Substance Abuse News and Research

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People with first-episode psychosis may benefit from medication treatment changes, study finds

Many patients with first-episode psychosis receive medications that do not comply with recommended guidelines for first-episode treatment, researchers have found. Current guidelines emphasize low doses of antipsychotic drugs and strategies for minimizing the side effects that might contribute to patients stopping their medication.

5 Dec 2014

Medical doctors' behaviors may lead to health care disparities

Patient reported differences in the way medical doctors assess, treat and refer racial and ethnic minorities for mental health services may contribute to disparities in their use, according to a new study in Health Services Research.

4 Dec 2014

WLT agrees to make MediClaims software available to Advanzeon

Advanzeon Solutions, Inc., which provides behavioral health, substance abuse and pharmacy management services, as well as sleep apnea programs, to employers, Taft-Hartley health and welfare funds, and managed care companies throughout the U.S. is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Agreement with WLT Software Enterprises, Inc.

3 Dec 2014

Elevated anxious temperament associated with neuropeptide Y receptors

Persistent anxiety is one of the most common and distressing symptoms compromising mental health. Most of the research on the neurobiology of anxiety has focused on the generation of increased anxiety, i.e., the processes that "turn on" anxiety.

3 Dec 2014

Young adults who skip college are at higher risk for nonmedical prescription opioid use

A study just released by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health compared the use of prescription opioids and stimulants among high school graduates, non-graduates, and their college-attending peers, and found that young adults who do not attend college are at particularly high risk for nonmedical prescription opioid use and disorder.

2 Dec 2014

Month-long residential program helps young adults stay drug-free

Residential treatment may be an appropriate first-line option for young adults who are dependent on opioid drugs - including prescription painkillers and heroin - and may result in higher levels of abstinence than does the outpatient treatment that is currently the standard of care.

21 Nov 2014

Excessive alcohol intake is not just the realm of alcoholics

Excessive alcohol consumption, which is responsible for 88,000 deaths annually in the US, is commonly assumed to occur in people who are alcohol-dependent. However, of these deaths only 3,700 were due to alcohol dependence. A study published yesterday found that in 9 out 10 cases, adults who drink too much alcohol are not alcoholics or alcohol-dependent.

21 Nov 2014

Childhood affective features may guide adult psychiatric diagnosis

Clinical features that can appear many years ahead of a psychiatric diagnosis may help doctors to predict whether patients will develop bipolar disorder or unipolar depression, say researchers.

20 Nov 2014

Daniel Alford receives AMA Foundation Award for Health Education

Daniel Alford, MD, MPH, dean of the office of Continuing Medical Education and associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and director of the Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit at Boston Medical Center, received the American Medical Association Foundation Award for Health Education.

16 Nov 2014

Scientists receive NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants for mental health research

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation today announced the award of NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants valued at $1.5 million to 15 scientists, who are full professors or the equivalent, conducting innovative projects in diverse areas of neurobiological and behavioral research.

13 Nov 2014

Experts review advances in understanding, treatment of bipolar disorder

Several lines of research have opened exciting new frontiers in scientific understanding and clinical management of bipolar disorder. Recent advances in bipolar disease research are described in this month's special issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

11 Nov 2014

Hospice of the Western Reserve honors more than 2,000 veterans in 2014

Americans across the country will observe Veterans Day on November 11, a special day to salute the men and women who have bravely served our country.

4 Nov 2014

Rosecrance’s traveling art exhibit helps parents prevent drug addiction in teenagers

Rosecrance, one of the country's leading teen substance abuse treatment centers, has launched a traveling art exhibit to help parents understand teenagers' points of view about pressures they encounter and how they are faced with the potential to use, and abuse, substances.

20 Oct 2014

NIH announces 11 awards to improve public health outcomes related to substance use, addiction

More than $11 million over three years will be used to support research exploring the use of social media to advance the scientific understanding, prevention, and treatment of substance use and addiction.

20 Oct 2014

Study: More interventions needed for people with severe mental illnesses in criminal justice system

Responding to the large number of people with serious mental illnesses in the criminal justice system will require more than mental health services, according to a new report.

16 Oct 2014

State highlights: Supreme Court to hear N.C. scope-of-practice case; states weigh costs of new hepatitis C drugs

The Supreme Court on Tuesday will consider who can whiten teeth in North Carolina, a seemingly small decision that could have major implications for scope-of-practice throughout the country. In North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission, the justices will weigh whether the state dental board's decisions - in this case, a decision to not allow anyone but a dentist to whiten teeth - are immune from antitrust protections typically granted to state agencies (Haberkorn, 10/13).

15 Oct 2014

HIV-infected users of stimulants derive benefits from antiretroviral therapy

New clinical research from UC San Francisco shows that 341 HIV-infected men who reported using stimulants such as methamphetamine or cocaine derived life-saving benefits from being on antiretroviral therapy that were comparable to those of HIV-infected men who do not use stimulants.

13 Oct 2014

Intensive parenting and education provided in homes reduces drug use in pregnant teens

Intensive parenting and health education provided in homes of pregnant American Indian teens reduced the mothers' illegal drug use, depression and behavior problems, and set their young children on track to meet behavioral and emotional milestones they may have otherwise missed.

13 Oct 2014

RAND study: Specific state guidance can influence patient access to effective heroin treatment

State policies can influence the number of physicians licensed to prescribe buprenorphine, a drug that can treat addiction to heroin and other opioids in outpatient settings, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

8 Oct 2014

Suicide prevention: an interview with Dr Shekhar Saxena, World Health Organization

Suicide is a serious public health problem. More than 800,000 people die from suicide every year – that’s one person every 40 seconds.

5 Oct 2014