The United States Congress established the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in 1974, which later became a part of the National institutes of Health (NIH) in 1992. This video highlights fifty years of scientific achievements and connects the audience with NIDA’s continued mission to advance the science of addiction.
Video length: 5:40
Transcript
[Music]
[Female voice-over]
The 50-year history of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA, is marked by scientific breakthroughs that have changed our understanding of addiction -- a chronic, often debilitating disorder that affects tens of millions of people worldwide.
[Dr. Nora Volkow speaking]
When I look back at the fifty years of NIDA’s research, I'm stunned about how many advances in science we have made and how researchers have affected positively lives of so many people.
When NIDA was founded, our scientific field was in its infancy. We had just discovered a key opioid receptor, but we didn't know what were the endogenous neurotransmitters, nor did we know what dopamine was doing or what was its role in addiction. We had a couple of treatments that the medications for substance use, but we have no evidence-based behavioral or prevention interventions.
[Female voice-over]
On May 14, 1974, Congress established NIDA as the federal focal point for biomedical research on substance use and substance use disorders. NIDA is now the largest funder of research on drug use and addiction in the world.
NIDA’s support for basic neuroscience research has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of the mechanisms by which drugs affect the brain.
Researchers now use scientific advancements unimaginable five decades ago.
Developed with the support of NIDA and other NIH neuroscience institutes, these techniques help researchers to probe the brain circuits involved in addiction with unprecedented precision.
NIDA’s investment in basic science and drug development led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of new medications to treat opioid use disorder. Its research also contributed to F-D-A approval of nasal naloxone, which reverses opioid overdoses and saves hundreds of thousands of lives each year.
NIDA is funding studies of dozens of novel compounds for treating substance use disorders, including stimulant and other drug use disorders that currently lack medications.
Epidemiologic research supported by NIDA has helped researchers understand patterns of drug use over time. This work is informing prevention science and leading to effective interventions for reducing drug use and the progression to addiction.
Nicotine addiction remains the deadliest substance use disorder in the U.S. To better understand tobacco, use and related health outcomes and inform tobacco product regulation, NIDA and the FDA launched the PATH study.
The largest long-term study of brain and cognitive development in children, the ABCD Study, was funded by NIDA and other NIH institutes to increase our understanding of adolescent development and the factors that can impact a young person’s life trajectory. It is delivering important results on how drug use and other experiences affect young people, and it set the stage for the HBCD study, which will follow pregnant people and their infants from pregnancy through early childhood.
Over the last three decades, research on the intersection of substance use and HIV has transformed care for both conditions and demonstrated the effectiveness of harm reduction approaches like syringe service programs.
Amid today’s overdose epidemic, NIDA remains committed to giving people the tools to survive.
This includes developing new treatments for opioid use disorder and overdose and prioritizing implementation science to ensure that effective interventions get to the people who need them.
NIDA’s investment in small business innovation has led to a range of devices and applications for preventing, diagnosing, and treating addiction and its health effects. These include the first FDA-approved Virtual Reality therapeutic for chronic lower back pain and a commercial application of wastewater technology to identify the presence of drugs in communities and inform local public health interventions.
Additional examples of research NIDA is supporting to speed solutions to the opioid overdose crisis include:
· Studies of mobile health clinics and telehealth, which hold promise for people who face challenges accessing treatment.
· Testing new treatment models for the many people in jails and prisons who have opioid use disorder.
· Exploring how best to deliver harm reduction interventions like naloxone and fentanyl test strips.
· And, increasing support for research to reduce health disparities and build research capacity in underserved communities.
[Dr. Nora Volkow speaking]
NIDA’s 50th anniversary allows us to acknowledge the significant advances in addiction science. But it's also a time to recognize and renew our commitment to the mission of using science so that we can actually bring solutions and tools to those that need them.