Addictions

Is there really such a thing as sexual addiction ? Not in the usual meaning of the word, says Paul R. Abramson, a professor of psychology at UCLA and a prominent author in the field of sexual psychology. "We generally conceive of an addiction as a physiological dependence, which we can attempt to wean an individual of," Abramson says. Viewing sexual excesses as the equivalent of alcohol or drug addiction is wrong, he says. "Primarily, [sexual addiction] is really compulsive behavior.

DRUG AND alcohol abuse sets people on a path toward heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses. A study in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment reports that hospital costs for this medical fallout can be substantial -- and could be avoided with more drug and alcohol treatment. Lead author Patricia Santora of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and colleagues found that 14% of people admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1994 to 2002 were alcohol or drug abusers.

Scientists have identified another gene that might affect how vulnerable a person is to cigarette addiction. Having a certain form of the gene makes it easier to kick the habit, or perhaps to avoid getting hooked in the first place, two studies suggest. But that apparent influence is modest. "This is just one small piece of the puzzle" of what influences smoking behavior, said psychologist Caryn Lerman, an author of one of the studies. Her work and a follow-up study by Dr.

Does your mouse finger twitch when somebody says "Yahoo!" in conversation? Have trouble finding addresses that use funny words like "Street" or "Avenue" instead of "http://www"? Find yourself staring out your apartment window waiting for a different image to download? Maybe it's time for some professional help. Dr. Kimberly S. Young, a University of Pittsburgh psychologist, has created a Web site "dedicated to promoting awareness of the phenomena of Internet Addiction."

Athletes who take high doses of steroids may risk addiction similar to that of narcotic abuse, doctors warn. In a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors report a case of steroid dependence in a man who regularly took four kinds of steroids. The 23-year-old body builder told doctors he could not stop taking anabolic steroids without experiencing withdrawal symptoms, depression and disabling fatigue. He said he sometimes felt uncontrollably violent, paranoid and suicidal.

To see if you are golf addict, Chaytor Mason, a psychologist at USC, suggests you ask yourself the following: 1. Is golf affecting relationships with your spouse, lover, children, co-workers? 2. Is it affecting your job? Money situation? If so, Mason recommends: * Addressing underlying personality problems in therapy or in a 12-step program similar to treatment for alcoholics. * Eliminating or moderating golf in your life and beginning to focus on your feelings and your reasons for playing.

The use of painkillers is so widespread in the NFL that a few players trade game tickets for black-market pills, The New York Times reported. The newspaper reported that dozens of players, coaches and league executives surveyed for the story estimate that as many as 10% of the NFL's 1,500 players have "serious addiction problems with painkillers."

A coming report by U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop that will label tobacco as one of the most addictive of drugs will constitute perhaps the most sweeping indictment of smoking in more than 20 years, experts familiar with it say. The report, to be released Monday, is expected to lead to even greater ostracism of smokers, these experts believe, but will probably not result in tobacco prohibition.

What if addiction, whether to cocaine, heroin or alcohol, could be broken by taking a single pill? That's the audacious claim behind ibogaine, an extract of an African shrub. But don't look for it at your local treatment center any time soon. Ibogaine is stuck in limbo. Yes, anecdotal reports of addiction-breaking power go back some 30 years. There have been some intriguing animal studies and initial studies on humans.

In describing the hazards of cigarettes, scientists have always assumed that it was nicotine that made them addictive and tar that caused cancer. New research shows that nicotine may cause lung cancer as well. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, National Cancer Institute researcher Phillip Dennis reports that lung cells stimulated with nicotine showed enhanced cell growth and survival, meaning the cells are less likely to die if they become cancerous or abnormal.