A Wayne State University School of Medicine researcher believes he may be on the path to determining why some drug addicts who undergo rehabilitation are more prone to relapse than others, a finding that could lead to tailored treatment and improved success rates for those trying to kick addictions.

Mark Greenwald, Ph.D., director of the Substance Abuse Research Division and chief of the Human Pharmacology Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, is conducting research in an attempt to find true biological indicators of a predilection for addiction relapse.

Dr. Greenwald points out that substance abuse places enormous burdens not only on addicts but also their families, society, the healthcare and judicial systems, and, ultimately, taxpayers. While safe and effective treatments have emerged for certain substance use disorders, treatment for addictions is generally not indefinite. Also, for addicts who initiate abstinence while in treatment, a high percentage relapse within the year immediately following treatment.

One obstacle hampering continued research is funding. National Institutes of Health funding is in short supply, and sustaining such research over the long term is challenging, Dr. Greenwald admitted. He is in the process of writing an NIH grant application for $1.6 million over a four-year period to continue ongoing research into glutamate levels through magnetic resonance spectroscopy.