Pharmacotherapy, as a means of treating drug addiction in combination with other treatment modalities, has received too little attention from the research community, the pharmaceutical industry, public health officials, and the federal government. Medications to combat drug addiction could have an enormous impact on the medical consequences and socioeconomic problems associated with drug abuse, both for drug-dependent individuals and for American society as a whole. This book examines the current environment for and obstacles to the development of anti-addiction medications, specifically those for treating opiate and cocaine addictions, and proposes incentives for the pharmaceutical industry that would help overcome those obstacles and accelerate the development of anti-addiction medications.

Sports heroes, executives, and the homeless -- cocaine permeates every inch of our society, with tragic results. Although casual use of cocaine has clearly declined, the number of daily users, in particular those using crack, continues to climb. Why do people continue to use cocaine? What is its appeal? How does it affect the body and mind? What can a person do if a family member or friend is using cocaine? In the past decade, the introduction of "crack" has increased the popularity of cocaine. Treatments have changed to adapt to this new, cheaper, more widely available drug. This Second Edition of Cocaine -- by three noted psychiatrists from Harvard University and the University of Utah -- highlights the tremendous research effort that has been mounted to discover the most effective way to help cocaine-dependent patients. It covers what cocaine is, the different methods of its use, its effects on the brain and other organs, and its psychological and social consequences for users and those around them -- both at home and in the workplace. This book also covers cocaine addiction -- how it happens, who is at risk, how to treat it, and how to find help. Cocaine includes a list of commonly asked questions about the drug and a self-test to determine if you or someone you love is dependent on cocaine.

With the use of crack on the rise in American cities, there is more need than ever to understand the biological, environmental, and social factors behind cocaine addiction, as well as the pharmacological properties of cocaine that make it such an addictive drug. The Neurobiology of Cocaine Addiction helps clinicians and researchers analyze research findings and their relevance to the clinical treatment of cocaine dependency. To do this, it looks at the whole spectrum of cocaine use, from trends in cocaine-involved deaths, hospital emergencies, arrests, and treatment admissions to the specific impact the drug has on brain function. The book reports on important findings from positron emission tomography (PET) and a “binge” pattern cocaine administration mode. This will enable you to improve your understanding of how cocaine alters the pleasure/reward system of the brain and creates new instinctual needs that displace the inherent instinctual needs of hunger and sex. By reading The Neurobiology of Cocaine Addiction, you will sharpen your knowledge of the basic actions of cocaine, the factors related to daily cocaine use, the neurobiological basis of addictive diseases, and drug-induced alterations in normal physiology. You will also learn about: the coexistence of cocaine and heroin addiction cocaine’s disruption of the endogenous opioid system QEEG and how it can play a potentially useful role in drug development and planning hypotheses of sensitization in the pathophysiology of cocaine dependence factors that predict daily cocaine use among patients in a methadone maintenance program abnormalities in brain function that persist for up to six months after last cocaine use patterns of cocaine use the importance of prospective data analysis and the limitations of a self-selective study group Clinicians, researchers, psychiatrists, and other professionals in chemical dependency and narcotics rehabilitation will turn the last page of The Neurobiology of Cocaine Addiction with a better understanding of cocaine’s addictive qualities and the characteristics of the individuals who become addicted to it. You will see what headway has been made in research at some of the nation’s top laboratories, but you will also see what remains to be done. Hopefully, you will find where you can make a contribution either at the practical level, the research level, or both.