Pharmacological Treatment of Alcohol Cravings.

(1) Background: The treatment of substance addiction is challenging and has persisted for decades, with only a few therapeutic options. Although there are some recommendations for specific treatments for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), there is no specific medication used to treat alcohol cravings, which could benefit millions of patients that are suffering from alcoholism. Cravings, or the urge to use drugs, refer to the desire to experience the effects of a previously experienced psychoactive substance.

[Analysis of delays in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients at a public hospital].

Background: To identify potential delays in the management of patients with breast cancer examined at a public hospital, from time of suspicion until diagnosis and beginning of treatment.

Methods: Retrospective study which analyzed data related to time elapsed in different intervals between suspicion, diagnosis and onset of systemic cancer-directed treatments, of consecutive breast cancer patients cared for at the medical oncology clinic of the Mario Covas Hospital during 2006.

Results: Sixty-eight women, with a mean age of 56.