The study aimed to examine the association of impulsivity and screening positively for borderline personality disorder (BPD+) as risk factors for suicide attempts among opioid-dependent individuals. The study used a case-control design with 775 opioid-dependent cases and 306 non-opioid-dependent controls. Cases were more likely than controls to screen BPD+ and to be classed as highly impulsive....

Implementation of injectable heroin treatment for patients with chronic heroin dependence unresponsive to oral methadone maintenance treatment has stagnated, even though the evidence for its effectiveness in this population continues to accrue. This is due to a range of political and environmental factors, not least of which is the cost of the treatment. The article by Byford et al in this issu...

Tramadol is an unscheduled atypical analgesic that acts as an agonist at μ-opioid receptors and inhibits monoamine reuptake. Tramadol can suppress opioid withdrawal, and chronic administration can produce opioid physical dependence; however, diversion and abuse of tramadol is low. The present study further characterized tramadol in a three-choice discrimination procedure. Nondependent volunteer...

BACKGROUND Opioid substitution therapy (OST) is the most commonly provided treatment for heroin dependence in Australia and has been shown to be effective. Access to OST outside of specialised public clinics and prisons relies on the participation of general practitioners. In Australia there is a shortage of GPs available to prescribe OST, which results in an unmet need for OST services. Studie...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present preliminary study was to explore the prevalence of nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines in a group of opiate-dependent patients who were on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program in outpatient clinics in the south-west of Tehran, Iran. METHODS 114 male and female opiate-dependent clients who met DSM.IV-TR criteria for opiate dependence with mean age ...

BACKGROUND/AIM Relapse of opiate dependence is a common occurrence after detoxification and introduction of opiate addicts in abstinence from opiates. Clinical evaluation showed that over 90% of opiate addicts exhibit depressive manifestations during detoxification, or develop post-detoxification depression. The aim of this study was to determine differences in the frequency of relapses, severi...

Craving is a commonly used term to describe an intense desire for a substance or behaviour; however, its underlying neurobiology is not fully characterized. We have successfully used a cue exposure paradigm with functional neuroimaging (H 2 15 O PET; PET, positron emission tomography) in abstinent opiate addicts. This study showed that salient cue exposure results in activation in the left ante...

PURPOSE Sublingual buprenorphine and combination buprenorphine/naloxone (BNX) are effective options for the treatment of opioid dependence. A BNX sublingual tablet approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the induction and maintenance treatment of opioid-dependence in adults was developed as a higher-bioavailability formulation, allowing for a 30% lesser dose of buprenorphine with bi...

Abstract Individuals who live in rural communities face health challenges, including a higher risk of suicide and opiate dependence, relatively fewer healthcare resources compared to those found urban communities. The most prominent barriers effective prevention areas include limited availability providers, transportation limitations, economic disparities, lack broadband access, reluctance seek...