At the next Omaha Science Café, Dr. Alena Balasanova will talk about opioids and addiction.
Balasanova is the Director of Addictions Education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and of the Addictions Outpatient Clinic at Nebraska Medicine. The title of her presentation is Opioids and Addiction: What Now?
Balasanova will talk about how increased knowledge of the human brain over the past decade has impacted our understanding of addiction disorders. She says science has proven that addiction is not a voluntary choice -- which should reduce the stigma associated with it.
Balasanova says the good news is that, like other medical conditions, addiction is treatable.
“Addiction is a chronic medical illness. It has the potential for both relapse and recovery, much like any other chronic medical illness – diabetes, even cancer. And much like cancer can go into remission, so can substance abuse disorder. It is not a lifelong curse, treatment works, recovery is possible, and I think for the public to hear that is really important.”
Dr. Balasanova’s presentation takes place tomorrow night, Tuesday, November 14th, at 7:00 p.m. at The Slowdown, 729 N. 14th Street.
More information is available at unmc.edu/sciencecafe.