Tag: substance use disorder

Categories : Addiction Substance UseTags :

An Antioxidant Found in Rosemary may Help Treat Cocaine Addiction

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Photo by Colin Davis on Unsplash

A team of researchers led by the University of California, Irvine has discovered that an antioxidant found in rosemary extract can reduce volitional intakes of cocaine by moderating the brain’s reward response, offering a new therapeutic target for treating addiction.

The study, recently published online in the journal Neuron, describes team members’ focus on a region of the brain called the globus pallidus externus, which acts as a gatekeeper that regulates how we react to cocaine. They discovered that within the GPe, parvalbumin-positive neurons are crucial in controlling the response to cocaine by changing the activity neurons releasing the pleasure molecule dopamine.

“There are currently no effective therapeutics for dependence on psychostimulants such as cocaine, which, along with opioids, represent a substantial health burden,” said corresponding author Kevin Beier, UC Irvine associate professor of physiology and biophysics. “Our study deepens our understanding of the basic brain mechanisms that increase vulnerability to substance use disorder-related outcomes and provides a foundation for the development of new interventions.”

Findings in mice revealed that globus pallidus externus parvalbumin-positive cells, which indirectly influence the release of dopamine, become more excitable after being exposed to cocaine. This caused a drop in the expression of certain proteins that encode membrane channels that usually help keep the globus pallidus cell activity in check. Researchers found that carnosic acid, an isolate of rosemary extract, selectively binds to the affected channels, providing an avenue to reduce response to the drug in a relatively specific fashion.

“Only a subset of individuals are vulnerable to developing a substance use disorder, but we cannot yet identify who they are. If globus pallidus cell activity can effectively predict response to cocaine, it could be used to measure likely responses and thus serve as a biomarker for the most vulnerable,” Beier said. “Furthermore, it’s possible that carnosic acid could be given to those at high risk to reduce the response to cocaine.”

The next steps in this research include thoroughly assessing negative side effects of carnosic acid and determining the ideal dosage and timing. The team is also interested in testing its efficacy in reducing the desire for other drugs and in developing more potent and targeted variants.

Source: University of California Irvine

Categories : Substance UseTags :

Substance Use Disorder Treatment Better than Punishment, Study Shows

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Photo by Colin Davis on Unsplash

Substance use disorder treatment in the community is a superior alternative to incarceration for offenders with a substance misuse background, according to a recent study evaluating the effectiveness of the contract treatment sanction in Sweden.

Contract treatment refers to a criminal penalty in which the offender voluntarily consents to treatment in accordance with a specific implementation plan.

“Contract treatment is an alternative to incarceration. It is mainly used when the offence is deemed to have occurred as a result of substance misuse or some other condition requiring treatment,” says Suvi Virtanen, a University Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Eastern Finland.

A rehabilitation period is always planned based on individual needs. In addition to psychosocial treatment, it may include opioid substitution therapy.

In addition to Sweden, a sanction similar to contract treatment is in use in, e.g., Norway and many EU countries; however, not in Finland. The United States, in turn, has adopted a model of specialised drug courts.

Contract treatment carries a smaller risk of recidivism

Although contract treatment has been in use in Sweden since the late 1980s, its effectiveness has not been studied until now. The present study combined data from the Swedish Prison and Probation Service’s client register with other national registries, including data on visits to specialised health care. The study cohort included 11 893 individuals who were serving a contract treatment sanction between 1999 and 2012, and they were followed up for at least two years.

“With the introduction of contract treatment, criminal behaviour and substance-related adverse health events, such as overdoses and hospitalisations due to psychiatric and somatic reasons, decreased significantly compared to the period before contract treatment,” Virtanen says.

A significant proportion of those sentenced to contract treatment had also served community sanctions and prison sentences. In the within-individual research design, an individual’s risk of recidivism and adverse health events during contract treatment was examined compared to periods when the individual was serving a community sanction or was on parole after a prison sentence.

“The risk of recidivism and adverse health events was lower during contract treatment than during a community sanction or probation,” Virtanen notes.

Providing treatment yields better results than punishment

Substance misuse problems and criminality often go hand in hand. The most effective way to prevent recidivism is to address its root causes, which often are, in one way or another, linked to the use of substances.

“Substance use disorders are increasingly understood as a health issue that should primarily be addressed by means of health care. Usually, prison is not the best place for an individual who needs appropriate treatment and support for recovery,” Virtanen says.

The results of the study provide support for the notion that, from the viewpoint of societal security and public health, providing treatment can lead to better outcomes than penalties that emphasise punishment.

In the future, the researchers intend to study the effectiveness of contract treatment in more recent data.

Source: University of Eastern Finland

Categories : Obstetrics & Gynaecology Substance UseTags :

Before Birth, Substance Use by Father can Also Increase Risk of Intellectual Disability for Child

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Credit: Pixabay CC0

Children of a parent with alcohol or drug use disorder have a greater risk of intellectual disability, even if the problem only lies with the father, researchers from Karolinska Institutet report. According to the study, which is published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, preventive measures should be directed at both parents.

A woman’s consumption of alcohol during pregnancy has been well established as increasing the risk of the child developing. Research from Karolinska Institutet now shows that all forms of substance abuse, both in the mother and the father, and not only during pregnancy, can constitute a risk factor.

Previous efforts aimed at mothers

“Preventative measures, such as educating healthcare professionals and public health recommendations, have focused for decades on mothers with alcohol-related problems,” says Lotfi Khemiri, researcher at Karolinska Institutet. “Our findings highlight the importance of also directing such measures towards fathers with different types of substance use disorder.”

The study drew on data from Swedish registries with almost two million babies born between 1978 and 2002 and their parents. The researchers found that 1.2% of babies born to parents without such a disorder were diagnosed with an intellectual disability, compared with 3% of the babies who had one parent with a diagnosis related to a substance use disorder (alcohol or drug abuse).

Higher risk before birth

The elevated risk was greater if the parent had received a diagnosis before or during pregnancy rather than after birth. A substance use disorder diagnosis registered before birth was associated with more than twice the risk of intellectual disability in the baby, regardless of which parent had the diagnosis. The correlation was weaker but still statistically significant after adjustment of socioeconomic factors and psychiatric comorbidity in the parents.

“Since it was an observational study, we can draw no conclusions about the underlying mechanism, but we suspect that both genetic and environmental factors, including harmful effects of substance abuse on foetal development, may play a part,” says Dr Khemiri. “We hope that the results will contribute to the preventative efforts, as well as to the improved diagnosis of children with an intellectual disability and to timely intervention directed both to the child as well as parents in need of substance use disorder treatment.”

Alcohol a major risk factor

Intellectual disability was observed to be much more likely in alcohol-related problems during pregnancy, where the risk was five and three times higher depending on whether it was the mother or father who had the alcohol use disorder diagnosis.

Source: Karolinska Institutet

Categories : Diseases, Syndromes and Conditions Mental HealthTags :

In Chronic Disease, Psychiatric Comorbidity Doubles Mortality Risk

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Photo by Sydney Sims on Unsplash

The risk of all-cause mortality among patients with chronic, non-communicable diseases is more than doubled if they also have a psychiatric comorbidity, according to a new study published in PLOS Medicine.

Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are a global public health challenge accounting for an estimated 40 million excess deaths annually. Researchers drew on Swedish health data for 1 million patients born between 1932 and 1995 who had diagnoses of chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. More than a quarter of the people in the analysis also had a co-occurring psychiatric disorder during their lives.

Within 5 years of diagnosis, 7% of the people included in the study had died from any cause and 0.3% had died from suicide. Comorbid psychiatric disorders were associated with higher all-cause mortality (15.4% to 21.1%) when compared to those without such conditions (5.5% to 9.1%). When compared with an unaffected sibling to account for familial risk factors, patients with psychiatric comorbidity remained consistently associated with elevated rates of premature mortality and suicide (7.2–8.9 times higher). Different psychiatric diagnoses affected mortality risks; in those with comorbid substance use disorder it was 8.3–9.9 times compared to unaffected siblings, and by 5.3–7.4 times in those with comorbid depression.

“Improving assessment, treatment, and follow-up of people with comorbid psychiatric disorders may reduce the risk of mortality in people with chronic non-communicable diseases,” the authors concluded.

Source: EurekAlert!