The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has published a free guide to choosing a drug abuse treatment program. “Seeking Drug Abuse Treatment: Know What to Ask” recommends questions that individuals and families who are struggling with addiction should ask to help them make an informed choice.

“Treatment options can vary considerably, and families often don’t know where to begin,” NIDA Director Nora Volkow said in a news release. “This booklet highlights the treatment components that research has shown are critical for success, to help people make an informed choice during a very stressful time.”

Many recent scientific advances have changed addiction treatment, but not all treatment centers have kept up with these changes, according to the Los Angeles Times. The guide recommends asking the following questions:

•    Does the program use treatments backed by scientific evidence?
•    Does the program tailor treatment to the needs of each patient?
•    Does the program adapt treatment as patients’ needs change?
•    Is the duration of treatment sufficient?
•    How do 12-step or similar recovery programs fit into drug addiction treatment?

The guide provides information on medications, evidence-based behavior therapies, the realities of relapse, and the role of community-level support.

By Join Together

An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is an injury to the brain that has been sustained at some time after birth. It can result in a variety of ways including:

• Traumatic brain injury (e.g. through a traffic accident, assault or fall);
• Through an illness (e.g. infection, stroke, brain tumour, degenerative condition);
• Hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) (e.g. drug overdose, loss of blood);
• Substance abuse (e.g. drugs including alcohol).

The effects of an ABI vary from one person to another and can depend on the nature and severity of the brain injury sustained. An ABI can result in deterioration in function in various ways including:

• Cognitive/thinking skills (e.g. reduced memory, concentration, planning);
• Communication or speech (e.g. slurred speech, trouble finding the right word);
• Physical and sensory limitations (e.g. movement, fatigue, vision, smell);
• Emotional or behavioural difficulties (e.g. reduced motivation, impulsivity);

These difficulties can have negative effects on key areas of people’s lives, such as occupation, relationships and independent living. The pattern of recovery from an ABI varies and impairments can be temporary (i.e. improving over time) or permanent.

Looking Forward (Fourth Edition)

Looking Forward is a handbook for supporting people with acquired brain injury. It gives a basic introduction to brain injury and the challenges involved for people living with acquired brain injury.

It offers practical advice and strategies to enable practitioners to empower people to achieve their full potential.

To download an electronic copy of the latest edition of the arbias book “Looking Forward” click the link below:

"Looking Forward (Fourth Edition)” – Download Adobe PDF (4.7 Mb)

Other news at; Acquired Brain Injury

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The researchers studied 31 teens ages 13 to 15. Of these, 18 had a family history of alcoholism. All of the teens’ brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging, to examine responses during an activity that mimicked the TV show Wheel of Fortune. The game presented risky and safe probabilities of winning different sums of money.

In the teens with a family history of alcoholism, the researchers noted that two areas of the brain responded differently, UPIreports. These brain areas are important for executive functioning, which guide complex behavior through planning, decision-making and response control. This group of teens showed weaker brain responses during risky decision-making, compared with teens who did not have a family history of alcoholism.

The researchers conclude in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, “Atypical brain activity, in regions implicated in executive functioning could lead to reduced cognitive control, which may result in risky choices regarding alcohol use.”

From Join Together

An estimated 200 million people worldwide use illegal drugs, according to a new study. The health consequences of this use are wide-ranging, researchers report this week in The Lancet.

They include

• overdose,
• dependence,
• violence or injury due to intoxication, as well as
• heart disease,
• mental disorders and
• cirrhosis.

The Los Angeles Times reports that

• 125 to 203 million people use marijuana,
• 14 million to 56 million use amphetamines,
• 12 million to 21 million use opioids, and
• 14 million to 21 million use cocaine.

In addition, 11 million to 21 million inject drugs. An estimated 15 million to 39 million are considered problem drug users, the article notes.

Illegal drug use is highest in developed countries, the researchers found. They point out that many people who use illegal drugs take more than one drug.

The major adverse health effects of marijuana are dependence, and probably psychotic disorders and other mental disorders, the researchers conclude. They say that marijuana is unlikely to be deadly.

Drugs caused 2.1 million years of life lost in 2004, followed by alcohol, which caused a loss of 1.5 million years, according to the World Health Organization. Drug-related deaths tend to strike younger people, accounting for the higher number of years of life lost compared with other causes of death.

Overall,

• illegal drugs led to 250,000 deaths in that year, compared with
• 5.1 million deaths due to tobacco, and
• 2.25 million due to alcohol.

From Join Together

ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (APP): The Model Addiction Treatment and  Rehabilitation Centers have provided treatment to 6,725 drug addicts from different parts of the country till November 30 this year.Efforts are also being made for the job placement of addicts,being provided treatment at the Centres, established at Quetta,Karachi and Islamabad. These are 45 bedded hospitals and provide free treatment, food, boarding and rehab to drug addicts.

Full story at; Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan’s Premier NEWS Agency ) – 6,725 drug addicts treated at Model Treatment Centers so far.

Coffee gives more than a morning pick-me-up — about two cups daily could help sufferers of liver disease, according to a new joint study by Mason and Inova Health Systems.

“No one really knows how caffeine works on (fatty liver disease),” says Zobair Younossi, who led the study and is co-director of the George Mason University−Inova Health System Translational Research Institute. Perhaps there is a component in caffeine that reduces inflammation in the liver, he suggests. “Also, caffeine could have an antioxidant effect.”

Dubbed Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), this type of ailment is mainly caused by fat, and not by drinking alcohol. And it’s a growing problem.

“As the rate of obesity is going up in this country, especially among children, the problems of NAFLD will continue to rise,” says Younossi, who is chairman of the Department of Medicine at Inova Fairfax Hospital as well as vice president for research for Inova Health System. “This is becoming a major cause of liver disease.”

About 25 percent of the U.S. population has fatty liver disease, he says. From that number, about 2 to 3 percent could progress to cirrhosis, which is scarring on the liver that can lead to liver cancer.

Fatty liver disease frequently comes with type 2 diabetes, says Younossi, who has researched liver disease for 16 years. Obesity and poor diet are underlying factors.

The Coffee Effect

Lisa Pawloski, chair of Mason’s Department of Nutrition Studies. Creative Services photo

Younossi, Inova’s Maria Stepanova and Mason’s Lisa Pawloski and Aybike Birerdinc looked at four continuous cycles of the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 2001 to 2008. Approximately 19,000 respondents were asked about 62 different dietary habits, including their intake of water, sodium, fiber, cholesterol, calcium and alcohol.

The surveys from 2007-08 revealed that 32.2 percent of American men and 35.5 percent of women are obese. If those rates continue, then 45 to 50 percent of American adults will be obese by 2025, according to the study, meaning that more than 25 million Americans could develop fatty liver disease.

Out of all the survey data about diet, only caffeine appeared to have any protective value, Younossi says.

“I was actually surprised,” says Pawloski of the “coffee effect.”  “But there are other studies that support it. To me, it’s exciting that this study follows what others have done.”

Caffeine is showing some benefit for such diseases as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and type 2 diabetes, says Pawloski, who is chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies in Mason’s College of Health and Human Services.

“It used to be people would say they’re cutting back on caffeine,” Pawloski continues. “There is a change in the attitudes about coffee and caffeine consumption. I think this study is another piece to show that it’s not necessarily a bad thing to include in your diet.”

How Much to Consume?

How much coffee is enough is debatable, Younossi says. Don’t start drinking coffee tomorrow if you don’t already do so. “In fact, if you drink too much, you could do some harm,” he says.

There is some evidence that high caffeine intake can adversely affect bone density, Pawloski adds. Those with iron deficiency should be careful with caffeine because tannins contained in tea as well as in wine inhibit iron absorption.

Also, don’t take caffeine pills — go for the real thing, Pawloski advises. Coffee and tea contribute fluids as well as antioxidants, she says. And milk added to the drink provides beneficial calcium.

“I would encourage coffee and tea drinking, but I would not make a definite recommendation to start doing it to prevent liver disease,” Pawloski says.

And watch how many calories you pack into your caffeine perk, Pawloski adds. “Some people, like me, like to load it up with cream and sugar.”

Patients with liver disease can reverse the trajectory of the disease through diet and weight loss, Younossi says. They need to keep accurate dietary records and watch what they eat and drink, he says. Even though fatty liver disease isn’t caused by drinking alcohol, libations don’t help because processing alcohol is tough on the liver.

“Even social drinking can be harmful,” Younossi adds.

There’s no current evidence that caffeine could reverse scarring on the liver, but Younossi suspects it could have a beneficial effect. More studies are on the way, he says.

Pawloski currently is working on a study with Inova and Mason’s Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science to track the number and proximity of fast-food outlets in neighborhoods with high levels of obesity and poverty.

“This study, combined with other studies, may impact advice to people with liver disease,” Pawloski says.

From a press release of the George Mason University−Inova Health System Translational Research Institute.

A commonly available preparation is the new street drug for young people. Bath salts also known as “Meow Meow” and Mephedrone the drug can be very frightening and dangerous. These products, sometimes called plant food, are sold in powder or crystal form under names like Bliss, Purple Wave, Vanilla Sky and Ivory Wave. Though not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for consumption, they have become increasingly popular, especially among teenagers and young adults, the D.E.A. said.

The use of bath salts as recreational drugs has greatly escalated in recent years. Researchers from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma describe an incident of a man experiencing significant agitation, paranoia, and hallucinations who also exhibited violent behavior upon his emergency department arrival.

His case is not unique. Despite disclaimers of “not for human consumption” package warnings, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, calls for bath salt poisoning incidents have skyrocketed, with 1,782 since January 2011 compared with 302 in all of 2010. The inexpensive powdery substances with benign names contain stimulants not detectable through drug screens. However, they can produce a “high” along with increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia, and delusions, not unlike the Oklahoma patient.

Treatment for ingesting these bath salts is sedation until the side effects wear off, along with supportive care. Although currently federally unregulated, 26 states have made these substances illegal. This new research was presented at CHEST 2011, the 77th annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), in Honolulu, Hawaii.

As the number of fatal overdoses from prescription painkillers grows, so does the number of doctors who are facing criminal charges for overprescribing painkillers and other controlled medications, Reuters reports

The issue has gained attention in light of the upcoming trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray. Prosecutors have charged him with involuntary manslaughter, which could be punishable by two to four years in prison, for his role in the drug overdose death of the music star.

There have been an estimated 37 reported criminal cases against doctors between 2001 and 2011, according to Reuters. Most recent cases involved overprescribing painkillers and other controlled substances.

Many of these cases have been brought under the Controlled Substances Act, and similar state laws. In order to prove a doctor is guilty under the law, the prosecution must prove the physician knowingly and intentionally prescribed the drug outside “the usual course of professional practice” or not for a “legitimate medical purpose.”

Jackson’s doctor is not being charged with violating  a controlled substances law because propofol, the anesthetic he is accused of giving to Jackson, is not a controlled substance. Instead, prosecutors say he breached the standard of care when he administered the drug to Jackson at home, and his gross negligence caused the singer’s death.

Diane Hoffmann, a law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, notes doctors who treat patients with chronic pain are in a tough position, relying on their patients to tell them how much pain they are suffering from. “Doctors are not supposed to be law enforcement agents. They’re supposed to believe their patients,” she said.

From Join Together

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The US Helsinki Commission is charged with monitoring human rights compliance in the former Soviet Union. But on August 2, the commission took a break from its routine responsibilities to examine the thorny issue of alcoholism in Russia.

Russians’ capacity for drink is legendary. During the hearing, titled US-Russian Cooperation in the Fight against Alcoholism, one of the witnesses, Heidi Brown, an analyst at Kroll Associates, tried to quantify the impact of spirits on Russian society. The numbers she proffered were alarming: half-a-million deaths each year in Russia are alcohol-related, and approximately half of all male deaths in Russia are in some way connected to excessive alcohol consumption. In addition, a whopping 2.3 billion liters of vodka are sold every year in Russia, a country with a current estimated population of 142 million.

Another witness at the hearing was Dr. Eugene Zubkov, the co-founder of a 30-bed clinic in Leningrad Oblast outside St. Petersburg that specializes in treating alcoholics. Zubkov noted that there are 2.7 million officially registered alcoholics in Russia, but added that the official count was probably low. “It means probably three times that many patients … are not registered,” he said. If Zubkov’s estimate is accurate, it means that approximately one in every 13 Russian citizens may be an alcoholic.

The hearing spent a fair amount of time examining the applicability to Russia of the 12-step program developed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a mutual assistance movement designed to promote sobriety that was founded in 1935 in the United States.

Margaret Murray, the director of the International Research Program at the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told members of the Helsinki Commission that AA “has been an extremely important mainstay of [alcoholism] treatment in the United States.” Among the benefits, Murray said, was the “social support for abstinence that AA provides, as well as enhancing an individual’s spirituality, which we know is key to recovery for a lot of people.”

Zubkov said his clinic, called the House of Hope on a Hill, utilizes AA’s 12-step method in its 28-day treatment program. Since its opening in 1996, the House of Hope has treated about 4,500 patients, he said, adding that the facility has acted as a catalyst for the slow spread of AA chapters across Russia. “There are now 370 AA meetings … in Russia, and 40 percent of those meetings were started by – initiated by the graduates of the house,” he said.

AA encounters lots of opposition in Russia, Zubkov noted. Efforts to open an AA-based clinic in a new location often generate official opposition because the 12-step method is seen as a foreign import.

“There is a lot of mistrust of Alcoholics Anonymous there because it is seen as Western. … There are a lot of people who still have sort of a nationalism or a resentment about methods that have come from abroad,” added Brown. Some opposition also appears to be faith-based, as AA is seen by many Orthodox Christian Russians as essentially a creature of the Reformed Protestant tradition.

Preferred treatment methods in Russia lack an adequate after-care component, Zubkov said. “Russian treatment methods are largely very biologically oriented and sometimes strange.” The most popular method relies on the use of Antabuse, a drug that makes people sick when they drink alcohol. But this does not address the cultural and physical sources of the addiction. “And after this, [the] patient is basically – he is on his own,” Zubkov said. “He doesn’t get any therapeutic support. He doesn’t get any – he doesn’t go to any meetings. And when he has a personal crisis, the easiest way for him to resolve it is try to drink, and very often this could end in fatalities.”

Beyond cultural differences, the lack of a tradition of philanthropic giving in Russia is hampering the ability of AA programs to expand their reach. The House of Hope, Zubkov noted, depended on financial support provided by an American philanthropist, Lou Bantle, who died in 2010. Now, the clinic is facing an uncertain financial future. Finding Russian benefactors is an extreme challenge, Zubkov added.

Not only does the Russian government tax charitable contributions, but those corporations and philanthropists that do donate “prefer to support high-profile, socially acceptable organizations, such as the performing and visual arts.” The only exception has been the Baltika brewery, which has been “continuously supporting us for many years,” he said.

Originally published by www.EurasiaNet.org

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“Perhaps I had better die,” the woman muttered. “But I want to die in Hirono.”

Cases of depression and alcoholism are rising in number among evacuees of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear accident.

A team of mental care specialists from Kyoto Prefecture treated 262 people at seven evacuation centers, including one in Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture, until July.

The team said 51 evacuees, or 19.5 percent, were suffering from reactive depression.

Toru Ishikawa, president of the Tohokukai Medical Hospital in Sendai, says the survivors of disasters have become more susceptible to depression and alcoholism since moving into temporary housing from evacuation centers. That’s because many of them now live alone.

Full story at; Depression, alcoholism take toll on lonely evacuees in disaster areas – English.