News

Aneri Pattani’s NPR article addresses how ERs inadequately recognize and treat individuals with substance use disorders and Pattani discusses potential solutions that are being implemented in hospitals around the country to combat shortcomings in care. The article draws attention to the lack of screening, prescribing medication, and follow-up care for substance use when patients are treated in emergency departments. Pattani investigates methods implemented by North Carolina, California and New York to help better serve ER patients with SUDs while discussing the perceived efficacy of the strategies being used.

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Repeated brain imaging and cognitive performance tests in rhesus monkeys revealed structural and functional changes within the brain before and after chronic cocaine administration. The study was conducted by University of Pittsburgh Healthcare System’s Dr. Hank Jedema and colleagues and NIDA Intramural Research Program to address gaps in knowledge encompassing “cocaine-induced” changes, while also accounting for changes attributed to pre-existing conditions. The study conducted thorough investigations of baseline cognitive performance of rhesus monkeys, in conjunction with gray matter density analysis, before the administration of cocaine 4 days a week for a year. To identify changes in cognitive performance and grey matter density, subsequent weekly analysis was conducted throughout the study’s duration. NIDA’s article is an engaging read, invoking critical thought and intrigue.

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A New Release article published by NIDA addresses changes in substance use among young adolescents, ages 10-14, throughout the pandemic. The survey, funded by NIDA, was conducted between September 2019 to August 2020. The article delves deeper into trends in adolescent’s use of specific substances by referencing findings from a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Nonetheless, the research conducted yields surprising results among youth in the United States.

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Psychology Today’s article defines and explores the impact trauma-informed care (TIC) has on addiction medicine. Adverse childhood experiences and traumatic life experiences are related to risks of developing substance use disorders, mental health disorders, and physical health conditions. The article engages readers to explore TIC as a necessary aspect in understanding the complexity of patient treatment in addiction medicine.

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The Psychiatry Advisor article focuses on a review published in Experimental Neurology, which addresses risks for early-onset stroke and Parkinson Disease following methamphetamine use in early adulthood. The article focuses on study aspects encompassing the neurological damages of dopaminergic neurons and the effects of structural damages in the brain.

To read the full Psychiatry Advisor article, click here.

To read Experimental Neurology narrative review, click here.

Maureen Searcy’s article, published by UChicago Magazine, investigates psychologist Andrea King’s work to understand the diverging trajectories of drinking habits. The article explores King’s Chicago Social Drinking Project, a study that has been conducted for almost two decades to follow 190 light, moderate and heavy drinkers, all of whom were in their 20’s when the study was initiated. The study’s continuous findings, many of which are represented in the article, present data reflecting “how a person’s response to alcohol relates to current and future alcohol use disorder.”

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Yale News addresses a study published by Yale and led by Paul Joudrey, assistant professor of internal medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. The study’s findings are an assessment of how and why Canada’s approaches to methadone treatment during COVID-19 have had significantly different consequences than US approaches. The article breaks down a contrast in regulations and systems that make barriers to treatment an obvious issue for individuals with OUD in the United States. Such barriers have exacerbated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the Yale News article and the published study can be accessed below:

To read the full Yale News article, click here.

To read Yale’s study via JAMA Network, “Methadone Access for Opioid Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic Within the United States and Canada,” click here.

Rhode Island is now the first state in the country to legally authorized a two-year pilot program for harm reduction centers, effective March 1, 2022. MD and AMA Opioid Task Force Chair, Bobby Mukkamala, has expressed the AMA’s support for harm reduction centers, as Rhode Island paves the way to effectively educate, design, and implement safe-injection sites centered around harm reduction strategies. Truthout provides a fascinating article on the changes in advocacy for addiction medicine on national and state levels. The article also provides more details on the developments of RI’s new law.

To read the full Truthout article, click here.
For information reported by the American Medical Association, click here.

CURE magazine, an informative and supportive media platform for cancer awareness, investigates the topic of opioid prescribing for pain management among individuals with late-stage cancer. The article articulates findings in a recent Journal of Clinical Oncology publication. Dr. Andrea C. Enzinger, the study’s author and a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute , was interviewed for the article to discuss how regulations on opioid prescriptions coincide with increases in patient emergency department visits for pain management solutions.

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In his USA Today opinion piece, Dr. Scott E. Hadland takes a stance on Sha’Carri Richardson’s disqualification from the Olympic 100 meter-dash after testing positive for marajuana. Dr. Hadland makes several evidence-based arguments against the World Anti-Doping Agency’s classification of marajuana as “prohibited”- a classification of substances that must meet two of three ruling criteria. The barring of Richardon from the Olympic event has stirred a plethora of sentiment around the politics of professional sports, and it may not be unreasonable to foreshadow that such sentiments shall circulate conversations like that of Dr. Harland for the foreseeable future.

To read the full article, click here.