The objective of this study was to identify predictors of narcotic analgesic use during medical abortion. Two-thousand-seven-hundredforty-seven women with pregnancies of 63 days gestational age or less received 200 mg mifepristone followed by at-home use of 800 mg vaginal misoprostol in two consecutive clinical trials in the United States, and also reported their use of analgesics. Overall, 79%...

BACKGROUND This study used an opioid antagonist challenge procedure to evaluate the responsivity of the endogenous opioid system in nicotine-dependent individuals, as evidenced by naloxone-induced alterations in both behavioral (withdrawal, craving) and neuroendocrine (cortisol levels) parameters. METHODS Twenty subjects (9 smokers and 11 nonsmokers) participated in 4 laboratory sessions duri...

Buprenorphine is a partial mu-opioid agonist and kappa-opioid antagonist currently under development as a maintenance medication for heroin dependence. Because of concerns about illicit diversion of buprenorphine, a combination tablet containing buprenorphine and naloxone has been developed. The present study evaluated the reinforcing effects of intravenously administered placebo, buprenorphine...

BACKGROUND Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a debilitating disease due in part to its effects on function, including speech, swallowing, and cosmesis. Previous studies regarding depression in HNC have focused on demographic predictors, incidence, and quality of life studies. There is, however, a paucity of studies that objectively address depressive symptoms in HNC patients and the resultant effec...

A pharmacological view of narcotic addiction and alcoholism, or sedative addiction, serves as a basis for the further exami nation of these complex illnesses. The disease called alcohol ism (sedativism) consists, however, of much more than just a chronic or periodic addiction to a sedative drug. The urgent need to understand the psychological and societal parameters of this illness is underscor...

OBJECTIVE Dysphoria and depression have been cited as side effects of the opioid antagonist naltrexone. We aimed to assess whether depressive symptoms are a clinically relevant side effect in a population receiving naltrexone as a treatment for opioid dependence. METHODS We carried out a randomized controlled, open-label trial comparing rapid opiate detoxification under anesthesia and naltrex...