Optimal Being

If addicted opiate users are undergoing withdrawal treatment, supplementation with an extract of  Passiflora incarnata  reduces the symptoms of withdrawal . Psychiatrists at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran published a small human trial in 2001 in which they tried to help 65 opiate users overcome their addiction. They gave all subjects clonidine for 2 weeks to reduce the side effects of withdrawal. Some of them also used 60 drops of a liquid supplement containing   Passiflora incarnata   every day. The researchers do not provide details about the product. Results The subjects who received  Passiflora incarnata  in addition to clonidine suffered as much from the physical effects of withdrawal as the subjects who only took clonidine. However, supplementation did reduce the mental effects of withdrawal - and consequently the overall withdrawal scores Conclusion Supplementation with   Passiflora incarnata   did not reduce physical withdra...

Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disorder. Multiple neural networks in the brain including the reward system (e.g., the mesocorticolimbic system), the anti-reward/stress system (e.g., the extended amygdala), and the central immune system, are involved in the development of drug addiction and relapse after withdrawal from drugs of abuse. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that it is promising to control drug addiction by pharmacologically targeting the addiction-related systems in the brain. Here we review the pharmacological targets within the dopamine system, glutamate system, trace amine system, anti-reward system, and central immune system, which are of clinical interests. Furthermore, we discuss other potential therapies, e.g., brain stimulation, behavioral treatments, and therapeutic gene modulation, which could be effective to treat drug addiction. We conclude that, although drug addiction is a complex disorder that involves complicated neural mechanis...