Drug overdoses now kill Americans at a faster rate than car accidents, with opioid abuse largely to blame. Almost 100 Americans die each day from overdoses of heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, and morphine.

Sadly, most of the people struggling with addiction are ashamed to reach out for help because of lingering misconceptions that categorize addiction as a failure of willpower or morals. Dr. Vivek Murthy, as US Surgeon General, published a landmark report in 2016, hoping to change the way we talk about addiction and remove the stigma that keeps people from seeking help.

Conquering Addiction with Neurology

Our partners researching addiction at the University of Iowa are studying how to curb addictive behavior by leveraging some of the core mechanisms of the brain. Using rats and cocaine, these scientists have demonstrated how the brain’s infralimbic cortex suppresses cravings—and how important timing is when it comes to treatment. With these findings, drug treatments can be developed and properly paced to target the infralimbic cortex and thus improve relapse rates. The UI researchers are confident their findings will apply to other addictive drugs, like opioids.

Reliable Lab Equipment Is Necessary for Reliable Results

University labs are the vanguard of future drug treatment options. They need dependable equipment, so their researchers can stay focused on research, and important work isn\’t slowed or compromised by unscheduled downtime. Whatever amount of space you have available in your lab, whatever the task, Priorclave has an autoclave that will fit just right. In the market for more than autoclaves? Our friends at Lab Manager magazine have posted a very sharp equipment shopping guide online.

[Photo credit: frankieleon, CC BY 2.0]