Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are DNA sequence variations that occur when a single nucleotide in the genome sequence is altered. Prior research suggested an association between SNPs in a gene that encodes aspects of the brain's gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA)-A receptors (the GABRA2 gene) and alcohol dependence...

During the 60th session of the Africa Committee of the WHO on Monday, Luis Sambo, regional director of the WHO for Africa, proposed the creation of a public health emergency fund to provide financial support to African countries in emergency situations, Agencia AngolaPress reports (8/30)...

Ezlopitant, a compound known to suppress craving for alcohol in humans, was shown to decrease consumption of sweetened water by rodents in a study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, which is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco...

Michael Douglas told a US television audience on Tuesday night that he has been diagnosed with and is receiving treatment for stage four throat cancer. Speaking on David Letterman's "Late Show" to promote the release of his new film "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps", the 65- year old American actor and producer said his doctors had told him he has an 80 per cent chance of survival...

September's National Pain Awareness Month has never been more important for the state of Florida. Recent data from the Florida Medical Examiner shows residents are dying at a rate of at least 7 per day as a result of prescription drug abuse...

Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), announced $22 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 169 communities and 16 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country...

Hispanic middle school students may be more likely to smoke, drink or use marijuana than their peers of other races and ethnicities, whereas Asian students seem to have the lowest risk, according to new research in the September issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs...

A study published in the scientific journal Addiction argues that privatising Sweden's government monopoly on the sale of alcohol will significantly increase alcohol-related violence and other harms...

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) and NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland can confirm that they are investigating the death of a drug injecting heroin user in Leicestershire. Testing of samples from the patient has confirmed the presence of anthrax. This is the fourth case of anthrax seen in an injecting drug user in England, the first being announced in London on 5 February 2010...

The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Scenic View Dairy of Hamilton, Mich., its president, and three of its managers alleging that they sold dairy cows for human consumption that contained illegal drug residues in edible tissues. The complaint, filed Aug. 31, 2010, in the U.S...