Monday, January 12, 2026

Unexpected finding could offer new treatment targets for meth addiction

University of Florida

University of Florida neuroscientists have made a mechanistic discovery that paves the way to test immune-modulating medicines as a potential tool to break the cycle of methamphetamine addiction.

In a new preclinical study, a McKnight Brain Institute team led by Habibeh Khoshbouei, Ph.D., Pharm.D., examined the role of neuroinflammation in meth addiction to provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms at work.

“Unlike alcohol or opioids, there currently is no medicinal therapeutic approach for methamphetamine addiction,” said Khoshbouei, a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry. “So this is an important societal issue.”

A highly addictive psychostimulant, meth causes feelings of pleasure and euphoria by increasing dopamine, a chemical released during pleasurable activities, and the potent drug is also infamous for causing inflammation and wound-healing problems such as “meth mouth,” or severe dental decay.

The findings, reported today in Science Signaling, reveal a previously unknown sequence of reactions in the brain involving meth-induced spikes of dopamine and a key signaling protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), a regulator of both acute and chronic inflammation.

In mouse brain specimens, investigators uncovered a surprising dynamic interplay. Meth not only increased the release of dopamine but also unexpectedly stimulated TNF. The researchers then were able to mitigate these effects using a chemical compound to target either a protein called dopamine transporter or the signaling of TNF.

Using electrophysiological recordings, “we found that TNF increases firing activity of dopaminergic neurons,” Khoshbouei said. “And if you block the target of methamphetamine or the receptor for TNF, you block the effect of either methamphetamine or TNF.”

This is significant because there are Food and Drug Administration-approved medicines already on the market that can inhibit the effects of TNF, Khoshbouei said, such as those for autoimmune disorders like Crohn’s disease.

Co-author Marcelo Febo, Ph.D., said while TNF is not typically associated with activating dopamine release, “in the case of methamphetamine, it seems like not only does meth increase inflammation, which involves the presence of immune cells and the release of TNF, but TNF itself evokes the release of dopamine, and that’s fascinating.”

The hope, said Febo, an associate professor of psychiatry, is that the findings could open the door to new treatment targets to reduce cravings and drug-seeking behavior as well as neuroinflammatory effects associated with meth use.

“This is a huge first step to show that there’s a dopaminergic target for TNF,” he said, adding that the results imply that modulating levels of dopamine could alleviate addictive properties. “Now the next steps will be to see how it controls different aspects of drug seeking.”

Journal

Science Signaling

DOI

10.1126/scisignal.ady8676

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

TNF-α signaling mediates the dopaminergic effects of methamphetamine by stimulating dopamine transporters and L-type Ca2+ channels

Sandia’s economic impact sets record for 17th consecutive year

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories

2025 Economic Impact Graphic — image:
Sandia National Laboratories economic impact has grown for the 17th consecutive year.
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Credit: Sandia National Labs

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories generated a record $5.2 billion in economic impact in 2025, marking the 17th consecutive year Sandia has set a new high, according to its annual economic impact report released this week.

The total represents a $40.5 million increase from 2024 and more than doubles Sandia’s economic impact from 12 years ago, reinforcing the laboratories’ role as one of New Mexico’s largest employers and economic engines.

“Sandia has been a strong part of New Mexico’s economy for more than 75 years,” said Labs Director Laura McGill. “We are extremely proud of our contributions, which extend beyond the economy and include giving back to our community through financial donations and volunteer time. We are neighbors that are invested in making this an even greater place to live.”

Investing in the workforce

Sandia’s largest investment in 2025 was its workforce of approximately 16,000 people. Sandia spent nearly $2.95 billion on labor costs last year, an increase of $46 million from 2024. The increase reflects pay raises for the highly skilled scientists, engineers and professionals who fulfill Sandia’s national security mission.

With an average salary of $145,000, Sandia remains committed to keeping high-paying jobs in New Mexico.

“Our employees live here. They raise their families here. They volunteer in our schools, support local organizations and spend their paychecks at local businesses,” McGill said. “When we talk about economic impact, that’s what we’re really talking about.”

Working with small businesses

Sandia’s second largest expenditure in 2025 was $1.7 billion in subcontract-related payments, which were spent with businesses around the country that provide critical services to the Labs. Many of those are small businesses, a cornerstone to the nation’s economy.

“Sandia National Laboratories has a rich tradition of collaborating with a wide range of skilled small business suppliers who play a vital role in supporting our national security initiatives,” said Krista Smith, Sandia’s supply chain director.

Sandia spent $1.03 billion with small businesses in 2025, the third consecutive year it exceeded the billion-dollar mark. Of that amount, $463 million went to small businesses in New Mexico. Sandia also worked with 335 new small businesses during the year.

“I want to highlight the importance of working with new small businesses,” said Zach Mikelson, Sandia’s small business program manager. “They bring fresh, innovative ideas to the table, which can help develop better solutions for the nation, all while contributing to the local economy by creating jobs and supporting economic growth.”

In 2025 Sandia increased spending with veteran owned, service-disabled veteran-owned and HUBZone businesses. HUBZone businesses are located in historically underutilized business zones often facing higher unemployment and poverty rates.

Contributions to the public services

Sandia also contributed significantly to public services in New Mexico through tax payments.

In 2025, Sandia paid approximately $144 million in gross receipts taxes to the state of New Mexico, an increase of $11.3 million from the previous year. Overall, Sandia paid $148 million in corporate taxes, up $12.3 million, helping support programs and services that benefit New Mexicans statewide.

Investing in the future

One of the most important ways Sandia invests in the future is through education. In 2025, Sandia reached 14,000 students through STEM education programs, about 4,000 more than the year before. Sandia also engaged 700 teachers and community members; a 98.86% increase compared to 2024.

The community involvement team and teachers from Albuquerque Public Schools partnered with the National Museum of Nuclear Science to launch Mission Fission, a program that introduces nuclear science and energy concepts to eighth-grade students in Albuquerque Public Schools. The museum’s program aims to reach 4,500 students each year.

“These are students who may one day become engineers, scientists, technicians or small business owners in New Mexico,” McGill said. “Behind every statistic is a student discovering a love for science.”

Giving back to the community

Sandia also continued its strong tradition of giving back to the community. National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC donated $1.6 million to local education, family stability and community leadership initiatives.

Employees also gave of their own time and money, donating more than $4 million to nonprofits through the United Way of North Central New Mexico, $15,000 for Shoes for Kids, $8,000 for school supply drives and $14,000 for Roadrunner Food Bank. Employees also donated 1,322 pints of blood in 2025 and volunteered at more than 50 volunteer events.

“As the nation’s premier engineering laboratory, Sandia’s mission is to address complex national security challenges, McGill said. “But we don’t do that in isolation. We pull from our community — one that includes local businesses, schools, nonprofits and tens of thousands of families across New Mexico and beyond.”

The 2025 Economic Impact Brochure is available here.

Sandia National Laboratories provides systems, science and technology to meet national security objectives in areas such as cybersecurity, science and technology products, and integrated military systems.

Credit

(Photo by Craig Fritz)

Sandia National Laboratories’ primary mission is ensuring the U.S. nuclear arsenal is safe, secure and reliable, and can fully support our nation’s deterrence policy.

Credit

Craig Fritz/Sandia National Labs

Sandia National Laboratories project manager Josie Gallegos, left, and financial specialist Denise Johnson work at a Seed2Need event in Corrales, New Mexico, on Nov. 1. along with 45 other volunteers.

Credit

(Photo by Katrina Wagner/Sandia National Labs

Pablo Sandoval, right, and Tomas Giron, students from Jefferson Middle School in Albuquerque, let their car loose under the watchful eye of Sandia National Laboratories’ volunteer Justin Teo during the New Mexico Electric Car Challenge on Nov. 15.

Credit

(Photo by Craig Fritz) Sandia National Labs

UOC research team develops method to evaluate apps for treating depression

Most of the apps on the market are not supported by scientific evidence. The study on which the methodology is based has been published in the BMJ Open

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)

Diagnoses of depression, one of the most common mental disorders, increased by nearly 50% between 1990 and 2017, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Currently, depression affects around 5% of the world's population. In Catalonia, the number of people diagnosed with the condition has also risen significantly in recent years. Between 2017 and 2022, the figures for depression and mood disorders grew by 86.6%, as reported by Catalonia's public network of primary healthcare centres.

New technologies to treat this disorder, mainly mobile apps, have proven highly effective when used in conjunction with face-to-face psychological interventions, and help relieve the high care burden on health systems. The challenge is ensuring the quality of these mobile apps, as most of them are not based on scientific evidence and there is no guarantee they can effectively treat patients.

A team from the eHealth Lab research group at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has carried out a study to identify the most important criteria for patients when using apps for the treatment of depression. The goal of this research is to develop a digital solution, to be called EvalDepApps, that will evaluate apps for managing depression and help patients and health professionals to choose the most appropriate tool to support their treatment. The study, Validation and selection of criteria for evaluating apps for managing depression: a Delphi study, has been published in the British Medical Journal and received funding from Spain's National RDI Plan.

"Just as we evaluate a drug or a medical product before it reaches the market to ensure its efficacy and safety, any apps we use to take care of our health and well-being must also be evaluated to determine their effects, and we're not currently doing enough of this. These apps can have a potential impact on public health, and can even be harmful in some cases," said Carme Carrion, project leader and principal investigator at the UOC's eHealth Lab.

The aim of the EvalDepApps project is to develop a tool that will evaluate and validate apps for depression based on scientific evidence, thereby responding to the needs of patients who use them. This tool, which will also be a mobile app, will give users clear indications to help them choose an app for treating depression that suits their individual needs and preferences.

Efficacy, safety and usability, the most important criteria

The project's researchers catalogued current depression apps and analysed around 30 of them. Their findings showed that only eight were supported by published scientific evidence. To determine the most relevant criteria for users, 43 individuals were surveyed using a Delphi process, a prospective method to evaluate how important experts consider each aspect to be.

The criteria prioritized by users when choosing an app were data safety, clinical efficacy, whether it was supported by evidence and whether the technology was intuitive and easy to use. Users also preferred apps that enable interaction, facilitate emergency contact with mental health professionals or the health system, and form part of a therapeutic package, meaning they are not used in isolation or without the support of health professionals.

For Carrion, it is vital to establish an app's main purpose: "This point is key because, otherwise, we tend to try and build too many things into an app and then it becomes unusable. The saying 'less is more' is spot on here." One of the most sensitive challenges relating to apps for the treatment of depression is privacy. This was one of the aspects most highly prioritized by people living with depression and health professionals who participated in the study. "It's vital to consider the target group for each app, especially in terms of privacy," Carrion explained.

Another point that users highlighted was the app's ability to track the patient's clinical progress. Noemí Robles, a member of the Research Methods & Data Science Lab and a researcher involved in the EvalDepApps project, explained that it "can help the person to be more aware of their own emotional state and to monitor it more personally, provided this information is shared with the professionals who care for them. It can be highly valuable information, especially if the apps are able to detect mood swings or situations in which the patient may be at risk, so that extra support could be offered to the user."

Another key aspect that emerged during the study was whether or not the app applies the gender perspective to the treatment of depression, given that men and women tend to have different symptoms. For example, women are more likely to feel sadness or guilt, while in men depression is expressed more through irritability.

People-led app design

Another aspect highlighted by the eHealth Lab researchers is that end users should play a leading role in app development , from the beginning to the end of the creative process: "We must learn to take users' views into account and understand that the process does not end until the app has been tested by users. Sometimes, even when the app is created jointly, what seems valid on paper does not work in practice. It's important, therefore, for the development team to bear in mind that they may have to make changes after the first tests," said Carrion, who is also a member of the UOC's Faculty of Health Sciences.

The next step for the EvalDepApps project is to recruit participants to carry out a pilot test that allows users to try out the tool. Once it has been validated, the app will be available to people living with depression to guide them when choosing the technological tools that can support them as part of their treatment plan. Although the tool is not intended for developers, the researchers note that it could also be useful for them to know what aspects matter most to users and incorporate them into the design of their apps.

The UOC's eHealth Centre, an internationally recognized centre of excellence in digital health research, is currently working on other projects in the field of health and new technologies, such as improving digital skills for oncology professionals, developing online interventions for breast cancer sufferers and pre-menopausal women, and the evaluation of an AI-based app for the WHO to better train primary care professionals in the diagnosis of skin diseases.

This research aligns with the UOC's Ethical and human-centred technology mission and is part of the EvalDepApps project to develop a tool for the evaluation of mobile applications aimed at managing depression, funded by the Carlos III Health Institute of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Robles N, Fuster-Casanovas A, Moretó S, et a Validation and selection of criteria for evaluating apps for managing depression: a Delphi study BMJ Open 2025;15:e101302. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-101302

Transformative, impactful research

At the UOC, we see research as a strategic tool to advance towards a future society that is more critical, responsible and nonconformist. With this vision, we conduct applied research that's interdisciplinary and linked to the most important social, technological and educational challenges.

The UOC’s over 500 researchers and more than 50 research groups are working in five research units focusing on five missions: lifelong learning; ethical and human-centred technology; digital transition and sustainability; culture for a critical society, and digital health and planetary well-being.

The university's Hubbik platform fosters knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship in the UOC community.

More information: www.uoc.edu/en/research