Management of Opioid Addiction in Primary Care: A Pragmatic Approach Prioritising Wellbeing Not Ideology.
Management of opioid addiction in primary care: a pragmatic approach prioritising wellbeing not ideology.
Br J Gen Pract. 2013 May; 63(610): 231-2
Lawson E
A narrative review of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction.
Complement Ther Med. 2013 Jun; 21(3): 244-52
Khanna S, Greeson JM
This paper reviews the philosophical origins, current scientific evidence, and clinical promise of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction. Historically, there are eight elements of yoga that, together, comprise ethical principles and practices for living a meaningful, purposeful, moral and self-disciplined life. Traditional yoga practices, including postures and meditation, direct attention toward one’s health, while acknowledging the spiritual aspects of one’s nature. Mindfulness derives from ancient Buddhist philosophy, and mindfulness meditation practices, such as gentle Hatha yoga and mindful breathing, are increasingly integrated into secular health care settings. Current theoretical models suggest that the skills, insights, and self-awareness learned through yoga and mindfulness practice can target multiple psychological, neural, physiological, and behavioral processes implicated in addiction and relapse. A small but growing number of well-designed clinical trials and experimental laboratory studies on smoking, alcohol dependence, and illicit substance use support the clinical effectiveness and hypothesized mechanisms of action underlying mindfulness-based interventions for treating addiction. Because very few studies have been conducted on the specific role of yoga in treating or preventing addiction, we propose a conceptual model to inform future studies on outcomes and possible mechanisms. Additional research is also needed to better understand what types of yoga and mindfulness-based interventions work best for what types of addiction, what types of patients, and under what conditions. Overall, current findings increasingly support yoga and mindfulness as promising complementary therapies for treating and preventing addictive behaviors. HubMed – addiction
Optogenetics in psychiatric diseases.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2013 May 1;
Touriño C, Eban-Rothschild A, de Lecea L
Optogenetic tools have revolutionized the field of neuroscience, and brought the study of neural circuits to a higher level. Optogenetics has significantly improved our understanding not only of the neuronal connections and function of the healthy brain, but also of the neuronal changes that lead to psychiatric disorders. In this review, we summarize recent optogenetic studies that explored different brain circuits involved in natural behaviors, such as sleep and arousal, reward, fear, and social and aggressive behavior. In addition, we describe how alterations in these circuits may lead to psychiatric disorders such as addiction, anxiety, depression, or schizophrenia. HubMed – addiction
A family history of alcoholism relates to alexithymia in substance use disorder patients.
Compr Psychiatry. 2013 May 2;
de Haan HA, Joosten EA, de Haan L, Schellekens AF, Buitelaar JK, van der Palen J, De Jong CA
OBJECTIVES: Previous research identified alexithymia as a potential risk factor for substance use disorders (SUD). More insight into the relation between alexithymia and SUD is needed in order to treat SUD effectively. Therefore, we investigated whether a familial vulnerability to alcoholism relates to the presence and severity of alexithymia in SUD patients. METHOD: Hospitalized, abstinent SUD-patients (n=187), were assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Addiction Severity Index (EuropASI). A maternal, paternal, and total continuous measure of the Family History of Alcohol (FHA) was developed. Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman correlations were used to relate the composite scores of FHA to alexithymia as a categorical and continuous measure. Multivariate regression models were performed to control for the effects of confounders on the relation between FHA and alexithymia. RESULTS: Compared to moderate (33%) and low (17%) alexithymic SUD-patients, high alexithymic (50%) patients were more likely to have fathers with alcohol problems (P=0.004). Such a difference was not found for mothers with alcohol problems. The composite FHA-score was significantly associated with alexithymia (Rs=.19, P=0.01). However, only a paternal FHA, independent from disturbed family functioning, related to the degree of alexithymia (?=.13, P=0.06), especially to the Difficulty Identifying Feelings as measured by the TAS-20 (?=.16, P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The relation between a paternal FHA and a higher degree of alexithymia in SUD-patients suggests that alexithymia could mediate the familiality of alcoholism or SUD in the paternal line. HubMed – addiction
Addiction: Ever A Good Thing? – The definition of an addiction is a particular substance that one is physically and mentally dependent upon. Based off this definition, are there such things…