Fixing the Troubled Mental Health System Journal of the American Medical Association Untreated and poorly treated serious mental illness affects the lives of individuals, families, and communities every day. Each year, approximately 39,000 people commit suicide, and the majority of them have acute mental illness. More than half of suicides are the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Many other persons with serious mental illness have lives of isolation, are homeless, or are incarcerated. Because of the stigma of mental illness, an inability to know that they are ill, or troubling experiences with mental health services, people with mental illness often do not seek or follow through with treatment.
Sierra Tucson, an international leader in treating co-occurring disorders, offers comprehensive neuropsychiatric treatment programs for Addictions, Eating Recovery, Mood Disorders, Pain Management, and Trauma/PTSD. A member of CRC Health Group, Sierra Tucson is dually Accredited by The Joint Commission. Celebrating 30 years of “Compassionate Care, Clinical Excellence.”
Factors Affecting Noncompliance with Buprenorphine Maintenance Treatment Journal of Addiction Medicine (free ASAM member resource) This study aimed to identify risk factors for treatment noncompliance in a sample of veterans receiving buprenorphine/naloxone for an opioid use disorder. It found that noncompliant patients were more likely to suffer from comorbid psychiatric illness. Patients who tested positive for benzodiazepines or cannabis were more likely to be noncompliant with treatment. Although the rate of noncompliance was high, patients were still found to be taking their prescribed buprenorphine...
Benzodiazepines and Workplace Safety: An Examination of Postaccident Urine Drug Tests Journal of Addiction Medicine (free ASAM member resource) This is a case-control study comparing the proportion of benzodiazepine laboratory positive urine specimens for random versus postaccident samples. Any sample that tested positive for 1 or more substances other than benzodiazepines was eliminated from the study to correct for the confounding effect of other potentially impairing substances. The group prevalence of benzodiazepine positive samples was compared via the odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals and the P-values.
Two Patient Publications for Understanding Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders SAMHSA SAMHSA has released two fotonovelas geared toward people with substance abuse problems (“Motivation for Change”) and young and mature audiences (“No Longer Alone”). Free digital versions are available for download and sharing with patients.
An ACA Provision Increased Treatment for Young Adults with Possible Mental Illnesses Relative to Comparison Group HealthAffairs The impact of the ACA dependent coverage provision on people ages 18–25 with possible mental health or substance use disorders was examined. They found that after implementation of the ACA provision among people ages 18–25 with possible mental health disorders, mental health treatment increased by 5.3 percentage points relative to a comparison group of similar people ages 26–35. Smaller, but consistent, effects were found among all young adults, not only those with possible illnesses. Outcomes related to substance abuse treatment did not change during the study period.
The Atypical Antidepressant and Neurorestorative Agent Tianeptine is a μ-Opioid Receptor Agonist Nature Current pharmacological treatments of depression and related disorders suffer from major problems, such as a low rate of response, slow onset of therapeutic effects, loss of efficacy over time and serious side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore new therapeutic approaches that address these issues. Interestingly, the atypical antidepressant tianeptine already meets in part these clinical goals.
Deaths and Severe Adverse Events Associated with Anesthesia-Assisted Rapid Opioid Detoxification — New York City, 2012 CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report During August–September 2012, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) was notified by the New York City Poison Control Center regarding three patients who experienced serious adverse events after anesthesia-assisted rapid opiate detoxification (AAROD) at a local outpatient clinic. All three patients required hospitalization, and one subsequently died. DOHMH issued an order requiring that the clinic cease performing AAROD pending an investigation and searched for additional cases of AAROD-related serious adverse events at the clinic and elsewhere in New York City for the period September 2011 to September 2012.
Developmental Trajectories for Visuo-Spatial Attention are Altered by Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Neuroscience Results from this longitudinal fMRI study suggest that the long-lasting effect of prenatal alcohol may impact the maturation of visuo-spatial attention and differentiate those with FASD from controls. Based on this first longitudinal fMRI study in FASD children, these novel findings suggest a possible neural mechanism for attention deficits common among individuals with FASD.
Heroin Abuse Bill Establishes Federal Funding for Inpatient Care The Courant U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty is cosponsoring legislation that would establish a federal grant program to fund inpatient treatment for heroin abuse. The bill is a response to a high rate of heroin overdose deaths in Connecticut and throughout the country that drew attention from local and national leaders this year. The Expanding Opportunities for Recovery Act, introduced by Democratic U.S. Reps. Bill Foster, D-Ill., and Sean Maloney, D-N.Y., is intended to increase access to inpatient drug treatment services for heroin and opioid abuse and addiction...
PTSD and Comorbid AUD: A Review of Pharmacological and Alternative Treatment Options Dovepress Although posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorders (AUD) frequently co-occur there are no specific treatments for individuals diagnosed with these comorbid conditions. The main objectives of this paper are to review the literature on pharmacological options for PTSD and comorbid AUD, and to summarize promising behavioral and alternative interventions for those with these dual diagnoses.
The Relationship Between Recovery and Health-Related Quality of Life Recovery Answers Researchers have examined using “substance use” as a single measure of recovery, however, there has been much less research focusing on defining, validating and measuring the concept of “recovery” as it has moved from being abstinence-only to now including strategies for living sober across many aspects of life.
Central Anandamide Deficiency Predicts Stress-Induced Anxiety: Behavioral Reversal Through Endocannabinoid Augmentation Nature Stress is a major risk factor for the development of mood and anxiety disorders; elucidation of novel approaches to mitigate the deleterious effects of stress could have broad clinical applications. This study provides further support that eCB-augmentation is a viable pharmacological strategy for the treatment of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders.
Richard G. Soper, MD, JD, MS, FASAM, Editor-in-Chief, ASAM Weekly
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The views and positions of any content published in ASAM Weekly are not necessarily endorsed by ASAM nor a reflection of ASAM's beliefs and policies. The features are presented as a summary of the contemporary issues being represented and expressed in scientific, governmental, commercial, and media sources across the specialty field of addiction medicine. Contact ASAM Weekly with any comments or feedback.