Search

The article presents information on extended-release naltrexone which is also known as Vivitrol for the treatment of opioid use disorders (OUDs). Topics include concern regarding a paper by Alex Harris, M.D. titled "Specifying and Pilot Testing Quality Measures for the American Society of Addiction Medicine's Standards of Care," the ability of Vivitrol to prevent relapse, and the ASAM National Practice Guideline for the Use of Medications in the Treatment of Addiction Involving Opioid Use.

Objective Delirium is a very common and serious disorder with high morbidity and mortality. Despite symptomatic treatment the outcome can be poor for some especially when no underlying cause is identified. As a result, various strategies for delirium prevention have been assessed. Pharmacological agents such as antipsychotics, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, sleep-wake cycle regulators, anti-inflammatories and others have been advocated for a potential role in delirium prevention. The aim of this paper is to review the available evidence for their use in the prevention of delirium. Methods An electronic search was carried out using Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and other studies. The words delirium, prevention, intervention, pharmacological, prophylactic, antipsychotics, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, sleep and anti-inflammatories were used. References from selected papers were also searched. Results No multi-centre RCT has been identified. Few trials and other studies have been published so far assessing the prophylactic role of antipsychotics, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, hypnotics, melatonin, and gabapentin. As these studies tested different drugs, regimes and protocols in diverse populations no meaningful comparison can be made. Conclusion To date there is conflicting and inconsistent data regarding the efficacy of pharmacological treatment for delirium prevention. Positive reports in few of the studies justify further assessment of the potential for some pharmacological agents in the prevention of delirium. Well designed and appropriately powered RCTs are now needed. However, based on available evidence so far, no recommendation can be made to justify the routine clinical prophylactic use of any pharmacological agent in the prevention of delirium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the flaws found by researchers in the U.S. who conducted a review of several double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trials of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Role of the therapy in preventing expectancy bias in clinical research; Impact of the limited number of papers analyzed on the study; Role of few NRT trials in assessing for blindness.

How one interprets the research finding that 28% of opioid‐related overdose survivors ages 18 to 21 in Massachusetts received a medication treatment in the year post‐overdose becomes a matter of perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol‐related liver disease is claiming the lives of more and more Americans, a recent study has found. From 1999–2017, death rates for alcoholic liver disease increased by 40.6% (from 6.4 deaths/100,000 to 8.9 deaths/100,000), according to "Life Expectancy and Mortality Rates in the United States, 1959–2017," which focused on midlife (ages 25 to 64 years), published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Nov. 26. Data for the study came from the National Center for Health Statistics, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a literature review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the release of a draft of report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to Congress on prenatal opioid exposure and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). The report was published in the January 19, 2017 issue of "Federal Register" and was required by the Protecting Our Infants Act enacted in 2015. Recommendations in the report are mentioned including studying the use of naltrexone in pregnancy.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has added opioid use disorders (OUDs) to the list of approved conditions for which medical marijuana could be prescribed in the state, following the lead last month of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who limited such use as an "adjunct" to medications like methadone and buprenorphine (see ADAW, Jan. 28). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the optimal duration of treatment with methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone for opioid use disorder (OUD)? The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is asking stakeholders how to structure research to answer this question. Last month, NIDA issued a Request for Information (RFI) looking into this, with responses needed by Dec. 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the issues related to the methadone treatment programs of the U.S. government. According to the author, H. Westley Clark, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), had advice the treatment program medical directors to think of the criteria of take-home doses in the methadone regulations.

The development in technology allows surgical techniques that can be performed without sedation in an otolaryngology office as opposed to an in-hospital has advantages including saving on cost and time but adverse events may ocuur which need to be dealt with. Dr. Farhad Sigari offers his suggestions as he feels these events may rise he talks of evaluating the risk level, taking precautions and ways of dealing with these events by ensuring emergency equipments are available.

The article focuses on the study of state-level patterns in buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorders. Topics discussed include effect of payment mechanisms on care quality; the views of Brendan Saloner, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, on quality-of-care; the views of Stuart Gitlow, executive director of Annenberg Physician Training Program in Addictive Disease, on medication compliance.

The article discusses a study led by Amanda R. Mathew of Northwestern University to better understand co-occurring conditions of depression and smoking. The study investigates clinical issues and motivational mechanisms underlying smoking in adult smokers with elevated symptoms of depression. Review of literature indicates link between smoking and depression which can provide a framework to address lower smoking cessation rate in the group compared to the general population.

The article presents a research that investigates the effectivenes of baclofen as treatment for alcoholism. Researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found that the three approved medications for alcoholism treatment, including naltrexone, acamprosate and disulfiram, are not effective to everyone. Meanwhile, they discovered that baclofen is effective in treating alcoholism and has less side-effects.

The article reports on the call for submissions for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) 2009 Avant-Garde Award for Innovative Research in the Treatment of HIV/AIDS in Drug Abusers. The awards were designed to recognize approaches to prevention and treatment. Three awardees will be given $500,000 per year for five years.

The article discusses the issue of relapse during addiction treatment in the U.S. Michael L. Dennis, a senior research psychologist, suggests that the addiction treatment system must change in order to provide appropriate continuing care. Systemic barriers to continuing care include relying on the patient's self motivation, discharging patients to areas where follow-up care is inaccessible and passively linking patients to other groups.

The article focuses on the 11th International Conference on the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors that transpired in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The event was centered on the importance of studying treatment processes and therapeutic mechanisms including factors that cause therapeutic change. The convention with the theme "Treatments for Addictions: What Works and Why" was well-attended by researchers and clinicians from Australia, Finland, France, Namibia, Israel, New Zealand and South Africa.

Focuses on resources that may be of interest to the mental health field in the United States (U.S.). Availability of the Community Health Status Indicators Reports on the Internet; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' issuance of a guide to treatment for women with HIV.

The article discusses a pilot program funded by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that will offer treatment with Vivitrol and counseling to inmates being released from prison. Topics cited include Vermont's hub-and-spoke system where evaluations and buprenorphine inductions are conducted and also houses the opioid treatment programs (OTPs) where methadone is dispensed. It cites claims that Vivitrol reduces craving for opioids.

The article discusses the pilot program of New Jersey's Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services aimed at providing education, training and distribution of naloxone rescue kits. Topics mentioned include the price negotiations for the kit that JSAS Healthcare executive director Edward J. Higgins had to deal with, the 1 million-dollar funding from the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (GCADA), and support for naloxone accessibility, as well as related rescues to treatment. INSET: Insurance fraud in Utah: Out-of-network and other problems....

Reports on the agreement of participants of the Providence Summit on Addiction on the need for public campaign to educate the public and medical community on addiction in the U.S. Pledge made by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Inc. to raise funds for the campaign; Result of survey on the prevalence of addiction; Indication of strong public support for treatment.

The article discusses the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction. Topics discussed include the medications used for treatment such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. Also mentioned are the stand of the criminal justice system on MAT especially on Vivitrol or naltrexone, a letter signed by U.S. senators to Attorney General Eric Holder, and the symposium held by senators Rob Portman and Sheldon Whitehouse on addiction and criminal justice.

Observing that classic psychedelics, such as LSD, have been around for a long time and there is significant scientific evidence about their effects, researchers sought to evaluate the prevalence of novel psychedelic use and its associated psychosocial characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Case name: Letter re: Educational Testing Service, No. 02‐15‐2328 (OCR 12/04/15). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on research which the journal "Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly" conducted in 2013 with members of the substance abuse treatment field to investigate special treatments for heroin addiction in people under the age of 25. The research found that while there is not a general consensus regarding the treatment of heroin addiction in younger people, treatment professionals try naltrexone, then buprenorphine and methadone as a last resort.

The article reports on the proposal of needle exchange advocates for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to approve a bill that will allow the provision of funds for needle exchange programs. It states that the funds will play an essential role in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS among drug users utilizing hypodermic needles. These organizations include Harm Reduction Coalition, Drug Reform Coordination Network and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The article focuses on the cost effective treatment report released by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) in Virginia. The report shows that most offenders are not given with treatment services, as well as it reveals the government spending in addressing substance abuse prevention. However, the state needs to conduct more assessment to their program to declare treatment cost-effectivity.

Reports on the findings of a study conducted by researchers from the Brown University School of Medicine regarding the effectiveness of combined psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in treating depression among injection drug users. Components of active therapy; Diagnosis of mood disorders and the assessment of heroin frequency; Improvements in depression after three months of medical follow-up.

Presents news briefs related to mental health in the U.S. as of December 15, 2003. Effect of vitamin B-12 on the success of depression treatment; Grants given by MetLife Foundation to Alzheimer's Association; Role of risperidone in reducing hospitalizations.

Comments on the reason why addiction treatment center president John Schwarzlose voted against a ballot measure that would finance addictive behavior treatment programs in California. Reasons why the ballot is counterproductive in spite of the promised funding; Need for more accountability according to observers.

The article offers information on a new alternative payment model (APM) called Patient-Centered Opioid Addiction Treatment (P-COAT) proposed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the American Medical Association (AMA) for the treatment of opioid use disorders (OUDs). Topics include the use of evaluation and management (E/M) codes among physicians, opioid treatment programs (OTPs), and comments from Shawn Ryan of ASAM.

The article offers information on the study "Social Support Moderates Effects of Natural Disaster Exposure on Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: Effects for Displaced and Nondisplaced Residents" in the "Journal of Traumatic Stress." It mentions that participants were given self-report questionnaires to assess their experiences after hurricane Katrina. It shows that displaced people experienced more post-hurricane stressors.

The article reports that the health partnership is to offer an alternative depression treatment for the Americans .

The article discusses the need for opioid treatment in Putnam County, New York as of October 2015. Topics covered include the story about former athletes from the area who had become addicted to heroin through prescription painkillers for sports injuries and the 30-day stay involved in the Phase 1 of treatment at Saint Christopher's Inn.

The article offers information on a notice about research grants offered by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for the Phased Innovation research for the prevention and treatment of HIV and viral hepatitis disorders.

The article presents a study which investigates the effect of levodopa in the contingency management (CM) of behavioral conditions including clinic attendance, medication compliance, and cocaine negative urine toxicology. It says that the participants underwent medical and physical examinations, laboratory tests, and cardiac evaluation. The study revealed that levodopa does not enhance CM targeted behavior, however, high rates of compliance were observed on CM-attendance conditions.

The article offers news briefs about alcohol and drug abuse issues. Xifaxan (rifaximin) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of hepatic encephalopathy. Research found that methamphetamine users have an increased risk for dental disease, and an Australian sibling study found a relationship between marijuana and psychosis.

The article offers news briefs related to mental health in the U.S. in 2009. A study from Screening for Mental Health Inc. shows the potential of web-based screening programs to connect individuals at risk for depression with treatment resources. The project, "Minds on the Edge: Facing Mental Illness," was introduced by the television program "The Fred Friendly Seminars." The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry was chosen one of the charities in the 2009 workplace campaign.

The article focuses on a study on the role of 12-Step affiliation, a set of guidelines on course of action for recovery from addiction or other behavioral problems, in long-term alcohol abstinence among adolescents. 357 adolescents seeking chemical dependence (CD) treatment were studied for the affiliation and its association with substance use outcomes 3 years post-treatment intake. Results showed that 19% respondents attended at least one 12-Step meeting in previous 6 months.

The article relates the study which examines treatment seeking among Hispanics living in urban and rural areas in the U.S. and Mexico border. Researcher Richard Spence and colleagues from the Addiction Research Institute at the University of Texas focuses on need severity, income, and insurance coverage as predictors of treatment seeking. They concluded that need and demographics are the dominant factors that drive treatment seeking among Hispanics living in urban and rural settings.

The article reports on the result of a study conducted by lead researcher and physician Jane Givens of Boston University Medical Center and her colleagues about ethnic variations in treatment preferences for depression. According to the study, Americans, Hispanics and Asians reported more skepticism regarding antidepressant use, compared with white study participants.

Reports developments related to mental health in the U.S. Details on the budget of the government for specially mental healthcare; Launch of the first ever-global forum on community-based psychosocial rehabilitation services by the World Health Organization; Details on the need for extensive research for the treatment of chronic insomnia.

The article reports that the access to specialty mental health care has increased over the past decade for the most seriously mentally ill, though people with other mental illnesses or just a perceived need for services saw their access decline. Ironically, however, people with other mental illnesses who reported a need for help accessed less specialty mental health care in HCC2 than those without mental illness who perceived a need for care.

The article reports on research on the consumption of alcohol which was published in the January 2012 issue of the journal "Science Translational Medicine". The research found that alcohol causes feel good substances known as endorphins to be released in the nucleus accumbens and orbitofrontal cortex portions of the human brain.

The article offers information on a notice about research grants offered by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to encourage the Engagement and Retention in Quality HIV Care for transgender women in the country.

The article discusses a bill in the Massachusetts legislature that would simultaneously create casinos in Massachusetts and support prevention treatment for gambling addiction.

The article reports that the Laguna Beach Recovery Center owned by Let's Talk Recovery Inc. (LTR) has entered into an agreement to offer proprietary treatment protocols in the U.S. Laguna Beach Recovery Center, a branded boutique, has then become as the first full-service licensed proprietary treatment and protocol provider. As advertised by the LTR, the protocol will benefit Laguna Beach clients as it combines physiological, nutritional and psychosocial therapies to treat alcohol dependence.

Highlights the American Psychiatric Association's guidelines for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Goals of treatment for bipolar disorder; Medications; Emphasis on psychiatric management.