How Should Responsibility for Proper Medication Disposal Be Shared?

Pharmaceutical companies' capital, influence, and labor force well equip them to assume responsibility for public medication disposal programs. Government- and industry-funded campaigns for medication disposal do work, but responsibility often falls on local health care organizations to provide education and services. Lack of public awareness about how to dispose of medications and the ramifications of contaminating our natural resources and ecosystems with pharmaceuticals suggest a need for collaboration among pharmaceutical companies, government officials, clinicians, and patients.

The use of an integrated opioid and medical marijuana prescription drug monitoring program.

Objectives: To (1) identify the reasons for which pharmacists in Connecticut use the CPMRS when dispensing opioid medications and medical marijuana products, (2) determine pharmacists' perceived value of the CPMRS when dispensing opioids or medical marijuana, and (3) compare practices and the perceived value of the CPMRS among community-based pharmacists (CBPs) and medical marijuana dispensary pharmacists (MMDPs).

Methods: An online survey was administered from May 2019 to June 2019 to CBPs (n = 178) and MMDPs (n = 12). The survey included items about background, use, and attitudes about current and future use of the CPMRS.

Effects of repeated treatment with monoamine-transporter-inhibitor antidepressants on pain-related depression of intracranial self-stimulation in rats.

Rationale: Synaptic neurotransmission with dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and serotonin (5-HT) is terminated primarily by reuptake into presynaptic terminals via the DA, NE, and 5-HT transporters (DAT/NET/SERT, respectively). Monoamine transporter inhibitors constitute one class of drugs used to treat both depression and pain, and therapeutic effects by these compounds often require repeated treatment for days or weeks.

Objectives: The present study compared antinociceptive effects produced by repeated treatment with monoamine transporter inhibitors in a preclinical assay of pain-related depression of positively reinforced operant responding.

Comparison of chemotherapy effects on mechanical sensitivity and food-maintained operant responding in male and female rats.

Chemotherapies of varying classes often cause neuropathy and debilitating chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain sufficient to limit treatment and reduce quality of life for many patients battling cancer. There are currently no effective preventive or alleviative treatments for chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain. Preclinical models have been developed to test candidate chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain treatments; however, studies using these models rarely provide direct comparisons of effects of different chemotherapies or assess the degree to which chemotherapies produce clinically relevant signs of pain-depressed behavior.