BACKGROUND Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of premature deaths. Several pharmacological interventions now exist to aid smokers in cessation. These include Nicotine Replacement Therapy [NRT], bupropion, and varenicline. We aimed to assess their relative efficacy in smoking cessation by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS We searched 10 electronic medical dat...

Nicotine alters cognitive functions in animals and humans most likely by modification of brain plasticity. In the human brain, it alters plasticity induced by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and paired associative stimulation (PAS), probably by interference with calcium-dependent modulation of the glutamatergic system. We aimed to test this hypothesis further by exploring the imp...

RATIONALE Varenicline, the most effective single agent for smoking cessation, is a partial agonist at α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Increasing evidence implicates glutamate in the pathophysiology of addiction and one of the benefits of treatment for smoking cessation is the ability to regain cognitive control. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of 12-week varenicline administration o...

BACKGROUND Many placebo-controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of individual pharmacotherapies approved for smoking cessation. However, few direct or indirect comparisons of such interventions have been conducted. We performed a meta-analysis to compare the treatment effects of 7 approved pharmacologic interventions for smoking cessation. METHODS We searched the US Centers for Disea...

Accumulating evidence suggests that acetylcholine nicotinic systems may contribute importantly to the abuse-related effects of d-methamphetamine (d-MA). The present study was conducted to compare the effects of indirect dopamine (DA) agonists (d-amphetamine, d-MA, and l-methamphetamine), full [(-)-nicotine, anabaseine, (+)-epibatidine, (-)-epibatidine, isoarecolone] and partial (varenicline) ni...

Noribogaine, a polypharmacological drug with activities at opioid receptors, ionotropic nicotinic receptors, and serotonin reuptake transporters, has been investigated for treatment of substance abuse-related disorders. Smoking cessation has major benefits for both individuals and society, therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of noribogaine for use as a treatment for ni...

Despite efforts to decrease tobacco use, smoking continues to be a leading cause of preventable morbidity and premature death. The associated economic burden is substantial, both in the form of direct costs (healthcare expenditures) and indirect costs (lost productivity), regardless of whether the burden is assessed from the standpoint of an employer, a health plan, or society as a whole. Cessa...

many of these issues apply to most efficacy studies of pharmacological agents in the early stages of research on the product. Another major concern is not necessarily related to the methods or results of the published articles but rather is the potential reaction to these reports by the public. Whenever a new stop smoking agent is approved by the FDA (and to some degree this occurs with any new...

CONTEXT Varenicline, an effective smoking cessation medication, functions as an α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist. It indirectly affects the dopaminergic reward system by reducing withdrawal symptoms during abstinence and by decreasing the reinforcement received from nicotine while smoking. We hypothesize that varenicline would have a third mechanism to blunt responses to sm...