Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2019
Take-home naloxone possession among people who inject drugs in rural West Virginia.
Take-home naloxone (THN) possession among people who inject drugs (PWID) in rural communities is understudied. Better understanding the nature of THN possession among rural PWID could inform the implementation of overdose prevention initiatives. The purpose of this research is to determine factors associated with rural PWID having recently received THN. ⋯ Among rural PWID in West Virginia, slightly less than half received THN in the past 6 months. Rural communities need overdose prevention interventions that are responsive to the unique needs of rural PWID, decrease stigma, and ensure PWID have access to harm reduction services and drug treatment programs.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2019
Correlation between interleukin-6 levels and methadone maintenance therapy outcomes.
The outcome of methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) varies in each patient with opioid use disorder (OUD). Opioid abuse activates proinflammatory processes by increasing cytokine production and impairing neurotrophic factor expression, and possibly leads to a vicious cycle that hinders recovery. Therefore, we investigated whether markers of inflammation and neurotrophic expression correlate with the MMT outcomes in OUD patients. ⋯ Higher IL-6 levels were associated with poor MMT outcomes. Additional studies on regulating IL-6 expression to improve treatment outcomes in OUD patients might be warranted.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Oct 2019
Patterns of nicotine concentrations in electronic cigarettes sold in the United States, 2013-2018.
Considerable declines in cigarette smoking have occurred in the U.S. over the past half century. Yet emerging tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, have increased in popularity among U.S. youth and adults in recent years. Nicotine content is an important factor in weighing the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes on individual and population level health. This study examined how nicotine concentrations of e-cigarette products sold have changed from 2013 to 2018. ⋯ E-cigarettes with higher nicotine concentrations comprise a substantial and increasing portion of U.S. e-cigarette sales. Higher nicotine concentrations may influence patterns of e-cigarette use, including harms from e-cigarette initiation among youth and potential health benefits for adult smokers switching completely to e-cigarettes.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Oct 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialMindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement reduces opioid craving among individuals with opioid use disorder and chronic pain in medication assisted treatment: Ecological momentary assessments from a stage 1 randomized controlled trial.
Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is an efficacious form of medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), yet many individuals on MMT relapse. Chronic pain and deficits in positive affective response to natural rewards may result in dysphoria that fuels opioid craving and promotes relapse. As such, behavioral therapies that ameliorate chronic pain and enhance positive affect may serve as useful adjuncts to MMT. This analysis of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data from a Stage 1 randomized clinical trial examined effects of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) on opioid craving, pain, and positive affective state. ⋯ MORE may be a useful non-pharmacological adjunct among individuals with OUD and chronic pain in MMT.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Sep 2019
Effects of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist JWH-018 on abuse-related effects of opioids in rhesus monkeys.
Opioid abuse remains a public health crisis despite a tremendous outpouring of resources to address the problem. One factor that might complicate this issue is polydrug abuse. While cannabis is increasingly available due to legalization by states, phytocannabinoids do not appear to alter the abuse-related effects of opioids. ⋯ The ability of JWH-018 to reinstate extinguished responding previously maintained by heroin was examined in four other monkeys. When presented with drug-associated stimuli, heroin, but not JWH-018, reinstated responding, and when combined, JWH-018 did not increase the potency of heroin. While opioids and synthetic cannabinoids, including JWH-018, are abused, these results indicate that JWH-018 does not modify the behavioral effects of opioids in monkeys in a manner that would predict greater abuse liability of cannabinoid/opioid mixtures, a result that is consistent with a growing literature on mixtures of opioids and phytocannabinoids.