ISAP in the News (2010 - 2011)
Compiled by UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations.
(Note: Web site links may expire without notice. Some sites require password registration.)
The Importance of Social Support in Preventing Relapse to Meth Use
Richard Rawson, professor of psychiatry and an associate director of ISAP at the Semel Institute, was quoted Nov. 27 by Associated Press about an Oklahoma woman, Lynette Moreau, who turned her life around after 20 years as an intravenous methamphetamine user.
From the article:
…An expert in meth addiction said Moreau is in the minority of people who can get off the drug and stay off.
About a quarter to a third of those who quit the drug are able to stay clean for extended periods — a success rate similar to those for alcohol, cigarettes and cocaine, said University of California at Los Angeles psychiatry professor Richard Rawson, who runs several international studies on meth addiction funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
"The difficult part with methamphetamines isn't stopping, it's not relapsing," he said. Support is a key to long-term success.
"To the extent that you can surround yourself with people who are supportive and sober and living productive lives, you're going to have better outcomes," Rawson said.
“After 20 years on meth, woman becomes professor”
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/After-20-years-on-meth-woman-becomes-professor-2295921.php
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SAMHSA Awards Grant to ISAP for Substance Abuse Prevention in Iraq
As reported in Newswise.com, Richard A. Rawson, associate director of UCLA ISAP, has been awarded a grant to support efforts to develop substance abuse services in Iraq.
Newswise — The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in collaboration with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (State/INL), has awarded the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) a $770,000 grant to support efforts to develop substance abuse services in Iraq. The funds are provided by the State Department under an interagency agreement with SAMHSA to support the Iraqi Demand Reduction Initiative.
UCLA will use the funds to help the Iraqi Ministry of Health establish a Center of Excellence on Substance Abuse Services at Baghdad’s Medical City Complex. The center will build substance abuse service capacity in the country by training a core group of Iraqi medical professionals on service system development and the latest strategies in substance abuse treatment including the screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) approach and medication-assisted therapy.
“This is an exciting, innovative international collaboration that holds tremendous promise for the people of Iraq and the behavioral health field,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde. “The Iraqi people will benefit from a system in place that saves lives from the ravages of addiction and the U.S. behavioral health field will benefit from the lessons learned in creating a new integrated behavioral health system.” Information about UCLA’s Integrated Substance Abuse Programs is available at http://uclaisap.org/
See also the Oct. 26 UCLA Daily Bruin article:
“Grant helps UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Program establish drug and alcohol rehabilitation, research center in Iraq”
http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2011/10/grant_helps_ucla_integrated_substance_abuse_
program_establish_drug_and_alcohol_rehabilitation_researFor additional information about SAMHSA and its programs, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/samhsa-awards-grant-to-ucla-for-substance-abuse-prevention-in-iraq
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New Treatment Strategies for Schizophrenia
A study by Stephen Marder, professor of psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute and chief of the UCLA Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Alison Hamilton, a research anthropologist at UCLA ISAP, and others was featured in an Oct. 22 New York Times article about new treatment strategies for people living with schizophrenia.
“A High-Profile Executive Job as Defense Against Mental Ills”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/health/23lives.html?_r=3
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Parental Drug Abuse
Richard A. Rawson, professor of psychiatry and associate director of ISAP at the UCLA Semel Institute, was quoted Oct. 3 by the Des Moines Register about a child custody case involving allegations of parental drug use.
From the article:
Iowa experts once cautioned that meth was the most addictive illicit hard drug on the market. But some top experts in treating drug addiction now believe meth addiction is treatable, like addictions to other hard drugs such as cocaine.
Professor Richard Rawson, associate director of integrated substance abuse programs at the University of California-Los Angeles, has said it takes no longer to treat meth than other addictions.
“‘We're going to ... take Elliot’”
http://dmjuice.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111003/NEWS01/310030023/1001/NEWS
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Betty Ford’s Influence on the Substance Abuse Field
Richard Rawson, professor of psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute and an associate director of ISAP, was quoted July 9 by Associated Press about Betty Ford’s influence on the substance abuse field.
"It's hard to imagine a more important figure in the substance abuse field than Mrs. Ford," Rick Rawson, associate director of the integrated substance abuse program at the University of California at Los Angeles, said at the time (of former President Gerald Ford’s death in 2006).
“Former US First Lady Betty Ford Dies at 93”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/5261057/Former-US-first-lady-Betty-Ford-dies-at-93
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The Effects of Methamphetamine on One’s Appearance
Larissa Mooney, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute and ISAP, was quoted in a Feb. 25 MSNBC article about a documentary aimed at stopping teens from using methamphetamine by showing them how the drug affects one's appearance.
From the article:
The gaunt look on many of the addicts can be the result of poor nutrition and lack of sleep, says Dr. Larissa Mooney, an addiction psychiatrist and an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles.
As for the facial sores: Sometimes meth users will hallucinate and get the sensation that there are bugs crawling under their skin, Mooney says. Trying to get relief, they’ll sometimes pick at their skin until there are open sores.
Experts can’t say whether the program will work, but Mooney and [Thomas] McLellan [director of the Center for Substance Abuse Solutions at the University of Pennsylvania] are hopeful.
“The video is trying to tap into something that is important to young people,” Mooney says. “It’s less abstract than telling someone they’ll get lung cancer many years down the line. This is something you can actually see right now.”
“Shocking Mug Shots Reveal Toll of Drug Abuse”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41787410/ns/health-addictions/
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ISAP Professor Comments on California Attorney General’s Promise to Reform Criminal Justice System
David Farabee, professor of psychiatry at ISAP, was quoted Jan. 3 by Associated Press about Kamala Harris, the first woman and first minority to serve as California's attorney general.
From the article:
[Harris] told hundreds of supporters that she will be an innovator who will be smart on crime as well as tough on crime.
"Being smart on crime is about doing more preventing and less reacting," she said, promising to target chronic truancy and the underlying causes of criminal behavior as she did during two terms as San Francisco district attorney….
University of California, Los Angeles psychiatry professor David Farabee applauded Harris' reform agenda, although he said the criminal justice system is tough to change. Farabee is the author of "Rethinking Rehabilitation: Why Can't We Reform Our Criminals?"
"The promising aspect of this is she's at least acknowledging there's a need for change and innovation," he said. "How easy that is, is a different question."
“California Swears in First Female Attorney General”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2011%2F01%2F03%2Fstate%2Fn151458S80.DTL
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ISAP Study Finds Promising Results in Treating Opioid Dependence with Buprenorphine Implant
Results from a Phase III randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of Probuphine (subcutaneous implant form of buprenorphine) treatment for opioid addiction were published Oct. 13, 2010, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). ISAP Director Walter Ling, M.D., is the lead author of the article. All the major news networks interviewed Dr. Ling regarding the publication of these important results, and the study was featured in Reuters, the Los Angeles Times, BusinessWeek, Bloomberg News, U.S. News & World Report, HealthDay News, MedPage, Medscape Today, Canadian Press, HealthDay News, and Agence France-Presse (see below for links to news articles).
ISAP’s Outpatient Clinical Research Center was one of the sites involved in the multi-site, 163-patient trial, which showed that patients receiving the Probuphine implant had significantly less illicit opioid use, experienced fewer symptoms of withdrawal and craving, stayed in treatment longer, and had greater overall improvement when compared to placebo patients over the course of the 24-week study.
"The introduction of buprenorphine into clinical practice is arguably the most significant improvement in the treatment of opioid addiction in the last decade,” said Dr. Ling. “However, physicians excited with the clinical success of buprenorphine are also rightfully concerned about medication adherence and diversion—and potential for abuse—of the sublingual formulations of buprenorphine. Probuphine does away with these concerns by eliminating the need for take-home doses. Additionally, by providing a sustained blood level of active medication, Probuphine helps diminish the daily fluctuation of the medication effects—and potentially side effects—and reduces the total exposure of buprenorphine over time."
Notable results of the publication, "Buprenorphine Implants for Opioid Dependence: A Randomized Controlled Trial," include:
- Patients receiving Probuphine had a mean percentage of urine samples that tested negative for illicit opioids across the full 24 weeks of 36.%; those in the placebo group had a mean of 22.4% (p=0.01)
- Nearly 66%of patients receiving Probuphine completed the study vs. the 31% who received placebo implants (p<0.001)
- Probuphine patients experienced fewer clinician-rated (p<0.001) and patient-rated (p=0.004) withdrawal symptoms
- Probuphine patients reported lower ratings of craving (p<0.001)
- The most common adverse events were minor implant site reactions, which were consistent across the Probuphine and placebo groups
ISAP’s OCRC is continuing to investigate Probuphine.
The following are links to media coverage of this study:
“A Potentially Better Way to Treat Opioid Addiction”
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-opioids-20101013,0,1508611.story?track=rss
“An Implant to keep Heroin Addicts Off Street Drugs?”
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69C3LH20101013
“Drug Implant for Opioid Addiction Looks Effective”
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/644229.html
“Implants Help Heroin Addicts Kick Habit”
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/10/13/implants-help-heroin-addicts-kick-habit.html
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The Benefits of Drumming Therapy
Daniel Dickerson, a research psychiatrist with ISAP, was quoted in an Aug. 10 Florida Ledger article on the psychological and physiological benefits of Native American drumming.
From the article:
The physicality, the sounds and the social dynamics of drumming have intrigued many beyond the original inhabitants of North America, said Dr. Daniel Dickerson, a research psychiatrist with UCLA's Integrative Substance Abuse Program.
New age practitioners and counselors of many ethnicities have looked at the effects of drumming, he said in his Thursday morning talk. They have found suggestions that it can increase brain waves associated with relaxation, drowsiness and meditative states. In some circumstances, drumming may reduce anxiety or stress.
Dickerson encouraged his listeners, who included substance abuse counselors from around the country, to talk about how drumming might become part of a clinical program, prescribed alongside Prozac or other medications.
He outlined some of the tougher issues: What about Christians who feel drumming clashes with their religion? What about gender roles, since some cultures forbid women to drum while others encourage it?
Dickerson has applied for a federal grant to fine-tune what he calls "drum-assisted recovery therapy" and to run a pilot program on its efficacy.
“Messages of Honor, Tradition and Health Come from Drumming”
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100809/NEWS/8095036?p=2&tc=pg
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Scientific Research Lacking for Ibogaine as an Addiction Treatment
Richard Rawson, professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute and associate director of UCLA's ISAP, was quoted July 5 by the Omaha World-Herald about ibogaine, a hallucinogenic extract sometimes used to treat drug addictions.
From the article:
A leading researcher in the treatment of addictions, Richard Rawson, associate director of the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, said researchers have serious concerns about the safety of the powerful drug, which can induce 30-hour, dream-like reactions.
“Ibogaine appears to damage at least one critical set of neurons in the brain, and in some of the treatment trials outside the U.S., there have been unexplained deaths during ibogaine treatments,” Rawson said.
“Well-controlled scientific research” is lacking, he said.
“Omahan: Drug Breaks Meth's Grip”
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100704/NEWS01/707049907/143
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Richard Rawson, professor of psychiatry and associate director of ISAP at the Semel Institute, was quoted in a May 2 article in the Providence Journal (Rhode Island) about doctor shopping and obtaining prescription drugs illegally.
From the article:
Adults are also savvy medicine cabinet shoppers. Richard A. Rawson, Ph.D., a professor at the Semel Institute at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of California at Los Angeles, has 35 years experience in this field, and related an extreme case of a young woman addicted to 90 Vicodin pills a day.
He said, “She had such a sophisticated habit that she worked nearly full time at keeping index cards of doctors whom she saw. Each card documented the reason she gave the doctor for requiring the drug with the name of the pharmacy where she filled the prescription.”
Dr. Rawson explained that this Realtor made a point of attending open houses. She would ask to use the bathroom, head for the medicine cabinet and pilfer whatever painkiller prescriptions she found there. “By checking the name on the prescription bottle, she also found a new resource who dispensed Vicodin,” he said.
Dr. Rawson believes that the majority of physicians dispensing prescription drugs do so believing that they are acting in the best interest of the patient, unlike “Candyman,” a California doctor recently sentenced to four years in prison for knowingly handing out large quantities of drugs.
It appears that we hear more stories about physicians in California involved in facilitating pill popping than elsewhere in the nation. This may relate to a policy statement from the California Medical Association. Dr. Rawson noted, “It says in effect that under-treating pain violates standards of care. So we have doctors trying to respond to patient needs. Yet it is hard to know when patients are crossing that fine line between pain relief and addiction.”
“Rita Watson: Pill Popping and Doctor Shopping”
http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/CT_newrita2_05-02-10_2DI9SOM_v16.46dd024.html
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Researchers Examine Possible Link Between Tanning and Addictive Behavior
Suzette Glasner-Edwards, clinical psychologist and a member of ISAP, was quoted April 19 on ABCNews.com about criteria determining whether a behavior can be termed an addiction.
From the report:
"It takes a long time to formally classify something as an addiction," said Suzette Glasner-Edwards, a clinical psychologist and researcher in UCLA's integrated substance abuse programs. "Typically it takes a lot of research studies to see if all the symptoms ... really conform to how we understand addiction to other things. It's a pattern of progressively losing control over a behavior. There are a lot of different ways we assess whether a person has lost control over drinking or drug use."
Glasner-Edwards explained that behavior would have to go beyond self-destructive and impair other areas of their life as well, such as social interaction and recreational activities.
"If they don't have impairment in their life as a result of it, then they won't get that diagnosis," she said.
"Study Shows Links between Tanning and Addictive Behavior"
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/tanning-addiction-study-suggests-link/story?id=10419575
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Dealing with a Drug-Addicted Child
Richard A. Rawson, an associate director of ISAP, appeared Feb. 16 in an ABC World News series that explored options parents have for helping a drug-addicted child.
From the series:
The “tough love” approach took off in the 70s and 80s: when all else fails, crack down. It can work, but experts caution that, if handled wrong, tough love can also do harm.
"We found that the major impacts of treatments that involve a lot of confrontation and tough love are to drive people away from treatment," said Richard Rawson, associate director of UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs. "It's exactly the opposite of what we want to do."
“Family in Crisis, at the Breakpoint”
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/tough-love-part-ii-parent/story?id=9852608
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Computer Program Shows Teens Possible Effects of Meth Use on Their Appearance
Larissa Mooney, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute, commented Jan. 7 on ABCNews.com about a new anti-drug program to prevent teens from taking methamphetamine. The program uses a camera and software to show teens how the drug might alter their appearance for the worse within a few years.
“Face2Face Computer Program Shows Kids Consequences of Meth Use”
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Drugs/face2face-computer-program-shows-kids-faces-crystal-meth/story?id=9491314
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Strategies for Making Changes in Our Lives and Keeping New Year’s Resolutions
Suzette Glasner-Edwards, a research psychologist at ISAP in the Semel Institute, appeared Dec. 31 on KPCC 89.3 FM’s “AirTalk” program. She discussed strategies to make changes in our lives and keep New Year’s resolutions.
“New Year’s Resolutions: How to Quit a Vice”
http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2009/12/31/new-years-resolutions/
ISAP
in the News (2009)