Abstract Background: Many schizophrenic patients are engaged in self-medication drug abuse, including narcotics. It is assumed that many of these patients have a greater number of psychotic symptoms, and show noncompliance with treatment. In this study, we investigated relationship of positive and negative symptoms and opioid dependence in these patients. Methods: This was a descriptive...

Chronic use of opioid analgesics has been hindered by the development of opioid addiction and tolerance. We have reported that curcumin, a natural flavonoid from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, attenuated opioid tolerance, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that curcumin may inhibit Ca/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II a (CaMKIIa), a pr...

A central question in prescribing opioids for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) is how to best balance the risk of opioid abuse and dependence with the benefits of pain relief. To achieve this balance, clinicians need an understanding of the risk factors for opioid abuse, an issue that is only partially understood. We conducted a secondary data analysis of regional VA longitudinal administrative d...

Background. When 12-to-21-year-olds start using prescription pain relievers extra-medically, some of them transition into opioid dependence within 12 months after such use. Our main aim for this epidemiological research on 12-to-21-year-olds in the United States (US) is to estimate the risk of becoming a newly incident case of opioid dependence within 12 months after onset of using prescription...

OBJECTIVES To develop evidence-based practice guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of opioid abuse and dependence. METHODS An international task force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) developed these practice guidelines after a systematic review of the available evidence pertaining to the treatment of opioid dependence. On the basis of the evidence...

BACKGROUND Opioid misuse and abuse occurring in association with the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain are not new phenomena, but their increasing prevalence in recent years is unprecedented. Advancements in pharmaceutical technologies have provided opioid-related drugs, which lack the pure mu agonist activity characteristic of the typical opioid congeners. This absent or altered mu receptor...