|
Mobile
version
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ASAM and NIDA Physician Clinical Support System for Primary Care Receives International Recognition British Medical Journal Share     The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has set up a free "warmline" to help primary care providers deal with their patients' substance misuse problems. The institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine, which coordinates the service, calls the service a "warmline" because it provides help within 24 hours rather than immediately, as hotlines do. More
 Vaccines for Addiction — on Horizon? Psychiatric Times Share
Substance use disorders are recognized worldwide as causes of negative medical, psychological, and social outcomes, and they result in significant personal consequences for affected persons, their families, and society at large. Treatment of SUD has focused on a combination of pharmacotherapy and behavioral therapies in an effort to improve patients' chances of successfully entering and maintaining recovery. Antidrug drug vaccines are a potentially important class of medications under investigation. Vaccines reflect an important shift in our conceptualization of drugs of abuse, i.e., that these substances are "foreign" and that the body's own defenses can be used against them. For a brief summary, click here. Women Take More Medications When Pregnant Boston Business Journal Share
A study by the Harvard School of Public Health and Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center has found that the number of women taking medications while pregnant is increasing, and therefore more investigation is needed into the possible impact of different drugs on fetuses. The study found that over the past 30 years, first trimester use of prescription medications increased by more than 60 percent, and 70-80 percent of women surveyed reported taking at least one medication while pregnant. More Predicting Response to Cognitive Therapy: Eyes May Have It Biological Psychiatry - Abstract Share
When it comes to predicting who will respond to cognitive therapy, the eyes may have it, new research suggests. In a new study, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh report that measuring how much the pupil dilates when words that have an emotional connotation, such as death and guilt are spoken, is a good way to determine those depressed patients who will respond to CT and those who will not. More Prescription for Opioids Often Precedes Teen Addiction Medscape (free subscription required) Share
Adolescents seeking prescriptions for opioids should be carefully screened to rule out abuse or dependence because teen opioid addiction frequently stems from personal prescriptions, new research suggests. Results from a retrospective medical record review presented at the American Society of Addiction Medicine 42nd Annual Medical-Scientific Conference showed that of 125 teenagers seeking treatment for opioid addiction at the hospital's addiction treatment program, the majority (67 percent) had a history of at least one personal prescription for opiates during the past two years, with a mean number of 5.3 prescriptions per patient. More  The 'Wet House' Where Alcoholics Can Keep Drinking The New York Times Share
It costs $18,000 a year to house and feed each St. Anthony's resident, a tab that's shared by Catholic Charities and the state of Minnesota. At the "wet house," one of several for chronically alcoholic and homeless men, there is little expectation that residents will get sober. Each resident gets $89 a month, much of which is spent on alcohol. Three hot meals are served here each day, cable television is available in every room and there is a computer area. A University of Washington study found that a similar "housing first" facility in Seattle cost taxpayers significantly less than leaving alcoholic homeless people on the streets, where they disproportionally rely on hospital emergency rooms and social and legal services. But is publicly supporting addiction the humane thing to do? More Coalition Seeks to Eliminate Unsafe Injection Practices The Wall Street Journal Share
A new effort is under way to eliminate unsafe injection practices. A CDC partnership of health care groups, Premier and the Safe Practices Coalition, sponsored an industry meeting on the issue for health care professionals. Gina Pugliese, vice president of the Premier Safety Institute, said that the organization's surveys show syringe and needle reuse continues to be a problem among a small, but disturbing percentage of clinicians in various health care settings. » The Wall Street Journal » One and Only Campaign Drug-Injection Safe Houses Reduce Overdose Deaths The Lancet - Abstract Share
Supervised drug-injection facilities may help cut rates of overdose deaths, Canadian researchers report. Fatal overdoses fell significantly in a Vancouver, British Columbia, neighborhood near a center where addicts injected drugs under medical supervision compared with the number of overdose deaths in the neighborhood before the center opened, Thomas Kerr, M.D., of St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, and colleagues reported in The Lancet. More  Surgeon General Seeks Comments: Response to Prescription Drug Abuse in Youth ASAM and NIDA Share
On behalf of the Surgeon General, the National Institute on Drug Abuse is seeking comments from the public to help inform the Surgeon General's anticipated response to prescription drug abuse among America's youth. ASAM will be submitting comments. For more information on the request and for details on how to submit your own comments, read the Federal Register Notice. Montana Medical Marijuana Issues Continue Missoulian Share
Passage of a bill that repeals and regulates Montana's medical marijuana law took took center stage at a recent Whitefish, MT, Chamber of Commerce forum. Senate Bill 423 bans medical marijuana storefront dispensaries and applies strict new regulations beginning July 1. Calling SB423 "blatantly unconstitutional," Gov. Brian Schweitzer said he had hoped to issue an amendatory veto before the Legislature adjourned. He said he already vetoed an earlier bill that would have repealed the medical marijuana law entirely, but was not willing to veto the new law entirely. MORE: States Reassess Marijuana Laws After Federal Warnings (The Associated Press via Google News) 
Upcoming Events
 California Share
The California Society of Addiction Medicine recently urged state leaders to begin adopting effective addiction treatment standards under national health care reform. A CSAM white paper recently released, "Unique Opportunity: Expansion of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Within Reach Through Health Care Reform," at a committee hearing of the California Assembly, outlines basic medical standards that state lawmakers and regulators must implement under national health care reform. More Upcoming Chapter Events
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
