Hormones may be related to substance use disorder and relapse in women; it's an important discovery

Your hormones can affect your health in many different ways and, according to a press release, new research conducted by the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research reveals that hormones can be linked to disorders related to the use of psychoactive substances among women. The researchers published a study in the journal Nature Neuropsychopharmacology According to the press release, not only can women's hormone cycles make them more likely to be affected by a substance use disorder, but they are also more likely to be affected by triggers that lead to relapses. in the use of substances. The researchers say their findings are extremely important because of the lack of research on the specific effects of substance use on women.

"Women who are addicted to drugs can be a fundamentally different process from men," said Erin Calipari, badistant professor of pharmacology at the Vanderbilt Addiction Research Center, in a press release. "It's important to understand this because it's the first step in developing truly effective treatments."

According to the press release, the researchers allowed male and female rats to access a substance by pressing a lever. When the rats had access to the substance, a green light was lit to simulate environmental triggers in people taking substances, the press release said. When circulating hormones (composed mainly of hormones related to the endocrine system) were high, the researchers found that female rats had stronger badociations with light and were more likely to push the lever "as much as". it was necessary. "To get the stuff.

The researchers said the environmental trigger – the green light – prompted female rats to "pay more" to access the substance. "We found that animals would rely on a lever only to get light, these environmental stimuli. This is valuable to them, "said Calipari in the press release. And researchers say that these results are transferable to humans.

The Vanderbilt team is certainly not the first to link hormones to a greater case of addiction. A 2014 study published in Current psychiatric reports found that estrogen can enhance the effects of substances such as cocaine and amphetamines. The National Institute Against Drug Abuse (NIH) also reports that scientists have discovered that hormones could make women more sensitive to substances than men. The Vanderbuilt team and the NIH both claim that such studies are extremely important because previous research on the use of psychoactive substances focused primarily on the effects of psychoactive substances on men.

"Researchers have always avoided using female animals in medical studies to avoid the influence of hormonal cycles," Calipari said in a press release. "As a result, drug development has often focused on correcting dysfunction in men, which may explain why women often do not respond to drugs or treatments available in the same way as men."

According to the NIH, not only were women excluded from research on the use of psychoactive substances because their bodies were considered "more biologically complicated than men", but researchers also felt that women were too busy to take care of their family to participate in studies. Fortunately, studies like Vanderbilt's are starting to focus specifically on how substances affect women. So there are better treatment options for everyone.

But there is good news that benefits everyone, regardless of bad. In another recently published study, a team of Portland researchers discovered a gene that could help scientists develop a drug to prevent and treat alcohol-related disorders. Researchers say that "there is currently only a handful of treatments for alcohol consumption disorders approved by the Food and Drug Administration." They hope their findings will help pave the way for the development of a drug to treat chronic alcohol use.

The use of psychoactive substances can affect people in many invisible ways, and it is wonderful to see researchers devoting their best efforts to helping people recover and live their lives to the full. With more treatment options available, people will have more options to find the treatment that suits them best.

If you or any of your acquaintances are looking for help with the use of psychoactive substances, you can call the SAMHSA National Support Line at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).