Oral fluid analysis to monitor recent exposure to synthetic cannabinoids in a high-risk subpopulation.

Among novel psychoactive substances, synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRA) seem to have the widest diffusion in the population with no limitation to any particular demographic group. Information on drug consumption relies mostly on anonymized surveys and less on clinical or analytical data; notwithstanding, the huge efforts constantly made to enroll subjects to gather epidemiological data. In the present study, we collected 66 oral fluid samples from volunteers in a drug rehabilitation center in 2019 and early 2020.

Increased oxytocin levels among abstinent heroin addicts: Association with aggressiveness, psychiatric symptoms and perceived childhood neglect.

A disruption of the oxytocin system seems to affect a variety of brain functions including emotions, mood and social behavior possibly underlying severe social deficits and susceptibility for substance use and mental health disorders. Early life adversity, such as insecure attachment in childhood, has been suggested to influence oxytocin tone contributing to a condition of neurobiological vulnerability. Aim of the present study was to investigate oxytocin serum levels in abstinent heroin addicted patients, in comparison with healthy controls, and the possible correlation with co-occurring psychiatric symptoms, aggressiveness and perception of parental neglect.

Combination of olanzapine with opioid-agonists in the treatment of heroin-addicted patients affected by comorbid schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of olanzapine (OLA) in heroin-dependent patients affected by comorbid schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). Sixty-one patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for heroin dependence and the criteria for SSD (schizophrenia and schizotypal and schizoaffective-bipolar disorders) were treated in a 12-week prospective observational trial of substitution treatment in combination with OLA or typical antipsychotic haloperidol. Patients were included into 2 subgroups, in relationship with treatment, for the evaluation of the end points at week 12: group 1, SSD treated with OLA (35 patients); group 2, SSD treated with haloperidol (26 patients).