Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Mar 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialTherapeutic infusions of ketamine: do the psychoactive effects matter?
Sub-anesthetic ketamine infusions may benefit a variety of psychiatric disorders, including addiction. Though ketamine engenders transient alterations in consciousness, it is not known whether these alterations influence efficacy. This analysis evaluates the mystical-type effects of ketamine, which may have therapeutic potential according to prior research, and assesses whether these effects mediate improvements in dependence-related deficits, 24h postinfusion. ⋯ These findings suggest that psychological mechanisms may be involved in some of the anti-addiction benefits resulting from ketamine. Future research can evaluate whether the psychoactive effects of ketamine influence improvements in larger samples.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Mar 2014
Early adolescent patterns of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana polysubstance use and young adult substance use outcomes in a nationally representative sample.
Alcohol, tobacco and marijuana are the most commonly used drugs by adolescents in the U.S. However, little is known about the patterning of early adolescent substance use, and its implications for problematic involvement with substances in young adulthood. We examined patterns of substance use prior to age 16, and their associations with young adult substance use behaviors and substance use disorders in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. ⋯ This research confirms the elevated prevalence and importance of polysubstance use behavior among adolescents prior to age 16, and puts early onset of alcohol, marijuana and cigarette use into the context of use patterns rather than single drug exposures.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Mar 2014
Using cannabis to help you sleep: heightened frequency of medical cannabis use among those with PTSD.
The use of cannabis for medical purposes is proliferating in the U.S., and PTSD is an explicitly approved condition for accessing medical cannabis in 5 states. Prior research suggests that people with PTSD often use cannabis to help cope with their condition, and that doing so results in more frequent and problematic cannabis use patterns. Specific coping motivations, such as sleep improvement, among medical cannabis users, have not been examined. ⋯ Consistent with prior research, this study found increased rates of coping-oriented use of cannabis and greater frequency of cannabis use among medical users with high PTSD scores compared with low PTSD scores. In addition, sleep improvement appears to be a primary motivator for coping-oriented use. Additional research is needed to examine the health consequences of this pattern of cannabis use and whether alternative sleep promoting interventions (e.g. CBT-I) could reduce the reliance on cannabis for adequate sleep among those with PTSD.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Mar 2014
Comparative StudyThe diversion and injection of a buprenorphine-naloxone soluble film formulation.
We compared the diversion and injection of a new formulation of buprenorphine, a buprenorphine-naloxone film product (BNX film), with buprenorphine-naloxone tablets (BNX tablets), mono-buprenorphine (BPN) and methadone (MET) in Australia. ⋯ Non-adherence and diversion of the BNX film formulation was similar to MET and BNX tablet formulations; BPN had higher levels of all indicators of non-adherence and diversion.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Mar 2014
Review Meta AnalysisDoes urine drug abuse screening help for managing patients? A systematic review.
In the field of addiction, assessment of psychoactive substance use is a key element. Nevertheless, self-reports and clinical examination underestimate the use of psychoactive substances. The implementation of urine drug screening tests (UDS) should improve this assessment. While the diagnostic value of UDS is well demonstrated, the consequences of carrying out UDS on medical management have not been established. Our aim was to summarize the evidence pertaining to the efficacy of UDS for medical management. ⋯ Few studies, with poor quality, have assessed the value of UDS in managing patients using psychoactive substances; though with insufficiency to demonstrate the interest of carrying out UDS. Therefore, pragmatic intervention studies are necessary.