5 Myths about Drug Addiction and Substance Abuse

March 30, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

MYTH 1: Overcoming addiction is a simply a matter of willpower. You can stop using drugs if you really want to. Prolonged exposure to drugs alters the brain in ways that result in powerful cravings and a compulsion to use. These brain changes make it extremely difficult to quit by sheer force of will.

MYTH 2: Addiction is a disease; there’s nothing you can do about it. Most experts agree that addiction is a brain disease, but that doesn’t mean you’re a helpless victim. The brain changes associated with addiction can be treated and reversed through therapy, medication, exercise, and other treatments.

MYTH 3: Addicts have to hit rock bottom before they can get better. Recovery can begin at any point in the addiction process—and the earlier, the better. The longer drug abuse continues, the stronger the addiction becomes and the harder it is to treat. Don’t wait to intervene until the addict has lost it all.

MYTH 4: You can’t force someone into treatment. They have to want help. Treatment doesn’t have to be voluntary to be successful. People who are pressured into treatment by their family, employer, or the legal system are just as likely to benefit as those who choose to enter treatment on their own. As they sober up and their thinking clears, many formerly resistant addicts decide they want to change.

MYTH 5: Treatment didn’t work before, so there’s no point trying again. Some cases are hopeless. Recovery from drug addiction is a long process that often involves setbacks. Relapse doesn’t mean that treatment has failed or that you’re a lost cause. Rather, it’s a signal to get back on track, either by going back to treatment or adjusting the treatment approach.

Filed Under: drug addiction, pain medicine addiction · Tagged: , , , ,

Buprenorphine & Opiate Addiction

March 27, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Buprenorphine was initially introduced on the market in the 1980s as an analgesic. Now, its primary use is for the treatment of opioid addiction.

One dose of buprenorphine remains active in the human body for as long as 48 hours, which provides a longer duration than morphine. This is one of the qualities that make this drug ideal for helping opioid addicts to break free of their addiction. Since the drug remains in the body for 48 hours, it also ensures that the withdrawal symptoms that people experience are significantly decreased.

Buprenorphine requires sublingual (under the tongue) administration on a frequent basis. Drug administration should always be supervised by a substance abuse treatment professional, and doses must be strictly monitored. Federal regulations require this in order for treatment centers and medical facilities to be able to administer the drug at all.

There are some side effects that can occur along with the use of buprenorphine. They range from moderate to severe, and it should be pointed out that this drug can, in some cases, produce fatal side effects. The most commonly occurring side effects include the following:

• Headache

• Drowsiness

• Dizziness

• Vomiting

• Decreased libido

• Constipation

• Respiratory depression

Respiratory depression is the side effect that presents the most serious problems with the use of buprenorphine, as it can be fatal in some people. Unfortunately, there is no way to correct or treat this problem should it develop.

While undergoing buprenorphine treatment, all patients are regularly monitored to see how their livers are functioning, as some adverse effects can be caused by using this drug.

Even though buprenorphine is used to treat people with opioid addictions, the possibility does exist for an addiction to the buprenorphine itself to develop. The types of dependencies that can develop include both physical and psychological. People who are considering undergoing treatment with this drug should be aware, however, that instances of people becoming addicted to buprenorphine are quite rare.

Often times, one of the primary questions that people have is whether they should choose buprenorphine or methadone as a treatment option. Both of these drugs are routinely used for short-term and long-term treatment of opioid addiction. Dosing requirements may be a bit better with buprenorphine simply because of the drug’s ability to remain in the body for 48 hours, thereby offering longer-term effects. With buprenorphine, patients typically only have to receive a dose every other day, while methadone requires daily dosing.

Buprenorphine also has an advantage regarding the total amount of treatment time that is required to successfully complete a detoxification program. With buprenorphine, treatments generally last for a few months, while with methadone indefinite or sometimes lifelong treatment is necessary.

It is very important that buprenorphine be administered in an inpatient treatment facility, particularly one that specializes in substance abuse treatment. Inpatient treatment programs not only offer patients detox programs, they also offer treatment or rehabilitation programs that are designed to help people learn healthier ways of living. Some of these treatment programs include counseling, diet and exercise, massage, acupuncture, and group therapy.

The purpose in these additional treatments is to give patients a better chance of maintaining success by giving them the tools they need to lead lives that are free of substance abuse. If patients learn how to be healthy and happy (physically and emotionally) then they will be far less likely to have a relapse.

Filed Under: detox, drug addiction, pain medicine addiction, Prescription Drugs, Recovery · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Abuses Are Found in Online Sales of Medication

March 23, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

A large majority of 365 Internet sites that advertise or sell controlled medications by mail are offering to supply the drugs without a proper prescription, according to a new study. The online trade is stoking the rising abuse of addictive and dangerous prescription drugs, the authors and federal officials say.

Drugs offered online include generic versions of opiates like OxyContin, methadone and Vicodin, which are legitimately prescribed as painkillers; benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium, which are prescribed for anxiety; and stimulants like Ritalin.

Federal and state efforts to crack down on Internet sales appear to have reduced the number of sites offering such drugs, from 581 last year, said Joseph A. Califano Jr., director of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

“Nevertheless, anyone of any age can obtain dangerous and addictive prescription drugs with the click of a mouse,” Mr. Califano said. The center is issuing the study, the latest of five annual surveys, on Wednesday.

The Drug Enforcement Administration found that 85 percent of all Internet prescription sales involved controlled drugs, compared with just 11 percent of those filled through regular pharmacies, suggesting that online sales often are destined for misuse.

“Abuse of prescription drugs has exploded among college students, and we think that one way they get these drugs is over the Internet,” Mr. Califano said. The use of prescription opioids and anxiety drugs, especially in combination, accounts for a growing share of deadly overdoses nationwide.

“The Internet made it easy for the drug dealers to sneak into your living room,” said Francine Haight of La Mesa, Calif, whose son Ryan died in 2001 at the age of 18 from an overdose of hydrocodone, generic Vicodin, which he had secretly ordered online with a debit card. An A-student and varsity tennis player, he had claimed in an online questionnaire to be a 25-year-old with back pain, got his prescription and was mailed the drug. Ms. Haight, a registered nurse, has since fought against online sales.

Federal law bars dispensing dangerous medications without a prescription from a doctor who has a bona fide relationship with the patient. But officials have had a hard time catching up to rogue Internet pharmacies that sometimes ship the drugs from foreign countries in disguised packages.

For the last several years, the Drug Enforcement Administration and others have worked to halt the illegal trade and prosecute involved doctors and suppliers, with limited success.

“One of the main problems is that the sites can literally open up for a week, close and open up under a different name,” said Michael Sanders, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

In a more recent practice, the new study found, some sites sell written prescriptions that can then be used at local pharmacies.

Using popular search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN, the Columbia researchers found 365 sites offering controlled drugs by mail. Of these, 206 were advertising sites, directing consumers to a seller. Of the 159 sites that directly sold controlled drugs, 135, or 85 percent, did not require a prescription or provided them on the basis of online questionnaires.

In an effort to make their surveys consistent, in each of the last five years the researchers have spent the same amount of time searching, 210 hours, for the same list of drugs. The number of sites rose to 581 in 2007, then fell to 365 this year. The study will be available online on Wednesday at www.casacolumbia.org.

In April, the Senate passed the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act, which would require certification of online pharmacies and that doctors see patients before prescribing controlled drugs. The bill is now in committee in the House.

At least eight states have passed laws barring electronic prescribing or sales without a legitimate prescription. Minnesota passed a law in 2007 requiring doctor-patient consultations but found that “the Web sites went around us, doing 30-second consultations on the phone,” said Dan Pearson of St. Cloud, Minn., whose son Justin died of drug poisoning in 2006, aged 24, after obtaining large quantities of hydrocodone and Xanax from 17 online pharmacies. The law was strengthened this year to require face-to-face consultations.

“Anyone can have these drugs at their door within 48 hours,” usually using a credit or debit card to pay for an online prescription and then a money order to pay for express delivery, C.O.D., Mr. Pearson said.

Federal drug authorities have begun working with credit card companies and banks to try to prevent such transactions, while major Internet search engines have used a verification program called Pharmacy Checker to confirm that advertisers are legitimate. But the system appears to be full of holes, critics say.

Mr. Califano sent letters this week to senior officials of Google, Yahoo and MSN asserting that they were “profiting from advertisements for illegal sales of controlled prescription drugs online,” and calling for stronger action.

Diana Adair, a spokeswoman for Google, said the company took the problem seriously and in addition to using Pharmacy Checker, had consulted with federal agencies on ways to stem the trade. Kelley Benender, a spokeswoman for Yahoo, said the company was “working to identify the illegal sites and will take appropriate action.”

A spokesman from MSN said the company had no comment.

By ERIK ECKHOLM from The New York Times

Filed Under: drug addiction, pain medicine addiction, Prescription Drugs · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Cancer Diagnosis can Threaten Sobriety

March 20, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Recovery from alcoholism and other drug addiction often calls for breaking through layers of denial and shame. But people who face the task of recovery along with a diagnosis of cancer deal with an immediate threat to their sobriety.

“When people hear the word ‘cancer,’ there’s kind of an assumption that it’s a death sentence,” says Dr. Marvin Seppala, chief medical officer for the Hazelden Foundation. “That’s not the case, since so many cancers are treatable nowadays. Yet there’s still a chance that people in the midst of addiction treatment might say to themselves: ‘Why bother to get clean and sober? I’m not going to go through with it because I’ve got cancer.’ ”

Studies suggest that rates of substance abuse in people with cancer are lower than in the general population. However, these figures are difficult to interpret. They could simply mean that people in cancer treatment routinely hide their problems with alcohol and other drugs.

Secrecy is just one problem. “If you’re in the midst of an active addiction, you’ll also be undermining any kind of healing process related to cancer,” Seppala says. “And there’s always the question of whether some of the addictive drugs will interfere with medications used to treat cancer.”

In addition, a record of substance abuse can strain the human relationships that underlie cancer treatment. If doctors and nurses suspect that their cancer patients are lying about drug use, they may doubt anything that these patients say about their health.

People with cancer might sense this mistrust, doubt the goodwill of their health care team, and decide not to follow through with their cancer treatments. When this happens, prescriptions go unfilled, medical appointments are missed, and people with cancer can get sicker or die earlier.

A report on substance abuse issues from the National Cancer Institute underscores these problems. It also suggests ways to help people face cancer and abstain from alcohol and illicit drugs at the same time:

Gather facts without judgment. When taking a health history, doctors and nurses sometimes avoid questions about alcohol and other drug use. They may feel awkward about raising the issue, or simply assume that they’ll never get honest answers. This assumption undermines cancer treatment. When health professionals ask about drug use with a non-judgmental attitude, people with cancer are more likely to speak candidly.

Involve a multidisciplinary health care team. Treatment for people with cancer and addiction should involve specialists in mental health and addiction medicine. Many people with a history of substance abuse–including those with cancer–also struggle with anxiety, depression, or personality disorders.

Treat pain with an accurate understanding of addiction. People can become physically dependent on opioid drugs such as codeine and oxycodone (OxyContin) that are used to treat cancer pain. This means that withdrawal symptoms will occur if the drugs are suddenly stopped. In this context, however, physical dependence and addiction are not the same. Addiction refers to the compulsive use of drugs for reasons other than pain control. Careful treatment planning can relieve withdrawal without triggering such use.

Current treatments also offer many options for treating cancer pain without drugs. Examples are acupuncture, acupressure, biofeedback, chiropractic treatment, osteopathic medicine, massage therapy, and meditation.

Set realistic treatment goals. There’s a saying among members of Alcoholics Anonymous: “Getting clean and sober is simple–just change everything about your life and do it now.” This slogan reminds us that recovery from addiction requires a transformation in thinking and behavior, which calls for decades of sustained effort. The risk of relapse is high, especially with the added stress of a cancer diagnosis.

Cancer specialists need to be realistic about this fact. Treatment planning for people in recovery should set up a structure for preventing relapse–and dealing with it openly if it does occur.

For more on this topic, visit the National Cancer Institute Web site at http://www.cancer.gov/ and click on “Cancer Topics” and “Coping with Cancer.”

Source: Hazelden

Filed Under: drug addiction, pain medicine addiction, Prescription Drugs, Recovery · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dual Diagnosis What Is It & How It Affects Us

March 18, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

A dual diagnosis is when a person has been diagnosed with two or “dual” conditions: an alcohol, drug or other substance addiction coupled with a mental health disorder. Many patients that are in addiction treatment are found to have a dual diagnosis. Of the two million people in the United States that suffer from mental illness, about 50% of them also are an alcohol, drug or other type of substance abuser. For an alcoholic, whether they have a dual diagnosis or not, they need to enter an alcohol addiction treatment program. For others that have substance abuse and addiction, a dual diagnosis, addiction treatment is not only warranted but desperately needed. Not every addiction treatment center is equipped to help this illness. It’s vitally important that a center with professional staff prepared to work with patients with a dual diagnosis is chosen.

Probably the most challenging area for health care providers is diagnosing patients who truly have a dual diagnosis. The reason a dual diagnosis is so difficult to determine is because more cases than not, a mental illness is coupled with a substance abuse and addiction situation. It is for this reason that many of these patients are placed in addiction treatment homes or centers only to discover that they are in fact dealing with a dual diagnosis. The problem is that substance dependence can masquerade as a psychiatric disorder, so many times the mental illness is not discovered or revealed until much later than at the initial evaluation.

It can be a very difficult situation to identify a patient with dual diagnosis. Most times they are in denial about their substance abuse so when the addiction is discovered, they overlook the fact that the mental illness is still exacerbating the substance problem and vice-versa. Therefore only one of the two issues is identified. And with teens it is even more difficult. With kids going through puberty and all of the emotional fluctuations that accompany that, how can you be sure that this young man or woman are actually suffering from a bi-polar disorder or even depression? For that very reason it is imperative that when seeking an addiction treatment center you find one that has an acute awareness of this dual disease. It is only then that you can truly have hope for a full recovery.

by Groshan Fabiola

Filed Under: drug addiction, dual diagnosis, pain medicine addiction, Recovery · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Symptoms of Prescription Drug Abuse

March 15, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Most drug addictions start with casual or social use of a drug. For some people, this is as far as it goes. For other people, using the drug becomes a habit and use becomes more and more frequent. As time passes, you may need larger doses of the drug to get high. Soon you may need the drug just to feel good. As your drug use increases, you may find that it becomes increasingly difficult to go without the drug. Stopping may cause intense cravings and make you feel physically ill (withdrawal symptoms).

Drug addiction symptoms or behaviors include:

  • Feeling that you have to use the drug regularly — this can be daily or even several times a day
  • Failing in your attempts to stop using the drug
  • Making certain that you maintain a supply of the drug
  • Spending money on the drug even though you can’t afford it
  • Doing things to obtain the drug that you normally wouldn’t do, such as stealing
  • Feeling that you need the drug to deal with your problems
  • Driving or doing other risky activities when you’re under the influence of the drug
  • Focusing more and more time and energy on getting and using the drug

Narcotic painkillers
Opioids are narcotic, painkilling drugs produced naturally from opium or made synthetically. This class of drugs includes heroin, morphine, codeine, methadone and oxycodone (OxyContin).

Signs of narcotic use and dependence can include:

  • Reduced sense of pain
  • Sedation
  • Depression
  • Confusion
  • Constipation
  • Slowed breathing
  • Needle marks (if injecting drugs)

Recognizing drug abuse in teenagers
Possible indications that your teenager is using drugs include:

  • Problems at school. Frequently missing classes or missing school, a sudden disinterest in school or school activities, and a drop in grades may be indicators of drug use.
  • Physical health issues. Lack of energy and motivation may indicate your child is using certain drugs.
  • Neglected appearance. Adolescents are generally concerned about how they look. A lack of interest in clothing, grooming or looks may be a warning sign of drug use.
  • Changes in behavior. Teenagers enjoy privacy, but exaggerated efforts to bar family members from entering their rooms or knowing where they go with their friends might indicate drug use. Also, drastic changes in behavior and in relationships with family and friends may be linked to drug use.
  • Spending money. Sudden requests for money without a reasonable explanation for its use may be a sign of drug use. You may also discover money stolen from previously safe places at home. Items may disappear from your home because they’re being sold to support a drug habit.

Source: The Mayo Clinic

Filed Under: drug addiction, pain medicine addiction, Prescription Drugs · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Oxycontin Addiction in Business Circles

March 13, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Drug abuse is everywhere and Oxycontin addiction is no exception.  It is surprising how Oxycontin addiction can be found in business circles but the truth is, many business people are addicted and some people can not even tell.

People in business circles can find themselves with an Oxycontin addiction and not pinpoint it as such, much like those in other circles.  However, people in business circles can go to the doctor and get a prescription and be hooked quite easily.  They can go to each other’s doctors as referrals, and before one knows it, several are hooked and sharing and passing it around.

The soccer mom, the bank executive, the pastor’s wife, the attorney, all and more are subject to an Oxycontin addiction that can ultimately take over, and thanks to others in their social and business circles using it, Oxycontin can get passed around like one would borrow a mower or a hammer.

Oxycontin addiction is not unheard of in business circles, it is simply not spoken of as an addiction.  Someone can walk up to someone else and say, “I feel a little sore, I left my prescription at home” and presto, the second person pulls out his or her own pills and shares.  The double standard of thinking someone who is addicted to drugs is just on the streets, homeless, on the rougher side of town helps these people to deny their own addictions for a longer period of time.  There is help, though, and it is up to the very people who make decisions that affect their employees and extended families to realize they have a problem and deal with it effectively.

A leave of absence or vacation is a good way to get help discreetly, for an Oxycontin addiction, or for any addiction.  Private treatment programs are available for those in business circles. It is time for those who have the brains to successfully pull ahead in business to realize they can pull ahead successfully in this area as well and beat an Oxycontin addiction.

Finding support in aftercare will also make the business person aware of just how rampant an addiction can be in his or her own circle or environment.  Taking the steps to break free of the addiction is just as sure a sign of success as any bank account or stock report.  Make the ultimate decision today and you will understand the truth behind that statement.

Source: Narconon

Filed Under: drug addiction, pain medicine addiction, Prescription Drugs · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

8 Factors To Consider When Choosing a Drug Rehab Program

March 11, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

Facing the fact that someone you love is not only suffering from drug addiction, but now must receive help to overcome the addiction, is difficult for anyone. Where should you start? Who do you turn to? What questions do you need to ask about drug treatment programs? Perhaps, you may have been at this point before, and you now feel a sense of hopelessness in finding a residential treatment center that will work this time around. Maybe, though, this is the first time you’ve had to take these steps to help someone you love. The process can feel overwhelming.

Ultimately, you want your loved one back. You want that person you love free from drugs. You want that person to live a healthy and productive life. By asking the right question on each of the following areas when choosing a residential drug treatment center, your chances of making this happen for your loved one will increase.

1.Success Rate –
What is the success rate of the residential drug treatment center? Obviously, the higher the success rate, the more likely your loved one will succeed. Ask to speak with graduates of the drug rehab facility or their families. Get real opinions from real people.

2.Methods –
What method does the drug treatment center use? Ask yourself if they are addressing all aspects of your loved one’s addiction, including what led them to drugs in the first place. Methods that only deal with one aspect of addiction are more likely to fail. Remember addiction results from a combination of many factors, including a lessening of morality and integrity and an increasing burden of guilt and shame. The life of an addict includes bad habits, poor health and difficulty facing problems. After speaking with the facility, ask yourself if they are handling not just the psychological aspects, but also the physical and mental aspects of addiction as well. Are they providing practical skills that will help your loved one succeed once the drug rehabilitation program is completed?

3.Services –
What services does the residential drug treatment center offer? This is not only for your loved one, but for you as well. Will they help with legal issues? Will they assist in an intervention? In other words, to what length will they go to make certain your loved one gets the drug treatment they need?

4.Staff –
Who are the staff members at the residential drug treatment center? The best trained staff will have had experience with drug addiction. They will not have learned about it in a book. Are they qualified for their positions? What real-life knowledge do they have with drug addiction? What is their reason for working in this field?

5.Follow-up Program –
What type of follow-up program does the residential drug treatment center offer? This is important. Sending a newly rehabilitated drug addict back into the world without any follow-up can be disastrous. Make sure that there is a program of this type in place. Good programs keep in touch over the phone regularly after one leaves the program.

6.Location –
Where is the residential drug treatment center located? A residential drug treatment center should be protected. Ask how easy it would be for your loved one to leave. Many addicts when first coming off drugs want to leave. Ensuring that this is difficult, while not seeming like a prison, increases the chances that the person will stay to finish.

7.Length –
How long does the residential drug treatment center take? Although the standard program is 28 days, if the residential drug treatment center offers a longer program, it is more likely your loved one will succeed. However, if the residential drug treatment center allows your loved one to work at his or her own pace, without imposing time constraints, your loved one has an even greater chance of overcoming drug addiction.

8.Price –
How much does the residential drug treatment center cost? Before eliminating any program because of its price, ask yourself this: What are they offering? Look back at the points above and determine what the drug rehab is truly giving to the one you love. Yes, the more it offers, the more likely the price will be higher. However, your loved one will have a greater chance at becoming a healthy productive member of society. How much is that person worth to you?
Choosing a residential drug treatment center can be difficult. Dealing with a loved one suffering from drug addiction is devastating. By breaking the process down into what is important and finding out the answers to the questions above, you will be able to make an informed choice as to which residential drug treatment program can best help you and your loved one. Drug addiction can be dealt with and overcome.
By John Frank

Filed Under: drug addiction, pain medicine addiction, Recovery · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

F.D.A. to crack down on Pain Killer Clinics

March 6, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

F.D.A. to Place New Limits on Prescriptions of Narcotics

WASHINGTON — Many doctors may lose their ability to prescribe 24 popular narcotics as part of a new effort to reduce the deaths and injuries that result from these medicines’ inappropriate use, federal drug officials announced Monday.

A new control program will result in further restrictions on the prescribing, dispensing and distribution of extended-release opioids like OxyContin, fentanyl patches, methadone tablets and some morphine tablets.

These products are classified as Schedule II narcotics and already are restricted according to rules jointly administered by the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Agency. But the current restrictions have failed to “fully meet the goals we want to achieve,” said Dr. John K. Jenkins, director of the F.D.A.’s new drug center.

“What we’re talking about is putting in place a program to try to ensure that physicians prescribing these products are properly trained in their safe use, and that only those physicians are prescribing those products,” Dr. Jenkins said in a news conference on Monday. “This is going to be a massive program.”

Hundreds of patients die and thousands are injured every year in the United States because they were inappropriately prescribed drugs like OxyContin or Duragesic or they took the medicines when they should not have or in ways that made the drugs dangerous. The agency has issued increasingly urgent warnings about the risks, but the toll has only worsened in recent years.

The blame for this is shared among doctors who prescribe poorly, patients who pay little attention to instructions or get access to the medicines inappropriately, and companies that have marketed their products illegally.

The F.D.A. this year will hold meetings with manufacturers, patient and consumer advocates, and the public to ask for advice on how to carry out the new control program, officials announced. The first meeting will be on March 3, and no immediate changes in access to the drugs is planned.

The 24 medicines under review had 21 million prescriptions written for them in 2007, to 3.7 million patients, Dr. Jenkins said. They are extremely effective in reducing pain, which many medical studies suggest is widely undertreated in patients suffering serious illness. (A complete list of the drugs is at www.fda.gov/cder.)

But many doctors prescribe the drugs far too cavalierly, Dr. Jenkins said. The F.D.A. has received reports of patients’ being prescribed such medicines to treat something as simple as a sprained ankle, he said. In such patients, the medicines can be dangerous.

Part of the problem is marketing. Several reports, for instance, have suggested that Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, helped fuel widespread abuse of the drug by aggressively promoting it to general practitioners not skilled in either pain treatment or in recognizing drug abuse.

The company has denied such a connection, but a holding company connected with Purdue and three top Purdue executives pleaded guilty last year to criminal charges that the company had misled doctors and patients by claiming for five years that OxyContin was less prone to abuse because it was a long-acting narcotic.

Doctors are also to blame. A common reason for disciplinary actions at state medical boards is the use of narcotics in patients who show clear signs of addiction or for whom the drugs are obviously inappropriate.

The F.D.A. generally avoids interfering with the practice of medicine because doctor behavior is governed by state medical boards. Instead, the agency usually tries to provide doctors with the best and most current information, and then allows them to decide how to use it.

Most of the drugs withdrawn over the last 20 years, however, were taken off the market because doctors continued to use the medicines in ways that the F.D.A. warned against.

For decades, the agency’s armory in these battles held only a popgun and a cannon — the popgun being the issuance of widely ignored warnings; the cannon being its ability to force a medicine’s withdrawal. But a law passed in 2007 gave the agency a new, intermediate weapon — Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies. Known as REMS, these programs allow the agency to place strong restrictions on the distribution of certain drugs.

Filed Under: drug addiction, Prescription Drugs, Sunrise Detox Florida New Jersey · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Do Genetics Cause Drug Addiction?

February 27, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

The role of genetics in addiction has been debated for decades. Scientists and other health experts have successfully identified various risk factors for the development of addiction, but concise and objective predictors of drug addiction have eluded discovery. This past year, however, science has made significant strides in discerning how genetics may affect addiction.

A landmark scientific paper published in the April 2009 issue of Nature Reviews Genetics presented some groundbreaking new insights into the role of genetics in addiction by honing in on specific genes that are tied to all types of addictions. The study, conducted by addiction experts at the University of Virginia Health System and the University of Michigan, even found that some genes that are associated with alcohol dependence are also linked to various other  addictions. The gene was found to be a common factor in addictions to nicotine, cocaine, opioids and other substances.

Study co-author Ming Li, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the UVA School of Medicine, commented on the study and its potential impact:

“Addiction researchers have found that several genes are linked with multiple addictions. … So, we’re narrowing the scope to specific genetic targets. Once researchers can pinpoint exact genetic variants and molecular mechanisms, then we can create much more effective, even personalized, treatments for individuals addicted to a variety of substances.”

Li also believes that further research is needed to understand the full impact of genetic variations on addiction. “The exact nature of the gene variants and how they function are still unknown, so functional studies as well as studies using additional ethnic population samples may be quite revealing,” Dr. Li said.

Another recent study, conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado in Denver, pinpointed genetic pathways and genes associated with alcohol consumption. The researchers were able to identify genetic factors that predisposed both rats and humans to drink more; however, they were unable to discover a similar link between the genes and actual alcohol addiction. Nonetheless, according to Boris Tabakoff, a lead researcher, the study’s results may help scientists to eventually connect the dots between genetic makeup and addiction.

Tabakoff said, “We know that high levels of alcohol consumption can increase the risk of becoming alcohol dependent in those who have a genetic makeup that predisposes to dependence. This is a case of interaction between genes and environment. Indeed, in our study we found that, higher alcohol consumption in humans was positively correlated with alcohol dependence. However, because different sets of genes seem to influence the level of alcohol consumption, as opposed to propensity for alcohol dependence, we are confronted with great variation in humans. Individuals with a set of genes that predisposes them to drink moderate amounts of alcohol may still have the genetic predisposition to lose control over their drinking behavior, and perhaps become alcohol dependent. Conversely, individuals with a genetic predisposition to drink high amounts of alcohol may not have the genes that predispose them to become dependent.”

A study just completed at Brown University (the results will be published in the January 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research) succeeded in identifying a link between a gene variation and teen alcohol misuse. For the study, researchers examined the genetic makeup of 187 adolescents (98 boys and 89 girls) around the age of 15 years. They were able to correlate a polymorphism (variation in the shape) of the OPRM1 opioid receptor gene called A118G with heightened risk for alcohol-related problems and likelihood to meet the clinical diagnostic criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).

Robert Miranda, Jr., assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University and corresponding author for the study, commented on the implications of the study’s findings:

“Our current knowledge about the genetics of alcohol misuse during adolescence comes almost exclusively from family and twin studies. … But the relative importance of environmental and genetic factors appears to shift considerably over the course of adolescence … with genetics playing an important role once teenagers begin to drink. … Our findings provide the first evidence to suggest that teenagers who carry a certain variant of the OPRM1 gene experience more alcohol-related problems.”

Notably, the Brown University team discovered that teens with this variant were more likely to report drinking alcohol because of the pleasurable effects than for other reasons. The fact that the genetic variation enhances the pleasure experienced by youth when consuming alcohol helps to explain why teens with this variation might be more likely to develop problem drinking behaviors.

Miranda, Jr., explains, “The G allele, or variant, of the OPRMI gene is associated with the function of the body’s own natural opiate system. Research suggests that the G allele is associated with experiencing more pleasure and greater intoxication after drinking.”

By Emily Battaglia

Filed Under: drug addiction, Recovery · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »