The Effects of Children on the Process of Recovery in Oxford Houses.

The Effects of Children on the Process of Recovery in Oxford Houses.

J Appl Med Sci. 2012; 1(2): 41-50
Legler R, Chiaramonte D, Patterson M, Allis A, Runion H, Jason L

The effects of children on the process of substance use recovery for adults living in Oxford Houses is explored in two qualitative studies. Oxford Houses are self-run, community-based residential homes for small groups of adults who live together and support each other’s efforts to recover from drug and/or alcohol addiction. In the first study, telephone interviews were conducted with 29 adults who were living in Oxford Houses that allowed children to live in the house with their parent. Results suggest that having children in the house supported a positive living environment for the recovery of house members. In the second study, telephone interviews were conducted with an additional 15 mothers who lived in Oxford Houses. These interviews focused on the effects of the mothers’ addiction and recovery on their relationships with their children. This study found that most parents acknowledged the negative effects of their addiction on their relationship with their child and the effects of their recovery on improving those relationships. HubMed – addiction

Long term suboxone™ emotional reactivity as measured by automatic detection in speech.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(7): e69043
Hill E, Han D, Dumouchel P, Dehak N, Quatieri T, Moehs C, Oscar-Berman M, Giordano J, Simpatico T, Blum K

Addictions to illicit drugs are among the nation’s most critical public health and societal problems. The current opioid prescription epidemic and the need for buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone®; SUBX) as an opioid maintenance substance, and its growing street diversion provided impetus to determine affective states (“true ground emotionality”) in long-term SUBX patients. Toward the goal of effective monitoring, we utilized emotion-detection in speech as a measure of “true” emotionality in 36 SUBX patients compared to 44 individuals from the general population (GP) and 33 members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Other less objective studies have investigated emotional reactivity of heroin, methadone and opioid abstinent patients. These studies indicate that current opioid users have abnormal emotional experience, characterized by heightened response to unpleasant stimuli and blunted response to pleasant stimuli. However, this is the first study to our knowledge to evaluate “true ground” emotionality in long-term buprenorphine/naloxone combination (Suboxone™). We found in long-term SUBX patients a significantly flat affect (p<0.01), and they had less self-awareness of being happy, sad, and anxious compared to both the GP and AA groups. We caution definitive interpretation of these seemingly important results until we compare the emotional reactivity of an opioid abstinent control using automatic detection in speech. These findings encourage continued research strategies in SUBX patients to target the specific brain regions responsible for relapse prevention of opioid addiction. HubMed – addiction

The glucagon-like Peptide 1 analogue, exendin-4, attenuates the rewarding properties of psychostimulant drugs in mice.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(7): e69010
Egecioglu E, Engel JA, Jerlhag E

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is an incretine hormone that controls consummatory behavior and glucose homeostasis. It is released in response to nutrient ingestion from the intestine and production in the brain has also been identified. Given that GLP-1 receptors are expressed in reward areas, such as the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area, and that common mechanisms regulate food and drug-induced reward we hypothesize that GLP-1 receptors are involved in reward regulation. Herein the effect of the GLP-1 receptor agonist Exendin-4 (Ex4), on amphetamine- and cocaine-induced activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system was investigated in mice. In a series of experiments we show that treatment with Ex4, at a dose with no effect per se, reduce amphetamine- as well as cocaine-induced locomotor stimulation, accumbal dopamine release as well as conditioned place preference in mice. Collectively these data propose a role for GLP-1 receptors in regulating drug reward. Moreover, the GLP-1 signaling system may be involved in the development of drug dependence since the rewarding effects of addictive drugs involves interferences with the mesolimbic dopamine system. Given that GLP-1 analogues, such as exenatide and liraglutide, are clinically available for treatment of type II diabetes, we propose that these should be elucidated as treatments of drug dependence. HubMed – addiction

Synergistic Antitumor Effect between Gefitinib and Fractionated Irradiation in Anaplastic Oligodendrogliomas Cannot Be Predicted by the Egfr Signaling Activity.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(7): e68333
Pinel S, Mriouah J, Vandamme M, Chateau A, Plénat F, Guérin E, Taillandier L, Bernier-Chastagner V, Merlin JL, Chastagner P

In high-grade gliomas, the identification of patients that could benefit from EGFR inhibitors remains a challenge, hindering the use of these agents. Using xenografts models, we evaluated the antitumor effect of the combined treatment “gefitinib + radiotherapy” and aimed to identify the profile of responsive tumors. Expression of phosphorylated proteins involved in the EGFR-dependent signaling pathways was analyzed in 10 glioma models. We focused on three models of anaplastic oligodendrogliomas (TCG2, TCG3 and TCG4) harboring high levels of phospho-EGFR, phospho-AKT and phospho-MEK1. They were treated with gefitinib (GEF 75 mg/kg/day x 5 days/week, for 2 weeks) and/or fractionated radiotherapy (RT: 5x2Gy/week for 2 weeks). Our results showed that GEF and/or RT induced significant tumor growth delays. However, only the TCG3 xenografts were highly responsive to the combination GEF+RT, with ?50% of tumor cure. Phosphoproteins analysis five days after treatment onset demonstrated in TCG3 xenografts, but not in TCG2 model, that the EGFR-dependent pathways were inhibited after GEF treatment. Moreover, TCG3-bearing mice receiving GEF monotherapy exhibited a transient beneficial therapeutic response, rapidly followed by tumor regrowth, along with a major vascular remodeling. Taken together, our data evoked an “EGFR-addictive” behavior for TCG3 tumors. This study confirms that combination of gefitinib with fractionated irradiation could be a potent therapeutic strategy for anaplastic oligodendrogliomas harboring EGFR abnormalities but this treatment seems mainly beneficial for “EGFR-addictive” tumors. Unfortunately, neither the usual molecular markers (EGFR amplification, PTEN loss) nor the basal overexpression of phosphoproteins were useful to distinguish this responsive tumor. Evaluating the impact of TKIs on the EGFR-dependent pathways during the treatment might be more relevant, and requires further validation. HubMed – addiction