecedent or a consequence of drug use.

According to psychologist Rita Goldstein, the study found "dramatic differences in the brain regions that play a very significant role in the ability to monitor behavior and regulate emotion, which are both important to resisting drug use."

Apache Junction Cocaine Abuse - Brain Perceives Cocaine as Reward

Apache Junction Cocaine Abuse - A study conducted by the Montreal Neurological Institute has confirmed a link between cocaine use and the brain's reward circuits. The risk of addiction was also associated with the reward mechanisms of the brain.

The study showed that snorting cocaine resulted in large levels of dopamine in an area of the brain called the striatum. Dopamine plays a pivotal role in the brain's reaction to reward and addictive chemicals.

Researchers measured the dopamine levels of research subjects by performing PET scans. The brains of the participants were scanned before and after they sniffed cocaine.

Interestingly, the subjects who had had more exposure to cocaine in the past showed a stronger response to the drug upon inhalation. Researchers hypothesize that this learned response plays a role in the development of addiction.

Maricopa Cocaine Abuse - Torture Common in Drug-Related Kidnappings

Maricopa Cocaine Abuse - In Phoenix, drug-related kidnappings happen frequently. Sadly, gruesome torture is a hallmark of these kidnappings.

Drug kidnappings commonly take place among cocaine and other drug traffickers trying to get back at one another. Usually, the kidnappers hold a drug trafficker for a ransom of either money, drugs, or both.

One particularly horrifying kidnapping case involved Jaime Andrade, a cocaine smuggler. Jaime was kidnapped from his Phoenix home, held in a closet for days without food or water, and tortured brutally.

The kidnappers beat and threatened his family until they delivered the requested ransom. Phoenix police say the kidnappings are growing increasingly violent and have become more common in recent years.

Surprise Cocaine Abuse - Cocaine-Related Genes Increase Addiction's Behavioral Effects

Surprise Cocaine Abuse - New research published in the journal Neuron illustrates how cocaine abuse affects the expression of genes. According to the study, cocaine affects gene expression in the area of the brain responsible for reward and pleasure.

The drug's impact on gene expression causes it to have a powerful effect on behavior. The altered gene expression is most prominent in the nucleus accumbens of the brain.

"Although we have known for some time that changes in gene expression contribute to the long-lasting regulation of the brain's reward circuitry that is seen during drug addiction, how those specific genes are regulated is not well understood," commented research author Dr. Eric J. Nestler.

The study's findings are expected to advance the treatment of cocaine addiction. Scientists will try to focus treatments on medications that target gene expression.

Avondale Cocaine Abuse - Online Self-Test for Cocaine Addiction

Avondale Cocaine Abuse - If you suspect you might be addicted to cocaine, you can take a self-test online to find out if you meet the criteria for addiction.

Cocaine Anonymous has one of the best self-tests online. You can find the test at CA.org/literature/selftest.htm.

The test consists of 24 yes/no questions. For example, one of the questions asks if you've ever used more cocaine than you originally planned.

At the end of the test, Cocaine Anonymous will explain your results. If you answer "yes" to most questions, you will likely be classified as an addict.

Buckeye Cocaine Abuse - Cocaine Use Causes Long-Term Depression

Buckeye Cocaine Abuse - A new study by a Stanford University professor suggests that cocaine addiction causes long-term depression in certain areas of the brain.

The study found that the administration of cocaine caused long-lasting depression in the nucleus accumbens of the brain. The nucleus accumbens is known as the brain's "pleasure center."

This area of the brain is thought to play a central role in signaling good feelings and rewards. In former cocaine users, this region showed decreased synaptic transmission, or poor functioning.

The lasting damage cocaine apparently does to the nucleus accumbens may help explain the phenomenon of addiction. When recovering users experience this depression, they may relapse and initiate the cycle of addiction once again.

Chandler Cocaine Abuse - Cocaine's Effects on Brain Metabolism

Chandler Cocaine Abuse - Cocaine's impact on the metabolism of the brain may explain why it has such high potential for abuse, according to a recent study conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Prior to this study, research on cocaine's neurological effects has focused on dopamine transporters in the brain. However, the Brookhaven study found that cocaine affects the brain's metabolism even when dopamine transporters are absent.

In the study, the researchers monitored brain metabolism after cocaine administration in rats with and without dopamine transporters. For both groups, cocaine significantly decreased brain metabolism.

Researchers believe that these metabolic effects may play a strong role in the use of and addiction to cocaine. Scientists believe that correcting these effects may help treat cocaine addiction.

Scottsdale Cocaine Abuse - Why Teens Get Hooked on Cocaine More Easily

Scottsdale Cocaine Abuse - New research with rats may explain why teenagers get hooked on cocaine more readily than adults. In a recent study, adolescent rats demonstrated a heightened sensitivity to cocaine-related cues than adult rats.

When given cocaine, adolescent rats more strongly preferred the place where they obtained the drugs compared with adult rats. This learned association persisted even after researchers broke the cocaine-linked preference.

The findings confirm real-world evidence that teens are more likely to become addicted than adults. Researchers suspect that dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with cocaine abuse, sends more powerful messages in adolescent brains.

The study was conducted by Harvard Medical School. The research was reported in the journal of Behavioral Neuroscience.