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Current Opinion in Psychiatry Jul 2023The situation of China drug use has seen dramatic changes in recent years. The aim of this review is to give a perspective of the current situation of drug abuse, the... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
The situation of China drug use has seen dramatic changes in recent years. The aim of this review is to give a perspective of the current situation of drug abuse, the problems associated with it, and the strategy to control it in China.
RECENT FINDINGS
The number of registered drug users and newly discovered drug users had declined for 5 consecutive years, Moreover, the scaling down of drug trafficking and drug-related crimes had been seen for recent years. There are four main drug treatment modalities in China. The drug abuse and its related problems in China face new challenges, including the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the role of compulsory treatment is overemphasized, the voluntary treatment facilities and community treatment cannot meet the requirements of Chinese society, and the coordination among government departments in drug control and treatment in China need to improved.
SUMMARY
With years of the joint efforts, the overall drug situation kept improving. The drug abuse and its related problems in China still is a problem, and require effective and immediate interventions.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; Substance-Related Disorders; China
PubMed: 37191649
DOI: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000878 -
Psychological Science in the Public... Nov 2023Substance dependence is a prevalent and urgent public health problem. In 2021, 60 million Americans reported abusing alcohol within the month prior to being surveyed,... (Review)
Review
Substance dependence is a prevalent and urgent public health problem. In 2021, 60 million Americans reported abusing alcohol within the month prior to being surveyed, and nearly 20 million Americans reported using illegal drugs (e.g., heroin) or prescription drugs (e.g., opioids) for nonmedical reasons in the year before. Drug-involved overdose rates have been steadily increasing over the past 20 years. This increase has been primarily driven by opioid and stimulant use. Despite its prevalence, drug dependence is one of the most stigmatized health conditions. Stigma has myriad negative consequences for its targets, including limiting their access to employment and housing, disrupting interpersonal relationships, harming physical and mental health, and reducing help-seeking. However, because research on stigma toward people with substance use disorders (SUDs) is relatively sparse compared with research on stigma toward other mental illnesses, the field lacks a comprehensive understanding of the causes and consequences of SUD stigma. Moreover, it remains unclear how, if at all, these factors differ from other types of mental illness stigma. The goal of this review is to take stock of the literature on SUD stigma, providing a clear set of foundational principles and a blueprint for future research and translational activity.
Topics: Humans; Substance-Related Disorders; Social Stigma; Drug Overdose; Mental Health; Illicit Drugs; Analgesics, Opioid
PubMed: 37883667
DOI: 10.1177/15291006231198193 -
Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatria... 2024The co-occurrence of substance use disorder with at least one other mental disorder is called dual pathology, which in turn is characterised by heterogeneous symptoms... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
The co-occurrence of substance use disorder with at least one other mental disorder is called dual pathology, which in turn is characterised by heterogeneous symptoms that are difficult to diagnose and have a poor response to treatment. For this reason, the identification and validation of biomarkers is necessary. Within this group, possible electroencephalographic biomarkers have been reported to be useful in diagnosis, treatment and follow-up, both in neuropsychiatric conditions and in substance use disorders. This article aims to review the existing literature on electroencephalographic biomarkers in dual pathology.
METHODS
A narrative review of the literature. A bibliographic search was performed on the PubMed, Science Direct, OVID, BIREME and Scielo databases, with the keywords: electrophysiological biomarker and substance use disorder, electrophysiological biomarker and mental disorders, biomarker and dual pathology, biomarker and substance use disorder, electroencephalography, and substance use disorder or comorbid mental disorder.
RESULTS
Given the greater amount of literature found in relation to electroencephalography as a biomarker of mental illness and substance use disorders, and the few articles found on dual pathology, the evidence is organised as a biomarker in psychiatry for the diagnosis and prediction of risk and as a biomarker for dual pathology.
CONCLUSIONS
Although the evidence is not conclusive, it suggests the existence of a subset of sites and mechanisms where the effects of psychoactive substances and the neurobiology of some mental disorders could overlap or interact.
Topics: Humans; Electroencephalography; Biomarkers; Mental Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry)
PubMed: 38677941
DOI: 10.1016/j.rcpeng.2024.04.003 -
Forensic Science Review Jul 2023Drug usage data in a community has traditionally been obtained through population surveys, records from law enforcement activities related to drug-related crime, drug... (Review)
Review
Drug usage data in a community has traditionally been obtained through population surveys, records from law enforcement activities related to drug-related crime, drug treatment centers, prison data, and hospital records. Wastewater-based epidemiology has gained traction in the last 10 years as a formidable complimentary tool to monitor, track, and estimate community consumption of both illicit and therapeutic drugs within a community. In wastewater-based epidemiology, targeted biomarkers (parent drug and/or metabolite) of illicit and therapeutic drugs are quantified in wastewater and back-calculated to community consumption. In conjunction with more traditional methods of obtaining drug usage data, information from wastewater-based epidemiology has been used to detect the types and amounts of drugs being used within a community. One of the main advantages of wastewater-based epidemiology is the near-real-time data obtained from it, which assists with the quick adaptation of both harm reduction and supply mitigation strategies. Wastewater-based epidemiology has also seen an increase in forensic application through the detection of production facilities within a community, determining the synthesis route of certain illicit drugs like methamphetamine, and enantiomeric profiling to distinguish between illicit and therapeutic use of drugs. This review summarizes the main focus areas and applications of wastewater-based epidemiology from a forensic perspective.
Topics: Humans; Wastewater; Substance Abuse Detection; Illicit Drugs; Substance-Related Disorders; Forensic Sciences
PubMed: 37531496
DOI: No ID Found -
Medicina Clinica May 2024Substance use is a common health problem, and substance use disorder, which is its most severe presentation, is associated with multiple medical consequences and a... (Review)
Review
Substance use is a common health problem, and substance use disorder, which is its most severe presentation, is associated with multiple medical consequences and a negative impact on individual and on population health. Substance use disorder needs to be addressed as any chronic medical condition; therefore, it has to be detected at the early stages and has to be properly treated to prevent drug-related harm. Internists should be able to recognize and treat intoxication and abstinence. Internists should also be able to refer the patient to state of the art long term treatment, aimed to detoxification and treatment induction to promote abstinence and prevent relapse. In this narrative review we will discuss substance use epidemiology, its main medical consequences and its treatment, with a focus on alcohol, opiates, cocaine and other stimulants, cannabis and benzodiazepines.
Topics: Humans; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 38218656
DOI: 10.1016/j.medcli.2023.11.016 -
Drug Development Research Nov 2023Drug addiction as a problem for the health of the individual and the society is the result of a complex process in which there is an interaction between brain nuclei and... (Review)
Review
Drug addiction as a problem for the health of the individual and the society is the result of a complex process in which there is an interaction between brain nuclei and neurotransmitters (such as glutamate). β-lactam antibiotics, due to their enhancing properties on the glutamate transporter glutamate transporter-1, can affect and counteract the addictive mechanisms of drugs through the regulation of extracellular glutamate. Since glutamate is a key neurotransmitter in the development of drug addiction, it seems that β-lactams can be considered as a promising treatment for addiction. However, more research in this field is necessary to identify other mechanisms involved in their effectiveness. This article is a review of the studies conducted on the effect of β-lactam administration in preventing the development of drug addiction, as well as their possible cellular and molecular mechanisms. This review suggests the clinical use of β-lactam antibiotics that have weak antimicrobial properties (such as clavulanic acid) in the treatment of drug dependence.
Topics: Humans; beta-Lactams; Monobactams; Substance-Related Disorders; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Amino Acid Transport System X-AG; Glutamates
PubMed: 37602907
DOI: 10.1002/ddr.22110 -
Alternative Therapies in Health and... Sep 2023Drug addiction, or substance abuse disorder, has a long history. The use of a drug that causes dependence has been used in various religious and tribal initiation... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Drug addiction, or substance abuse disorder, has a long history. The use of a drug that causes dependence has been used in various religious and tribal initiation ceremonies. Currently, recreational use or peer modelling leads an individual to substance abuse. The magnitude of the problem of addiction increases multifold in the presence of stressors like broken families, joblessness, occupational stress, etc.
OBJECTIVES
The de-addiction process is used to relieve an individual's craving for the drug. It is a painful process, as several effects of withdrawal compel a person to return to the drugs again and again. Our aim is to explore the available literature on the use of Unani medicine for de-addiction.
METHODOLOGY
We surveyed various classical books from the available literature for drug de-addiction in Unani medicine. Indexed journals were also surveyed for the available related material using various keywords like "opium addiction" and "Unani medicine and de-addiction " and the information was filtered for this review.
RESULTS
We observed that there was an elaborate scheme for de-addiction in opium addiction and the process is so general that it could serve as a framework for the de-addiction process for other similar drugs.
CONCLUSION
Unani medicine is significant in the literature as being among the the available de-addiction addiction processes and may furnish several leads for various herbal drugs that may be used for de-addiction in the future.
Topics: Humans; Medicine, Unani; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 35452418
DOI: No ID Found -
Irish Journal of Medical Science Feb 2024The aim of this article is to revisit the multivariate causes of drug use. From the initial drive to experiment, to a progression towards dependence, this review... (Review)
Review
The aim of this article is to revisit the multivariate causes of drug use. From the initial drive to experiment, to a progression towards dependence, this review endeavours to extrapolate the aetiology of causation. In doing so, prevalence of, and attitudes towards drug use are firstly examined. Influences on why people use illicit drugs are subsequently explored through the lens of established risk factors. Drug use and dependence are embedded within a complex interplay of invidual, genetic, cultural, and socio-economic components. By exploring the aetiology of drug use in a holistic sense, this will not only aid the therapeutic quality of intervention from clinicians, but enable the development of more comprehensive and tailored intervention plans in supporting recovery.
Topics: Humans; Attitude; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 37314679
DOI: 10.1007/s11845-023-03416-4 -
Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford,... Dec 2023Drugs that act on the central nervous system (CNS) and have sedative effects can lead to abuse in humans. New CNS-active drugs often require evaluation of their abuse...
BACKGROUND
Drugs that act on the central nervous system (CNS) and have sedative effects can lead to abuse in humans. New CNS-active drugs often require evaluation of their abuse potential in dedicated animal models before marketing approval. Daridorexant is a new dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA) with sleep-promoting properties in animals and humans. It was approved in 2022 in the United States and Europe for the treatment of insomnia disorder.
AIMS
Nonclinical evaluation of abuse potential of daridorexant using three specific rat models assessing reinforcement, interoception, and withdrawal.
METHODS
Reinforcing effects of daridorexant were assessed in an operant rat model of intravenous drug self-administration. Similarity of interoceptive effects to those of the commonly used sleep medication zolpidem was tested in an operant drug discrimination task. Withdrawal signs indicative of physical dependence were evaluated upon sudden termination of chronic daridorexant treatment. Rat experiments were conducted at a dose range resulting in daridorexant plasma concentrations equaling or exceeding those achieved at the clinically recommended dose of 50 mg in humans.
RESULTS
Daridorexant had no reinforcing effects, was dissimilar to zolpidem in the drug discrimination task, and did not induce any withdrawal-related signs upon treatment discontinuation that would be indicative of physical dependence.
OUTCOMES
Daridorexant showed no signs of abuse or dependence potential in rats. Our data indicate that daridorexant, like other DORAs, has a low potential for abuse in humans.
Topics: Humans; Rats; Animals; Orexin Receptor Antagonists; Zolpidem; Imidazoles; Pyrrolidines; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 38059356
DOI: 10.1177/02698811231215415 -
BMC Genomics Mar 2024Drug addiction is a serious problem worldwide and is influenced by genetic factors. The present study aimed to investigate the association between genetics and drug...
BACKGROUND
Drug addiction is a serious problem worldwide and is influenced by genetic factors. The present study aimed to investigate the association between genetics and drug addiction among Han Chinese.
METHODS
A total of 1000 Chinese users of illicit drugs and 9693 healthy controls were enrolled and underwent single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based and haplotype-based association analyses via whole-genome genotyping.
RESULTS
Both single-SNP and haplotype tests revealed associations between illicit drug use and several immune-related genes in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region (SNP association: logBF = 15.135, p = 1.054e-18; haplotype association: logBF = 20.925, p = 2.065e-24). These genes may affect the risk of drug addiction via modulation of the neuroimmune system. The single-SNP test exclusively reported genome-wide significant associations between rs3782886 (SNP association: logBF = 8.726, p = 4.842e-11) in BRAP and rs671 (SNP association: logBF = 7.406, p = 9.333e-10) in ALDH2 and drug addiction. The haplotype test exclusively reported a genome-wide significant association (haplotype association: logBF = 7.607, p = 3.342e-11) between a region with allelic heterogeneity on chromosome 22 and drug addiction, which may be involved in the pathway of vitamin B12 transport and metabolism, indicating a causal link between lower vitamin B12 levels and methamphetamine addiction.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings provide new insights into risk-modeling and the prevention and treatment of methamphetamine and heroin dependence, which may further contribute to potential novel therapeutic approaches.
Topics: Humans; Genome-Wide Association Study; Haplotypes; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Substance-Related Disorders; Methamphetamine; Vitamin B 12; China; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial
PubMed: 38448893
DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10117-4