Though addressing substance use is one of the top 10 priorities of Rural Healthy People 2020, a national initiative to identify and promote rural health priorities and effective programs, accessing treatment is particularly challenging in rural regions.…
Systematic Scoping Review of Black Participants in CTN Research Reveals Important Racial/Ethnic Differences and Untapped Opportunities
Black individuals experience a disproportionate burden of substance use-related disabilities and premature death, and Blacks with more severe substance use problems are less likely than Whites to receive treatment.
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Mutual-Help Attendance Has Additive Benefit for Those Receiving Agonist Treatment for Prescription Opioid Dependence
The Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study (POATS), carried out as part of the NIDA Clinical Trials…
Quality Framework for Emergency Department Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
- 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.…
Finger Tapping Used to Study Brain Function in Parts of the Brain Damaged by Chronic Drinking
Chronic drinking is associated with neurocognitive deficits due to neuropathological changes in the structure, metabolism, and function of the brain. One of the consequences of neuropathological brain abnormalities in the cerebellum of alcoholics has been impairment of motor functioning. A new…
Heavy Drinkers Have Poor Dietary Habits
- Excessive drinking and an unbalanced diet are two preventable contributors to health problems.
- A new study of adults in Spain has found that heavy drinking, binge drinking, a preference for spirits, and drinking alcohol at mealtimes were associated with a poor adherence to major…
Genetic Determinants Affect the Development of Alcohol Dependence Differently by Gender
- Gender differences exist in the prevalence, characteristics, and course of alcohol dependence (AD).
- Polymorphisms of alcohol dehydrogenase-1B (ADH1B) and aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) are strong genetic determinants of AD.
- While inactive ALDH2 traditionally delays…
Peers, Coping and Low Response to Alcohol All Contribute to Adolescent Drinking
- A low level of response (LR) to alcohol is one of several genetically influenced characteristics that may increase an individuals risk for heavy drinking and alcohol problems.
- A new study has examined the LR model of risk among adolescents in the United Kingdom.
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Alcohol has Different Effects on Left and Right Ventricles of the Heart
Few studies have examined the acute effects of alcohol on myocardial or heart function. While moderate-to-high blood concentrations of alcohol acutely impair conventional echocardiographic measures of left ventricular (LV) performance, the effects of low concentrations are unclear. An…