Iran, China cooperate on addiction science research

Iran and China will hold a joint workshop on addiction science from August 18 to 20 in Tehran, IRNA reported.

The joint workshop is supposed to enhance cooperation between Iranian and Chinese scientific organizations, so that the two sides can conduct joint researches about addiction, said Dr. Abbas Haghparast, the secretary of the Iranian Neuroscience Society.

According to Haghparast, the workshop is the result of cooperation between the cognitive sciences and technologies council of the Iranian Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

He added that the event is being organized by the Iranian Neuroscience Society.

“By running this workshop, Iranian scientific and research organizations can cooperate with Chinese Psychology Research Center which is a subsidiary of Chinese Academy of Sciences in order to do basic and translational clinical researches about addiction.”

Over the workshop, 13 top Iranian and Chinese professors, specialized in basic and clinical research will share their latest studies and discuss new ideas, he added.  

What is addiction science?

New studies define addiction as a brain disease and behavioral disorder that can be scientifically examined.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, there are many good reasons to emphasize the biological underpinnings of substance use disorders.

The stigma and shame of addiction has much to do with the perception that people with substance use disorders are weak, immoral, or simply out for a good time at society’s expense. Understanding that addiction impairs the brain in many important ways may reduce such stigma. What’s more, the specific type of brain dysfunction may help identify a range of effective interventions and preventions. For example, during adolescence, the brain is at its most plastic — and vulnerable. This is a time when caution and intervention may prove most valuable. The earlier the drug exposure or trauma to the brain, the greater the damage.

According to World Health Organization, the harmful use of alcohol results in 3.3 million deaths each year.

On average every person in the world aged 15 years or older drinks 6.2 litres of pure alcohol per year.

Less than half the population (38.3%) actually drinks alcohol, this means that those who do drink consume on average 17 litres of pure alcohol annually.

Some 31 million persons have drug use disorders.

Almost 11 million people inject drugs, of which 1.3 million are living with HIV, 5.5 million with hepatitis C, and 1 million with both HIV and hepatitis C.