Meth Withdrawal, Depression Linked

Methamphetamine abusers who give up the drug cold turkey suffer profound brain disorders that quickly induce depression and anxiety, according to a first-of-its-kind study just published by a California research team.

Researchers said they hoped their findings will help doctors and clinicians tailor meth treatment programs to reduce the high rate of relapse.

The study, conducted by the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and partly funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, included the use of machines to scan meth abusers' brains for abnormalities. The research is published in this month's edition of the medical journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

The lead researcher, Dr. Edythe London, said her study shows that rehabilitation programs will have to pay special attention to treating depression and anxiety in the early stages of treatment, particularly in the first week. Otherwise, she said, the mood disorders could contribute to meth users abusing the drug again.

She said her study of a group of volunteer meth abusers showed that the parts of the abusers' brains that regulated emotion, motivation and behavior did not work properly.

"Those areas that exert some control are turned off," she said.

The result often was depression and anxiety, as well as the powerful desire to use more meth, London said. The brain's capacity to stop itself from doing something wrong --- for example, using more drugs --- was out of whack even though the abusers had stopped using meth. The study's volunteers, confined to a hospital ward, had no meth during the research.

London said she did not study whether these brain regulators functioned abnormally when meth abusers used the drug, but she suspected they did.

Most meth treatment programs have focused on treating "drug cravings" of abusers, London said, but not depression or anxiety. She said intense inpatient treatment --- more costly than outpatient programs --- seems to be an important step toward reducing relapses.

Although meth has been around for decades, its use has increased dramatically across the country in recent years.

One reason for the rise in use has been a new, cheap way to make the drug, using common items found at a local pharmacy or farm supply store. Meth also provides a longer high than cocaine.

Spreading across the nation from the West Coast, this current wave of meth use has just started to hit Georgia, according to law enforcement. In the federal fiscal year 1999, local police reported 29 lab seizures to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. In 2002, they reported 395. ON AJC.COM > Special report: When meth hits home

Copyright 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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