Forum Held to Discuss Expanding Access to Buprenorphine ASAM On Wednesday, June 18, 2014, Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) hosted a forum on opioid addiction and obstacles that have made it difficult for patients to have access to buprenorphine. ASAM member Dr. Corey Waller, ABAM Diplomate, spoke on behalf of ASAM about raising the 100-patient limit.
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.”
Extended Use of Buprenorphine/ Naloxone Studied in Opioid-Addicted Adolescents in Outpatient Setting
Journal of Addiction Medicine (free ASAM member resource) Opioid abuse and dependence rates continue to rise among US adolescents. Medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine/naloxone (BUP/NAL) has been shown to be effective up to 12 weeks. Few data are available regarding extended treatment outcomes. The objective of this study was to describe 1-year retention and compliance of a specific pediatric, outpatient BUP/NAL treatment program for opioid-dependent adolescents and young adults.
NIH Pain Consortium’s First Pain Care Curriculum Improves Clinical Skills NIDA An online training module, built by the University of Pittsburgh and using an elderly woman with chronic lower back pain as a case study, is the first curriculum resource created through the efforts of the National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium’s Centers of Excellence in Pain Education program (CoEPEs). The CoEPEs are creating and testing online, case-based pain education modules for use in their own teaching institutions. Edna and several other modules will be made available to other teaching institutions beginning in the fall of 2014 at http://painconsortium.nih.gov/CoEPEs.html. These modules are also accessible by the general public to
help them learn how to discuss chronic pain with their doctors. A preview of the module is available here.
Clinical Decision Support for Addiction Understand your patient’s likelihood of relapse or dropout with a specialized brain health report for addiction professionals. MyBrainSolutions provides a validated assessment to gauge cognitive and emotional brain health rapidly to personalize treatment.
PUBLIC POLICY & REGULATORY NEWS
Report on Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Points to Potential Deficiencies A newly published paper suggests that, as of the end of 2008, implementation of state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) had not significantly decreased the amount of per-capita opioids dispensed across the United States...
Methadone Safety: A Clinical Practice Guideline Journal of Pain This guideline, based on a systematic review of the evidence on methadone safety, provides recommendations developed by a multidisciplinary expert panel. Safe use of methadone requires clinical skills and knowledge in use of methadone to mitigate potential risks, including serious risks related to risk of overdose and cardiac arrhythmias...
Prenatal Stress and Inhibitory Neuron Systems: Implications for Neuropsychiatric Disorders Molecular Psychiatry Prenatal stress is a risk factor for several psychiatric disorders in which inhibitory neuron pathology is implicated. A growing body of research demonstrates that inhibitory circuitry in the brain is directly and persistently affected by prenatal stress...
Predictors of Pretreatment Commitment to Abstinence Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs Patients entering treatment for alcohol problems do not have uniform treatment goals, and a pretreatment drinking goal has a significant impact on treatment outcome. The objective of this study was to understand better how an array of individual characteristics, including factors that affect treatment, are related to treatment goals before beginning alcohol treatment in the COMBINE (Combining Medications and Behavioral Interventions) Study. Certain factors influenced patients’ choice to pursue abstinence versus a controlled-drinking goal...
Psychological Effects and Outcome Predictors of Three Bariatric Surgery Interventions Eating and Weight Disorders Weight loss surgery efficacy has been demonstrated for morbid obesity. Different outcomes have been hypothesized, according to specific bariatric surgery interventions and psychological characteristics of obese patients. The present study compared three different surgery procedures, namely laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), in terms of weight loss efficacy and psychological outcomes...
France: 1 in 3 on Psychotropic Medication France 24 France has long been known as having a high prescription drug use rate – numerous studies have put France among the world’s top consumers of antidepressants, for example – but these latest figures have sparked fresh warnings by health experts over the nation’s pill-popping habit...
Psychoactive Effects of Dronabinol for Pain Similar to Marijuana The Clinical Journal of Pain Many cannabinoid medications are approved in North America or in phase III trials, such as dronabinol, nabilone, or nabiximols. Little is known about their subjective psychoactive effects when used for pain management. The authors hypothesized that when used for pain, dronabinol has psychoactive effects in a dose-response relationship, whose peak effects are comparable with smoking marijuana...
Abuse, Neglect and Alcohol Addiction: How Your Childhood Influences Adult Drinking PsychCentral For better or for worse, you are shaped by your past. The kind of maltreatment you experienced as a child makes you more likely to lean in certain ways as an adult and now you may use alcohol in predictable patterns to attempt to bring yourself back into balance.
Acute Binge Drinking Increases Serum Endotoxin and Bacterial DNA Levels in Healthy Individuals PLOS ONE This study evaluates the effects of acute binge drinking in healthy adults on serum endotoxin levels, finding that acute alcohol binge resulted in a rapid increase in serum endotoxin and 16S rDNA, a marker of bacterial translocation from the gut. Compared to men, women had higher blood alcohol and circulating endotoxin levels...
Board Review Course Quickly Approaching ASAM The ASAM Board Review Course is coming up this September 18 – 20 in Orlando, Florida. This course is widely recognized as the essential primer for physicians and other health care professionals who are preparing for a career in addiction medicine, as well as for primary care providers who wish to increase their skills in identifying and managing patients whose medical problems are caused or exacerbated by substance use disorders...
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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.