Articles related to ADDICTION/SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Anyone who handles controlled substances must review their policies and procedures for identifying suspect prescriptions and taking appropriate action when necessary. Safe controlled substance (CS) handling procedures must also be followed by manufacturers and distributors. Thankfully, pharmacies can use tactics to spot questionable prescriptions, evade DEA inspections, and—most importantly—protect the health of their customers. But what comes first? Understanding what a red-flag prescription is.

The extensive training requirements and caps on patients treated have been removed. That means all prescriptions for buprenorphine now require only a standard DEA registration number.

Excessive alcohol use has continued to climb since the beginning of the COVD pandemic, and is a causal factor in one of every five deaths in the 20-to-49-year age group in the US.

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) researchers were searching a genetic database for compounds that could suppress the expression of genes previously linked to heavy alcohol use. They put apremilast to the test in two animal models with a genetic risk of binge drinking, as well as in mice from other labs. In each case, apremilast reduced alcohol consumption by increasing activity in the nucleus accumbens, the brain region involved in controlling alcohol intake. Scripps Research Institute then assessed 51 patients over 11 days of treatment and discovered that trial participants’ alcohol consumption was reduced from an average of five drinks per day to two.

There is no readily available test for xylazine and narcotic antagonists are ineffective. Overdosage is characterized by sedation and unresponsiveness. When combined with fentanyl, overdose symptoms can include blue-to-grayish skin, slowed breathing and bradycardia.

PDE4 is linked to alcohol and nicotine addiction, so the researchers prioritized apremilast, a newer PDE4 inhibitor for psoriasis, as ideal for repurposing and tested it in multiple animal strains and models, as well as a human Phase IIa study. In mouse models of genetic risk for drinking to intoxication, they discovered that apremilast reduced binge-like alcohol intake and behavioral measures of alcohol motivation.