Cannabis use and alcohol and drug outcomes in a longitudinal sample of sober living house residents in California.

Introduction: Some evidence suggests that cannabis may be a safer substitute for other drugs. Historically, sober living houses (SLHs) have been abstinence-based environments designed for individuals in recovery to live with others in recovery. However, the evolving legal landscape around cannabis use has left SLH operators and managers in a difficult position regarding policies related to cannabis use among residents.

Reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomes.

Background: Sober living houses (SLHs) offer abstinence-based housing for people in recovery. Studies have shown that these supportive environments are associated with positive outcomes, yet little is known about why residents choose SLHs and their relationship to recovery outcomes.

Methods: Longitudinal data were collected from SLH residents who completed an interview six months after baseline (N = 462).

Giving and Receiving Help among Persons Entering Sober Living Houses.

Giving and receiving help are integral to creating the social environments necessary to support recovery. However, studies assessing the effects of helping behaviors have focused primarily on the benefits derived from giving help to others in 12-step programs and treatment. The current study examined the frequency of giving and receiving help among 188 persons entering sober living houses (SLHs), a type of recovery home that is common in California.

Six-month length of stay associated with better recovery outcomes among residents of sober living houses.

Sober living houses are designed for individuals in recovery to live with others in recovery, yet no guidelines exist for the time needed in a sober living house to significantly impact outcomes. To examine how the length of stay in sober living houses is related to substance use and related outcomes, focusing on early discontinuation (length of stay less than six months) and stable residence (length of stay six months or longer). Baseline and 12-month data were collected from 455 sober living house residents (36% female).

Multilevel Effects of Environmental and Neighborhood Factors on Sober Living House Resident 12-Month Outcomes.

Objective: Sober living houses (SLHs) are abstinence-based environments designed for individuals in recovery to live with others in recovery. Research shows that SLHs help some individuals maintain recovery and that certain SLH-related factors may be particularly protective. Here we assess how SLH housing and neighborhood characteristics are related to abstinence and psychiatric symptoms over time.

Outcomes Among Sober Living House Residents Who Relapse: Role of Recovery Capital.

Studies show individuals living in residential recovery homes on average make significant improvements in multiple areas of functioning. Residents who achieve and maintain complete abstinence have particularly good outcomes. Residents who relapse after entering the houses have been studied minimally.

Do neighborhood characteristics of sober living houses impact recovery outcomes? A multilevel analysis of observational data from Los Angeles County.

Objective: To identify neighborhood factors associated with recovery outcomes for sober living house (SLH) residents.

Methods: Six-month longitudinal data for new SLH residents (n = 557) was linked with census tract data, services available, alcohol outlets, and Walk Scores® (0-100 score indicating access to neighborhood resources) for 48 SLHs in 44 neighborhoods in Los Angeles County.

Results: Non-significant neighborhood characteristics in separate regressions for all outcomes were residents' ratings of perceived risk, percentage of residences with access to a car, percentage of homes over $500,000, percentage of renter-occupied units, percentage with income less than $25,000, percentage that were non-white, the density of substance inpatient within 10 miles, and transit scores from Walk Score®.

Measuring Architecture in Recovery Homes: Recovery Home Architecture Scale.

: The settings where we live shape our daily experiences and interactions. Social environment and physical setting characteristics may be particularly important in communal living services, such as recovery homes for alcohol and drug disorders. : This paper describes the measurement and mobilization of architectural characteristics in one type of recovery home, sober living houses (SLHs).

Resident and house manager perceptions of social environments in sober living houses: Associations with length of stay.

Aims: Studies have shown persons living in recovery homes for drug and alcohol problems make significant, sustained improvements. However, there is limited information about factors associated with outcomes. This study examined how perceptions of social environment of one type of recovery home, sober living houses (SLHs), were associated with length of stay (LOS).

Psychometric Properties of the Recovery Home Environment Scale.

Background: Recovery homes for persons with alcohol and drug problems provide an abstinent living environment and social support for recovery. Research shows residents in these homes make significant, sustained improvements. However, descriptions of recovery environments within the homes have been limited.

House Manager Roles in Sober Living Houses.

Background: Alcohol and drug treatment providers are increasingly emphasizing the role of long-term, community-based systems of care. A good example is Sober Living Houses (SLHs), which are peer operated alcohol- and drug-free living environments. Studies show residents of SLHs make significant improvements in multiple areas.

Understanding challenges for recovery homes during COVID-19.

Understanding the effects of COVID-19 mitigation for persons in group living environments is of critical importance to limiting the spread of the virus. In the U.S.

Recovery in context: Sober living houses and the ecology of recovery.

Sober living houses (SLHs) are an increasingly common element of the recovery support services landscape, yet little is known about their neighborhood context. This study describes neighborhoods in which SLHs are located and examines differences by house characteristics. SLHs in Los Angeles County (N = 297) were geocoded and linked with U.

Recovery Home Environment Characteristics Associated with Recovery Capital.

Background: Recovery capital refers to internal and external resources that facilitate recovery from alcohol and drug disorders. Examples include support from friends and family, access to health and other services, stable housing and finances, and internal assets, such as self-esteem and motivation. Recovery capital is receiving increased emphasis as an integral component of addiction services.

Sober living house characteristics: A multilevel analyses of factors associated with improved outcomes.

Safe and stable housing is integral to addiction recovery. Across numerous studies, recovery housing has been found to be associated with improvements in a variety of domains. Although procedures for operating some types of recovery housing have been manualized and national standards established, there are few empirical findings identifying which recovery residence characteristics may lead to improved outcomes.

Motivational Interviewing Case Management (MICM) for Persons on Probation or Parole Entering Sober Living Houses.

The failure of incarceration as a response to drug offenses has resulted in new policies supporting community-based alternatives. One challenge has been finding appropriate housing for persons on probation and parole. Sober living houses (SLHs) are alcohol- and drug-free living environments that are increasingly being used as housing options for these individuals.

Proteomics, Post-translational Modifications, and Integrative Analyses Reveal Molecular Heterogeneity within Medulloblastoma Subgroups.

There is a pressing need to identify therapeutic targets in tumors with low mutation rates such as the malignant pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma. To address this challenge, we quantitatively profiled global proteomes and phospho-proteomes of 45 medulloblastoma samples. Integrated analyses revealed that tumors with similar RNA expression vary extensively at the post-transcriptional and post-translational levels.

Problems and Service Needs Among Ex-Offenders with HIV Risk Behaviors Entering Sober Living Recovery Homes.

There is currently a nationwide effort to decrease the number of persons who are incarcerated in jails and prisons. However, many ex-offenders on probation or parole do not have access to affordable housing and larger proportions have histories of HIV risk as well as substance abuse problems. In California, sober living houses (SLHs) are becoming an increasingly popular housing option for these individuals.

Medulloblastoma: Molecular Classification-Based Personal Therapeutics.

Recent advances in cancer genomics have revealed 4 distinct subgroups of medulloblastomas, each with unique transcription profiles, DNA alterations and clinical outcome. Molecular classification of medulloblastomas improves predictions of clinical outcome, allowing more accurate matching of intensity of conventional treatments with chemotherapy and radiation to overall prognosis and setting the stage for the introduction of targeted therapies.

A Phase 2, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial Assessing the Efficacy of ABT-436, a Novel V1b Receptor Antagonist, for Alcohol Dependence.

Alcohol use disorder has been linked to dysregulation of the brain stress systems, producing a negative emotional state leading to chronic relapsing behavior. Vasopressin receptors appear to have a regulatory role in stress, anxiety, and alcohol. This study evaluated the novel compound, ABT-436, a V1b receptor antagonist, in alcohol-dependent participants in a 12-week clinical trial.

Low loadings of platinum on transition metal carbides for hydrogen oxidation and evolution reactions in alkaline electrolytes.

Low-loadings of Pt supported over six transition metal carbide (Pt/TMC) powder catalysts were synthesized and evaluated for hydrogen oxidation and evolution reactions in an alkaline electrolyte. The roughness factor of each Pt/TMC catalyst was different, indicating that the carbide supports affect the dispersion of Pt. Furthermore, when normalized by the corresponding roughness factors, all Pt/TMC catalysts were found to have similar intrinsic activities that were comparable to the state-of-the-art commercial Pt/C electrocatalysts.

A pilot trial of injectable, extended-release naltrexone for the treatment of co-occurring cocaine and alcohol dependence.

Background: There is a high co-occurrence of cocaine and alcohol use disorders, and patients with both of these problems are difficult to treat. There is a reasonable rationale and some empirical data to justify a pilot trial of an injectable, extended-release formulation of naltrexone for treating co-occurring cocaine and alcohol addiction.

Methods: Eighty cocaine (n = 80) and alcohol dependent, treatment-seeking subjects were randomly assigned to receive either two monthly extended-release injections of naltrexone or two matching placebo injections in an 8-week clinical trial, with weekly medical management plus cognitive behavioral therapy visits.

Clinical and economic outcomes of liberal versus selective drug-eluting stent use: insights from temporal analysis of the multicenter Evaluation of Drug Eluting Stents and Ischemic Events (EVENT) registry.

Background: Although the benefits of drug-eluting stents (DES) for reducing restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention are well established, the impact of alternative rates of DES use on population-level outcomes is unknown.

Methods And Results: We used data from the Evaluation of Drug Eluting Stents and Ischemic Events (EVENT) registry to examine the clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of varying DES use rates in routine care. Between 2004 and 2007, 10,144 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were enrolled in the EVENT registry at 55 US centers.

Food allergy in adults and children.

Food allergy is defined as an adverse health effect arising from a specific immune response that occurs reproducibly on exposure to a given food and is distinct from food intolerance. Clinical manifestations of food allergy are varied and involve many systems including respiratory, cutaneous, and gastrointestinal. The double-blinded placebo-controlled oral food challenge remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of IgE-mediated food allergy.

Economic evaluation of clopidogrel plus aspirin for secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in Canada for patients with established cardiovascular disease: Results from the CHARISMA trial.

Background: The Clopidogrel for High Atherothrombotic Risk and Ischemic Stabilization, Management, and Avoidance (CHARISMA) trial found a statistically significant reduction in cardiovascular events when clopidogrel was added to aspirin in a prespecified subgroup of patients with established cardiovascular disease. However, the economic implications of such a strategy for the Canadian health care system are unknown.

Methods: For each patient in the CHARISMA trial with established cardiovascular disease, costs were estimated by multiplying resource utilization by unit costs derived from populations of Canadian patients in 2008 dollars.