Conversation with Juan Carlos Negrete.

Juan Carlos Negrete is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, McGill University; Founding Director, Addictions Unit, Montreal General Hospital; former President, Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine; and former WHO/PAHO Consultant on Alcoholism, Drug Addiction and Mental Health.

Meta-analyses of placebo-controlled trials of acamprosate for the treatment of alcohol dependence: impact of the combined pharmacotherapies and behavior interventions study.

Objectives: : The Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavior Interventions Study (COMBINE) reported no significant difference between acamprosate and placebo in the treatment of alcohol dependence. To evaluate the impact of COMBINE, we performed a meta-analysis of acamprosate placebo-controlled trials with the inclusion of data from COMBINE. As a secondary analysis, we added the COMBINE data to a recently published meta-analysis of naltrexone placebo-controlled trials.

Interpersonal group psychotherapy for comorbid alcohol dependence and non-psychotic psychiatric disorders.

Alcohol-dependent patients (N = 15) with comorbid non-psychotic psychiatric disorders were treated with Modified Interpersonal Group Therapy (MIGT) for eight weeks, 16 sessions, in a pilot intervention trial. Analysis of the group participants demonstrated that they achieved statistically significant improvements at post-treatment in four of five self-report outcome measures: number of drinking days, number of heavy drinking days, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Furthermore, the improvements in heavy drinking days and the Brief Symptom Inventory were maintained at two and eight months post-treatment.

A 12-month prospective follow-up study of patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and substance abuse: changes in psychiatric symptoms and substance use.

While it is widely known that patients with schizophrenia-spectrum psychoses and co-occurring substance use disorders are more difficult to manage, there is limited data on the course of their psychiatric symptoms when they remain in treatment over time. This prospective 12-month study evaluated changes in psychiatric symptoms and substance use to ascertain if the co-existence of substance use disorders influences ratings of psychiatric symptoms at follow-up. 147 outpatients in a continuing care program were assessed at intake and followed prospectively for 12 months.

Drug and alcohol use among patients with schizophrenia and related psychoses: levels and consequences.

Patients with schizophrenia and related psychoses frequently use, abuse and become dependent on psychoactive substances. Local surveys indicate differences in both types and patterns of substances used. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to document abuse in 207 successive outpatients presenting to a psychiatric continuing care facility in a large Canadian city.