Childhood treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with psychostimulants has no effect on the risk of substance use, abuse, or dependence later in life.
Use of alcohol to self-medicate mood symptoms correlates with increased odds of subsequent alcohol dependence and persistence of dependence.
Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with greater white matter damage in people who do not regularly do aerobic exercise.
Declaring that the benefits of the original formulation of OxyContin no longer outweigh the risks of misuse and abuse, the FDA announced it would not approve any applications for non-tamper resistant formulations of the drug, a decision that could have far-reaching implications for all makers of opioid medications.
Pain has been associated with a number of conditions, including addiction, depression, and anxiety. Greater awareness of concurrent comorbid conditions and the options available to treat them produces better outcomes in chronic pain patients.
The push to provide better pain care and ensure adequate analgesia for patients living with chronic pain led to liberalized opioid prescription practices that have been accompanied by a massive increase in the abuse, misuse, and diversion of prescription opioids. Efforts to combat this include technological remedies such as “abuse-deterrent” formulations of opioids and educational approaches such as the REMS program approved by the FDA in 2012.
