In this study, the authors specifically examined IA among subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). All enrolled patients with OCD alone (n=27) and OCD and IA (n=11) were treated for OCD for a period of one year. At 12 months, only two of the 11 patients with OCD and IA continued to meet the criteria for IA, and the authors concluded that treatment of the underlying disorder, in this case OCD, improved IA, supporting their hypothesis that IA is a symptom of an underlying disorder and not a primary disorder itself. The authors state several limitations to their study that might impact their conclusions and acknowledge that more carefully controlled studies are needed to resolve the diagnostic controversies surrounding IA.
Next, Kolikonda et al present a case report titled, “Atypi…

The high prevalence of interrelated problems with opioid use disorder, injection drug use (IDU), and HIV/AIDS in Malaysia has led to the scale-up of public health approaches, including opioid agonist maintenance treatment with buprenorphine or methadone. Malaysia has more than 300,000 registered people who use drugs (PWUD)-approximately 1.1% of its population of about 30 million-and an estimated 170,000 people who inject drugs (PWID; Nazar and Ahlam, 2007; Global AIDS Response, 2012), with heroin continuing to be the drug most frequently injected. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

The high prevalence of interrelated problems with opioid use disorder, injection drug use (IDU), and HIV/AIDS in Malaysia has led to the scale-up of public health approaches, including opioid agonist maintenance treatment with buprenorphine or methadone. Malaysia has more than 300,000 registered people who use drugs (PWUD)-approximately 1.1% of its population of about 30 million-and an estimated 170,000 people who inject drugs (PWID; Nazar and Ahlam, 2007; Global AIDS Response, 2012), with heroin continuing to be the drug most frequently injected. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

Opinion statement
Prescription opioid misuse has been a significant epidemic during the past decade. Formulations of prescription opioids with different mechanisms of abuse-deterrence have been developed or are currently under development. Given that these medications are substantially more difficult to use in an illicit fashion and minimize the potential for euphoria and/or create an aversive experience when over-ingested, they represent an important next step in pharmacological innovation. Immediate decreases in nonmedical use and in associated overdose mortality and adverse events have been observed after a highly abused opioid, OxyContin, was changed into an abuse-deterrent formulation. However, this reduction in OxyContin use may have simply shifted the drug of choice towards…

Opinion statement
Prescription opioid misuse has been a significant epidemic during the past decade. Formulations of prescription opioids with different mechanisms of abuse-deterrence have been developed or are currently under development. Given that these medications are substantially more difficult to use in an illicit fashion and minimize the potential for euphoria and/or create an aversive experience when over-ingested, they represent an important next step in pharmacological innovation. Immediate decreases in nonmedical use and in associated overdose mortality and adverse events have been observed after a highly abused opioid, OxyContin, was changed into an abuse-deterrent formulation. However, this reduction in OxyContin use may have simply shifted the drug of choice towards…

Opiate withdrawal scales were developed to examine the patient’s physical dependence and physiological readiness prior to methadone or buprenorphine induction, and to compare treatments for withdrawal (Wesson and Ling, 2003). The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS; Wesson and Ling, 2003) is a common measure used to assess withdrawal in clinical trials and practice, and consists of 11 observed (clinician-rated) and subjective (patient-rated) items. The COWS has been used to assess withdrawal in buprenorphine/naloxone vs. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

Opiate withdrawal scales were developed to examine the patient’s physical dependence and physiological readiness prior to methadone or buprenorphine induction, and to compare treatments for withdrawal (Wesson and Ling, 2003). The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS; Wesson and Ling, 2003) is a common measure used to assess withdrawal in clinical trials and practice, and consists of 11 observed (clinician-rated) and subjective (patient-rated) items. The COWS has been used to assess withdrawal in buprenorphine/naloxone vs. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

No abstract available (Source: Journal of Addictions Nursing)

Diversion and abuse of the medications used in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) methadone (MET), mono-buprenorphine (BUP) and buprenorphine-naloxone (BNX) have been documented in countries around the world, for example in France (Auriacombe, Fatseas, Dubernet, Daulouede, & Tignol, 2004; Nordmann et al., 2012; Obadia, Perrin, Feroni, Vlahov, & Moatti, 2001; Roux et al., 2008a; Roux et al., 2008b; Vidal-Trecan, Varescon, Nabet, & Boissonnas, 2003), Australia (Aitken, Higgs, & Hellard, 2008; Degenhardt et al., 2009; Horyniak, Dietze, Larance, Winstock, & Degenhardt, 2011; Jenkinson, Clark, Fry, & Dobbin, 2005; Larance et al., 2011a; Winstock & Lea, 2010), USA (Bazazi, Yokell, Fu, Rich, & Zaller, 2011; Cicero, Surratt, & Inciardi, 2007; Dasgupta et al., 2010; Johanson, Arfken, di Menza, & Sc…

Diversion and abuse of the medications used in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) methadone (MET), mono-buprenorphine (BUP) and buprenorphine-naloxone (BNX) have been documented in countries around the world, for example in France (Auriacombe, Fatseas, Dubernet, Daulouede, & Tignol, 2004; Nordmann et al., 2012; Obadia, Perrin, Feroni, Vlahov, & Moatti, 2001; Roux et al., 2008a; Roux et al., 2008b; Vidal-Trecan, Varescon, Nabet, & Boissonnas, 2003), Australia (Aitken, Higgs, & Hellard, 2008; Degenhardt et al., 2009; Horyniak, Dietze, Larance, Winstock, & Degenhardt, 2011; Jenkinson, Clark, Fry, & Dobbin, 2005; Larance et al., 2011a; Winstock & Lea, 2010), USA (Bazazi, Yokell, Fu, Rich, & Zaller, 2011; Cicero, Surratt, & Inciardi, 2007; Dasgupta et al., 2010; Johanson, Arfken, di Menza, & Sc…