Okay, I stand corrected here.  No problem.  Heck, if you're wrong, you're wrong - might as well own up to it.  My last blog about Albany Medical College winning the "Most Ridiculous Research of Animals" award might need a little bit of clarification.  Time to get "schooled" on this issue from someone in the know

Here is the response I got from Jeffrey Gordon, Vice President of Communications, Albany Medical Center

rats
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I wanted to clarify a point made on your website.  The goal of research being conducted at Albany Medical College was mischaracterized on your website.

The ultimate goal of this research is to determine if a new treatment drug under development would mitigate the effects of cues on drug craving and drug seeking behaviors

The research is part of the initial stages of a longer-term research project to find medications that can help diminish drug cravings and promote abstinence in humans.

London 2012 Unveil the Anti-Doping Laboratory For The Olympic Games
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For context:  Nearly one in four deaths in the US is in some way related to substance abuse issues, costing the American the health care system hundreds of billions of dollars annually and causing significant harm to families in New York and across the country.  The lead scientist involved is a world-renowned scholar seeking to help individuals to control cravings and therefore overcome addictions.

Given the extraordinary financial and human costs inflicted on society by addictive behaviors, I would hope you would include information to help balance your portrayal of this research.

Thank you, Jeffrey, for the clarification.  I hope this makes it a little clearer in everyone's mind as to what the long term goal of the study was.

 

 

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