Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jul 2001
Comparative Study Clinical TrialPain intolerance in opioid-maintained former opiate addicts: effect of long-acting maintenance agent.
Patients on methadone maintenance therapy are relatively intolerant of pain, a finding hypothesized to reflect a hyperalgesic state induced by chronic opioid administration. To explore if the intrinsic activity of the opioid maintenance agent might affect expression of hyperalgesia in this population, withdrawal latency for cold-pressor (CP) pain was compared between small groups of methadone-maintained (n = 18), buprenorphine-maintained (n = 18), and matched control (n = 18) subjects. ⋯ Diminished pain tolerance in patients receiving opioid maintenance treatment has significant clinical implications. More research is needed to determine if buprenorphine offers advantages over methadone in this regard.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · May 2001
The effects of chronic morphine on behavior reinforced by several opioids or by cocaine in rhesus monkeys.
The reinforcing effects of intravenously delivered cocaine, alfentanil, morphine, heroin, nalbuphine, or buprenorphine were evaluated in four rhesus monkeys before, during, and after daily administration of 3.2 mg/kg morphine. Morphine was given 21 h prior to measures of the reinforcing effects of each of the drugs. ⋯ Larger decreases in both the potency and effectiveness of low-efficacy mu agonists nalbuphine and buprenorphine developed during this time. These data suggest that the amount of tolerance that develops to the reinforcing effects of opioids depends on the efficacy of the drugs used to maintain responding.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Dec 2000
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialBuprenorphine and naloxone co-administration in opiate-dependent patients stabilized on sublingual buprenorphine.
Buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual (s.l.) dose formulations may decrease parenteral buprenorphine abuse. We evaluated pharmacologic interactions between 8 mg s.l. buprenorphine combined with 0, 4, or 8 mg of naloxone in nine opiate-dependent volunteers stabilized on 8 mg s.l. buprenorphine for 7 days. ⋯ Buprenorphine and naloxone bioavailability was approximately 40 and 10%, respectively. Intravenous buprenorphine and naloxone produced subjective effects similar to those of s.l. buprenorphine and did not precipitate opiate withdrawal.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jul 2000
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialIncorporating the AUDIT into a general population telephone survey: a methodological experiment.
This study assessed potential ordering and wording effects of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT). In total, 688 respondents were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: Intact order/original wording (n=148), intact order/revised wording (n=183), split order/original wording (n=192), split order/revised wording (n=166). Changes to question order and wording had no discernable impact on the scores of the AUDIT. Our results suggest that alterations to the AUDIT can be made in order to integrate it within a larger survey without adversely affecting its measurement properties.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jun 2000
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialAntinociceptive, subjective and behavioral effects of smoked marijuana in humans.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether marijuana produced dose-dependent antinociception in humans and, if so, whether endogenous opiates modulate this effect. A total of five male regular marijuana users participated in three test sessions during which they smoked cigarettes containing 0% (placebo) and 3. 55% Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC) (active). Each of four controlled smoking bouts per session, spaced at 40-min intervals, consisted of nine puffs from active and placebo cigarettes (three cigarettes, three puffs per cigarette, one puff per min). ⋯ Before smoking, between smoking bouts and postsmoking, participants completed an assessment battery that included antinociceptive (finger withdrawal from radiant heat stimulation), biological, subjective, observer-rated signs and performance measures. Marijuana produced significant dose-dependent antinociception (increased finger withdrawal latency) and biobehavioral effects. Naltrexone did not significantly influence marijuana dose-effect curves, suggesting no role of endogenous opiates in marijuana-induced antinociception under these conditions.