A Study on Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Alcoholics Attending the De-Addiction Center at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal.

A study on socio-demographic characteristics of alcoholics attending the de-addiction center at Burdwan medical college and hospital in West Bengal.

Indian J Public Health. 2013 Jan-Mar; 57(1): 33-5
Sarkar AP, Sen S, Mondal S, Singh OP, Chakraborty A, Swaika B

Prevalence of alcohol use in India is reported to be 21.4% and there is increasing alcohol intake among the young people. The present study was undertaken to study the socio-demographic characteristics of patients having alcohol-related disorders attending the de-addiction center at Burdwan Medical College in West Bengal and to find out some factors responsible for that. A clinic-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 187 patients with the help of pre-tested pre-designed schedule after obtaining informed consent. Data analysis was carried out with the help of Epi info software version 6. Majority of the patients were male, in productive age group and married. Age of initiation and amount of alcohol intake were significantly associated with positive family history of alcoholism. Children having family history of alcoholism should be counseled to prevent development of alcoholism. HubMed – addiction

Residential Addiction Treatment for Injection Drug Users Requiring Intravenous Antibiotics: A Cost-Reduction Strategy.

J Addict Med. 2013 May 3;
Jewell C, Weaver M, Sgroi C, Anderson K, Sayeed Z

OBJECTIVES:: Injection drug users (IDUs) are prone to developing infections and complications requiring prolonged intravenous (IV) antibiotic treatment. Our institution’s unique multidisciplinary approach provides special consideration and successful management of IDUs in a residential addiction treatment facility with nurse-administered IV antibiotics. Our hypothesis is that hospital costs can be reduced by providing both IV antibiotics and addiction treatment in a community residential treatment setting outside the hospital. METHODS:: A retrospective chart review was performed for inpatients requiring prolonged antibiotic treatment who were admitted to the university teaching hospital between January 2006 and December 2011 and were treated at the residential addiction treatment facility. Data were gathered to characterize this population of patients and estimate cost savings. RESULTS:: A total of 205 patients were sent to the residential addiction treatment facility from 2006 to 2011. The majority were African American, men, and in their early forties. Heroin was the most popular injected substance, but most patients were polysubstance users, including alcohol and tobacco. The most common infections were osteomyelitis and septic arthritis. There was a 73% completion rate of antibiotic treatment in this program. The relapse rate for return to illicit drug use was at least 32%. This program has resulted in a significant cost savings of $ 2.43 million in a 6-year period. CONCLUSIONS:: The program saved $ 2.43 million over 6 years for the health care system by reducing hospital length of stay with safe and appropriate discharge planning for IDUs with infections requiring long-term IV antibiotics. HubMed – addiction

Translational approach to develop novel medications on alcohol addiction: focus on neuropeptides.

Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2013 May 3;
Ubaldi M, Bifone A, Ciccocioppo R

Research on alcohol and drug dependence has shown that the development of addiction depends on a complex interplay of psychological factors, genetic or epigenetic predisposing factors, and neurobiological adaptations induced by drug consumption. A greater understanding of the mechanisms leading to alcohol abuse will allow researchers to identify genetic variation that corresponds to a specific biological vulnerability to addiction, thus defining robust endophenotypes that might help deconstruct these complex syndromes into more tractable components. To this end, it is critical to develop a translational framework that links alterations at the molecular level, to changes in neuronal function, and ultimately to changes at the behavioral and clinical levels. Translational phenotypes can be identified by the combination of animal and human studies designed to elucidate the neurofunctional, anatomical and pharmacological mechanisms underlying the etiology of alcohol addiction. The present article offers an overview of medication development in alcoholism with a focus on the critical aspect of translational research. Moreover, significant examples of promising targets from neuropeptidergic systems, namely nociceptin/orphanin FQ and neuropeptide S are given. HubMed – addiction

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