Monday, April 8, 2013
recoveryBox Daily Devotionals: Musical Monday - It Is Well With My Soul
recoveryBox Daily Devotionals: Musical Monday - It Is Well With My Soul: It Is Well With My Soul - Sung by the Isaacs When peace like a river attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll What ever ...
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Kentucky Governor Expected to Sign Bill on Opioid Overdose Antidote
A bill that would allow doctors to prescribe the
opioid-overdose antidote naloxone is expected to be signed this summer
by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, Cincinnati.com reports. The bill also would allow pharmacists to distribute the antidote.
Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan,
safely reverses the potentially fatal side effects of an overdose of
oxycodone, heroin and other opioids. It has been routinely used by
emergency rooms and ambulance crews for decades. In the past few years,
naloxone has been distributed free to opioid users and their loved ones,
in a growing number of sites around the country.
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
found that widely distributing naloxone, and training people in how to
use it, could save many lives. It has successfully reversed more than
10,000 drug overdoses since 1996, according to the CDC report. Naloxone
is not effective in treating drug overdoses that do not involve opioids.
“It is clearly defined that people are dying from opiate overdoses –
whether by prescribed medications or heroin,” Northern Kentucky public
health activist Dr. Jeremy Engel told Cincinnati.com. “Either way, with
this medication lives have been saved. Once your life’s been saved you
have a chance to make better choices. If you’re dead, you don’t. I think
it’s a win-win-win.”
Friday, April 5, 2013
SAVE THE DATE!
The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc. and PRO-ACT
are proud to announce the Philadelphia pre-release World Premiere
screening of the feature documentary film about the 23.5 million Americans
living in long-term recovery, and the emerging
public recovery movement that will transform how alcohol
and other drug problems are dealt with in our communities.
The moving story of The Anonymous People is told through the faces and voices of citizens,
leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, public figures, and celebrities who are laying it all on
the line to save the lives of others just like them. This passionate new public recovery movement
aims
to transform public opinion, engage communities and elected officials,
and finally shift problematic policy toward lasting solutions.
THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013
Holy Family University, Philadelphia
VIP Reception 6 pm; Film 7 pm (doors open 6:45 pm); Q&A 8:30 pm
This event will include a VIP Reception at which attendees
will have an opportunity to talk with legislators and experts in the field
as well as the creators and producer of the film
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
VIP Reception and film: $75
Film (in advance) $15; at the door $20
Help us to change the conversation
from problems to solutions for America's top health problem!
Sponsorship and Expo Opportunities Available
(Details to follow)
Any funds raised through this event will be used to support Advocacy and Recovery
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Study Tests Safety of Drug Treatment for Meth Addiction
Researchers at UCLA are studying a drug they hope will treat methamphetamine addiction, The Huffington Post reports. In a small study, the drug, Ibudilast, appeared to be safe and eased meth addiction.
The study included 11 people addicted to meth who were not seeking
treatment. Some received the drug, and others got a placebo. The trial
was the first of three phases of human testing required by the Food and
Drug Administration for approval. It was meant to evaluate the safety of
the drug taken in combination with meth, the article notes.
“Very preliminary results would indicate that Ibudilast may dampen
craving and improve cognitive functioning,” said Dr. Aimee Swanson,
co-investigator on the trial and research director at the UCLA Center
for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine.
There are currently no drugs approved to treat meth addiction, the
article notes. Counseling, in-patient rehabilitation or 12-Step groups
often are not effective in treating meth addiction, Swanson said.
“When we see people come to participate in the trial, it’s really
their last resort,” Swanson said. “Many of them can no longer hold down a
job, they have strained relationships with family members. Gone went
the cars, gone went the business, gone went the house, gone went the
kids. The main focus of this person’s life is using meth.”
Swanson noted Ibudilast may prevent activation of central nervous
system cells called glial cells that have been linked to drug
dependence. “When you’re on meth, your whole brain is saying, ‘I need
meth,’” she said. “If you could block meth from interfering with glial,
it would allow the messages that you would like to be sending and
receiving to actually get to your brain.”
The study took place in a hospital unit, which participants were not
allowed to leave for three weeks. They received intravenous injections
of meth two to three times per week while they were treated with
Ibudilast.
The researchers will now move on to further testing, which will be
funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, according to the
article.
Prescription Drug Abuse Experts Meet to Discuss Options for Stopping Epidemic
Experts are meeting this week to discuss how to stop the epidemic of prescription drug abuse, according to the Orlando Sentinel. They include leaders from government, the pharmaceutical industry, and public health and safety groups.
At the National Rx Drug Abuse Summit
in Orlando, Florida, R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy, said the number of people who abused
prescription drugs dropped from 7 million people in 2010, to 6.1 million
in 2011. Prescription drug use by young adults ages 18 to 25 is also on
the decline, the article notes.
Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration,
said a key step in reducing prescription drug abuse is the development
of abuse-deterrent formulas.
Speakers also talked about the need to strengthen state prescription
drug monitoring programs. These systems should be actively analyzed, and
used in real time, to prevent patients from doctor shopping, they
noted.
Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, said the nation needs a holistic approach to prescription
drug abuse, which includes a combination of education, social changes,
law enforcement, the healthcare industry and government working
together.
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