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In a secondary analysis of the Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study (POATS), the original study's author, Roger Weiss, and colleagues parse the data to determine if there are common characteristics among those who benefited from additional opioid dependence counseling (ODC) - above and beyond the standard medical management (SMM) and buprenorphine-naloxone medication. It is a very good question, considering the host of recent studies  which found no additional benefit to counseling in terms of measured outcomes, including the large and highly-regarded POATS. In searching for an answer, the authors looked at two sources of variability - patient characteristics, and adherence to treatment. Specifically, the authors sought to answer three questions: 1) Did participants with more severe problems have better outcomes with SMM + ODC than with SMM alone (N=360)? 2) Among participants with adequate adherence to treatment, were those assigned to SMM + ODC more likely to have succe...

A fascinating new study in the journal  Neuropharmacology , suggests the brain's endocannabinoid system can be aided in its neuroprotective efforts against the toxicity of methamphetamine by introducing external cannabinoids to increase the system's "endogenous tone". The cannabinoids in question, THC, URB and JZL, appear to inhibit the breakdown of the brain's own endocannabinoids, improving the ability of the brain to protect itself against the "external insult" of overdoses of methamphetamine. Here is the abstract, via ScienceDirect: Abstract Methamphetamine toxicity is associated with cell death and loss of dopamine neuron terminals in the striatum similar to what is found in some neurodegenerative diseases. Conversely, the endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been suggested to be neuroprotective in the brain, and new pharmacological tools have been developed to increase their endogenous tone. In this study, we evaluated whether ECS stimulation could red...

Via ScienceDaily : Relapse is the most painful and expensive feature of drug addiction -- even after addicted individuals have been drug-free for months or years, the likelihood of sliding back into the habit remains high. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 40 to 60 percent of addicted individuals will relapse, and in some studies the rates are as high as 80 percent at six months after treatment. Though some relapse triggers can be consciously avoided, such as people, places and things related to drug use, other subconscious triggers related to the brain's reward system may be impossible to avoid -- they can gain entry to the unconscious brain, setting the stage for relapse. Researchers at Penn Medicine's Center for Studies of Addiction have now found that the drug baclofen, commonly used to prevent spasms in patients with spinal cord injuries and neurological disorders, can help block the impact of the brain's response to "unconscious" drug trigg...