DAVIS, Calif., Jul 8, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- With patience, there is hope for
recovery from methamphetamine addiction, U.S. researchers say.
The study, published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, says it takes
at least one year for former methamphetamine users to regain cognitive functions
like impulse control and attentional focus.
"We used to think most, if not all, effects of meth addiction were permanent,"
lead study author Ruth Salo of the University of California, Davis, said in a
statement.
"This study adds to the growing evidence that this assumption is not true. I can
confidently tell patients that the longer they stay in a structured
rehabilitation program and remain drug free, the more likely it is that they
will recover some important brain functions."
Salo used the computer-based Stroop attention test to measure the abilities of
65 recovering methamphetamine abusers to use cognitive control. Study
participants had been abstinent for a minimum of three weeks and a maximum of 10
years, after using the drug from 24 months to 28 years. The data for the 65
individuals were compared to Stroop attention test data from 33 participants who
had never used methamphetamine.
The researchers find that those who were recently abstinent -- three weeks to
six months -- performed significantly worse on the Stroop test than those who
had been abstinent one year or longer. In addition, there was no statistical
difference between test results for those abstinent at least one year and
non-drug using controls, the study says.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International