Amphetamines could damage heart artery: U.S. study
(Reuters) – Young adults who abuse amphetamines may be more likely to suffer an often fatal tear in the body’s main artery, the aorta, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
A study of medical records from 31 million people aged 18 to 49 and hospitalized from 1995 to 2007 found that those who had abused amphetamines had triple the odds of aortic dissection, the team at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said.
Amphetamines, often called speed or crank, are widely abused but also legitimately used to treat attention deficit disorder, narcolepsy and other sleep disorders. They can also aid in weight loss.
The drugs make the heart beat harder and can raise blood pressure. Researchers have previously found they could raise the risk of heart attack and some had suspected that abusing the drugs could also cause aortal tears.
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Overuse of Antibiotics Spurs Vicious Cycle
(Reuters) – Patients whose doctors over-prescribe antibiotics may develop drug resistance that lasts up to a year, putting them and the population at risk when more serious treatment is needed, scientists said on Wednesday.
The more antibiotics are prescribed for coughs and flu-like illnesses, or urine infections, the more bacteria become resistant in a vicious cycle, said British researchers who analyzed 24 previous studies of antibiotic resistance.
“The effect is greatest in the month immediately after treatment, but may last for up to a year, and this residual effect may be a driver for high levels of resistance in the community,” said Alastair Hay, a consultant senior lecturer in primary health care at Bristol University, who led the research.
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Teen cocaine use on the rise in England as more seek treatment
“I thought cocaine was a bad drug, that it’s up there with the worst drugs, like a dirty drug.
“But after I’d seen normal people my age taking it I thought I’d take it because it can’t be that bad.”
Seventeen-year-old Manny, an unemployed teenager from the West Midlands, had barely left school when he first tried cocaine at a friend’s party 18 months ago.
He was with a group of mates who egged each on other to give it a go.
Manny (not his real name) was no stranger to drugs. He had been smoking strong cannabis since the age of 14 and so had no qualms when it was his turn to do a line.
The fact that it did little for him the first time did not deter him. He now spends up to £200 a month on powder cocaine habit.
I think it’s just one of them drugs that’s not really addictive… I’d say it’s down there with cannabis, just one of the party drugs.
“If you take a big line you can feel like Superman, like you can take on the world, but I just stick to the little ones,” he said.
“It makes me feel good, it makes me feel better, like if I’m feeling down I’ll take a line and I’ll be all right.”
Manny says he has never had a bad experience on cocaine, although he has friends who have gone to hospital after taking too much.
He remains blasé about the risks of taking the drug on a regular basis, and does not think he is at risk of becoming an addict.
He thinks it is one of those drugs that is “not really addictive”.
“I wouldn’t put it up there with crack and heroin. I’d say it’s down there with cannabis; just one of the party drugs.”
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Child cocaine treatment rises by more than 65% in England
The number of under-18s receiving treatment for cocaine addiction in England has increased by more than 65%, NHS figures reveal.
The release of the figures today coincides with the announcement by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) of a review into the drug’s effects based on separate statistics showing that cocaine use has increased five-fold among 16- to 59-year-olds since 1996.
The NHS study, conducted by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (pdf), found that the number of 18- to 24-year-olds receiving treatment has doubled since 2005.
Three-quarters of users combined cocaine with alcohol, according to the report. Mixing causes more damage to the heart and makes users more violent.
After six months of treatment with cognitive behavioural therapy, four in 10 people were no longer addicted, but nearly a quarter had dropped out of treatment.
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