Detoxification with buprenorphine of a pregnant heroin addict.

This is a case report and literature review concerning the use of buprenorphine for detoxification in a pregnant addict. It presents the clinical management of the complexities of opiate addiction and pregnancy. I suggest a more vigorous study of buprenorphine for opiate withdrawal in motivated pregnant addicts.

The dexamethasone suppression test for major depression among opiate addicts.

The authors gave the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) to 42 opiate addicts 2 weeks after detoxification. The DST provided a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 93% for major depression diagnosed according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria.

The Fair Oaks Hospital cocaine treatment program.

The treatment of cocaine addiction as a subspecialty is in its infancy. We know, however, that the severely out-of-control addicted person needs the structure and support of in-hospital setting. We know they require an intensive evaluation of their biopsychosocial habits.

Persistence of urinary marijuana levels after supervised abstinence.

The authors present a case report of the presence of urinary cannabinoids during 21 days of supervised abstinence from chronic marijuana use and provide data on 6 similar cases. They discuss the theoretical implications of the persistence of cannabinoids.

Schizophrenia and ego psychology.

The psychology of hallucinations has been viewed as an "etiopathogenetic" tool for the diagnosis of schizophrenia (Schizophrenia Bulletin, Vol. 5, No. 4, 1979).

Anabolic steroids and acute schizophrenic episode.

The use of anabolic steroids by athletes to increase physical performance has vastly increased over the last 10 years. A case is described which temporally relates the use of these organic compounds with the development of an acute schizophreniform illness. The dearth of literature on this particular "side-effect" is noted, as are the diagnostic implications vis-a-vis anabolic steroids and the anamnestic interview in an athlete who presents with an acute schizophrenic mental status examination.