addiction Tag
04 Aug More Babies Experiencing Neonatal Drug Withdrawal After Exposure To Opioids and Psychotropic Meds
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_27170" align="alignleft" width="179"]
Dr. Krista Huybrechts[/caption]
Krista F. Huybrechts, MS PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 02120
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Neonatal drug withdrawal is common; in the U.S. about 1 infant is born every 25 minutes with signs of drug withdrawal. Neonatal drug withdrawal is a well-recognized complication of intrauterine exposure to illicit or prescription opioids, but other psychotropic medications can also cause signs of withdrawal. Psychotropic medications are frequently co-prescribed with opioids in pregnancy, and the use of both has increased significantly, raising concerns about an increase in the incidence and severity of neonatal drug withdrawal due to potential drug-drug interactions, but these risks are not well understood.
In this study, we found a 30-60% increase in the risk of neonatal drug withdrawal associated with co-exposure to antidepressants, benzodiazepines and gabapentin, compared to opioids alone; no significant increase in risk was observed for atypical antipsychotics and Z-drugs. Exposure to psychotropic polypharmacy along with opioids was associated with a two-fold increased risk of withdrawal.
28 Jul Drug-Related Deaths Among Whites Soar But Alcohol and Suicide Mortality Stable
Posted at 20:36h
in Addiction, Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Mental Health Research, Opiods
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Andrea M. Tilstra
Doctoral Student, Department of Sociology
Population Program, Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado Boulder and
Ryan K. Masters
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Faculty Associate, Population Program and Health & Society Program
Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado Boulder
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: “Despair” deaths – deaths from suicides, alcohol poisonings, and drug overdoses – have been a topic of interest in recent mortality research. For instance, existing findings suggest that mortality among white Americans has increased as a result of middle-aged whites experiencing elevated levels of despair and distress. These factors supposedly are driving white Americans to cope in unhealthy ways – excessive drinking, drug use, and suicides.
However, there were two major problems with the existing research that supported this narrative. First, men and women were analyzed together, despite the knowledge that overall mortality levels and trends differ significantly by gender. Second, all three of the aforementioned causes of death were pooled together and analyzed as one group. This is highly problematic if deaths from suicides, alcohol use, and drug use are not, in fact, moving in conjunction with one another. We addressed these issues and expanded previous analyses by analyzing cause-specific death rates for men and women separately, for years 1980-2014, and decomposing the trends into period- and cohort- based analyses.
We find that there are huge gender differences in U.S. white mortality rates and that trends in mortality from the three causes of death are quite distinct from one another. Recent increases in U.S. white mortality are largely driven by period-based increases in drug poisoning deaths and cohort-based increases in metabolic disease deaths.
11 Jul Opioid Prescriptions Decrease But Still Elevated Compared To 20 Years Ago
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_35848" align="alignleft" width="100"]
Dr. Dowell[/caption]
Deborah Dowell, MD, MPH
Chief Medical Officer, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: CDC analyzed retail prescription data from QuintilesIMS which provides estimates of the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed in the United States from approximately 59,000 pharmacies, representing 88% of prescriptions in the United States. CDC assessed opioid prescribing in the United States from 2006 to 2015, including rates, amounts, dosages, and durations prescribed. CDC examined county-level prescribing patterns in 2010 and 2015.
10 Jul Optimistic Results From Phase 3 Study of RBP-6000 Buprenorphine Monthly Depot for Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
Medical Research.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_35821" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Heidbreder[/caption]
Dr. Christian Heidbreder, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Indivior Inc.
Richmond, VA 23235, USA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: This pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial (RB-US-13-0001) evaluated the efficacy and safety of RBP-6000, an investigational once-monthly injectable buprenorphine in the ATRIGEL® delivery system for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe opioid use disorder (OUD) as part of a complete treatment plan to include counseling and psychosocial support1.
The 24-week Phase 3 study met its primary and key secondary endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant differences in percentage abstinence and treatment success across both dosage regimens of RBP-6000 versus placebo1.
The findings also showed that outcomes with RBP-6000 are consistent across other secondary clinical endpoints, including control of craving and withdrawal symptoms, as compared to placebo. These outcomes were associated with buprenorphine plasma concentrations ≥ 2 ng/mL and predicted whole brain mu-opioid receptor occupancy of ≥ 70%, and were also maintained for the one-month dosing intervals and for the entire treatment duration1.
The results were confirmed by exposure-response analyses demonstrating a relationship between buprenorphine plasma concentrations, abstinence, withdrawal symptoms and opioid craving1.
RBP-6000 was generally well tolerated and had a safety profile consistent with that of transmucosal buprenorphine. Injection site reactions were not treatment-limiting. The most common (reported in ≥ 5% of subjects) treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) reported in the active total group were constipation, headache, nausea, injection site pruritus, vomiting, increased hepatic enzyme, fatigue and injection site pain1.
24 Jun Lost Your Connection? Internet Withdrawal Can Mirror Addiction Symptoms
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_35593" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Reed[/caption]
Dr. Phil Reed, D.Phil.
Professor Psychology
Swansea University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Problematic internet use has been a growing concern for many people and bodies over the last decade, and more study has been requested into various aspects of this possible disorder. One of the key questions is whether people overuse the internet, due to an addiction. If it is an addiction, then there should be signs of withdrawal when people, who report having this problem, stop using the internet. In this study, 144 participants, aged 18 to 33, had their heart rate and blood pressure measured before and after a brief internet session. Their anxiety and self-reported internet addiction were also assessed.
The results showed increases in heart rate and systolic blood pressure on terminating the internet session for those with problematically-high internet usage. These increases in physiological arousal were mirrored by increased feelings of anxiety. However, there were no such changes for those participants who reported no internet-usage problems.
19 Jun Most Youth With Opioid Disorders Do Not Receive Medications For Addiction
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_35432" align="alignleft" width="154"]
Dr. Hadland[/caption]
Scott Hadland, MD, MPH, MS
Youth Addiction Specialist
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Boston University School of Medicine
Director, Urban Health and Advocacy Track, Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center
Associate Program Director, Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Almost no data have been available on this topic to date. A recent study showed that teens in subspecialty treatment for opioid addiction were significantly less likely than adults to receive a medication. Our study was the first to comprehensively look across the health care system, including looking at adolescents and young adults diagnosed with opioid use disorder in outpatient clinics, emergency departments, and inpatient hospitals.
We had three important findings. First, looking at a large sample of 9.7 million adolescents and young adults between the age of 13 and 25 years, we found that the number of youth diagnosed with opioid use disorder increased six-fold from 2001 to 2014. This is perhaps not surprising given the national opioid crisis we know to be occurring.
Second, we found that only a minority of youth (1 in 4) received buprenorphine or naltrexone, the two medications available for opioid addiction that can be prescribed in usual medical settings. These two medications are evidence-based and their use is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Utilizing them is critical to ensure that we offer effective treatment early in the life course of addiction, which can help prevent the long-term harms of addiction.
Third, we found significant differences in who received medications. Whereas approximately 1 in 3 young adults in our study received a medication, only 1 in 10 of the 16- and 17-year-olds we studied received one, and among adolescents under 15 years of age, 1 in 67 received a medication. Females were less likely than males to receive medications, as were black youth and Hispanic youth relative to white youth.
19 Jun Opioids Withdrawal in Babies Adding Millions To Health Care Costs
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_35376" align="alignleft" width="153"]
Dr. Corr[/caption]
Tammy E. Corr, D.O.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Newborn Medicine
Penn State Hershey College of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Recent literature has revealed hospital charges related to neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) have increased. However, there are no data available regarding costs of an NAS admission. Because charges are variable and influenced by a number of factors, provider costs to care for a patient offer more meaningful information.
Therefore, we endeavored to determine the incidence of NAS in the United States and estimate the total annual costs and hospital length of stay for an neonatal abstinence syndrome admission as well as the incremental costs and hospital days of admission for an NAS patient compared to a non-NAS admission.
14 Jun College Binge Drinkers Also Smoking More Pot In States Where Marijuana Legal
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_35341" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Kerr[/caption]
David Kerr PhD
Associate professor in the School of Psychological Science
College of Liberal Arts
Ohio State University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Oregon legalized sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes and the part of the law (regarding use) took effect in July 2015. However, there have been no controlled studies of which we’re aware of the possible effects of the Oregon law that take into account the trends toward increased marijuana use across the country and differences in use rates between states that predated the law.
We used survey data on college students in Oregon and in 6 states without recreational legalization to examine the issue.
10 Jun Heroin Epidemic Costs US Over $50 Billion Per Year
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_35195" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Pickard[/caption]
A. Simon Pickard, PhD
Professor, Dept of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy
University of Ilinois at Chicago
College of Pharmacy
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The heroin epidemic, which has left virtually no part of American society unscathed, can be viewed as an illness. Unlike some illnesses, however, it was largely manufactured by stakeholders in the healthcare system, wittingly or unwittingly.
The main finding, that heroin addiction costs us just over $50 billion per year, is likely a conservative estimate.
24 May Recreational Cocaine Use Activates Addiction Related Brain Mechanisms Sooner Than Previously Realized
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_34820" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Marco Leyton[/caption]
Marco Leyton, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
McGill University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Drug-related cues are potent triggers for eliciting conscious and unconscious desire for the drug. In people with severe substance use disorders, these cues also activate dopamine release in the dorsal striatum, a brain region thought to be involved in hard-to-break habits and compulsions.
In the present study we found evidence that drug cues also activate this same dopamine response in non-dependent ‘recreational’ cocaine users.
11 Apr Animal Study Suggests Lorcaserin (Belviq®) May be Useful to Reduce Opioid Intake
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christina R. Merritt and Kathryn A. Cunningham Center for Addiction Research University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, TX 77555 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is one of the top public health problems in the United States. Overdoses on prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl accounted for 33,091 deaths in the U.S. in 2015 (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm655051e1.htm); each day, 91 Americans die from an opioid overdose. The first-ever Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health (https://addiction.surgeongeneral.gov/ ) observed that more people used prescription opioids than tobacco in 2015. Furthermore, individuals with OUD, the most problematic pattern of opioid abuse, often relapse, particularly in environments associated with past drug use, and new means to help maintain abstinence are needed. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) function in the brain, particularly through its cognate 5-HT2C receptor, is an important regulator of the abuse liability of cocaine and other psychostimulants. Previous studies suggested that the weight loss medication and selective 5-HT2C receptor agonist lorcaserin (Belviq®) can curb cocaine- and nicotine-seeking in preclinical models, even when tested in tempting environments. We administered lorcaserin to rats who were trained to take the powerful painkiller oxycodone (OxyContin®), a prescription opioid currently approved for treatment of acute and chronic pain with characteristically high abuse potential. Lorcaserin suppressed oxycodone intake as well as the drug-seeking behaviors observed when rats were exposed to cues such as the lights and sounds previously associated with drug intake. Taken together, these findings highlights the therapeutic potential for lorcaserin to extend abstinence and enhance recovery from OUD.04 Apr Some Retirees Begin Risky Alcohol Consumption
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jaana Halonen, Docent and Senior Researcher Finnish Institute of Occupational Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Retirement is a significant life transition when substantial changes in daily life are experienced as retirees adapt to life without work. After retirement people have more leisure time and more opportunities for different activities, and less stress. These changes are positive, but retirement can also lead to reduced social control and loss of social contacts and therefore be perceived as a stressful life transition. Both the positive and negative aspects related to changes in leisure time, stress, and social networks around retirement may affect drinking behaviours. However, little is known about how risky alcohol consumption changes around the retirement transition. Thus, in our study we wanted to examine how and for whom risky drinking changes around the time of retirement. To do that we followed up public sector workers with questionnaires before and after their old-age retirement.17 Mar Buprenorphine Prescriptions for Opioid Use Disorder Rise With Medicaid Expansion
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_33049" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Dr.Hefei Wen[/caption]
Hefei Wen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Management & Policy
University of Kentucky College of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Buprenorphine has been proven effective in treating opioid use disorder. However, the high cost of buprenorphine and the limited prescribing capacity may restrict access to this effective medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder.
We found a 70% increase in Medicaid-covered buprenorphine prescriptions and a 50% increase in buprenorphine spending associated with the implementation of Medicaid expansions in 26 states during 2014. Physician prescribing capacity was also associated with increased buprenorphine prescriptions and spending.
15 Mar Combination Opioids and Benzodiazepines Raises Risk of Overdose
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_32934" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Eric Sun[/caption]
Eric C Sun MD PhD, assistant professor
Department of Anesthesiology
Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford, CA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There have been large increases in opioid-related adverse events over the past decade. The goal of our study was to examine the extent to which these increases may have been driven by combined use of opioids and benzodiazepines, a combination that is known to be potentially risky. Overall, we found that the combined use of opioids and benzodiazepines nearly doubled (80% increase) between 2001 and 2013, and that opioid users who also used benzodiazepines were at a higher risk of an opioid-related adverse event. Indeed, our results suggest eliminating the combined use of opioids and benzodiazepines could have reduced the population risk of an opioid-related adverse event by 15%.
10 Mar Cannabidiol Reduces Fear and Anxiety in Various Preclinical Models
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carl Stevenson, PhD Assistant Professor of Neuroscience BSc Animal Science Admissions Tutor Local Group Rep, British Neuroscience Association School of Biosciences University of Nottingham Loughborough, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Anxiety-related and substance abuse disorders can be serious forms of mental illness that are not always treated effectively by psychological therapies or medications. One strategy to enhance their treatment is to boost the effects of psychological therapy by combining it with medication. This study reviewed the literature on the effects of cannabidiol, a chemical found in the cannabis plant, in preclinical models of these disorders. Cannabidiol is safe to use in humans and doesn’t cause the ‘high’ associated with cannabis. This means that cannabidiol might be useful for treating certain symptoms without the unwanted side effects linked to medical cannabis. Our review confirmed that cannabidiol reduces fear and anxiety in various preclinical models, when given on its own or in conjunction with behavioural interventions that model psychological treatment for anxiety-related disorders. This could show that exploring the option of cbd for anxiety could be a step forward in treating the condition. Our review suggested that it can also reduce relapse in some preclinical models of addiction, although research looking at the effects of cannabidiol in substance abuse disorders is still in its infancy.02 Mar Fentanyl Laced Heroin Contributing To Spike In Heroin Overdoses in Miami-Dade County
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alexander Diaz Bode M.D. Candidate University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine Miami, FL MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our country is in the midst of an opiate epidemic. This is particularly evident in the emergency department (ED), which continues to see an alarmingly large number heroin overdose. With the shutdown of “pill-mills”, where opioid prescriptions would be prescribed indiscriminately, Florida has seen particularly large increases in opiate use and overdose. In Miami, we noticed that during the summer of 2016, there was a disproportionate increase in heroin overdose being treated at our hospital relative to previous years. Our recently published study showed that fentanyl or fentanyl analog laced heroin likely contributed to this massive spike in heroin overdose observed during the summer of 2016. Fentanyl and its synthetic analogs are opioid receptor agonists that bind with hundreds of times higher affinity than diamorphine, aka heroin. Naloxone, better known by the brand name Narcan®, is used to reverse heroin overdose in the ED. This drug works by competitively inhibiting the opioid receptor, effectively “knocking off” the bound heroin. Using naloxone dosing as a surrogate marker of heroin purity, our study found that during the investigated spike there was a disproportionate increase in the amount of naloxone used in our ED to reverse overdose relative to the increase in opiate overdose. This indicated that a stronger opioid receptor agonist, such as fentanyl or fentanyl analogs, likely was involved in the massive spike in overdose observed during the summer of 2016.21 Feb Memory Retrieval and Extinction Reduces Craving For Cigarettes
Posted at 19:50h
in Author Interviews
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_32250" align="alignleft" width="142"]
Dr. Michael Saladin[/caption]
Michael E. Saladin, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Health Sciences and Research
College of Health Professions
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: To the extent that learning and memory processes govern all aspects of behavior, they also govern dysregulated or maladaptive behaviors such as addiction and anxiety states. In the former case, stimuli associated with drug administration can acquire the ability to control drug-related motivational states (urges and craving) as well as drug seeking behavior. To illustrate the point, the simple act of observing a person light up a cigarette will cause the typical smoker to desire a cigarette and engage in smoking. A nonsmoker, by contrast, would not be similarly affected because they have no history where stimuli associated with smoking (e.g., sight of a lighter, cigarettes, plumes of smoke) are reliably paired with, or followed by, the rewarding effects of nicotine.
The research we conducted recently was based on neuroscience research showing that retrieved drug-associated memories (prompted with drug-paired cues) can be updated with information that decreases drug craving and/or administration. One such study showed that heroin craving in heroin addicts can be decreased by retrieving memories for heroin use via a brief heroin cue presentation (video of people using heroin) and then, a short time later, presenting an extensive variety of heroin cues (video, pictures and heroin use paraphernalia) over a 1-hour period. The logic of this intervention was that once the heroin memories were prompted into a labile state by the brief video presentation, the extensive heroin cue exposure would serve to update the content of the original memories with new information (i.e., cues are not followed by heroin reward) that is inconsistent with the original cue-drug contingency (i.e., cues are followed with heroin reward). Remarkably, just two sessions of this type of training, which we call retrieval-extinction training, resulted in significant reductions in heroin craving that persisted for six months. This study was done with heroin addicts who were inpatients so there was no way to assess the effects of this treatment on actual heroin use.
17 Feb Competitive Athletes At Risk For Addiction
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laurie de Grace Master's graduate from the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation University of Alberta MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Little is known about the development of substance addiction in the context of sport. There is substantial evidence showing a positive association between sport participation and alcohol use, particularly the binge drinking that is more commonly associated with athletes than non-athletes. However, the connection between sport participation and the use of other substances is not clear. We undertook this study to learn from the perspective of those in recovery from substance addiction, how sport may or may not have played a role in their substance use and subsequent addiction.14 Feb Scientists Block Cocaine Addiction in Mice by Increasing Cadherin “glue” at Synapses
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_32039" align="alignleft" width="149"]
Andrea Globa[/caption]
Andrea K. Globa, Ph.D. Candidate
Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Life Sciences Institute
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Addiction is a complex disease, characterized by continued substance use despite serious negative consequences, increased drug tolerance, and withdrawal. In fact, the statistics show that over 40 million Americans abuse or are addicted to nicotine, alcohol or other drugs. This is a huge public health issue, so naturally, scientists are interested in figuring out why people get addicted, and in particular why certain people are more prone to addiction than others.
Studies examining genetic differences in addicted populations have shown that there are many mutations in genes that are important for brain function. One group of genes affected encode proteins that act as 'glue' to hold cells together. These proteins are called cadherins. In the brain, cadherins are important for holding brain cells together at spots where they communicate with one another – and these points where brain cells talk to one another are called synapses.
Many neuroscientists believe that addiction is actually a type of "pathological" learning, where there are changes at synapses in a brain circuit involved in reward and motivation. So we decided to examine the molecular mechanisms that are important for the strengthening of synapses in this brain circuit.
To put it very simply, to learn something you have to make your synapses stronger, and this involves adding more cadherin or 'glue' to the synapse. We wanted to see if these same rules held true in addiction.
06 Feb Brain-Reward Circuit Both Under and Over Responsive in Addiction and Gambling
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31739" align="alignleft" width="141"]
Dr. Guillaume Sescousse[/caption]
Guillaume Sescousse, PhD
Senior post-doc
Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging
The Netherlands
with collaborators Maartje Luijten, PhD,
and Arnt Schellekens, MD PhD
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: People with an addiction process rewards in their brain differently from people who are not addicted. However, whether this is associated with “too much” or “too little” brain activity is an open question. Indeed, past research has produced conflicting findings.
In order to get a reliable answer, we have combined 25 studies investigating brain reward sensitivity in more than 1200 individuals with and without addiction to various substances such as alcohol, nicotine or cocaine but also gambling. By analyzing the brain images from these studies, we have discovered an important difference in brain activity between expecting a reward and receiving a reward. Compared with non-addicted individuals, individuals with substance or gambling addiction showed a weaker brain response to anticipating monetary rewards. This weaker response was observed in the striatum, a core region of the brain reward circuit, possibly indicating that individuals with an addiction have relatively low expectations about rewards. In contrast, this same region showed a relatively stronger response to receiving a reward in individuals with substance addiction compared with non-addicted individuals. Many addiction rehab centres, such as Avante, offer targeted addiction relief strategies to help a specific person with their addiction.
This stronger response possibly indicates a stronger surprise to getting the reward, and is consistent with low expectations. This same effect was not found among people addicted to gambling.
21 Jan Reasons for Drug Policy Reform: Millions of People are Left with Untreated Pain
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Katherine Irene Pettus, PhD, OSB Advocacy Officer International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care Vice Chair, Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs Secretary NGO Committee on Ageing, Geneva MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The background for this study is analysis of the three international drug control treaties, official attendance and participation at meetings of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs for the past four years, ongoing discussion of national opioid consumption rates with INCB, and years of home hospice visits in developing countries.07 Jan Which Patients Stick With Office Based Opioid Treatment with Buprenorphine?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31047" align="alignleft" width="147"]
Dr. Zoe Weinstein[/caption]
Zoe M. Weinstein MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Boston University
Director, Addiction Consult Service
Boston Medical Center
Boston MA 02118
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Like other chronic, life-long medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes, opioid use disorder (OUD) requires long-term engagement in therapy; however many individuals who participate in Office Based Addiction Treatment are not able to be retained in care long-term.
This observational study followed more than 1,200 patients over 12 years with the goal of identifying patient-specific factors associated with retention in the treatment program for longer than one year. While the study found that older age, female, and co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis were associated with greater odds of treatment retention beyond one year, patients who were black or Hispanic, unemployed, and had evidence of hepatitis C viral infection were associated with decreased odds of treatment retention beyond one year.
27 Dec Incidence, Risk factors and Prevention of Hepatitis C Reinfection
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Naveed Zafar Janjua, MBBS, MSc, DrPH Senior Scientist, Clinical Prevention Services BC Centre for Disease Control Clinical Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health University of British Columbia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Hepatitis C is a viral infection that affects the liver. About quarter of people infected with hepatitis C clear their infection spontaneously rest develop chronic infection. Left untreated, hepatitis C could results in scarring of liver (liver cirrhosis), liver cancer or death. New anti-viral drugs are highly effective in curing hepatitis C, about than 95 per cent of those treated can be cured. However, people who engage in high risk activities such as people who inject drugs (PWID) remain at risk of reinfection. As the cost of treatment is very high, re-infection is a concern among physicians and policy makers in Canada and around the world.27 Dec Opioid Emergencies Increased Almost 100% in Some States
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Claudia Steiner, M.D., MPH. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Rockville, MD MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has a longstanding project and partnership, The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP, pronounced "H-Cup"). HCUP is a family of health care databases and related software tools and products developed through a Federal-State-Industry partnership. HCUP databases bring together the data collection efforts of State data organizations, hospital associations, and private data organizations (HCUP Partners) and the Federal government to create a national information resource of encounter-level health care data. HCUP includes the largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data in the United States, with all-payer, encounter-level information. These databases enable research on a broad range of health policy issues, including cost and quality of health services, medical practice patterns, access to health care programs, and outcomes of treatments at the national, State, and local market levels. The HCUP Partners recognized the urgency of providing descriptive statistics to help inform the growing opioid epidemic in the U.S., and therefore agreed to supporting this statistical brief as well as the Opioid-Related Hospital Use path on Fast Stats: http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/faststats/landing.jsp12 Dec Rural Babies Increasingly Affected By Opioid Epidemic
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nicole Villapiano, MD, MSc Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Over the past few years, research has highlighted that the opioid epidemic is accelerating at a rapid pace across the United States, including in rural areas. What we don’t know is how the opioid crisis is affecting rural moms and their infants. As a doctor that takes care of kids, I was concerned about this. So our team took on this study to explore the differences in rates of maternal opioid use and neonatal abstinence syndrome in rural and urban areas of the US from 2004-2013. Neonatal abstinence syndrome is what happens to babies who are exposed to opioids in their mothers’ womb. When these babies are born and no longer have opioid exposure from mom, they go through a period of opioid withdrawal. These babies can have symptoms that range from difficulty taking a bottle, jitteriness, difficulty sleeping, irritability, and discomfort to more serious problems like prematurity, difficulty breathing, and seizures. Symptoms can last several days to many weeks. Babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome are in the hospital longer than the average newborn, and sometimes require special treatment to help control their symptoms.04 Nov Drug Positivity in U.S. Workforce Rises to Highest Level in a Decade
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29381" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Barry Sample[/caption]
Dr. Barry Sample PhD
Senior director, science and technology
Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions
A business of Quest Diagnostics
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study of drug testing of the U.S. workforce?
Response: As a leader in the drug testing industry, our primary goal at Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions is to help employers maintain drug-free workplaces and combat the impacts of substance abuse such as higher absenteeism, increased risk of injury and lower productivity and performance.
One way we support these efforts is to offer analysis and information from resources like the Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™, which we publish as a public service for government, media, and industry. We’ve published the Drug Testing Index since 1988, which is also the year that Congress passed the Drug-Free Workplace Act.
The Drug Testing Index examines positivity rates – the proportion of positive drug test results – among three major testing populations: federally-mandated, safety-sensitive workers; the general (private sector) U.S. workforce; and the combined U.S. workforce. Thresholds for positivity are determined by cutoff levels as established by the administrating authority; these cutoff levels determine the threshold for positivity for a specific substance. Should a metabolite appear at or above the level of the cutoff, a test is determined to be positive.
Over the last few decades, testing policies have evolved to serve a dual purpose of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of both employees and the general public. That’s especially important in certain industries, such as transportation, where an impaired driver, pilot, or operator can create substantial public risk. The positivity rate in 1998, the year of the first Drug Testing Index, was 13.6 percent. Over the last 25 years, as we have tracked the overall positivity rate, we have noted other significant trends in the American workforce based on workplace drug tests. For example, our 2003 analysis revealed that amphetamine positivity had grown by 70 percent over the previous five years. The 2011 Drug Testing Index found that hydrocodone and oxycodone led U.S. general workforce positives. In both 2010 and 2011, the overall drug positivity rate was 3.5 percent, the lowest rate since we began publishing the Drug Testing Index. This year, we found positivity is at a ten-year high.
What that tells us is that trends come and go, and that we cannot rely on assumptions about drug use.
01 Nov Childhood Trauma Associated With Greater Risk of Adult Drug Abuse
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29330" align="alignleft" width="144"] Dr. Kelly Quinn[/caption] Kelly Quinn, PhD, MPH Assistant Professor Department of Population Health NYU Langone Medical Center New York, NY 10016-6481 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The prescription pain reliever misuse epidemic in the United States has contributed to a dramatic increase...
30 Oct Rapid Rise in Opioid Poisonings and Hospitalizations Among Children and Adolescents
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29333" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Julie R Gaither[/caption]
Julie R Gaither, PhD, MPH, RN
Postdoctoral Fellow in Biostatistics
Yale School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In light of the prescription opioid epidemic that has affected the adult US population in recent years, our objective with this study was to examine how hospitalization rates for prescription opioid poisonings have changed over time in the pediatric population.
In addition, because prescription opioids are thought to be a precursor to illicit opioid use, we examined in older adolescents hospitalization rates for heroin overdose.
In all children, we determined whether the poisoning was of an accidental nature or could be attributed to suicidal intent.
To address these questions, we used the Kids’ Inpatient Database, a nationally representatives sample of pediatric hospital records released every three years, starting in 1997.
12 Oct New Drug Blocks Frequency of Drinking Alcohol, But Not Amount Once Drinking Starts
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_28814" align="alignleft" width="140"]
Megan Ryan[/caption]
Megan Ryan M.B.A.
Clinical Program Director, DMD
Technology Development Coordinator
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been linked to the dysregulation of the brain stress systems (e.g. corticotropin-releasing factor, glucocorticoids, and vasopressin) creating a negative emotional state leading to chronic relapsing behavior. Several pre-clinical studies have shown that by blocking the V1b receptor with a V1b receptor antagonist, dependence induced compulsive-like alcohol intake is also blocked. This is the first multi-site trial to assess the efficacy of the V1b receptor antagonist novel compound (ABT-436) for the treatment of alcohol dependence.