SUBSTANCE ABUSE CENTER EXPANDS

A drug and alcohol research team from the University of Texas Health
Science Center has moved into larger quarters as it expands its work into
understanding how people become addicted and how they can be successfully
treated.

The new location, at 3939 Medical Drive, offers the room needed to raise
the university's profile as a national center for research into substance
abuse, said Dr. Bankole Johnson, a professor of psychiatry at the health
science center. It also will enable his team to offer more treatment
options to the local community, he added.

"One of the things we're trying to create is not just to make this the
largest facility but also to make this a jewel in the crown of the
university and a true national center of excellence," Johnson said.

The newly named START Center, for South Texas Addiction Research and
Technology, has leased 11,000 square feet in the building, located a few
blocks off campus at Medical Drive and Horizon Hill.

Besides additional office and clinic space, the new center will include a
teleconference center that both scientists and community groups can use to
stay in touch with advances in the field.

Johnson and his team have a combined $15 million in federal and private
grants and are participating in eight nationwide clinical trials of some
potentially promising medications that interfere with the brain's enjoyment
of alcohol and illicit drugs.

Compounds being tested include acamprosate, an anti-craving medication used
successfully in Europe for years to help alcoholics reduce or quit drinking.

Last year, Johnson gained national attention for a study that showed
genetically predisposed alcoholics responded to therapy that combined
naltrexone, another anti-craving drug, and ondansetron, an anti-nausea
medication commonly used by chemotherapy patients.

Since coming to San Antonio in 1998, Johnson "has been instrumental in
attracting researchers and other resources to our region, to benefit the
citizens of South Texas and nationwide," said Dr. Francisco Cigarroa,
president of the health science center.

Alcohol and substance abuse are directly tied to a number of the city's
health problems, including higher rates of liver disease, and a high
incidence of drunken driving.

A recent survey by the Metropolitan Health District concluded that 6
percent of Bexar County residents have chronic drinking problems, compared
to the state average of 4 percent.

The university researchers are working with community groups to improve
local treatment options and raise awareness of the need, said Beverly Watts
Davis, executive director of San Antonio Fighting Back.

"We have got to be able to figure out innovative ways to get people into
treatment," she said. "Dr. Johnson has been able to offer treatment as part
of the research he does. That is a tremendous asset to the community."