Bruna Brands

Social costs of untreated opioid dependence.

Using cost-of-illness methodology applied to a comprehensive survey of 114 daily opiate users not currently in or seeking treatment for their addiction, we estimated the 1996 social costs of untreated opioid dependence in Toronto (Ontario, Canada). The survey collected data on social and demographic characteristics, drug use history, physical and mental health status, the use of health care and substance treatment services, drug use modality and sex-related risks of infectious diseases, sources of income, as well as criminality and involvement with the law enforcement system. The annual social cost generated by this sample, calculated at Canadian

The impact of benzodiazepine use on methadone maintenance treatment outcomes

5.086 million, is explained mostly by crime victimization (44.6%) and law enforcement (42.4%), followed by productivity losses (7.0%) and the utilization of health care (6.1%). Applying the

Methadone-nicotine interactions in methadone maintenance treatment patients.

13,100 cost to the estimated 8,000 to 13,000 users and 2.456 million residents living in Toronto yields a range of social cost between

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Naltrexone in the Treatment of Concurrent Alcohol Use Disorder and Pathological Gambling

43 and

Exploring child maltreatment and its relationship to alcohol and cannabis use in selected Latin American and Caribbean countries

69 per capita.

THE EXPANSION OF METHADONE PRESCRIBING IN ONTARIO, 1996-1998

ABSTRACT The purposes of this study were to examine predictors of benzodiazepine use among methadone maintenance treatment patients, to determine whether baseline benzodiazepine use influenced ongoing use during methadone maintenance treatment, and to assess the effect of ongoing benzodiazepine use on treatment outcomes (i.e., opioid and cocaine use and treatment retention). A retrospective chart review of 172 methadone maintenance treatment patients (mean age = 34.6 years; standard deviation = 8.5 years; 64% male) from January 1997 to December 1999 was conducted. At baseline, 29% were “non-users” (past year) of benzodiazepine, 36% were “occasional users,” and 35% were “regular/problem users.” Regular/problem users were more likely to have started opioid use with prescription opioids, experienced more overdoses, and reported psychiatric comorbidity. Being female, more years of opioid use, and a history of psychiatric treatment were significant predictors of baseline benzodiazepine use. Ongoing benzodiazepine users were more likely to have opioid-positive and cocaine-positive urine screens during methadone maintenance treatment. Only ongoing cocaine use was negatively related to retention. Benzodiazepine use by methadone maintenance treatment patients is associated with a more complex clinical picture and may negatively influence treatment outcomes.

Individualized smoking cessation treatment in an outpatient setting: Predictors of outcome in a sample with psychiatric and addictions co-morbidity

Smoking is highly prevalent (85%-98%) in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) patients. Methadone has been shown to increase cigarette smoking in a dose-dependent manner, whereas smoking/nicotine has been shown to increase methadone self-administration and reinforcing properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate methadone-nicotine interactions in MMT patients during trough and peak methadone effect conditions. Subjective effects of nicotine (administered by cigarette smoking, 4 mg of nicotine gum and placebo gum) and methadone and their combination were assessed in 40 regularly smoking, stabilized MMT patients using a randomized, placebo-controlled, within-subject study design. Subjects responded to a battery of subjective assessments before and after nicotine administration both before methadone administration (cycles 1 and 2) and 3 hours after methadone administration (cycles 3 and 4). There was a main effect of methadone on the decrease of opioid withdrawal scores (P < 0.001), and cigarette smoking enhanced this effect (day × methadone interaction, P = 0.031). Both nicotine and methadone had main effects on the decrease of nicotine withdrawal scores (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively); this was associated with the cigarette day (day × nicotine interaction, P = 0.003, and day × methadone interaction, P = 0.004). Nicotine plasma levels were highest on the cigarette smoking day (P < 0.001). Methadone and nicotine shared main effects on the increase of ratings of euphoria and drug liking and on the decrease of restlessness, irritability, and depression. The overall results may help to explain high smoking rates in the MMT population and may account for reports of increased positive effects of methadone when the drugs are taken together.

Heroin use and barriers to treatment in street-involved youth

The efficacy of naltrexone as a treatment for concurrent alcohol abuse or dependence and pathological gambling was evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Fifty-two, mostly male, subjects were recruited from the community and received 11 weeks of medication during which cognitive-behavioral counseling was also provided. No significant group differences were found on any alcohol or gambling variable (ie, frequency, quantity, expenditures) at post-treatment or at the one year follow-up. However, a strong time effect was found suggesting that treatment, in general, was effective. The use of naltrexone to treat concurrent alcohol use and gambling problems was not supported.

Policonsumo simultâneo de drogas entre estudantes de graduação da área de ciências da saúde de uma universidade: implicações de gênero, sociais e legais, Santo André - Brasil

OBJECTIVES Research from developed countries shows that child maltreatment increases the risk for substance use and problems. However, little evidence on this relationship is available from developing countries, and recognition of this relationship may have important implications for substance demand reduction strategies, including efforts to prevent and treat substance use and related problems. Latin America and the Caribbean is a rich and diverse region of the world with a large range of social and cultural influences. A working group constituted by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in June, 2010 identified research on this relationship as a priority area for a multinational research partnership. METHODS This paper examines the association between self-reported child maltreatment and use in the past 12 months of alcohol and cannabis in 2294 university students in seven participating universities in six participating countries: Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay. The research also considers the possible impact of religiosity and minimal psychological distress as factors contributing to resiliency in these samples. RESULTS The results showed that experience of maltreatment was associated with increased use of alcohol and cannabis. However, the effects differed depending on the type of maltreatment experienced. Higher levels of religiosity were consistently associated with lower levels of alcohol and cannabis use, but we found no evidence of an impact of minimal psychological distress on these measures. CONCLUSIONS This preliminary study shows that the experience of maltreatment may increase the risk of alcohol and cannabis use among university students in Latin American and Caribbean countries, but that higher levels of religiosity may reduce that risk. More work to determine the nature and significance of these relationships is needed.

Exploring the relationship between perceived inter-dose opioid withdrawal and patient characteristics in methadone maintenance treatment.

Various Ontario agencies have co-operated to increase the availability of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) across Ontario. It is expected that increased availability of MMT will lead to a reduction in some of the harms of opioid use, such as HIV infection acquired through needle use. This initiative is consistent with Canadas Drug Strategy and with MMT policy changes at the federal level and is responsive to concerns of methadone patient advocates and treatment providers. When the Methadone Program at The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario was established in mid-1996, there were 975 patients in MMT across Ontario. At the end of 1998 - two and a half years later - there were over 4000. This expansion is attributed to policy changes at the provincial level which were facilitated by the development of MMT guidelines compatible with both harm reduction-based and abstinence-based treatment approaches and the development of a MMT training program and supporting reference materials.