Housing First for Severely Mentally Ill Homeless Methadone Patients.
Housing first for severely mentally ill homeless methadone patients.
Filed under: Methadone Side Effects
J Addict Dis. 2012 Jul; 31(3): 270-7
Appel PW, Tsemberis S, Joseph H, Stefancic A, Lambert-Wacey D
The Housing First approach used by Pathways to Housing, Inc., was used to enhance residential independence and treatment retention of homeless, seriously mentally ill methadone patients. The Keeping Home project first secured scattered-site apartments and assertive community treatment services and then addressed patients’ service needs. Three years post-implementation, methadone treatment retention for 31 Keeping Home patients versus 30 comparison participants (drawn from an administrative database) was 51.6% vs. 20% (p < .02); apartment/independent housing retention was 67.7% vs. 3% or 13% (both p's < .01). Although results firmly support Keeping Home, future research needs to address study's possible database limitations. Source
Reducing stigma through education to enhance medication-assisted recovery.
Filed under: Methadone Side Effects
J Addict Dis. 2012 Jul; 31(3): 226-35
Woods JS, Joseph H
The National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery has started projects to address the stigma that impacts medication-assisted treatment. The Certified Medication Assisted Treatment Advocate Program trains patients and professionals for advocacy in seminars and conferences. The MARS Project educates (Einstein, Bronx, New York) buprenorphine and methadone patients to dispel stigma and achieve better treatment outcomes. Beyond MARS trains patients nationwide to replicate the MARS Project. Stop Stigma Now will create a national public relations campaign to overcome ignorance and stigma. These projects have the potential to end stigma and elevate medication-assisted treatment to its rightful place as the gold standard of treatment.
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Maintenance medication for opiate addiction: the foundation of recovery.
Filed under: Methadone Side Effects
J Addict Dis. 2012 Jul; 31(3): 207-25
Bart G
Illicit use of opiates is the fastest growing substance use problem in the United States, and the main reason for seeking addiction treatment services for illicit drug use throughout the world. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality related to human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C, and overdose. Treatment for opiate addiction requires long-term management. Behavioral interventions alone have extremely poor outcomes, with more than 80% of patients returning to drug use. Similarly poor results are seen with medication-assisted detoxification. This article provides a topical review of the three medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration for long-term treatment of opiate dependence: the opioid-agonist methadone, the partial opioid-agonist buprenorphine, and the opioid-antagonist naltrexone. Basic mechanisms of action and treatment outcomes are described for each medication. Results indicate that maintenance medication provides the best opportunity for patients to achieve recovery from opiate addiction. Extensive literature and systematic reviews show that maintenance treatment with either methadone or buprenorphine is associated with retention in treatment, reduction in illicit opiate use, decreased craving, and improved social function. Oral naltrexone is ineffective in treating opiate addiction, but recent studies using extended-release naltrexone injections have shown promise. Although no direct comparisons between extended-release naltrexone injections and either methadone or buprenorphine exist, indirect comparison of retention shows inferior outcome compared with methadone and buprenorphine. Further work is needed to directly compare each medication and determine individual factors that can assist in medication selection. Until such time, selection of medication should be based on informed choice following a discussion of outcomes, risks, and benefits of each medication.
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Clinical trials start for stroke drug developed by Scripps Research, USC, and …
Filed under: Methadone Side Effects
If given outside that three-hour window, tPA has shown serious side effects in animal and human brains, including bleeding and breakdown of the brain's protective barrier. Generally, according to the American Stroke Association, only three to five …
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