Addiction
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profile of intranasal crushed buprenorphine and buprenorphine/naloxone tablets in opioid abusers.
Sublingual buprenorphine and buprenorphine/naloxone are efficacious opioid dependence pharmacotherapies, but there are reports of their diversion and misuse by the intranasal route. The study objectives were to characterize and compare their intranasal pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles. ⋯ It is difficult to determine if observed differences in abuse potential between intranasal buprenorphine and buprenorphine/naloxone are clinically relevant at the doses tested. Greater bioavailability and faster onset of pharmacodynamic effects compared to sublingual administration suggests a motivation for intranasal misuse in non-dependent opioid abusers. However, significant naloxone absorption from intranasal buprenorphine/naloxone administration may deter the likelihood of intranasal misuse of buprenorphine/naloxone, but not buprenorphine, in opioid-dependent individuals.
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Methamphetamine (Meth) abuse continues to be a major illicit drug of abuse. Neuroimaging findings suggest that Meth is neurotoxic and may alter various brain structures, but the effect of Meth on the aging brain has not been studied. ⋯ Methamphetamine users appear to show increased cortical gray matter loss with age which raises the possibility of accelerated decline in mental functioning.
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To investigate the relationship of life-time and repeated cannabis use with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity to social stress in a general population sample of adolescents. ⋯ Lower hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis stress-reactivity in adolescents is related specifically to life-time and repeated cannabis use.