Prenatal methadone exposure,meconium biomarker concentrations and neonatal abstinence syndrome

Aims Methadone is standard pharmacotherapy for opioid‐dependent pregnant women, yet the relationship between maternal methadone dose and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) severity is still unclear. This research evaluated whether quantification of fetal methadone and drug exposure via meconium would reflect maternal dose and predict neonatal outcomes. Design Prospective clinical study. Setting An urban drug treatment facility treating pregnant and post‐partum women and their children. Participants Forty‐nine opioid‐dependent pregnant women received 30–110 mg methadone daily. Measurements Maternal methadone dose, infant birth parameters and NAS assessments were extracted from medical records. Thrice‐weekly urine specimens were screened for opioids and cocaine. Newborn meconium specimens were quantified for methadone, opioid, cocaine and tobacco biomarkers. Findings There was no relationship between meconium methadone concentrations, presence of opioids, cocaine and/or tobacco in meconium, maternal methadone dose or NAS severity. Opioid and cocaine were also found in 36.7 and 38.8 of meconium specimens, respectively, and were associated with positive urine specimens in the third trimester. The presence of opioids other than methadone in meconium correlated with increased rates of preterm birth, longer infant hospital stays and decreased maternal time in drug treatment. Conclusions Methadone and its metabolite 2‐ethylidene‐1,5‐dimethyl‐3,3‐diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP) concentrations in meconium did not predict infant birth parameters or NAS severity. Prospective urine testing defined meconium drug detection windows for opiates and cocaine as 3 months, rather than the currently accepted 6 months. The presence of opioids in meconium could be used as a biomarker for infants at elevated risk in the newborn period.     

An Ultrastructural Study of Enteropathogenic Escherichia Coli Infection in Human Infants

Over the past 2 years, we have studied and treated 18 infants with protracted diarrhea due to an enteropathogenic Escherichia coli serogroup 0119. All patients had persistent stool escretion and jejunal overgrowth with this pathogenic E. coli. Jejunal biopsy revealed atrophy of villi with a chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate in the lamina propria. E. coli 0119 adhered to the luminal surface of enterocytes. Electron microscopy showed disappearance of glycocalyx and microvilli at the areas of bacterial adherence. Intracellular damage was indicated by dilatation of rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondrial changes, and cytoplasmic pallor. Similar changes in histology and ultrastructure occurred in ileal epithelial cells. Glandular crypt epithelium showed prominent subnuclear vacuolation and separation of lateral intercellular junctions throughout the small intestine. Rectal mucosal biopsy showed mucus depletion and irregular atrophy of the epithelium, with E. coli 0119 adherent to the luminal surface. Ultrasuctural damage paralleled that in the small intestine. E. coli 0119 causes damage to epithelial cells throughout the infant intestinal tract. This damage leads to atrophy of villi and a marked reduction in absorptive surface area, resulting in protracted diarrhea.     

Smoking Cessation and Alcohol Consumption in Individuals in Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders

Abstract

Most individuals with alcohol use disorders are dependent on both alcohol and nicotine, and combined use of both substances is more damaging to health than use of either alone. Although research indicates that alcoholics can quit smoking, discrepant results have been reported regarding whether smoking cessation is associated with increased risk of alcohol relapse. The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between smoking cessation and alcohol consumption using data from Project MATCH. Of the 1,307 participants who smoked at any point during the study, 160 (12%) quit. Quitters consumed less alcohol than those who continued smoking. In addition, quitters demonstrated a significant reduction in alcohol consumption at the time of smoking cessation, which was sustained for six months post-cessation. These findings suggest that individuals in treatment for alcohol use disorders who are motivated to stop smoking can safely be encouraged to do so without jeopardizing their sobriety.     

Spirituality,Intoxication and Addiction: Six Forms of Relationship

The paper considers six connections between spirituality and intoxication or addiction. They are: intoxication as a means of communication with a spiritual world; intoxication as destroying spirituality; shared use and intoxication as creating and validating community; spirituality and religion as a means of collective sobering-up; spirituality in individual sobering up; and abstinence as a spiritual practice, a witness, or a badge of membership in a spiritual community. Intoxication can either enhance or impede spirituality, both at individual and collective levels. Spirituality is often important in sobering up, both individually and collectively, and abstinence is a part of spiritual or religious practice in some traditions. But a full account must acknowledge the diversity in the interactions of spirituality and intoxication or addiction.     

Contingency Management in the 21st Century: Technological Innovations to Promote Smoking Cessation

Information technology represents an excellent medium to deliver contingencies of reinforcement to change behavior. Recently, we have linked the Internet with a science-based, behavioral treatment for cigarette smoking: abstinence reinforcement therapy. Under abstinence reinforcement interventions, incentives are provided for objective evidence of abstinence. Several studies suggest that the intervention is effective in initiating abstinence. The intervention addresses limitations (access, cost, sustainability, and dissemination potential) inherent in traditional abstinence reinforcement delivery models. It can also be applied to vulnerable, at-risk populations, and to other behavior to promote health. Information technologies offer unprecedented and rapidly expanding opportunities to facilitate behavior change.     

Does physical exercise in addition to a multicomponent smoking cessation program increase abstinence rate and suppress weight gain? An intervention study

Does physical exercise in addition to a multicomponent smoking cessation program increase abstinence rate and suppress weight gain? An intervention study Tobacco use is considered the single most preventable cause of premature morbidity and mortality. Smoking cessation programs aim at two interrelated purposes, to help people to give up smoking and to prevent relapse. A multicomponent intervention consisting of nicotine replacement therapy, health education, behaviour modification therapy and counselling is widely recommended in the health care literature. Smoking cessation studies from a nursing perspective are few. The purpose of this quasi‐experimental study was to compare outcomes of two nurse‐managed 1‐year group smoking cessation interventions. Intervention 1 (n=34) was provided at a health care centre and consisted of nicotine replacement therapy, health education, behavioural modification and individual and group counselling. In intervention 2 (n=33), provided in a health club, physical exercise was added to the intervention provided in 1. Participants were self‐referred with equal numbers in both interventions. A nonsignificant difference in lapse free abstinence time (LFAT) at 1 year was demonstrated between intervention 1 (20.6%, n=7) and intervention 2 (39.4%, n=13) (p=0.16, odds ratio=2.5). The difference in weight gain between intervention groups was also nonsignificant. Within intervention comparison between abstinent participants and smokers showed that abstinent participants had gained significantly more weight than smokers in intervention 2 (p=0.001), but in intervention 1 the difference was nonsignificant (p=0.2). The small sample size in the study detracts from the significance of the findings. However, a trend is observed showing that physical exercise increases the abstinence rate of participants. The conclusion is drawn that a multicomponent smoking cessation program that includes physical exercise might be an effective intervention, but further studies with a larger sample size are needed.     

中药戒毒药的研究进展

吸毒不仅对人类自身健康具有巨大的伤害,也严重威胁着家庭和社会的和谐稳定。中药戒毒历史悠久,具有无成瘾性、多靶点作用等化学药无法比拟的优势,成为国内外的研究热点。在日趋完善的中医戒毒理论指导下,目前已有9种中药戒毒药上市。临床实践证明,中药戒毒药在稽延性症状的治疗、防复吸等方面疗效确切,且无成瘾性。综述近年来中药戒毒有效成分和戒毒机制等方面的研究进展,为研发更为安全有效的中药戒毒药提供一定的参考。     

米氮平治疗海洛因依赖患者稽延性戒断症状的疗效观察

目的探讨米氮平治疗海洛因依赖患者稽延性戒断症状的疗效。方法将120例海洛因依赖患者随机分为米氮平治疗组(研究组)55例,康复欣治疗组(对照组)65例。两组在急性期均选用美沙酮脱毒治疗10d,尿液检查呈阴性患者分别服用米氮平和康复欣治疗。米氮平15～30mg·d-1,康复欣4粒·d-1,疗程均为4w。于治疗前及治疗第1、2、3、4w末采用稽延性戒断症状评定量表评定临床疗效,并进行对比分析。结果稽延性戒断症状量表评定两组治疗第4w末总分及各因子分显著低于治疗前;躯体症状因子分在治疗第1、2、3w末研究组显著高于对照组;情绪因子分在治疗第1、2、3、4w末对照组显著高于研究组;渴求因子分在治疗第1、2、3、4w末研究组显著高于对照组;睡眠因子分在治疗第1、2w末对照组显著高于研究组。结论米氮平对稽延性戒断症状有良好的疗效,特别是对情绪和睡眠障碍有显著改善。