Summary: Studies show that just about 40% of those who begin addiction treatment programs finish it. Moreover, treatment relapse rates are pretty high. It means that the majority of those who start substance abuse treatment fail to benefit. However, studies suggest that non-pharmacological means like regular telephonic follow-up, family support, 12 steps, and spirituality can help improve addiction recovery rates.

Many people living with addiction would like to live a healthy life. Therefore, many of them also join recovery programs. However, it is no secret that many of these de-addiction programs fail long-term. However, initial results may be pretty encouraging.

The National Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services survey shows that less than half of those who start treatment for opioid and alcohol addiction complete it. Furthermore, only about 40% of those joining treatments are estimated to finish it. Needless to say, in the long run, just a small number of them can stay clean.

All this means that only a small fraction of those joining addiction treatment programs benefit in the long run. This is a cause for worry. It means that addiction treatment is not able to help well in most cases. However, researchers think that small changes to addiction treatment can substantially increase addiction recovery rates.

Researchers have not realized the factors that influence recovery rates. Using these new techniques means that more than 70% who start substance abuse treatment can finish it, and most of them can stay clean for years. Some are able to live addiction free for the rest of their life.

The Suboxone program is another form taken up for opioid addiction treatment. 

It appears that during treatment, there is a need to resolve addictive behavior. It is about teaching those living with substance use disorder (SUD) new ways of countering their well-established habits. It is also about providing much-needed social support.

For example, a simple measure of making a phone call twice a month may help a patient stay clean. It helps them mentally and emotionally. They feel better connected with their treating doctors. Studies suggest that even such a simple measure of keeping regular contact with the patients can increase their chances of staying addiction free by almost twice. Thus, in addiction treatment, follow-up with patients is critical.

Many other factors influence long-time recoveries, like better social support, family support, and engagement with peer groups. 

Further, recovery rates can be increased significantly through a 12-steps program and spirituality. 

It is about realizing that recovery is a lifelong process. Just completing a few week-long treatments does not mean that a person will be able to stay clean for long. Thus, the two most important factors ensuring long-term recovery are social/emotional support and behavioral therapy.

A 12-step program and spirituality can also help enforce certain things. First, one needs to practice spirituality daily. It is about strengthening willpower, increasing self-confidence, and believing that one can overcome addiction. It is also about developing a moral inventory. Finally, it is about accepting shortcomings and working on them. Prayers and meditation may also help eliminate weaknesses and promote spiritual awakening.

When it comes to long-term recovery, it is not so much about drug therapy as it is about non-pharmacological means. There is increasing evidence that follow-up with patients, providing them with social support, and teaching them ways to alter their behavior can have a significant impact. 

Therefore, all those seeking treatment for their addiction must pay particular attention to the non-pharmacological treatments provided by any addiction center, like social support, 12 Steps, spirituality,  teaching social and cognitive coping, and more.

Summary: Those living with opioid use disorder are generally hesitant to seek medical help. However, covid-19 epidemic has only made things worse. Thus, policymakers legalized providing medical care to those living with OUD via telehealth. However, there have been some concerns regarding the decision. The new study shows that telehealth is beneficial for those living with OUD and is associated with a reduced risk of overdose events. This underscores the importance of telehealth in providing treatment and care for opioid addiction treatment.

The scale and extent of covid-19 pandemic took everyone by surprise. The world was not ready for the pandemic. This created many challenges. It made providing medical help to a specific group of patients more difficult. Moreover, due to covid-19, people got confined to homes and traveled less often. It also means that covid-19 related restrictions created a barrier to seeking medical help.

 

It is no secret the those living with opioid use disorder (OUD) are less likely to seek medical help. There are many reasons, from social stigma to disbelief in the system. For such individuals, things became even more difficult during the pandemic times.

Fortunately, US policymakers realized this challenge faced by people living with OUD and legalized telehealth for OUD. It means that for the first time, doctors could legally prescribe opioids used to manage OUD without seeing a patient. However, this change in policy was not well received by everyone. Many were skeptical of such a change and worried that it might even make the ongoing opioid overdose epidemic worst, as opioids would become more accessible for many.

Fortunately, a new study shows that these policy changes have been beneficial and resulted in reduced risk of overdose. The study was carried out by researchers from CDC, NIDA, NIH, and CMS. The results of the study were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

In the study, researchers analyzed the data of 175,778 Medicare beneficiaries from September 2018 to February 2021. They focused on analyzing the events of an overdose in those who received medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) through telehealth during the pandemic.

They had several interesting findings:

• They found that there was a sudden upsurge in people seeking telehealth services for OUD. Thus, these numbers increased from 0.6% to 19.6% during the pandemic.
• Interestingly, they also found that people receiving telehealth care were more likely to receive MOUD, which was 12.6% for telehealth. In contrast, these numbers were 10.8% for those who visited the doctors.
• Telehealth services had many positive effects on patient care. Thus, those treated for OUD were more likely to stick to their treatment. In addition, patients were less likely to overdose on their drugs.

Researchers say that their findings show that telehealth services helped overcome the barrier to medical care for addiction. This barrier to seeking medical help is among the most important reasons why many do not seek medical help. Lack of treatment and support naturally means a greater risk of a drug overdose. 

Researchers say that there is clear evidence of the benefit of telehealth. It is not just good for patients; it can be lifesaving for many. In addition, it is clear that telehealth can have many long-term positive effects on patients.

The study also noted some disparities due to an existing digital divide. Thus, non-Hispanic black people were less likely to seek tele help. Therefore, countering this digital divide is vital for fully exploiting the benefits of telehealth.

Researchers say that though the covid-19 pandemic has created many challenges for the healthcare system, it has also provided opportunities for investigating various ways of providing healthcare.

To sum up, this study is supportive of telehealth for OUD, and it shows that these services must be continued even in the post-pandemic era. 

Summary: Vaping was promoted as a safe alternative to tobacco smoking. However, experience shows that it is far from true. Vaping has its own set of health risks. For example, it is known to cause severe effects on lungs leading to fatal outcomes. However, now, new studies suggest that it may be addictive, increase the risk of addiction to other substances, and may have many other longer-term adverse consequences for wellbeing. The new study suggests that various vaping juices may cause increased expression of inflammatory mediators in multiple organs, including the brain, heart, lung, and colon. Moreover, the study also found that the adverse effects of different flavors differ.

Treating one kind of addiction with another less dangerous addiction is not an ideal solution to the problem. Vaping has picked up in recent years. Initially, many promoted it as a way of overcoming tobacco addiction.

However, things are changing fast, and many people vape who never used tobacco. It means that vaping itself is emerging as a significant problem. Moreover, studies show that it is not as safe as imagined earlier and may cause some unique health issues. Data regarding its adverse health effects is still emerging.

What is worrisome is that vaping is a pastime activity of young minds. Most people vaping is between the ages of 18-24. It is also worth understanding that vaping has only picked up in the last few years.

Therefore, it may even become a significant health concern if timely measures are not taken. Therefore, there is an urgent need to raise awareness regarding the health risks associated with vaping. Furthermore, considering how fast people accept vaping and get addicted to it, most people may start vaping in a decade.

Vaping may alter inflammatory responses of the brain, heart, lungs, and colon

It is now known that vaping causes severe and life-threatening lung disease in some. It is already causing a few deaths each year. However, these findings are insufficient to raise awareness regarding the health risks of vaping addiction, as people see it as something uncommon. Most people see vaping-related lung disease as a rare disorder affecting a few.

However, people do not realize that vaping may have many long-term ill effects on health.

Studying the ill effects of vaping on health is more challenging than understanding the risk of tobacco addiction. Unlike cigarettes that use various tobacco strains with varying degrees of nicotine, vaping uses many different kinds of vape juices with quite different chemical compositions.

It means that vaping one kind of liquid may have a certain set of side effects. While using another type of vaping juice may have completely distinct side effects.

The new study published in the journal eLife explored the ill effects of various commonly available vaping flavors or some of the leading vaping devices like JUUL.

In the study, researchers were especially amazed by the significant elevation of inflammatory markers that are associated with poor brain health and an even higher risk of neurodegenerative disorders. Experts noted that vaping fluids caused changes in gene expression in the brain. They found that this effect is especially marked in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region that plays a vital role in the reward pathway.

These findings are concerning, as they suggest that vaping may also increase the dangers of mental health disorders. Thus, it may increase the risk of anxiety, depression, and more. In addition, it may also cause behavioral changes, increasing the risk of addictive behavior. This may also increase a person’s risk of substance abuse and addiction.

Similarly, the authors of the study noted that certain vaping juices increase colon inflammation. However, these changes were seen after one month of regular vaping.

Similarly, vaping influences gene expression and increases inflammation of the lungs and even other body tissues.

Researchers also noticed that the inflammatory response of different organs differed to various vaping flavors. This is explained by the different chemical compositions of various vaping juices.

These findings are also relevant in the context of the covid-19 epidemic since the body of those addicted to vaping would respond differently to the infection.

It appears that apart from general immunity, every organ has its immune environment. Thus, these findings are disturbing, as they indicate that vaping may alter the immune responses of individual organs. It may have unpredictable ill effects on health, especially over the long term which form sufficient reasons to quit vaping.

Summary: Substance abuse disorder (SUD) is a significant health problem. Drug addiction is among the leading causes of mortality in young adults. Medical specialists often struggle to treat SUD, and it has a high relapse rate. A new longitudinal study with a follow-up period of 32 years shows that those who abuse substances in adolescence are more likely to abuse substances in their older age. Thus, people are not likely to grow out of their old addiction. This underlines the importance of seeking early addiction treatment and prolonged care.

Substance abuse disorders are the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in young adults. The problem of substance use disorder (SUD) is even increasing in older adults. Studies now suggest that it is something that starts in adolescence, and people are unlikely to grow out of it.

SUD, or addiction to various substances, including drug addiction, is now a well-studied phenomenon. It is a problem of colossal scale. What is worrisome is that there are no signs that people are anywhere close to overcoming this problem. It remains a major health problem, and even worse are the findings that its prevalence continues to increase.

Treating teenage drug and alcohol abuse is challenging, and there are high relapse rates. Thus, there is a need to counter the problem in its early stages. Hence, it is vital to prevent or manage SUD in adolescents and young adults.

Generally, as people grow older, their habits and preferences change. Therefore, they are pretty likely to give up certain habits. However, the new findings published in the journal JAMA are worrisome, as they indicate that people are not likely to grow out of the problem of SUD.

The findings of the study done by the New University of Michigan are pretty grim. It has been quite a long study with a follow-up period of 32 years. The study found that most of those addicted to various substances at the age of 18 were still suffering from SUD, even after three decades.

Some of the significant findings of study were:

• The study found that addiction problems or SUD was common in adolescents, with 12% living with severe symptoms.
• The follow-up study found that those with severe SUD were more likely to abuse substances or suffer from addiction as adults.
• This relationship between SUD at an early age and the risk of addiction later in life was more visible in those addicted to alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs in their adolescence.
• Most adults prescribed medications like opioids, sedatives, and benzodiazepines were those living with SUD during their adolescence.

Experts say this is a wake-up call, as it shows that the problem of SUD starts quite early and continues to affect people for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, it means that treating addiction at a young age is of significant importance, as preventing addiction in those living with SUD in adolescence is quite challenging.

Another issue is the choice of medications. Many medications used to treat alcohol and opioid addiction may also increase the risk of SUD later in life. Thus, people treated with anti anxiety drugs, painkillers, and given sedatives at a young age are also more likely to develop SUD later in life.

It also underlines the importance of history taking when treating older adults living with SUD. Knowing more about their past habits and what medications they took as young adults is vital.

The study also found that most people living with SUD did not seek opioid treatment. Thus, educating people and raising awareness of the topic is also necessary. This education regarding the health risks of addiction must continue through adulthood.

Additionally, people with a history of abusing multiple substances during adolescence must be treated as high-risk individuals. These are the people who are pretty likely to misuse drugs later in their life.

Further, experts recommend that there is a need to find innovative ways of preventing SUD in older adults. For example, health insurance may include other services aimed at preventing and treating relapse later in life.

This study clearly highlights the importance of long-term follow-up of individuals who were treated for SUD as young adults. Such individuals should get continuous education and care during their adulthood.

Summary: Tobacco smoking is a significant cause of many diseases like lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and immune dysfunction, to name a few. Fortunately, smoking rates have declined during the last few decades. This has also resulted in a reduced incidence of lung cancer and many other smoking-associated conditions. Nonetheless, smoking still remains a significant health concern. 12.5% of the population still continues to smoke. Therefore, there is a need to find effective ways to help people quit smoking. One of the good ways to help people is nicotine replacement therapy. However, the new study shows that nicotine replacement therapy is almost twice more effective if combined with intensive telephone-based counseling.

Smoking, particularly tobacco or cigarette smoking, can be pretty harmful to health. It can harm almost every organ of the human body. Thus, no surprise that despite declining smoking rates, about 16 million adults are still living with smoking-related ailments. Smoking is a significant cause of lung cancer, various lung diseases, heart disease, stroke, COPD, immune dysfunction, and more.

 

Fortunately, people now realize the health risks posed by smoking. This is evident from the falling rates of smoking. Just in the last couple of decades, millions have quit smoking. As a result, smoking rates since 2005 have fallen from 20.9% to 12.5%. This has also helped reduce lung cancer rates significantly and reduce cancer-related mortality. Nonetheless, a considerable population continues to smoke, and thus the need to find ways to reduce smoking rates as further.

 

Smoking continues to pose a significant health threat

 

To know how addictive cigarettes are; smoking still continues to kill close to half a million people in the US alone each year. The fight against tobacco is far from over. Therefore, there is a need to find ways to help more and more people quit smoking.

 

At present, there are many ways to help people quit smoking. One of the well-known and effective ways to reduce or quit smoking is using nicotine-based chewing gums. These gums contain small amounts of nicotine to reduce tobacco craving. These nicotine-containing gums are still harmful to health, but they help.

 

It appears that in many cases, simple methods work, like practicing relaxation techniques and reminding individuals to quit smoking. The new study shows that reminding people to quit smoking over the telephone may also help. It seems that telephone-based counseling is especially useful when used with other methods like nicotine replacement therapy.

 

A new study confirms the effectiveness of intensive telephone-based counseling

 

Recently Georgetown University Medical Center carried out a study in which they explored the role of intensive telephone-based counseling in smoking cessation. It is interestingly studied as it enrolled long-term smokers aged 50-80 years of age. They enrolled 818 habitual smokers in the study. Some people have been smoking for more than ten years.

 

They randomly divided these individuals into two groups. One group was given nicotine replacement therapy (like nicotine gum, patches, and so on) along with usual health advice. However, another group was given intensive telephone-based counseling along with nicotine replacement therapy.

 

The researchers were amazed to see that smoking cessation rates were double in those with intensive telephone counseling. In those with regular treatment and counseling, the smoking cessation rate was 7.9% after three months. However, this rate was 14.3% after three months in those who received intensive telephone counseling.

 

These smoking cessation rates were measured through self-report by the patients. However, researchers also decided to check if patients were telling the truth. Thus, they checked their patients with the help of saliva strips for carbon monoxide to confirm the smoking cessation rates. And they found that though actual smoking cessation rates were a bit lower, in those with intensive telephone counseling, smoking cessation rates were twice as higher than in another group.

 

This study confirms the benefit of medical counseling and use of telemedicine addiction treatment in smoking cessation. Although one can buy nicotine replacement patches and gums without a doctor’s prescription, this study shows that smoking cessation rates would be much higher in those who would seek medical advice. This highlights the importance of specialized clinics in helping people quit smoking.

Summary: Depression is the most common mental health disorder. Although it may affect most people in their lifetime, 8.4% of Americans live with severe depression, also called Major Depression. Tens of medications and telehealth treatment are available to treat the condition, and patients have to take them for years. However, many fail to benefit from prolonged treatment. The new study shows that genetic testing may help identify the right kind of antidepressants for patients, and thus it can help improve treatment outcomes.

For those living with depression, getting treatment that helps is a significant issue. It means that millions of people continue to live with depression despite taking many medications. The new study provides hope, showing that genetic testing may help improve treatment outcomes.

Anxiety and depression are the two most common mood disorders. These are also the most common mental health disorders globally. Among the two, depression is a more severe condition since it is associated with fatal outcomes. People with severe or major depression may show suicidal tendencies.

Depression may affect about one-third of adults in their lifetime. Fortunately, most are affected by mild to moderate depression, which is often a self-limiting mental health issue. However, US data suggests that about 8.4% or 21 million US adults may experience major depressive episodes. Unlike mild to moderate depression, Major depression is a severe illness requiring pharmacological treatment.

Some signs of major depression include lack of sleep, energy, concentration, low self-worth, and even suicidal thoughts. Thus, it is something that must be treated in all cases.

Identifying the right antidepressant is challenging

There are a plethora of antidepressant drugs. However, the problem is that none of these medications work for all; thus, choosing the proper medication is a significant challenge. Even worse, many fail to experience substantial benefits even after taking multiple drugs. In addition, many fail to respond to prolonged drug therapy.

Although there are many antidepressants, the major problem is finding the right drug that may work for that particular individual. There is no reliable way to know which drug is the best for a given patient. However, if there were a way or medical test that could suggest the right antidepressant for an individual, then the treatment would be much better.

Genetic testing may help identify the right antidepressant for an individual

It appears that a study by the US Department of Veterans Affairs has identified the way of finding the right drug for various patients. They have also found a way to improve the efficacy of the treatment. In addition, specific genetic tests may help identify the right kind of drugs for various patients.

This genetic testing is not for depression or genes associated with depression. Instead, it is about understanding how a person metabolizes specific medications. For example, all antidepressants are metabolized in the liver. The liver metabolizes these drugs using CYP450 enzymes or metabolic pathways. These enzymes seem more active in some and less active in others. Thus, the same antidepressant medication may be quickly metabolized in one and much slower in another. Hence the difference in the drug efficacy.

In the study that included 2000 patients, researchers carried out gene testing. They found that 59% of patients who have undergone gene testing could receive medications without known drug-gene interaction. On the contrary, only 26% of patients received such medicines in the control group.

Since genetic testing helps select the right kind of medications. Researchers found that at 12 weeks, the drop in depression symptoms in those with genetic testing was much more than in those who were not tested. However, the study also found that at about 24 weeks, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.

This study shows that genetic testing may help provide faster relief from major depression in many instances. Although, in the long run, it does not seem to affect the treatment outcomes much.
This is among the first studies of this kind, which is significant because it has a large sample size (number of participants). Thus, the study is highly reliable. Nonetheless, there is still a need for more studies to start recommending genetic tests for those living with major depression. However, this study confirms that genetic testing can be included in treating major depression, as it can help select the right antidepressants.

Summary: Connecticut legalized recreational marijuana in June 2021; by October, there were 39 reports of overdose. However, doctors now believe that fentanyl-laced marijuana caused these cases of acute toxicity. Although doctors could demonstrate fentanyl-laced marijuana in just one case, they know that fentanyl-laced drugs are pretty common. Moreover, the history of patients shows that 30 out of 39 had a history of opioid abuse. Thus, intentionally, or unintentionally, they were exposed to fentanyl. However, for legal reasons, they were hesitant to report the truth. Nevertheless, it is something that all users of legal marijuana must be aware of.

Marijuana is finally legal in many US states. People have been demanding to legalize marijuana for a long. There are many reasons for such a demand. After all, humans have used marijuana for ages, and despite some ill effects, it does not cause severe addiction or toxicity. Moreover, its health harms are well known to science. In short, it is a relatively safer substance of abuse and is of natural origin. But not only that as it also has some health benefits like pain reduction, managing gastrointestinal issues, and more.

 

Connecticut became the latest state to legalize marijuana in July 2021 finally. But then came the reports of severe intoxication with it. Within the three months of legalization, 39 reports of marijuana overdose were reported. However, the cases were not typical of marijuana overdose, and they benefited greatly from the naloxone dosage. Naloxone is mainly used to manage opioid overdose. This led experts to believe that people have misinformed doctors. Either intentionally or non-intentionally, they smoked fentanyl-laced marijuana. Moreover, testing of some samples confirmed the theory.

 

Recreational use of marijuana may be legal in some states. However, not everyone is going to use it for health conditions or responsibly. Many people addicted to street drugs and opioids are also likely to use marijuana. However, for many of them, marijuana fails to provide the kind of high they are looking for, and thus they might use marijuana laced with other drugs. In other cases, it may occur without users knowing about it. Some of the opioids are much cheaper to produce than growing marijuana. Thus, adding them to marijuana may help users achieve more substantial effects quickly.

 

Fentanyl-laced marijuana poses a significant health threat

One such opioid commonly mixed with various substances of abuse is fentanyl. It is a synthetic opioid. It is produced cheaply at the industrial scale and is readily available. Thus, it is often mixed with more expensive drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and more. This helps to produce addictive drugs cheaply. Unfortunately, however, many people unknowingly may use such drugs or fentanyl-laced marijuana.

 

However, here it is vital to understand that some addicted to opioids may do it intentionally. But, if they overdose on fentanyl, they are not likely to report it to avoid legal issues. Thus, they are more likely to inform only about marijuana use.

 

This kind of mixing is dangerous in many ways, as users are unaware of what they took. This also creates a problem for doctors treating drug overdose. Even if the users know that they have overdosed on fentanyl, they still avoid telling the truth. But doctors know that marijuana may cause acute toxicity but rarely causes severe issues like breathing problems or loss of consciousness, unlike fentanyl or other opioids.

 

Although in the Connecticut cases, experts could find fentanyl-laced marijuana in just one of the samples. Still, they have a firm reason to believe that most, if not all, of the cases, were due to fentanyl overdose. This is apparent in the history of users, as 30 out of 39 were known to have opioid abuse history. Additionally, doctors can judge based on the symptoms. Further, naloxone, a drug used to treat opioid overdose, could help in most cases.

 

Although not everyone believes the case of fentanyl-laced marijuana, experts warn that it is more common than many people realize. Fentanyl-laced drugs are pretty common, so why could fentanyl-laced marijuana not be possible?

 

Doctors warn that marijuana users be careful and aware of this, as fentanyl-laced marijuana or drugs may cause much more severe health effects. It is the common cause of unintentional drug overdose and death.

Summary: Substance abuse or addiction is the leading cause of mortality among young adults. It is a highly preventable condition. However, with high relapse rates, modern addiction treatment is far from satisfactory. Thus, there is a need to find more effective ways of addiction treatment. In the retrograde study, researchers found that people with brain lesions of certain parts of the brain were able to quit smoking. They found that this was associated with some changes in brain circuits. They think that in the future, these findings may help treat addiction. Doctors can identify and then alter the activity of these brain circuits by using different non-invasive methods.

Substance abuse is the leading cause of death among young adults. It results in several hundred thousand deaths in the US alone each year. Most of these deaths could be prevented through effective addiction treatment.

However, despite years of research, addiction treatment is far from satisfactory, with high relapse rates. The truth is that most people fail to benefit from addiction treatment.

The problem with modern addiction treatments is that they do not focus on exact brain areas. Instead, doctors use different addiction treatment methods like nicotine replacement therapy to reduce nicotine cravings. Similarly, they might use drugs to reduce cravings for various other substances.

However, science also knows that brains are wired quite differently in some individuals, and they do not become addicted to substances, even after prolonged substance use.

Not only that, researchers have found that many people can get rid of their addiction or make a complete recovery after a stroke or specific brain injuries. Again, this underlines the importance of specific brain pathways or circuits in substance abuse.

Suppose science could clearly understand the role of various brain centers, and circuits in addiction. In that case, they might be able to create brain lesions through surgery or use non-invasive methods to stimulate specific brain circuits and thus help people eliminate their addictions.

A new study could confirm the role of brain circuits in addiction

This new study is a step forward in addiction treatment. Researchers could identify the connection between certain brain circuits and addiction. This study differs in the way that, unlike early studies focusing on certain brain centers, this study focused on specific brain circuits.

It means that stimulating the different parts of the brain may help get rid of addiction. However, this means that the focus must be on modulating brain circuits, not specific brain centers.
This particular study is a retrograde study. Researchers found that some individuals could quit smoking after a stroke or other brain lesions. However, they understood that this must be related to disruptions in certain brain circuits.

In the study, researchers found that although all the people who could get rid of their addiction had lesions at different locations, these locations were part of specific brain circuits. It means that it is not vital to alter the working of specific brain centers to treat addiction. Instead, doctors need to focus on specific brain circuits.

There could be many ways to alter these brain circuits, like creating lesions through surgery. However, researchers are more interested in non-invasive methods like deep brain stimulation, MRI-guided ultrasound, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. These non-invasive methods are pretty safe and can help alter brain circuits.

Researchers think they are on the right path, as understanding the role of brain circuits in various disorders can also help treat various neurological conditions. For example, it may help manage tremors associated with different brain disorders.

Researchers say that there are still some limitations to their findings. This present study mainly focused on nicotine addiction in those who suffered brain lesions. They are unsure if similar kinds of brain circuits are involved in other types of addictions like alcohol.

Additionally, these are retrograde studies in those who suffered from brain lesions due to some disease. However, researchers would need to find ways of modulating these brain circuits safely in healthy adults, to help them overcome addiction.