Methamphetamine use has been linked to increased risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among gay men. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that may lower inhibitions, increase sexual arousal, and lead to risky sexual behavior such as unprotected sex. Further, methamphetamine may be injected, and needle-sharing is also a risk factor for HIV.  These two epidemics have spread concurrently among gay men. There is a need for specialized approaches for addiction treatment and drug rehab for gay men with HIV, if such approaches could be developed.   Research Regarding Modafinil in Addition to CBT Researchers from the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University evaluated the efficacy of modafinil plus cognitive behavioral therapy as a treatment for met...

Pharmacogenetics looks at genetic variation to predict individual differences in response to medications. Individuals may metabolize the same medication in different ways, and their genotype may indicate some of these differences in drug metabolism. Proponents of pharmacogenetics hope that this relatively new field of study will lead to increased efficacy and safety for a wide array of drugs, including those used for addiction treatment. The addiction medicine aspects of drug rehab may be substantially improved if pharmacogenetics lives up to its promise. Haile, Kosten, and Kosten researched how genetic variation might affect responses to cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine and how genetic differences might guide pharmacotherapy. They performed a cross-referenced literature sea...

Inpatient or residential drug rehab programs can be stressful for residents on several different levels. Residents may experience stress as a symptom of withdrawal. Some treatment sessions will likely activate emotions and trigger stress. For many patients, pre-existing stress played a major role in the development of their addiction. An effective approach to stress management would be expected to help many patients in their addiction recovery and increase retention in residential treatment facilities. Mindfulness-based stress reduction is a relatively new approach to stress management in the drug rehab environment. Marcus et. al. compared mindfulness-based stress reduction to treatment as usual for reducing stress and increasing retention in a residential facility for substance use ...

Although drug courts successfully reduce rates of recidivism for participants, research indicates that there is a need to develop mental health screenings to detect co-occurring mental health issues during associated drug treatment.   What is a Drug Court? Drug courts are specialized court dockets that bring together judiciary, prosecution, defense, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and drug treatment communities to provide drug treatment for non-violent drug offenders. Through judicial supervision, drug testing, sanctions, and drug treatment (typically lasting a year), drug courts aim to provide rehabilitation as an alternative to incarceration. The first drug court was formed in Miami-Dade County, Florida in 1989. There are currently more than 2,1...

Using drugs during pregnancy creates multiple risks for the mother as well as the baby. Drug use during pregnancy may lead to miscarriage or severe developmental abnormalities for the child. Yet little research has examined the motivation for drug treatment among pregnant women. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University hypothesized that pregnant drug-using women would be more likely than non-pregnant drug-using women to have higher motivation for addiction treatment (Mitchell, Severtson & Latimer, 2008). The researchers analyzed data collected from 149 drug-using women between 2000 and 2007; 49 of the drug-using women were pregnant and 100 were non-pregnant. The study found that pregnant women were more than four times as likely as non-pregnant women to express greater motivation ...

Many studies present evidence that antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is highly associated with substance use disorders (SUD). The DSM-IV defines ASPD as “a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood.” Characteristics of individuals with ASPD may include persistent lying, superficial charm, lack of remorse, impulsivity, poor behavioral controls, and disregard for social norms and rules. Mariani et. al. examined the rates of different antisocial syndromes among cocaine-dependent and cannabis-dependent individuals seeking drug treatment (2008). Conduct Disorder A true diagnosis of ASPD must include the childhood component of antisocial behavior known as conduct disorder (CD). C...

A clinical trial supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) marks the first successful, placebo-controlled demonstration of a vaccine against illicit drug addiction. The anti-cocaine vaccine causes the immune system to produces antibodies that attach to cocaine molecules, preventing them from entering the brain. Thus, the vaccine blocks the drug’s effect.   The Premise of The Anti-cocaine Vaccine Study The study followed 115 patients who received either the anti-cocaine vaccine or a placebo. Participants in both groups received 5 vaccinations over 12 weeks and were followed for an additional 12 weeks. All participants participated in drug treatment which consisted of weekly relapse prevention sessions with a trained substance abuse counselor. They also had their ...

Addiction treatment readiness has been shown to predict enrollment and success in drug treatment programs. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health asked, “Does taking steps to control one’s drug use predict entry into treatment?” The researchers set out to examine the association between treatment readiness (defined as engaging in activities to control one’s drug use) and enrolling in a drug treatment program. They examined data collected in 585 face-to-face interviews between 2004 and 2007. They concluded that taking steps to control drug use was associated with entering treatment at follow-up interviews. Steps to control drug use might include setting limits on use, avoiding the purchase of drugs, and avoiding drug-related people and places. Further, the like...

In scientific research, potentially fuzzy concepts are “operationalized” to make them measurable. For example, the fuzzy concept of “length” must be defined in terms of the measurement operations used to obtain length (contingency management in drug treatment).   Meanings of Contingency Management in Drug Treatment The term “contingency management” may have different meanings, depending on how this approach to drug treatment is operationalized in a particular study. This article aims to help the reader understand what subjects in a contingency management drug treatment program might experience. The reader may then have a better sense of whether contingency management would be useful in his or her own addiction treatment or drug rehab program. Although scientists will be intere...

Adolescent alcohol use and alcohol use disorders among adolescents constitute serious problems. By grade 12, nearly 60 percent of adolescents have been drunk, and studies suggest that approximately 6 percent of adolescents have an alcohol use disorder. In adulthood, males typically drink more frequently than females. However, during adolescence, females drink at rates equivalent to those of males. Among adults, alcohol-dependent women seem to be more susceptible to brain damage due to alcohol use. Animal studies suggest that the adolescent brain is more susceptible to brain damage due to alcohol use. Thus, alcohol use may affect male and female adolescent brains differently, and females may be more susceptible to brain damage from alcohol use in alcohol recovery. Researchers from the Un...