In a thoughtful post, Marc Lewis questions the disease model of addiction. He doesn't dismiss it out of hand. He seems to look for ways in which it's right and useful. It’s accurate in some ways. It accounts for the neurobiology of addiction better than the “choice” model and other contenders. It explains the helplessness … Continue reading Response to Why Addiction is NOT a Brain Disease
Tag: addiction
Cognitive performance of opioid maintenance vs. abstinence
A new study finds lower cognitive functioning in maintenance patients compared with abstinent former users. It also found no difference between methadone patients and buprenorphine patients. Background To compare the cognitive performances of maintenance patients (MAIN), abstinent ex-users (ABST) and healthy non-heroin using controls (CON). Methods Case control study of 125 MAIN (94 … Continue reading Cognitive performance of opioid maintenance vs. abstinence
WTH?!?!? (What the heck)
I'm not, in any way, against efforts to develop pharmaceutical treatments for addiction. However, I'm of the opinion that there is a culture problem among researchers and some members of their universe. Does any serious, knowledgeable person with an eye toward practice believe that a stimulant drug is going to be an effective treatment for alcoholism? Yet, … Continue reading WTH?!?!? (What the heck)
One way?
So much for the frequently asserted but bogus argument that 90%+ of treatment providers in the US are one-true-way 12 steppers: The researchers surveyed 913 members of the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Counselors from across the United States. About 50 percent of the respondents said it would be acceptable if some of … Continue reading One way?
Treatment is big money
From Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly: In September, when Tennessee-based Acadia Healthcare Company paid $90 million for Timberline Knolls, a 122-bed inpatient treatment program in Chicago, treatment providers wondered if their programs were worth that kind of money, bed for bed. Other deals in recent months, including Foundations Recovery Network’s acquisition in early October by … Continue reading Treatment is big money
Acomprosate – A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study
Recently published and found no "evidence of efficacy for acamprosate compared to placebo". However, "A goal of abstinence was significantly associated with improved drinking outcomes". Efficacy of Acamprosate for Alcohol Dependence in a Family Medicine Setting in the United States: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study Background Acamprosate has been found to enhance rates of complete … Continue reading Acomprosate – A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study
NAATP launches counteroffensive to medication push
This is very welcome news: Frustrated that medication-assisted treatment is coming across as the addiction field’s standard of care simply because drug company studies are dominating the research landscape, a group of some of the most prominent leaders in treatment administration is vowing to fight back. These leaders have enlisted the help of another heavy … Continue reading NAATP launches counteroffensive to medication push
Addiction 101
From the Dawn Farm Education Series: Addiction 101 from Dawn Farm on Vimeo.
Following alcoholics for decades
McLeans has an interesting interview with George Vaillant about, "the surprising things you find out about people if you follow them for long enough." What's so different and interesting about this study is that it followed the subjects for decades from a pretty young age. Their subjects were college sophomores when the study began and … Continue reading Following alcoholics for decades
Methadone and employment
These findings were characterized as "counterintuitive". Findings from multivariate analyses initially showed no association between treatment enrollment and employment transitions. However, when a distinction was made between MMT and other addiction treatment modalities, it became clear that the relationship between addiction treatment and employment outcomes for IDU in this setting was contingent upon the type … Continue reading Methadone and employment
Recovery Review 