- Summary: Emergency departments (EDs) are a key point of access to medical care for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). This paper describes a quality improvement framework for EDs that could help standardize care, reduce care inequities, and improve outcomes for patients with OUD.…
Quality Framework for Emergency Department Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
Any Benefits Associated with Alcohol Intake Are Negated by Dependence
<UL>
<LI>Drinking alcohol has both benefits and risks, depending on an array of mitigating circumstances</LI>
<LI>People who drink at light to moderate levels seem to have the lowest levels of mortality</LI>
<LI>Much of this "benefit…
How Long-Term Alcohol Consumption Can Damage the Immune System
- Most people think of stress as a subjective feeling of pressure or tension
- Scientists think of stress response as a cascade of events our bodies trigger in response to a "stressor" or threat, real or perceived
- Our bodies’ stress response is an attempt to get back into…
Playing The Odds: Can You Stop Abusing Alcohol at 10 Years and Be OK?
<UL>
<LI>A previous study found a possible 10-year "threshold" to brain-damaging drinking</LI>
<LI>A more recent study has found that no such "threshold" exists</LI>
<LI>Short-term alcoholics demonstrated…
This Is Your Adolescent Brain on Alcohol
<UL>
<LI>The teen years of 15-16 are a time of both sensitive brain development and alcohol experimentation.</LI>
<LI>Heavy drinking during this time can cause damage to thinking abilities.</LI>
<LI>One study has found that information recall…
Nicotine May Have Another Side Effect: Heavy Drinking
- Alcohol and tobacco are the two most frequently "co-abused" substances in the general population
- Alcoholics, the heaviest of drinkers, also tend to be the heaviest of smokers
- A recent study has discovered that nicotine (in the form of tobacco) increases alcohol…
It’s Not Such ‘A Wonderful Life’ Living Next Door to a Liquor Store
- Alcohol availability seems to affect "neighborhood culture"
- A recent study found that where someone lives determines 15-16 percent of their attitudes toward drinking and 11 percent of their individual consumption
- "Wetter" neighborhoods have higher levels of drinking,…
The Little Protein That Could
- A tiny protein called metallothionein (MT) may protect against alcohol’s neurotoxic effects
- The brain can make more of these proteins in response to alcohol consumption
- One of an individual’s different responses to alcohol may be related to his or her MT levels …
Searching for Biochemical Markers in Children of Alcoholics
- Genetic factors contribute up to 40 percent to the risk of developing alcoholism
- Environmental factors likely contribute the remaining risk
- Those considered most at risk are children of alcoholics (COAs)
- Not all COAs become alcoholics
- Biochemical…
Behavioral Sensitization: A New Perspective on Alcoholism
- Alcoholics may drink because they get a "bigger bang" each time they drink
- This phenomenon is known as "behavioral sensitization"
- Behavioral sensitization is the opposite of tolerance; it is even known as "reverse tolerance"
- A neurochemical called MK-801 may…