1,721,009 research outputs found
Le nuove frontiere dell'intervento integrato farmacologico e psicosociale per il trattamento dei disturbi da uso di sostanze
Riassunto : in forma di intervista i tre Coautori espongono dati e riflessioni provenienti dalla loro esperienza di Ricerca e di Clinica in tema di nuovi trattamenti farmacologici dei disturbi da uso di alcol e altre droghe. La chiave di lettura comune dei loro tre contributi è costituita dalla reversione del neuroadattamento a tali sostanze mediante appositi percorsi di cura integrati, farmacologici e psicosociali, che consentono di manipolare terapeuticamente le memorie dell’addiction. Gli obiettivi terapeutici di tale approccio possono essere tanto la cessazione radicale dell’ uso di sostanze psicoattive quanto la riduzione della compulsione al loro consumo. Il misuso degli analgesici oppioidi e più in generale le dipendenze iatrogene sono pure trattati in quanto costituenti l’aspetto più inquietante delle nuove frontiere della clinica dell’addiction
No positive tests for syphilis in 6 years of observation among heroin drug users in north-eastern Italy.
Sexual functioning and opioid maintenance treatment in women. Results from a large multicentre study
Opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) is the most widespread therapy for both females and males opioid addicts. While many studies have evaluated the OMT impact on men’s sexuality, the data collected about the change in women’s sexual functioning is still limited despite the fact that it is now well-known that opioids-both endogenous and exogenous-affect the endocrine system and play an important role in sexual functioning. The present study aims to determine how OMT with buprenorphine (BUP) or methadone (MTD) affects sexual health in women; examining also any possible emerging correlation between sexual dysfunction (SD), type of opioid and patients’ mental health. This multi-center study case recruited 258 female volunteers attending Italian public Addiction Outpatients Centers that were stabilized with OMT for at least 3 months. SD was assessed with the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale. The twelve-item General Health Questionnaire was used to assess participants’ mental health conditions. The results show that 56.6% of women receiving OMT for at least 3 months presented SD without significant differences between MTD e BUP groups. The majority of the subjects with SD have a poorer quality of intimate relationships and worse mental health than the average. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the largest report on the presence of SDs in women as a side effects of MTD and BUP used in OMT. Since SDs cause difficulties in intimate relationships, lower patients’ quality of life and interfere with OMT beneficial outcomes, we recommend that women undertaking an opioid therapy have routine screening for SD and we highlight the importance to better examine opioid-endocrine interactions in future studies in order to provide alternative potential treatments such as the choice of opioid, opioid dose reduction and hormone supplementation
Association between depressive mood and cigarette smoking in a large Italian sample of smokers intending to quit: implications for treatment.
Prevalence of tuberculosis Infection and Comparison of Multiple-puncture liquid Tubercolin test and Mantoux Test among drug users
In order to determine the prevalence of latent infection due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in drug users and to provide centres for drug users with a practical tool for tuberculosis screening, 237 drug users were subjected to the Monotest and, for reference purposes, to the Mantoux test. The overall prevalence of subjects with a tuberculin skin reaction size > or = 5 mm in the Mantoux test was 25.7%; utilizing a cut-off of > or = 10 mm, the prevalence was 11.4%. Irrespective of cut-off, the Monotest showed a sensitivity of > 90% and a specificity of > 80%. At a prevalence of 25.7%, and with cut-offs of > or = 5 or > or = 10 mm, the positive predictive value was 83% or 62.2%, respectively. Irrespective of cut-off, the negative predictive value was > 97%. In conclusion, the Monotest proved satisfactory as a tool for epidemiological screening in a population with a high prevalence for latent tuberculosis, namely drug users
Further evidence on the interplay between benzodiazepine and Z-drug abuse and emotion dysregulation
Background: Long-term benzodiazepine (BDZ)/Z-drug use, which is a risk factor for dependence, is frequent in neuropsychiatric conditions, especially emotional disorders. Also, BDZ/Z-drug misuse is associated with increased emotion dysregulation symptoms. This study aimed to investigate neuropsychiatric distress in patients with BZD/Z-drug use disorder, with particular attention to emotional symptoms. Methods: Forty-two patients hospitalized for BZD/Z-drug use disorder (males/females= 20/22) were enrolled and dichotomized into a high-dose and a low-dose BZD/Z-drug user group. Neuropsychiatric distress was measured using standardized measures. The relationship between symptom profiles and BZD/Z-drug use disorder severity was explored using t-tests and negative binomial regression analyses. Results: Twenty-seven patients (61.9%) presented with one or more psychiatric disorders, mostly an emotional disorder. Ten patients had a lifetime history of suicide attempt(s) (23.8%), while 11 presented recent suicidal ideation (26.2%), which resulted in suicidal behavior in 2 cases. High rates of depression, anxiety, and emotion dysregulation were reported. The high-dose BZD/Z-drug user group presented with higher depressive symptoms (p = 0.016) and emotion dysregulation (p = 0.044) than the low-dose BZD/Z-drug user group. Further, the higher the depressive symptomatology, the more severe was the BZD/Z-drug abuse (p = 0.028). Limitations: Long-term patterns of BDZ/Z-drug use disorder among patients with emotional disorders and the role of other potential risk factors, such as gender, other substance use disorder, and personality disorders, need further investigation in larger samples. Conclusions: This study showed high emotional symptoms among patients with BZD/Z-drug use disorder, with severe depression being associated with a more severe BZD/Z-drug dependence
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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