Drug abuse is changing fast: Old drugs are falling from favor, new ones are growing

In recent years, hundreds of new drugs have appeared on the recreational drugs market in Europe and the U.S. New psychoactive substances, mainly stimulants and cannabinoids from China sold on the internet, proliferate too quickly for anyone to keep track of them. Websites such as Erowid.org create lists of those drugs.

It is all part of the rapid diversification of recreational drugs, fuelled by chemical ingenuity and by new distribution possibilities opened up by the internet.

New drugs of misuse, including ketamine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and a range of synthetic stimulants, have become part of global recreational drug culture. Use in combination with other substances (especially alcohol) is common and increases the associated health risks.

"A to Z" list of substances

"Talk to Frank" is a British government-funded website for drug abuse prevention and treatment tips for the general public available at http://talktofrank.com

The "A to Z" list of substances explains appearance and use, effects, chances of getting hooked, health risks and the UK law. It also includes information on peer pressure, etc.



References:

Drug use and abuse. The Economist, 2011.

New recreational drugs and the primary care approach to patients who use them. BMJ, 2012.

Comments from Facebook:

Pierrette Mimi Poinsett: And alcohol and tobacco remain the two most abused drugs eclipsing all the others combined.

Why Dog Owners Live Longer - "dogs could be called wonder drugs"

Dogs are the most diverse mammal species on the planet (http://buff.ly/1pxxt0k). They can vary in weight from 6 lb (3kg) to 200 lb (90kg) when fully grown and have widely differing body shapes and hair types.

BBC: Have you ever wondered why it's so relaxing to hang out with a dog?



Dogs could be called wonder drugs

People who have dogs as pets are much less likely to have a heart attack. If they do have a heart attack, they are 2-3 times more likely to survive it.

Over more than 100,000 years dogs have evolved to recognize human emotions. It has been a collaborative process all along. Humans are able to recognize 6 types of dog barks expressing emotions and "intentions" such as fear, excitement, aggression and so on. Dogs are the only animals that specifically look at the right side of the human face where emotions are expressed.

Dogs follow directions while chimpanzees, the apes evolutionary closest to humans, do not. The smartest dog can learn 300 different words which is the vocabulary size of a 2-year-old child.

The "400 mnemonic":

400 million dogs worldwide
400 breeds of dogs have been developed by humans

According to a Cleveland Clinic psychologist, "dogs could be called wonder drugs":



Related:

Doctor's Dog Will See You Now - Therapists Use 'Canine Assistants' to Comfort and Cheer Patients http://buff.ly/1cTwfDW
Dogs Decoded transcript and more. NOVA.

Rock star Ozzy Osbourne to CNN: "Between drugs and STDs, I'm lucky to be alive today"

"Ozzy Osbourne, the former front man of rock group Black Sabbath, says that after decades of living a life of drugs and sex, he's lucky to be alive today. Osbourne described how he often played a dangerous game when it came to using drugs and having promiscuous sex. "With the drugs, it nearly killed me on a daily basis -- I did a lot of heavy drug taking for a long time and I survived it by the grace of God. Answering a viewer's question on whether he realized his power to change people's lives, Osbourne replied with shock. "When you're on the inside looking, you don't see it that way," Osbourne said. "But I suppose you're right. I do -- I do have the power to change people's lives." Why aging rock stars still tour: "Once the lights go down and the crowds roar, something magical happens. All your aches and pains go" http://buff.ly/1hfxi3x References: Ozzy Osbourne: I'm living on borrowed time. CNN.

"Researchers studying Ozzy Osbourne's DNA found that the singer is descendant of Neanderthals" http://goo.gl/7Fa8 Related:

16% of motorists may be under the influence of drugs during weekends - one in six cars

Motorists under the influence of drugs are a growing threat on U.S. roads. If you think about driving on a Friday or Saturday evening about 16% of the vehicles - one in six of the cars - the driver will be under the influence of an illicit or licit drug.

"Drugged driving" hampers judgment, reaction time, driving skills and memory.

Video: "Fall down alcohol test".

References:

U.S. says drugged driving growing threat. Reuters.

Am I driving a car? Drunk motorist stuns police http://goo.gl/D9NOa
Drunk Driving, Distracted Driving, Moralism, and Public Health - NEJM
30% of U.S. adults have been arrested by age 23: study. Reuters, 2011.

Gout update: New drugs for an old disease

Febuxostat is a non-purine-analogue inhibitor of xanthine oxidase that opened a new era in the treatment of gout.

Modified uricases

The use of modified uricases to rapidly reduce serum urate concentrations in patients with otherwise untreatable gout is progressing. Pegloticase, a pegylated uricase, is in development.

JAMA update, 08/2011: New Treatment Offers Hope for Patients With Severe Gout: pegloticase (Krystexxa) costs $2,500 per dose (http://goo.gl/gz9sO).

Drugs in development

Transport of uric acid in the renal proximal tubule and the inflammatory response to monosodium urate crystals (shown above) are targets for potential new treatments.

Several pipeline drugs for gout related to the targets above include:

- selective uricosuric drug RDEA594

- various interleukin-1 inhibitors. Canakinumab (trade name Ilaris) is a human monoclonal antibody targeted at interleukin-1 beta. It was rejected by the FDA panel in June 2011.

References:

Gout therapeutics: new drugs for an old disease. The Lancet, Volume 377, Issue 9760, Pages 165 - 177, 8 January 2011.
Diuretics, beta-blockers, ACEi, non-losartan ARBs associated with increased risk of gout vs. CCB lower risk. BMJ, 2012.
With FDA Approval, a Gout Drug Now Costs $5 Instead of Pennies - WSJ, 2011.
FDA Panel Rejects Gout Drug Canakinumab on Safety Concerns http://goo.gl/lO9uy
The strange story that links gout with the birth of the cocktail drinks. Lancet, 2012.
Image source: Spiked rods of uric acid (MSU) crystals from a synovial fluid sample photographed under a microscope with polarized light. Wikipedia, public domain.