Drug and alcohol dependence
-
Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2006
Randomized Controlled TrialA double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of amantadine, propranolol, and their combination for the treatment of cocaine dependence in patients with severe cocaine withdrawal symptoms.
This trial evaluated the efficacy of amantadine, propranolol and their combination in cocaine dependent patients with severe cocaine withdrawal symptoms. ⋯ In the intent-to-treat sample, none of the three active treatments (propranolol, amantadine or their combination) was significantly more effective than placebo in promoting abstinence from cocaine among patients who entered treatment with more severe cocaine withdrawal symptoms. Among patients highly adherent to study medication, propranolol treatment was associated with better treatment retention and higher rates of cocaine abstinence compared to placebo.
-
Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2006
Incidence and antecedents of nonmedical prescription opioid use in four US communities. The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) prospective cohort study.
Nonmedical use of prescription opioids has emerged as a major public health problem during the last decade, but direct measures of incidence and predisposing factors are lacking. ⋯ Initiation of nonmedical prescription opioid use is generally rare in 28-40-year-old adults, but is observed to be more common with a previous history of substance abuse and legal access to opioids through prescription by a physician.
-
Drug Alcohol Depend · Oct 2006
Drug and alcohol-impaired driving among electronic music dance event attendees.
Drug-impaired driving has received increased attention resulting from development of rapid drug-screening procedures used by police and state laws establishing per se limits for drug levels in drivers. Venues that host electronic music dance events (EMDEs) provide a unique opportunity to assess drug-impaired driving among a high proportion of young adult drug users. EMDEs are late-night dance parties marked by a substantial number of young adult attendees and elevated drug involvement. No studies to date have examined drug-impaired driving in a natural environment with active drug and alcohol users. ⋯ Driving status reduced the level of alcohol use (including abstaining) but the impact on drug-taking was not significant. However, 62% of individuals who reported their intention to drive away from the events were positive for drugs or alcohol upon leaving. This suggests that these events and settings are appropriate ones for developing interventions for reducing risks for young adults.
-
The vast majority of studies on polysubstance abuse or dependence have utilized male participants; therefore, the specific neuropsychological effects of polysubstance dependence in women are relatively unknown. The goal of the present study is to examine the effects of polysubstance dependence on women's verbal and visual memory ability. ⋯ The results confirm that polysubstance dependence is associated with deficient encoding of verbal information. In addition, past year frequent use of alcohol and cocaine was associated with more severe deficits in delayed recall and recognition ability among polysubstance dependent women at the bivariate level.
-
Drug Alcohol Depend · Sep 2006
Adolescent alcohol and cannabis use in relation to peer and school factors. Results of multilevel analyses.
The present study used a multilevel approach with multiple informants to determine whether, at individual level, association with substance-using peer groups, and, at class level, incidences of intoxicated students in school premises, are related to students' own substance use. Additionally, it tested the hypothesis that such school incidences affect the closeness of the relation between association with substance-using peers and students' own substance use. Multilevel regression models were estimated separately for drunkenness and cannabis use on the basis of cross-sectional data from 3,925 students of eighth and ninth grades in Switzerland (mean age 15.3, S. ⋯ Such relations were not found for alcohol. It appears that cannabis use at school or shortly before arriving at school creates an atmosphere that favors cannabis use whether or not students are associated with cannabis-using peers. Establishing an overarching environment of disapproval appears to be an effective means of preventing cannabis use by adolescents.