Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2018
Opioid and cocaine use among primary care patients on buprenorphine-Self-report and urine drug tests.
Urine drug tests (UDTs) are recommended to monitor patients treated for opioid use disorder in primary care. The aims are to (1) estimate the frequency of self-report and UDT results of opioid and cocaine use and (2) evaluate the association between treatment time with non-disclosure of opioid or cocaine use and having a positive UDT. ⋯ Among primary care patients treated with buprenorphine, a small but substantial percentage of UDTs were cocaine or opioid positive. As treatment time increased, non-disclosure was less common but persisted even after six months. Among primary care patients treated with buprenorphine, UDTs contribute information to optimize clinical care.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2018
Harm perceptions of electronic cigarettes and nicotine: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey of young people in Great Britain.
E-cigarettes often contain nicotine without the most harmful constituents of tobacco smoke. ⋯ Many young people have inaccurate harm perceptions of e-cigarettes and nicotine. Accurate e-cigarette and nicotine harm perceptions were associated with one another. E-cigarette use was associated with accurate e-cigarette but not nicotine harm perceptions; smoking was not associated with either.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2018
Cigarette smoking is associated with cortical thinning in anterior frontal regions, insula and regions showing atrophy in early Alzheimer's Disease.
Magnetic resonance imaging studies of cigarette smoking-related effects on human brain structure primarily focused on cortical volumes. Much less is known about the effects of smoking on cortical thickness. Smokers and Non-smokers were compared on regional cortical thickness. We predicted smokers would demonstrate greater age-related thinning localized to anterior frontal regions that serve as nodes for the executive, salience, and emotional regulation networks (ESER regions) and those demonstrating significant atrophy in early Alzheimer's Disease (AD regions). ⋯ This study provides additional evidence that cigarette smoking is associated with thinner cortices in regions implicated in the development and maintenance of substance use disorders and in regions demonstrating significant atrophy in early AD. The novel structure-function relationships in Smokers further our understanding of the neurobiological substrates potentially underlying the neuropsychological abnormalities documented in smokers.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2018
Effects of neuromodulation on cognitive performance in individuals exhibiting addictive behaviors: A systematic review.
There is growing interest in non-invasive brain stimulation techniques as treatments for addictive disorders. While multiple reviews have examined the effects of neuromodulation on craving and consumption, there has been no review of how neuromodulation affects cognitive functioning in addiction. This systematic review examined studies of the cognitive effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in individuals exhibiting addictive behavior. ⋯ While positive effects in several studies suggest that tDCS and TMS improve cognitive functioning in addiction, there is substantial heterogeneity across studies. We discuss person-related and methodological factors that could explain inconsistencies, and propose individualized stimulation protocols may sharpen the cognitive effects of neuromodulation in addiction.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2018
Comparative StudyThe G-protein biased mu-opioid agonist, TRV130, produces reinforcing and antinociceptive effects that are comparable to oxycodone in rats.
Mu-opioid agonists (e.g., oxycodone) are highly effective therapeutics for pain. However, they also produce reinforcing effects that increase their likelihood of abuse. Recent strategies in drug development have focused on opioids with biased receptor-signaling profiles that favor activation of specific intracellular pathways over others with the aim of increasing therapeutic selectivity. ⋯ For the Hot-Plate test, male rats (n = 7) received subcutaneous injections of TRV130 (0.1-3.2 mg/kg/inj) or oxycodone (0.1-5.6 mg/kg/inj), and nociceptive response latencies were measured. TRV130 and oxycodone were equi-potent and equi-effective in self-administration and thermal antinociception. This study demonstrates that TRV130 produces reinforcing and antinociceptive effects that are quantitatively similar to oxycodone, and that a biased-signaling profile does not necessarily reduce abuse potential.