SirWe would like to compliment Drs Bosio et al for the first reported prospective screening study for drug abuse in an Irish obstetric population. We would disagree, however, with the deduction that "drug abuse is not a serious problem among Dublin's pregnant population." 43 cases of neonatal drug withdrawal were identified at our hospital between July 1996 and June 1997 and these babies had si...

Psychological and drug-related variables and their effect on the severity of withdrawal symptoms were examined in a group of addicts being withdrawn from opiates on an in-patient drug dependence unit. Two psychological factors--neuroticism and the degree of distress expected by the patient--were related to subsequent severity of symptoms. Both are anxiety-related, and may serve to amplify withd...

BACKGROUND Unaided attempts to quit smoking commonly fail during the first 2 weeks of the nicotine withdrawal syndrome. Alterations in dopamine (DA) signaling correlate with withdrawal from chronic nicotine exposure, but those changes have not been well-characterized. METHODS Mice were administered nicotine in their drinking water for 4 or 12 weeks. Then nicotine was withheld for 1 to 10 days...

The authors examined the factor structure of the Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (MNWS) using confirmatory factor analysis in 3 clinical research samples of smokers trying to quit (N = 723). Three confirmatory factor analytic models, based on previous research, were tested with each of the 3 study samples at multiple points in time. A unidimensional model including all 8 MNWS items was foun...

OBJECTIVE Although cannabis is the most widely abused illicit drug, little is known about the prevalence of cannabis withdrawal and its factor structure, clinical validity, and psychiatric correlates in the general population. METHOD National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions participants were assessed, in 2001-2002, with structured in-person interviews covering substance...

The objective of this paper is to review and describe the main neuropharmacological changes caused by the chronic use of alcohol and those observed during its withdrawal period. The results show international data referring to the involvement of monoamine systems, neurotransmitters and calcium channels in both neuroadaptation and tolerance to alcohol effects and withdrawal. Relevant studies sho...

We report on a case of a female patient who had serious side effects from treatment with clozapine and chlorpromazine and the appeared to have a withdrawal reaction from cessation of clozapine. During the treatment process she was misdiagnosed as having malignant syndrome. This case highlights the importance of clinicians being able to distinguish malignant syndrome from withdrawal reactions, a...

Opioids are often prescribed to children for pain relief related to procedures, acute injuries, and chronic conditions. Round-the-clock dosing of opioids can produce opioid dependence within 5 days. According to a 2001 Consensus Paper from the American Academy of Pain Medicine, American Pain Society, and American Society of Addiction Medicine, dependence is defined as "a state of adaptation tha...

substance abuse is an important health, psychological and social problem in the world. gabapentin is a new antiepileptic drug. it is used in neurological and psychiatric disorders. moreover the effects of gabapentin on increasing the analgesic effect of morphine and its inhibitory effects on dopamine release due to morphine in animal models have been proved. in the present study, the effect of ...