Researchers from the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health at the University of Porto (i3S) said they have discovered a brain mechanism that can prevent withdrawal behaviors and prevent relapses in methamphetamine abuse.

According to a Saturday report from the Portuguese news agency Lusa, the researchers have unraveled the cause of inflammation in the brain caused by methamphetamine, a powerful,

highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system.

In an article published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, the team says that, by curbing this neuroinflammation, "new therapies" can emerge to prevent relapses.

The discovery was made, the scientists reveal, by studying the neurotoxic effects of psychostimulant drug abuse on relevant brain cells in glial and microglia -- the brain's main immune cells.

"Another type of glial cells, astrocytes, react intensely to methamphetamine, releasing large amounts of a highly inflammatory factor known as TNF (tumor necrosis factor)," explained the first authors of the study, Teresa Canedo and Camila Cabral from Portugal.

In a statement sent to Lusa, they indicate that astrocytes "are the most numerous population in the brain and are essential to maintain its balance and proper functioning."

Teresa Summavielle, coordinator of the researchers, added that "Using different strategies, we showed that when there is no TNF and glutamate release, methamphetamine does not induce inflammation and that some of the behaviors caused by the use of this drug are prevented."

These results, she said, open "good prospects" for new therapies because they act on the "extreme dependence cause," which is the "stimulating effect on the central nervous system that creates a false sense of energy, euphoria, self-confidence, and aggression."

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that there are currently more than 24.7 million methamphetamine users, 80 percent of whom are under 30 years of age, said the Lusa report, adding this is a drug that causes greater concern because it is part of the composition of some medications and is used by students as a recreation drug.