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Stimulant Drugs (stimulant + drug)
Selected AbstractsPerspectives on Health Among Adult Users of Illicit Stimulant Drugs in Rural OhioTHE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2006Harvey A. Siegal PhD ABSTRACT:,Context: Although the nonmedical use of stimulant drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine is increasingly common in many rural areas of the United States, little is known about the health beliefs of people who use these drugs. Purpose: This research describes illicit stimulant drug users' views on health and health-related concepts that may affect their utilization of health care services. Methods: A respondent-driven sampling plan was used to recruit 249 not-in-treatment, nonmedical stimulant drug users who were residing in 3 rural counties in west central Ohio. A structured questionnaire administered by trained interviewers was used to collect information on a range of topics, including current drug use, self-reported health status, perceived need for substance abuse treatment, and beliefs about health and health services. Findings: Participants reported using a wide variety of drugs nonmedically, some by injection. Alcohol and marijuana were the most commonly used drugs in the 30 days prior to the interview. Powder cocaine was used by 72.3% of the sample, crack by 68.3%, and methamphetamine by 29.7%. Fair or poor health status was reported by 41.3% of the participants. Only 20.9% of the sample felt they needed drug abuse treatment. Less than one third of the sample reported that they would feel comfortable talking to a physician about their drug use, and 65.1% said they preferred taking care of their problems without getting professional help. Conclusions: Stimulant drug users in rural Ohio are involved with a range of substances and hold health beliefs that may impede health services utilization. [source] Recent development and potential use of µ- and ,-opioid receptor ligands in positron emission tomography studiesDRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 12 2006Gjermund Henriksen Abstract Quantitative non-invasive imaging of target structures in the human central nervous system provided by positron emission tomography (PET) permits investigation of the relationship between molecular events and pharmacological effects in living humans. Due to their prominent role in opiate and stimulant drug misuse and dependence, as well as in nociceptive signaling, µ- and ,-opioid receptors are potential targets for advances in neuro(psycho)pharmacological treatment of these illnesses and syndromes. In this review, we describe recent developments in specific positron emitting radiopharmaceuticals for these opioid receptor subclasses. Implications for further advances and clinical applications of the labeled ligands are discussed. Drug Dev. Res. 67:890,904, 2006. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Alcohol as a stimulant drugADDICTION, Issue 12 2000H. J. Little First page of article [source] "Ice" use and eating disorders: A report of three casesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 2 2009Alice Neale MD Abstract Objective: To describe the use of crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride "ice," a powerful, synthetic stimulant drug associated with rapid weight loss. Method: We report the first three cases of young women "ice" users requiring admission to a specialized eating disorders unit. Results: Case one had no prior history of an eating disorder and became emaciated following regular use of "ice"; she regarded weight gain positively. Case 2 had polysubstance abuse since early adolescence and commenced binge eating and vomiting in response to weight gain when not using "ice"; she learned to maintain her weight without weight losing behaviors. Case 3 developed anorexia nervosa in early adolescence, required numerous inpatient admissions and commenced using stimulant drugs for weight loss in her late teens; she discharged prematurely. All patients had features of personality disorder on interview and drug abuse had impaired their work and social adjustment. Discussion: "Ice" use may be associated with the onset of disordered eating or used as an efficient weight losing behavior in an established eating disorder. © 2008 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2009. [source] Do the old psychostimulant drugs have a role in managing treatment-resistant depression?ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 4 2010G. Parker Parker G, Brotchie H. Do the old psychostimulant drugs have a role in managing treatment-resistant depression? Objective:, As the authors have observed clinical benefit from the psychostimulants methylphenidate and dexamphetamine for treating resistant melancholic and bipolar depression, those drugs were evaluated in a consecutively recruited sample of 50 such patients. Method:, Patients (27 bipolar, 23 unipolar) received either methylphenidate (n = 44) or dexamphetamine (n = 6), with 30 having it prescribed as an augmenting drug and 20 as monotherapy. At the final review, ranging from 6 weeks to 62 months (mean 57 weeks), 52% were still receiving their psychostimulant. Results:, Thirty-four per cent reported the psychostimulant as distinctly improving their depression, 30% reported some level of improvement and 36% reported no improvement and/or side-effects. For improvers, the modal dose of methylphenidate was 20 mg. Significant side-effects were reported by 18% (including one manic response), switching was rare and limited to the bipolar subjects, and most side-effects were minor. Any positive response occurred rapidly and loss of efficacy was rare. Testing of tricyclic levels in some patients suggested that stimulant drugs may raise tricyclic levels in those who are rapid metabolizers. Conclusion:, Although this study was not controlled, the high success rate in a diagnostically refined sample implies that the psychostimulants may be efficacious for patients with melancholic and bipolar depression who have failed to respond to orthodox antidepressant drugs. [source] Positron emission tomography and its use to image the occupancy of drug binding sitesDRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 2 2003S. John Gatley Abstract The development of positron emission tomography (PET) and the ability to synthesize compounds labeled with the short-lived positron emitters 11C and 18F has made possible the imaging and quantification of drug binding sites in the human body. By conducting PET studies with an appropriate radioligand before and after treatment with a drug, the fraction of the total number of binding sites that is occupied by the drug (the "occupancy" of the site) can often be determined. To the extent that occupancy is a good indicator of pharmacological activity, such PET experiments can aid the development of drug dosage regimens. Some of the general issues involved in PET studies of drug occupancy are discussed. There have been many such studies involving antipsychotic drugs and dopamine D2 receptor radioligands. Since neuroleptics have been extensively reviewed elsewhere, only the major findings are discussed here. Other binding sites (and drug classes) in the dopamine system to which this methodology has been applied include: the dopamine transporter (stimulant drugs) and monoamine oxidase A and B (antidepressant drugs). Occupancy studies are also possible for many drug targets beyond the dopamine system. Drug Dev. Res. 59:194,207, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The spatial epidemiology of cocaine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use: a demonstration using a population measure of community drug load derived from municipal wastewaterADDICTION, Issue 11 2009Caleb J. Banta-Green ABSTRACT Aims To determine the utility of community-wide drug testing with wastewater samples as a population measure of community drug use and to test the hypothesis that the association with urbanicity would vary for three different stimulant drugs of abuse. Design and participants Single-day samples were obtained from a convenience sample of 96 municipalities representing 65% of the population of the State of Oregon. Measurements Chemical analysis of 24-hour composite influent samples for benzoylecgonine (BZE, a cocaine metabolite), methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The distribution of community index drug loads accounting for total wastewater flow (i.e. dilution) and population are reported. Findings The distribution of wastewater-derived drug index loads was found to correspond with expected epidemiological drug patterns. Index loads of BZE were significantly higher in urban areas and below detection in many rural areas. Conversely, methamphetamine was present in all municipalities, with no significant differences in index loads by urbanicity. MDMA was at quantifiable levels in fewer than half the communities, with a significant trend towards higher index loads in more urban areas. Conclusion This demonstration provides the first evidence of the utility of wastewater-derived community drug loads for spatial analyses. Such data have the potential to improve dramatically the measurement of the true level and distribution of a range of drugs. Drug index load data provide information for all people in a community and are potentially applicable to a much larger proportion of the total population than existing measures. [source] "Ice" use and eating disorders: A report of three casesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 2 2009Alice Neale MD Abstract Objective: To describe the use of crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride "ice," a powerful, synthetic stimulant drug associated with rapid weight loss. Method: We report the first three cases of young women "ice" users requiring admission to a specialized eating disorders unit. Results: Case one had no prior history of an eating disorder and became emaciated following regular use of "ice"; she regarded weight gain positively. Case 2 had polysubstance abuse since early adolescence and commenced binge eating and vomiting in response to weight gain when not using "ice"; she learned to maintain her weight without weight losing behaviors. Case 3 developed anorexia nervosa in early adolescence, required numerous inpatient admissions and commenced using stimulant drugs for weight loss in her late teens; she discharged prematurely. All patients had features of personality disorder on interview and drug abuse had impaired their work and social adjustment. Discussion: "Ice" use may be associated with the onset of disordered eating or used as an efficient weight losing behavior in an established eating disorder. © 2008 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2009. [source] Individual Differences in Responses to Ethanol and d-Amphetamine: A Within-Subject StudyALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2001Louis Holdstock Background: In some individuals, ethanol (EtOH) produces marked stimulant-like subjective effects resembling those of stimulant drugs, like d-amphetamine (AMP). In this study, we examined the neurochemical basis of these individual differences by examining the same subjects' responses to both EtOH and AMP. A positive correlation between subjects' responses to the two drugs may suggest that AMP and EtOH produce their stimulant-like subjective effects by a shared mechanism. Methods: Twenty-seven volunteers (17 male, 10 female), aged 21,35, received beverages or capsules containing EtOH 0.8 g/kg, AMP 10 or 20 mg, or placebo on four separate sessions in random order and under double-blind conditions. Various self-reported and objective drug effects were measured, including measures sensitive to subjective and cognitive stimulant-like effects. Results: EtOH and AMP produced their prototypical subjective and behavioral effects, including increased ratings of stimulant-like subjective effects, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and improved vigilance performance after AMP and increased ratings of sedative-like subjective effects, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and impaired vigilance performance after EtOH. Consistent with previous reports, there was substantial intersubject variability in subjective responses to EtOH: some subjects reported primarily stimulant-like effects, whereas others reported primarily sedative-like effects. To examine the relationship between these responses to EtOH and subjects' responses to AMP, correlations were examined between effects of EtOH and AMP. For all subjects together, there was a significant positive correlation between responses to EtOH and 20 mg AMP on the ARCI A scale (a measure of stimulant-like subjective effects;r= 0.41, p < 0.05). Among only those subjects who reported primarily stimulant-like effects from EtOH, the correlation between EtOH and AMP was 0.64 (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Subjects who experience pronounced stimulant-like effects from EtOH also report greater stimulant effects from AMP, suggesting that these effects may be mediated through similar mechanisms. These correlations between the drugs' effects were not observed on other measures, such as DSST or vigilance task performance or heart rate. This may indicate that these other effects are mediated by separate mechanisms. The study illustrates a novel approach to studying the neurochemical basis of drug effects. [source] Perspectives on Health Among Adult Users of Illicit Stimulant Drugs in Rural OhioTHE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2006Harvey A. Siegal PhD ABSTRACT:,Context: Although the nonmedical use of stimulant drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine is increasingly common in many rural areas of the United States, little is known about the health beliefs of people who use these drugs. Purpose: This research describes illicit stimulant drug users' views on health and health-related concepts that may affect their utilization of health care services. Methods: A respondent-driven sampling plan was used to recruit 249 not-in-treatment, nonmedical stimulant drug users who were residing in 3 rural counties in west central Ohio. A structured questionnaire administered by trained interviewers was used to collect information on a range of topics, including current drug use, self-reported health status, perceived need for substance abuse treatment, and beliefs about health and health services. Findings: Participants reported using a wide variety of drugs nonmedically, some by injection. Alcohol and marijuana were the most commonly used drugs in the 30 days prior to the interview. Powder cocaine was used by 72.3% of the sample, crack by 68.3%, and methamphetamine by 29.7%. Fair or poor health status was reported by 41.3% of the participants. Only 20.9% of the sample felt they needed drug abuse treatment. Less than one third of the sample reported that they would feel comfortable talking to a physician about their drug use, and 65.1% said they preferred taking care of their problems without getting professional help. Conclusions: Stimulant drug users in rural Ohio are involved with a range of substances and hold health beliefs that may impede health services utilization. [source] How Thailand has modified the section on mental disorders in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10),ASIA-PACIFIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2009Pichet Udomratn MD Abstract Introduction: In 2000, the Thai Ministry of Public Health appointed a taskforce to revise the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Relate Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) to make it more suitable for use in Thailand: the ICD-10 Thai Modification (ICD-10 TM). Methods: The Royal College of Psychiatrists of Thailand appointed psychiatrists from various hospitals to form a working group on this matter. The ICD-10 Australian Modification was used as an example and the ICD-10 Diagnostic Criteria for Research was used as a reference book. Results: The fourth and fifth characters added are the major modifications of the ICD-10 TM for the typing of an emotionally unstable personality disorder and treatment-resistant schizophrenia. However, we could not add any specific codes for patients dependent on amphetamine-type stimulant drugs. Discussion: The ICD-10 TM has now been widely used throughout the country since 2003, with informal feedback suggesting that it is useful. Further research needs to be conducted into its impact on clinical care in Thailand. [source] | ||||||||||