Publications by authors named "John Giordano"

Article Synopsis
  • The opioid crisis has evolved into a global issue affecting various socioeconomic and cultural areas, with traditional treatment methods proving insufficient.
  • A narrative review was conducted using multiple databases to explore the complex factors contributing to this epidemic, acknowledging the potential for bias in article selection.
  • Despite some progress with Opioid Substitution Therapy, U.S. overdose deaths remain alarmingly high and are projected to increase; the authors suggest a need for a new treatment approach that targets brain neurotransmitter systems for better management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Carter Center has estimated that the addiction crisis in the United States (US), if continues to worsen at the same rate, may cost the country approximately 16 trillion dollars by 2030. In recent years, the well-being of youth has been compromised by not only the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic but also the alarming global opioid crisis, particularly in the US. Each year, deadly opioid drugs claim hundreds of thousands of lives, contributing to an ever-rising death toll.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Annotated bibliography of genetic addiction risk severity (GARS) publications, pro-dopamine regulation in nutraceuticals (KB220 nutraceutical variants), and policy documents. Further research is required to encourage the field to consider "Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) Anti-addiction Modeling" which involves early risk identification by means of genetic assessment similar to GARS, followed by induction of dopamine homeostasis by means of genetically guided pro-dopamine regulation similar to KB220. These results suggest that genetically based treatments may be a missing piece in the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Spinal biomechanical alignment is now able to be altered through the use of unique sound wave technology. This methodological commentary will correlate recent studies demonstrating the ability of sound waves to carry mass, how the EPIC technique spinal procedure uses a sound wave impulse to create measurable changes in spinal alignment, and the clinical safety and efficacy of this approach. The EPIC technique is a direct genealogical descendant of the technique originally developed by the founding family of chiropractic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

It is with a saddened heart that we are dedicating this article to the loving memory of our dear departed friend and associate B. William Downs. Bill was well known in the nutritional space worldwide for his major contributions to the health and welfare of millions around the globe.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: In this genomic era of addiction medicine, ideal treatment planning begins with genetic screening to determine neurogenetic antecedents of the Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) phenotype. Patients suffering from endotype addictions, both substance and behavioral, and other mental health/comorbid disorders that share the neurobiological commonality of dopamine dysfunction, are ideal candidates for RDS solutions that facilitate dopamine homeostasis, addressing the cause, rather than symptoms.

Objective: Our goal is to promote the interplay of molecular biology and recovery as well as provide evidence linked to RDS and its scientific basis to primary care physicians and others.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this nonsystematic review and opinion, including articles primarily selected from PubMed, we examine the pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in order to craft a reasonable opinion to help forge a paradigm shift in the treatment and prevention of primarily opioid-induced NAS. Newborns of individuals who use illicit and licit substances during pregnancy are at risk for withdrawal, also known as NAS. In the US, the reported prevalence of NAS has increased from 4.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the United States, amid the opioid overdose epidemic, nonaddicting/nonpharmacological proven strategies are available to treat pain and manage chronic pain effectively without opioids. Evidence supporting the long-term use of opioids for pain is lacking, as is the will to alter the drug-embracing culture in American chronic pain management. Some pain clinicians seem to prefer classical analgesic agents that promote unwanted tolerance to analgesics and subsequent biological induction of the "addictive brain".

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In face of an American opioid/psychostimulant crisis with overdose fatalities, due, in part, to the COVOD 19 pandemic, we are proposing a paradigm shift in response. Currently, The FDA has approved pharmaceuticals for the treatment of opioids, alcohol, and nicotine but not for psychostimulants or even cannabis.

Proposition: To respond to the deadly overdose issue globally, we are proposing that the FDA embrace, for the treatment and prophylaxis of opioid and psychostimulant abuse, induction of DNA-guided, dopamine homeostasis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The well-researched pro-dopamine regulator KB220 and variants result in increased functional connectivity in both animal and human brains, and prolonged neuroplasticity (brain cell repair) having been observed in rodents. Moreover, in addition to increased functional connectivity, recent studies show that KB220Z increases overall brain connectivity volume, enhances neuronal dopamine firing, and eliminates lucid dreams in humans over a prolonged period. An unprecedented number of clinical studies validating this patented nutrigenomic technology in re-balancing brain chemistry and optimizing dopamine sensitivity and function have been published.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This multi-center study of dual diagnosis (DD) programs involved 804 residential patients with co-occurring alcohol and mental health disorders. The Addiction Severity Index was administered at admission and at one, six, and 12 months after discharge. Repeated measures analysis showed the intoxication rate per month stabilized between months six and 12 with 68% still in remission and an 88% mean reduction from baseline (F = 519, p < .

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dopaminergic reward dysfunction in addictive behaviors is well supported in the literature. There is evidence that alterations in synchronous neural activity between brain regions subserving reward and various cognitive functions may significantly contribute to substance-related disorders. This study presents the first evidence showing that a pro-dopaminergic nutraceutical (KB220Z) significantly enhances, above placebo, functional connectivity between reward and cognitive brain areas in the rat.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The slaughters in Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs demand explanation, in the face of the ineffable. An understanding of the shooters' motives could restore our trust in our mutually cooperative existence. In this short communication we provide post-hoc rationale of both Stephen Paddock (Las Vegas mass shooting) and Devin Kelley (Southerland Springs mass shooting) and hypothesize that these shooters had genetically induced "Reward Deficiency Syndrome" (RDS) and a hypodopaminergia trait/state.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background The reward deficiency syndrome hypothesis posits that genes are responsible for reward dependence and related behaviors. There is evidence that both bulimia and anorexia nervosa, especially in women, have been linked to a lifetime history of substance use disorder (SUD). There are difficulties in accepting food as an addiction similar to drugs; however, increasingly neuroimaging studies favor such an assertion.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In order to explore the initiation of detoxification of addictive patients to opiates/opioids (along with some other anti-withdrawal agents), we developed a protocol to be utilized in treatment centers particularly with heavily dependent opiate/opioid subjects. Out of 17 subjects, only three received Buprenorphine/Naloxone (Bup/nx) along with KB220Z. In this pilot, we first used a dose of KB220Z of 2 oz twice daily before meals along with clonidine and benzodiazepines and other anti-nausea and sleep aids including Gabapentin.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There are some who suggest that alcoholism and drug abuse are not diseases at all and that they are not consequences of a brain disorder as espoused recently by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). Some would argue that addicts can quit on their own and moderate their alcohol and drug intake. When they present to a treatment program or enter the 12 Step Program & Fellowship, many addicts finally achieve complete abstinence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The connection between religion/spirituality and deviance, like substance abuse, was first made by Durkheim who defined socially expected behaviors as norms. He explained that deviance is due in large part to their absence (called anomie), and concluded that spirituality lowers deviance by preserving norms and social bonds. Impairments in brain reward circuitry, as observed in Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), may also result in deviance and as such we wondered if stronger belief in spirituality practice and religious belief could lower relapse from drugs of abuse.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Addictions to smoking, alcohol, illicit drugs, and certain behaviors like gambling, overeating, and sex, are prevalent worldwide. These behaviors are highly destructive and costly to individuals and society due to health consequences, criminality and lost productivity. The genetic vulnerability, environmental exposures, and individual behaviors that contribute to the brain dysfunction and compulsive tendencies that mark addiction make it one of the most complicated diseases to study and treat.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

It is well known that athletes and other individuals who have suffered painful injuries are at increased risk for all reward deficiency syndrome (RDS) behaviors, including substance use disorder (SUD). Comparing patient demographics and relapse rates in chemical dependence programs is pertinent because demographics may affect outcomes. Increased risk for relapse and lower academic achievement were found to have a significant association in recent outcome data from a holistic treatment center (HTC) located in North Miami Beach, FL.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The endemic of legal opioid iatrogenic induced prescription drug abuse is of major world-wide concern. Understanding pain pathways and the role of dopaminergic tone in the neurophysiology of pain relief provides potential therapeutic solutions. A 2011 NIDA report indicated that approximately 8.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

It is well established that inherited human aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH-2) deficiency reduces the risk for alcoholism. Kudzu plants and extracts have been used for 1,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine to treat alcoholism. Kudzu contains daidzin, which inhibits ALDH-2 and suppresses heavy drinking in rodents.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: While numerous studies support the efficacy of methadone and buprenorphine for the stabilization and maintenance of opioid dependence, clinically significant opioid withdrawal symptoms occur upon tapering and cessation of dosage.

Methods: We present a case study of a 35 year old Caucasian female (Krissie) who was prescribed increasing dosages of prescription opioids after carpel tunnel surgery secondary to chronic pain from reflex sympathetic dystrophy and fibromyalgia. Over the next 5 years, daily dosage requirements increased to over 80 mg of Methadone and 300 ug/hr Fentanyl transdermal patches, along with combinations of 12-14 1600 mcg Actig lollipop and oral 100 mg Morphine and 30 mg oxycodone 1-2 tabs q4-6hr PRN for breakthrough pain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF