Drug abuse treatment

INTRODUCTION: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is commonly defined as the failure of at least two trials with antidepressant drugs, given at the right dose and for an appropriate duration. TRD is associated with increased mortality, compared to patients with a simple major depressive episode. This increased rate was mainly attributed to death from external causes, including suicide and accidents. The aim of our study is to identify socio-demographic and psychopathological variables associated with suicidal attempts in a sample of outpatients with TRD...

BACKGROUND: Considering the enormous burden represented by the opioid use disorder (OUD), it is important to always consider, when implementing opioid agonist therapy (OAT), the potential impact on patient's adherence, quality of life, and detoxification. Thus, the purpose of the study is to evaluate how the introduction of a novel OAT approach influences these key factors in the management of OUD. CASE PRESENTATION: This article marks the pioneering use of OAT through buprenorphine implant in Europe and delves into the experience of six patients diagnosed with OUD at a relatively young age...

BACKGROUND: In the United States, both drug overdose mortality and injection-involved drug overdose mortality have increased nationally over the past 25 years. Despite documented geographic differences in overdose mortality and substances implicated in overdose mortality trends, injection-involved overdose mortality has not been summarized at a subnational level. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to estimate the annual number of injection-involved overdose deaths in each US state from 2000 to 2020...

Over 50 million Americans endure chronic pain where many do not receive adequate treatment and self-medicate to manage their pain by taking substances like opioids and cannabis. Research has shown high comorbidity between chronic pain and substance use disorders (SUD) and these disorders share many common neurobiological underpinnings, including hypodopaminergic transmission. Drugs commonly used for self-medication such as opioids and cannabis relieve emotional, bothersome components of pain as well as negative emotional affect that perpetuates misuse and increases the risk of progressing towards drug abuse...

Egypt is experiencing an increasing drug problem (cannabis, heroin, amphetamines, pharmaceutical opioids, synthetic cannabinoids). Whilst harm reduction and addiction treatment are provided by government and non-governmental organizations in Egypt, very little is known about physicians experience of handling patient substance use and substance use disorder (SUD) in primary care. A cross-sectional national study of 392 Egyptian Family Physicians (FPs) & General Practitioners (GPs) explored their knowledge, attitude and professional practice regarding management of SUD in primary care, as a first step toward identifying professional development support needs and informing general practice...

BACKGROUND: Substance use disorders (SUD) are prevalent disorders worldwide. Among other associated health problems, patients with SUD are at an increased risk of dying of suicide, with females displaying an even higher risk than males. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a gender-sensitive evaluation of changes in suicidal ideation during multimodal inpatient treatment at a hospital facility specialized in treating addiction. METHODS: A total of 694 patients (68...

Background: Cannabis use is associated with altered processing of external (exteroceptive) and internal (interoceptive) sensory stimuli. However, little research exists on whether subjective experiences of these processes are altered in people who frequently use cannabis. Altered exteroception may influence externally oriented attention, whereas interoceptive differences have implications for intoxication, craving, and withdrawal states. Objectives: The goal of the current study was to investigate subjective experiences of exteroceptive sensory gating and interoception in people frequently using cannabis...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Tissue necrosis from pentazocine abuse is becoming a burden in our environment. Pentazocine is an opioid of the benzomorphan class. It is commonly used for post-traumatic and postoperative pain and vaso-occlusive pain of sickle cell disease (SCD). Its prolonged use can lead to addiction and may result in severe injection site necrosis, often worsened by infection due to a lack of aseptic principles during administration. Although pentazocine is a controlled drug in our environment, it is readily available...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a well-recognized, major cause of various liver-related conditions such as chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Apart from liver disease, chronic HCV infection is also associated with several extrahepatic manifestations that can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. These extrahepatic manifestations include essential mixed cryoglobulinemia (EMC), lymphomas, porphyria cutanea tarda, lichen planus, necrolytic acral erythema, glomerulonephritis, subclinical autoantibody formation, immune thrombocytopenia, thyroid disease, Sjögren's disease/sicca symptoms, diabetes mellitus, ocular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, neurocognitive dysfunction, and leukocytoclastic vasculitis...

Ketamine is a restricted and regulated medication in Australia and New Zealand, which has implications when considering treatment for patients with treatment-resistant depression and a history of illicit drug use, abuse or dependence. Regulations governing prescription of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression vary between jurisdictions in Australia and New Zealand, though most restrict use in those with drug dependence. There is substantial variation in definitions of drug dependence used in each jurisdiction, and between the legal and clinical definitions, with the latter specified in the current International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Revision and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Fifth Edition...

Tianeptine is an atypical tricyclic antidepressant approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder in some European, Asian, and Latin countries. Along with its serotonergic properties, tianeptine also acts as a full agonist at the mu-opioid receptor, creating sensations of euphoric highs and significant risks of addiction and withdrawal. For this reason, along with increased reports of adverse effects and fatalities, tianeptine has not been approved in the US. Despite this, tianeptine continues to be accessible through unregulated online stores and small retailers under street names such as Zaza, Tia, Tianna, 'gas-station dope', and a product not mentioned in the literature previously: Neptune's Fix Elixir...

BACKGROUND: Self-management of opioid use disorder (OUD) is an important component of treatment. Many patients receiving opioid agonist treatment in methadone maintenance treatment settings benefit from counseling treatments to help them improve their recovery skills but have insufficient access to these treatments between clinic appointments. In addition, many addiction medicine clinicians treating patients with OUD in a general medical clinic setting do not have consistent access to counseling referrals for their patients...

Background: Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) permit patients to ingest daily methadone doses unsupervised and away from the clinic, a strategy that enhances treatment access and convenience but has the potential for mismanagement. Objective: This retrospective review, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic (5/2020-1/2022), evaluates the feasibility and acceptability of a commercially available electronic pillbox to safely administer methadone take-home tablets in a large community-based OTP (census >500 people)...

Nasal vasoconstrictors are some of the most widely used over-the-counter drugs, considered by many consumers as relatively safe with few significant adverse effects. At recommended dosage, the drug produces local vasoconstriction in nasal mucous membranes. However, the use of such drugs has been linked to cardiovascular adverse effects, including hypertension, arrhythmias, prolongation of the QT interval, and angina pectoris.1 The various cardiovascular adverse effects may occur with both oral and nasal administration and after a single dose or prolonged treatment, without dose-effect and independently of vascular status and age...

PHARMACOTHERAPIES FOR INSOMNIA. The first line of treatment in adult chronic insomnia is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). However, its difficult accessibility limited its use and medications are still often prescribed. Considering the drugs with marketing authorization, Z-drugs (zolpidem and zopiclone) if taken at the right hour and dosage promote sleep initiation and have less deleterious effects than benzodiazepines, especially the long-acting ones which should be avoided. This class of drugs cannot be prescribed longer than 28 days...

INTRODUCTION: Topical steroid damaged face (TSDF) is a common occurrence in the current scenario, where darker - skinned people believe having lighter-colored skin improves their prospects in all aspects of life. This has led to the abuse of topical corticosteroids with unrealistic expectations driven by ignorance of the adverse effects, particularly in the Indian population. As TSDF is virtually an epidemic in India and there is no treatment protocol for dermatologists, we conducted this study to find out what dermatologists prescribe and, in turn, serve as a foundation to develop guidelines in the future...

Liver fibrosis is a condition characterized by the excessive buildup of scar tissue in the liver. This scarring occurs as a result of chronic liver damage, often caused by conditions such as hepatitis, alcohol abuse, certain metabolic disorders, genetic abnormalities, autoimmunity, and noninfectious diseases such as fatty liver which leads to liver fibrosis. Nanoparticles have gained attention in recent years as potential therapeutic agents for liver fibrosis. They offer unique advantages due to their small size, large surface area, and ability to carry drugs or target specific cells or tissues...

Mental health conditions including substance use disorder are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. Unfortunately, fears of child protective services' involvement interfere with maternal self-disclosure of substance use in pregnancy. Seeking to identify more mothers with substance use disorder in pregnancy or at delivery, and responsive to changes to the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), Connecticut requires hospital personnel to submit a deidentified notification to CPS for all newborns with prenatal substance exposure...

OBJECTIVE: In 2014, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse released the "Principles of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment," summarizing previously established evidence and outlining principles of effective assessment, treatment, and aftercare for substance use disorders (SUD). Winters et al. (2018) updated these principles to be developmentally appropriate for adolescents. This review builds on that formative work and recommends updated adolescent assessment, treatment, and aftercare principles and practices...