Scientists find why heroin addicts cannot forever give up drugs

23:49   17 September, 2019

People with heroin addiction after treatment return to the use of this drug in 40-60% of cases.

Scientists at the University of Buffalo have found out what makes them do this, Daily Mail reported

According to the source, experiments with rodents have shown that heroin lowers the level of the protein of drebrin, which is necessary for the formation and maintenance of synapses - the connection points of neurons.

Against the background of the use of opioid agents, scientists have registered a decrease in the concentration of drebrin in the neural chains associated with the search for pleasure and receiving rewards (the adjacent nucleus of the brain). And this leads to the desire to resume taking drugs, because drugs change the very processes of communication within the brain.

The low concentration of Drebrin first attracted the attention of specialists when they were engaged in research on age-related diseases like Alzheimer's. According to experts, if you restore the level of drebrin to normal, you can significantly reduce the risk of a return to drugs. And if you find an effective way to change the level of drebrin, it will be a much more effective treatment for drug addiction than any of the methods known today.



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