A pilot study of novel ultrahigh-frequency dorsal root ganglia stimulation for chronic lower limb pain: Focusing on safety and feasibility.

Objectives: This single-arm, open-label, single-center observational pilot study assessed the safety and efficacy of ultrahigh-frequency dorsal root ganglia (UHF-DRG) stimulation in patients with chronic leg pain with or without low back pain. Such high-frequency electrostimulation had not been conducted in the human central nervous system previously.

Materials And Methods: The primary objective was to evaluate the safety of UHF-DRG stimulation (2 Hz pulses with 50 msec pulse-width and 500 kHz intrapulse sine waves, 5-min duration per stimulation) by identifying incident adverse events (AE) and severe adverse events (SAE) during the trial.

Opioid agonist treatment programs and hepatitis C virus elimination in Taiwan: Ways of expanding the care cascade in screening and treatment.

Background: One key population related to achieving the global goal of hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination is people who inject drugs (PWID). By surveying opioid agonist treatment (OAT) programs nationwide in Taiwan, this study aimed to examine (1) the current status of HCV care cascade provision by OAT programs and (2) the opinions of the programs' directors on integrating the HCV care cascade into OAT programs.

Methods: From September to November 2022, questionnaires were sent via administrative networks to case managers for information on daily operation and routine booking and to directors for information on the HCV care cascade of 185 OAT programs.

Altered Heart Rate Variability During Mobile Game Playing and Watching Self-Mobile Gaming in Individuals with Problematic Mobile Game Use: Implications for Cardiac Health.

Introduction: The surge in mobile gaming, fueled by smartphone and internet accessibility, lacks a comprehensive understanding of physiological changes during gameplay.

Methods: This study, involving 93 participants (average age 21.75 years), categorized them into Problematic Mobile Gaming (PMG) and non-problematic Mobile Gaming (nPMG) groups based on Problematic Mobile Gaming Questionnaire (PMGQ) scores.

Assessing the impact of public funding in alleviating participant reduction and improving the retention rate in methadone maintenance treatment clinics in Taiwan: an interrupted time series analysis.

Background: Given the steady decline in patient numbers at methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinics in Taiwan since 2013, the government initiated Patients' Medical Expenditure Supplements (PMES) in January 2019 and the MMT Clinics Accessibility Maintenance Program (MCAM) in September 2019. This study aims to evaluate the impact of the PMES and MCAM on the enrollment and retention of patients attending MMT clinics and whether there are differential impacts on MMT clinics with different capacities.

Methods: The monthly average number of daily participants and 3-month retention rate from 2013 to 2019 were extracted from MMT databases and subjected to single interrupted time series analysis.

Lymphocyte-related ratios in methamphetamine-induced psychotic disorder in Taiwan, comparing with patients with schizophrenia.

The lymphocyte-related ratios, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are new measures of inflammation within the body. Few studies have investigated the inflammatory response of patients with methamphetamine-induced psychotic disorder. Clinically, the psychotic symptoms and behavioural manifestation of methamphetamine-induced psychotic disorder are often indistinguishable from paranoid schizophrenia.

Association of a Common Variant with Attenuation of QTc Prolongation in Men with Heroin Dependence Undergoing Methadone Treatment.

Background: The effects of methadone-induced severe prolongation of the corrected QT interval (QTc) and sudden cardiac death appear unpredictable and sex-dependent. Genetic polymorphisms in the nitric oxide synthase 1 adaptor protein (NOS1AP) have been implicated in QTc prolongation in general populations. We investigated whether common NOS1AP variants interact with methadone in relation to QTc prolongation in patients with heroin dependence.

Efficacy and safety of lemborexant over 12 months in Asian adults with insomnia disorder.

Study Objectives: Lemborexant (LEM) is a dual orexin receptor antagonist approved for treating adults with insomnia. We analyzed the efficacy (subjective sleep outcomes) and safety of LEM over 12 months in the subgroup of Asian subjects from Study E2006-G000-303 (Study 303).

Methods: Study 303 was a 12-month, randomized, placebo-controlled (first 6 months), double-blind, parallel-group, phase 3 study of adults with insomnia disorder.

Risk of psychosis in illicit amphetamine users: a 10 year retrospective cohort study.

Question: Amphetamine use is a risk factor for psychosis, which imposes a substantial burden on society. We aimed to investigate the incidence of psychosis associated with illicit amphetamine use and whether rehabilitation treatments could influence the psychosis risk.

Study Selection And Analysis: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the population based Taiwan Illicit Drug Issue Database (TIDID) and the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), from 2007 to 2016.

Add-On Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators for Methadone Maintenance Treatment.

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) remains the cornerstone for the management of opiate abuse. However, MMT can be associated with complex factors, including complications during the tolerance phase, the inability of some patients to maintain treatment effects during the tapering or abstinence phases, and the development of methadone dependence. Previous studies have revealed a sex disparity in MMT efficacy, showing that women undergoing MMT experiencing an increase in psychological symptoms compared with men and suggesting a link between disparate responses and the effects of estrogen signaling on methadone metabolism.

An Investigation into Smartphone Addiction with Personality and Sleep Quality among University Students.

Over the past two decades, smartphones have become common, and the accompanying devices have also become much more popular and easily accessible worldwide. With the development of smartphones, accompanied by internet facilities, excessive smartphone use or smartphone addiction may cause sleep disturbance and daily dysfunction. This study proposed examining the association between personality traits and smartphone addiction and its effects on sleep disturbance.

Appetitive Motivation and Regulatory Processes in Adolescent Ketamine Users.

Ketamine has remained the most commonly used illicit drug among adolescents in Taiwan. A dual process model proposes that addictive behaviors develop in adolescents as a result of an imbalance between an appetitive, approach-oriented system (implicit and explicit attitudes) and a regulatory executive system (cool and hot executive functions). We aimed to examine the appetitive and regulatory processes in adolescent ketamine users in comparison to matched healthy adolescents.

Reduced mortality in patients with extended duration of methadone maintenance treatment: a five-year retrospective nationwide study.

Background: The retention of patients under methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is an indication for the effectiveness of the therapy. We aimed to explore the relation between mortality and the cumulative MMT duration.

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed using Taiwan Illicit Drug Issue Database (TIDID) and National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) during 2012-2016.

Risk Assessment for Heroin Use and Craving Score Using Polygenic Risk Score.

Addiction is characterized by drug-craving, compulsive drug-taking, and relapse, and results from the interaction between multiple genetic and environmental factors. Reward pathways play an important role in mediating drug-seeking and drug-taking behaviors, and relapse. The objective of this study was to identify heroin addicts who carry specific genetic variants in their dopaminergic reward systems.

Augmentation in Healthcare Utilization of Patients with Opioid Use Disorder After Methadone Maintenance Treatment: A Retrospective Nationwide Study.

Introduction: The health benefits of entering methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) for opioid-dependent persons may not be merely limited to therapy of opioid use disorder. We aimed to compare the healthcare utilization of MMT patients before and after MMT.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed using the Taiwan Illicit Drug Issue Database and the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) between 2014 and 2016.

Precision therapeutic opioid dosing implications from genetic biomarkers and craving score.

Determining the clinically optimal dose in methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is a time-consuming procedure, which considers clinical signs and symptoms.To perform a quantitative trait locus association for identifying genetic variants for MMT dosage that underlie heroin addiction and methadone metabolism and then integrate several genotypic and phenotypic factors are potential predictors for clinically optimal MMT dose for personalized prescription.In total, 316 heroin-dependent patients undergoing MMT were recruited at the Addiction Center of the China Medical University Hospital.

Corrigendum to "Effects of Electroacupuncture on Methamphetamine-Induced Behavioral Changes in Mice".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/5642708.].

Impacts of GRIN3A, GRM6 and TPH2 genetic polymorphisms on quality of life in methadone maintenance therapy population.

Opioid addiction is a major public health issue worldwide. Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is used to detoxify users of illicit opiates, but drug relapse is common and associated with poor quality of life (QoL). This study investigated the associations between the GRIN3A, GRM6, and TPH2 genetic variants and QoL in the MMT population.

Magnolol Nanoparticles Exhibit Improved Water Solubility and Suppress TNF-α-Induced VCAM-1 Expression in Endothelial Cells.

The expression of the adhesion molecule vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) on endothelial cells enables the attachment of leukocytes to the endothelium, which may lead to inflammation and the development of atherosclerosis. Magnolol is a major bioactive compound derived from the plant species Magnolia officinalis. In this study, we synthesized a novel nanoparticle formulation of magnolol to improve its water solubility and physicochemical properties, evaluated its effects on TNF-α-induced VCAM-1 expression in endothelial cells, and determined the signal transduction pathways involved.

Reduced dosing and liability in methadone maintenance treatment by targeting oestrogen signal for morphine addiction.

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is the major tapering therapy for morphine addictive patients. There have gender differences reported in response to MMT. This study discovered that the estrogen-response element single nucleotide polymorphism (ERE-SNP; rs16974799, C/T) of cytochrome 2B6 gene (cyp2b6; methadone catabolic enzyme) responded differently to MMT dosing.

Alcohol-Related Dementia: A Systemic Review of Epidemiological Studies.

Background: Alcohol-related dementia (ARD) is a heterogeneous long-term cognitive problem that can develop in the course of alcoholism. Current understanding of ARD remains limited.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review to synthesize available data on the epidemiology of ARD, through searching the relevant studies in the PubMed, PsycINFO, and ALOIS.

Resveratrol inhibits urban particulate matter-induced COX-2/PGE release in human fibroblast-like synoviocytes via the inhibition of activation of NADPH oxidase/ROS/NF-κB.

Human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) play a role in joint synovial inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Some evidence indicates that particulate matter (PM) in air pollution could contribute to the progression of RA. However, more research is needed to clarify this relationship.