Doctors are addicted to "every drug under the sun"

Doctors suffer in secret from a wide range of physical and mental health problems including addiction, according to the findings of a new health program in the United Kingdom.

The Practitioner Health Program (PHP) was set up in response to concerns that health professionals were self-medicating or avoiding treatment for serious health problems, out of fear of being stigmatized if they visited a colleague for help. The program provides confidential health services, and so far has been judged a success.

"From the number of patients accessing PHP during its first year, it's clear there is a need for this highly specialized service," said England's chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson.

"This has been a real eye-opener," said PHP medical director Clare Gerada. "I thought at first we'd see a bit of stress and burn-out. But it soon became apparent how troubled some of these doctors and dentists were. I've been surprised at the degree and extent of substance misuse that we've seen."

Of 184 patients treated in the program's first year, 36 percent suffered from some form of addiction. Read more...
Body cleansing

Prescription drug abuse exceeds heroin, cocaine and ecstasy combined

Rates of prescription drug abuse worldwide are higher than those for the use of cocaine, ecstasy and heroin, combined, according to a new report by the United Nations' International Narcotics Control Boards (INCB).

"Abuse of such drugs has been spreading over the world in recent years," said report co-author Hamid Ghodse of St. George's University in London. "It needs to be tackled urgently."

Ghodse said that prescription drug abuse is a "hidden problem," and it is difficult for authorities to get comprehensive data on the scale of the abuse. Recent high-profile celebrity deaths from prescription drug abuse, such as that of Michael Jackson, have brought more attention to the issue, however.

The INCB report notes that in the United States alone, an estimated 6.2 million people were addicted to prescription drugs in 2008, or roughly 2 percent of the population. Among illegal drugs, only cannabis use exceeds this figure. Read more...
Improve memory

Taking a mid-day nap boosts brain power

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, found that people who take naps during the day are helping to improve their overall brain function. Among the 39 healthy adults who were evaluated in the study, those who slept for an hour and a half during the day performed better on a post-nap cognitive exam than did those who remained awake.



All participants were initially assigned a "hard learning" morning task for which all performed roughly the same. Half the group then took a nap while the others stayed awake. Following the nap, all were given a repeat exam and, this time, the group that napped performed better than the group that stayed awake. Read more...

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