The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: Priorities for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), which is part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), has a broad interest in studying the biologic activities of natural products, especially those for which compelling evidence from preclinical research suggests biologic activities that may be beneficial to health or have a potential role in disease treatment, as well as products used extensively by the American public. As of 2023, use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C.

Pilot trial results of D-HOMES: a behavioral-activation based intervention for diabetes medication adherence and psychological wellness among people who have been homeless.

Introduction: People living with type 2 diabetes who experience homelessness face a myriad of barriers to engaging in diabetes self-care behaviors that lead to premature complications and death. This is exacerbated by high rates of comorbid mental illness, substance use disorder, and other physical health problems. Despite strong evidence to support lay health coach and behavioral activation, little research has effectively engaged people living with type 2 diabetes who had experienced homelessness (DH).

Disseminating Community-Engaged Research Involving People Experiencing Homelessness and Diabetes Using Participatory Theater.

People experiencing homelessness balance competing priorities resulting in reduced capacity to meet the care demands of chronic conditions, including Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Arts-based performances present an avenue to expose others to these challenges. This article describes the process of incorporating qualitative research findings in a community-based participatory theater production to expose audiences to the day-to-day realities of living with T2DM while simultaneously experiencing homelessness.

Recruitment of Low-wage Workers for a Time-Sensitive Natural Experiment to Evaluate a Minimum Wage Policy: Challenges and Lessons Learned.

Natural experiments are often used for answering research questions in which randomization is implausible. Effective recruitment strategies are well documented for observational cohort studies and clinical trials, unlike recruitment methods for time-sensitive natural experiments. In this time-sensitive study of the impact of a minimum wage policy, we aimed to recruit 900 low-wage workers in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Challenges for Clinical Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research in the United States.

Significant changes have occurred in the policy landscape surrounding cannabis legalization, production, and use around the globe and across the United States. With widespread availability of novel cannabis and cannabis-based products, there is an urgent need to understand their safety and effectiveness for medical indications. Three primary barriers contribute to the difficulty in initiating research geared toward answering the most pressing public health questions: the US regulatory status of cannabis and cannabinoids, sources for cannabis and cannabinoid study medications, and limited funding and resources to support studies.

Increasing evidence-based substance use interventions globally: The National Institute on Drug Abuse postdoctoral fellowships.

As of April 2020, 121 individuals from 47 nations had completed 124 NIDA International Program INVEST Drug Abuse Research Fellowships. This is the first comprehensive effort to assess the fellowships from the combined perspectives of career outcomes, migration patterns, publications, cost per publication, and funding. We searched electronic sources such as university websites, ResearchGate, LinkedIn, PubMed, and NIH databases to find current curriculum vitae, journal articles published in 2018 and 2019, and funding records.

Repurposing of the PDE5 Inhibitor Sildenafil for the Treatment of Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in Neonates.

Nitric oxide (NO), an important endogenous signaling molecule released from vascular endothelial cells and nerves, activates the enzyme soluble guanylate cyclase to catalyze the production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) from guanosine triphosphate. cGMP, in turn, activates protein kinase G to phosphorylate a range of effector proteins in smooth muscle cells that reduce intracellular Ca levels to inhibit both contractility and proliferation. The enzyme phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) curtails the actions of cGMP by hydrolyzing it into inactive 5'-GMP.

Deletion of murine slc29a4 modifies vascular responses to adenosine and 5-hydroxytryptamine in a sexually dimorphic manner.

Equilibrative nucleoside transporter 4 (ENT4), encoded by SLC29A4, mediates the flux of both 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and adenosine across cell membranes. We hypothesized that loss of ENT4 function in mice would modify the effects of these established regulators of vascular function. Male and female wild-type (WT) and slc29a4-null (ENT4-KO) mice were compared with respect to their hemodynamics and mesenteric vascular function.

Luteinizing hormone receptor expression by nonneoplastic and neoplastic canine lymphocytes.

Objective: To investigate luteinizing hormone (LH) receptor expression in canine nonneoplastic and neoplastic lymph nodes, circulating nonneoplastic lymphocytes, and T-cell lymphoma (TCL) cell lines.

Sample: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lymph nodes (5 neoplastic and 3 nonneoplastic) from 6 dogs, circulating lymphocytes from venous blood specimens obtained from 12 healthy dogs, and 3 TCL cell lines derived from 3 dogs with primary lymphoma.

Procedures: Lymph node specimens were immunohistochemically stained for determination of LH receptor expression.

Impaired cross-talk between NO and hyperpolarization in myoendothelial feedback: a novel therapeutic target in early endothelial dysfunction of metabolic disease.

Over the past three decades, our view of the endothelium rapidly evolved from a static lining of the blood vessels to a dynamic determinant and regulator of vascular tone and homeostasis. It is now widely accepted that endothelial dysfunction is a hallmark of almost every vascular pathology, either as a cause or a consequence. The tight association between the metabolic disease spectrum, ranging from mild alterations of blood lipids profile all the way to diabetes and morbid obesity; and vascular complications argues for a deleterious endothelial remodeling in these conditions.

National Institute on Drug Abuse International Program: improving opioid use disorder treatment through international research training.

Purpose Of Review: For more than 25 years, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has supported research-training programs, establishing a global research network and expanding the knowledge base on substance use disorders. International research to inform approaches to opioid addiction is particularly important and relevant to the United States, where opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose constitute an emerging public health crisis. This article summarizes the NIDA International Program and illustrates its impact by reviewing recent articles about treatment approaches for opioid use disorders (OUD).

Vasoconstrictor stimulus determines the functional contribution of myoendothelial feedback to mesenteric arterial tone.

Key Points: In isolated resistance arteries, endothelial modulation of vasoconstrictor responses to α -adrenoceptor agonists occurs via a process termed myoendothelial feedback: localized inositol trisphosphate (InsP )-dependent Ca transients activate intermediate conductance Ca -activated K (IK ) channels, hyperpolarizing the endothelial membrane potential to limit further reductions in vessel diameter. We demonstrate that IK channel-mediated myoendothelial feedback limits responses of isolated mesenteric arteries to noradrenaline and nerve stimulation, but not to the thromboxane A mimetic U46619 or to increases in intravascular pressure. In contrast, in the intact mesenteric bed, although responses to exogenous noradrenaline were limited by IK channel-mediated myoendothelial feedback, release of NO and activation of endothelial small conductance Ca -activated K (SK ) channels in response to increases in shear stress appeared to be the primary mediators of endothelial modulation of vasoconstriction.

The globalization of addiction research: capacity-building mechanisms and selected examples.

Over the past decade, the amount and variety of addiction research around the world has increased substantially. Researchers in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, and western Europe have significantly contributed to knowledge about addiction and its treatment. However, the nature and context of substance use disorders and the populations using drugs are far more diverse than is reflected in studies done in Western cultures.

Addiction Science: A Rationale and Tools for a Public Health Response to Drug Abuse.

New scientific knowledge and effective, evidence-based interventions have provided health leaders and policymakers a remarkable paradigm to guide the development of addiction treatment services around the world. The definition of addiction as a brain disease, validated screening and assessment tools, medication-assisted treatment, and effective behavioral treatments have served as vehicles for both the United States and other countries to guide the transformation of their substance abuse treatment systems. Seeking to expand international research and infrastructure, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)'s International Program has engaged international investigators and institutions in addiction research to promote dissemination of addiction science globally.

Global issues in volatile substance misuse.

This special issue of Substance Use & Misuse addresses the public health issue of volatile substance misuse (VSM), the inhalation of gases or vapors for psychoactive effects, assessing the similarities and differences in the products misused, patterns, prevalence, etiologies, and impacts of VSM by examining it through sociocultural epidemiology, neuroscience, and interventions research. The Canadian, US, and Australian guest editors contend that, when compared with other drugs used at a similar prevalence, VSM has attracted relatively little research effort. The authors and editors call for further research to develop evidence-based policies and comprehensive interventions that respect culture and context-specific knowledge.

Adult pancreatic hemangioma: case report and literature review.

We report an adult pancreatic hemangioma diagnosed on pathological specimen review following pylorus preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy for a symptomatic cystic mass in the head of the pancreas. Eight cases of adult pancreatic hemangioma have been reported in literature since 1939. Presenting symptoms, radiographic diagnosis, pathologic characteristics, and treatment of adult pancreatic hemagiomas are discussed following review of all published cases.

The prevalence of drugs and alcohol in fatally injured truck drivers.

To assess the impact of alcohol and other drug use in the trucking industry, the National Transportation Safety Board, in collaboration with The National Institute on Drug Abuse investigated fatal-to-the-driver trucking accidents in eight states over a one year period. Comprehensive drug screens were performed on blood specimens collected from 168 fatally injured drivers. One or more drugs were detected in 67% of the drivers and 33% of the drivers had detectable blood concentrations of psychoactive drugs or alcohol.

Long-term use of nicotine vs placebo gum.

Medical patients (n = 315) who wished to quit smoking were randomly assigned in a double-blind manner to receive either nicotine or placebo gum. Subjects were advised to stop gum use by 4 months. Among abstinent smokers, 46% of those receiving nicotine gum and 17% of those receiving placebo gum used the gum beyond the recommended 4-month period.

Symptoms of tobacco withdrawal. A replication and extension.

Smokers (n = 315) who wished to quit were randomly assigned in a double-blind manner to groups using either nicotine or placebo gum. Self-reported and observed symptoms of tobacco withdrawal were collected before cessation and at follow-ups of 1 to 2 weeks, 1 month, and 6 months. Self-reported and/or observed anger, anxiety, craving, difficulty concentrating, hunger, impatience, and restlessness were the most prominent symptoms of tobacco withdrawal.

Effect of dose on nicotine's reinforcing, withdrawal-suppression and self-reported effects.

Seventy-eight smokers trying to quit were randomly assigned to 0-, 0.5-, 2- and 4-mg doses of nicotine gum and tracked for 9 months. In the 1st week of abstinence, self-administration of gum did not differ by dose (4 mg = 2 mg = 0.