Open Label Trial of Naltrexone Implants: Measuring Blood Serum Levels of Naltrexone.

Open label trial of naltrexone implants: measuring blood serum levels of naltrexone.

Subst Abuse. 2013; 7: 75-84
Colquhoun RM

The usefulness of oral naltrexone has been limited by compliance. Sub-cutaneous implants would seem to offer a solution to this problem and improve long-term outcomes. The aim of the present study was to compare levels of blood serum naltrexone of patients who had received a naltrexone implant after detoxification to a number of dependent variables of interest. These dependent variables included drug use including urine screens of each patient, any adverse response to the implant, subjective evaluation of self-esteem, quality of relationships, and changes in social functioning. Sixty six patients received an implant and were surveyed; urine and blood samples were taken at about 1, 3, and 6 months after implantation. Naltrexone levels were on average above 1 ng/mL at 6 months after insertion and patients showed significant improvements on all dependent variables. The preliminary evidence indicates that implants can improve compliance rates and outcomes. HubMed – addiction

 

Health Care Among Street-Involved Women: The Perpetuation of Health Inequity.

Qual Health Res. 2013 Jun 12;
Bungay V

I present the findings from a study that explored the experiences and decision making of street-involved women navigating the health care system. Data were drawn from a larger qualitative study situated in a western Canadian inner-city neighborhood that examined the health-management strategies of street-involved women with a history of crack cocaine use. Data were collected over a 17-month period and included ethnographic methods of participant observation, group interviews (n = 57), and in-depth interviews (n = 10). Inductive thematic analysis derived two major themes: power and punishment, and organization and delivery of care. The themes illustrate how women’s experiences and decision making were located within a nexus of power relations that operated across women’s shared social location as downtown eastsiders. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to supporting women’s efforts and improving health outcomes. HubMed – addiction

 

Gene x Abstinence Effects on Drug Cue Reactivity in Addiction: Multimodal Evidence.

J Neurosci. 2013 Jun 12; 33(24): 10027-36
Moeller SJ, Parvaz MA, Shumay E, Beebe-Wang N, Konova AB, Alia-Klein N, Volkow ND, Goldstein RZ

Functional polymorphisms in the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1 or SLC6A3) modulate responsiveness to salient stimuli, such that carriers of one 9R-allele of DAT1 (compared with homozygote carriers of the 10R-allele) show heightened reactivity to drug-related reinforcement in addiction. Here, using multimodal neuroimaging and behavioral dependent variables in 73 human cocaine-addicted individuals and 47 healthy controls, we hypothesized and found that cocaine-addicted carriers of a 9R-allele exhibited higher responses to drug cues, but only among individuals who had used cocaine within 72 h of the study as verified by positive cocaine urine screens (a state characterized by intense craving). Importantly, this responsiveness to drug cues was reliably preserved across multimodal imaging and behavioral probes: psychophysiological event-related potentials, self-report, simulated cocaine choice, and fMRI. Because drug cues contribute to relapse, our results identify the DAT1R 9R-allele as a vulnerability allele for relapse especially during early abstinence (e.g., detoxification). HubMed – addiction