Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jan 2007
New lower nicotine cigarettes can produce compensatory smoking and increased carbon monoxide exposure.
Potential reduced exposure products (PREPs) are marketed as a means to reduce exposure to tobacco toxicants. Quest cigarettes, a new type of PREP, use genetically modified tobacco to provide a nicotine step-down approach, and are available as 0.6, 0.3 and 0.05 mg nicotine cigarettes. However, these cigarettes deliver equivalent levels of tar (10 mg). ⋯ Total puff volume was greatest for the 0.05 mg nicotine cigarette and CO boost was moderately greater after smoking the 0.3 and 0.05 mg cigarettes compared to the 0.6 mg nicotine cigarette. These data provide novel behavioral and biochemical evidence of compensatory smoking when smoking lower nicotine cigarettes. Although marketed as a PREP, increases in CO boost suggest this product can potentially be a harm-increasing product.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jan 2007
Repeated weekly exposure to MDMA, methamphetamine or their combination: long-term behavioural and neurochemical effects in rats.
In recent work we have documented lasting adverse neurochemical and behavioural effects in rats given short-term 'binge' dosing with methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy), methamphetamine (METH) or their combination. Here we investigated whether similar effects persist in rats given 16 weekly injections followed by a 10 week period of abstinence. Female rats received MDMA (8 mg/kg, i.p.), METH (8 mg/kg), or a MDMA/METH combination (4 mg/kg MDMA + 4 mg/kg METH), once a week for 16 weeks, with locomotor activity and body temperature measured on weeks 1, 8 and 16. ⋯ No group differences were evident on the emergence, object recognition or forced swim tests. Neurochemical analysis revealed modest noradrenaline and serotonin depletion in chronically treated rats that was not evident following a single equivalent administration. These results indicate that although chronic, intermittent exposure to MDMA, METH or their combination, may not lead to significant long-term monoamine depletion, lasting adverse behavioural effects may persist, especially those related to social behaviour.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jan 2007
ReviewSubstance abuse treatment entry, retention, and outcome in women: a review of the literature.
This paper reviews the literature examining characteristics associated with treatment outcome in women with substance use disorders. A search of the English language literature from 1975 to 2005 using Medline and PsycInfo databases found 280 relevant articles. Ninety percent of the studies investigating gender differences in substance abuse treatment outcomes were published since 1990, and of those, over 40% were published since the year 2000. ⋯ While women-only treatment is not necessarily more effective than mixed-gender treatment, some greater effectiveness has been demonstrated by treatments that address problems more common to substance-abusing women or that are designed for specific subgroups of this population. There is a need to develop and test effective treatments for specific subgroups such as older women with substance use disorders, as well as those with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders such as eating disorders. Future research on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of gender-specific versus standard treatments, as well as identification of the characteristics of women and men who can benefit from mixed-gender versus single-gender treatments, would advance the field.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Dec 2006
Randomized Controlled TrialRandomized, placebo-controlled trial of baclofen and gabapentin for the treatment of methamphetamine dependence.
To conduct a 16-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of two GABAergic medications, baclofen (20 mg tid) and gabapentin (800 mg tid), for the treatment of methamphetamine dependence. ⋯ While gabapentin does not appear to be effective in treating methamphetamine dependence, baclofen may have a small treatment effect relative to placebo. Future studies evaluating the effectiveness of baclofen and other GABAergic agents for treatment of methamphetamine may be warranted.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2006
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyCognition and motor control as a function of Delta9-THC concentration in serum and oral fluid: limits of impairment.
Cannabis use has been associated with increased risk of becoming involved in traffic accidents; however, the relation between THC concentration and driver impairment is relatively obscure. The present study was designed to define performance impairment as a function of THC in serum and oral fluid in order to provide a scientific framework to the development of per se limits for driving under the influence of cannabis. Twenty recreational users of cannabis participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-way cross-over study. ⋯ At concentrations between 5 and 10 ng/ml approximately 75-90% of the observations were indicative of significant impairment in every performance test. At THC concentrations >30 ng/ml the proportion of observations indicative of significant impairment increased to a full 100% in every performance tests. It is concluded that serum THC concentrations between 2 and 5 ng/ml establish the lower and upper range of a THC limit for impairment.