Enzymatic assay for urine lactose in the assessment of recent intravenous abuse of buprenorphine.

Urine samples were analyzed for lactose to investigate if elevated lactose concentrations indicate recent (< 48 hours) intravenous abuse of substances containing lactose as an excipient. Elevated lactose levels were found in samples given by patients who had recently injected substances intravenously, verified by fresh injection marks. Urine lactose assay can support clinical and toxicological findings when assessing substance abuse.

Polydrug abuse among opioid maintenance treatment patients is related to inadequate dose of maintenance treatment medicine.

Background: Polydrug abuse is a known problem among opioid-dependent patients receiving opioid maintenance treatment (OMT). However, improved laboratory diagnostics is required to reveal polydrug abuse in its current scope. Furthermore, there are few studies focusing on the relationship between polydrug abuse and adequacy of the dose of OMT medicine.

New psychoactive substances as part of polydrug abuse within opioid maintenance treatment revealed by comprehensive high-resolution mass spectrometric urine drug screening.

Objective: At present, polydrug abuse comprises, besides traditional illicit drugs, new psychoactive substances (NPS) and non-prescribed psychotropic medicines (N-PPM). Polydrug abuse was comprehensively evaluated among opioid-dependent patients undergoing opioid maintenance treatment (OMT).

Methods: Two hundred consecutively collected urine samples from 82 OMT patients (52 male) treated with methadone or buprenorphine-naloxone medication were studied using a liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry screening method.

Parenteral buprenorphine-naloxone abuse is a major cause of fatal buprenorphine-related poisoning.

Buprenorphine (BPN) medication for opioid maintenance treatment in Finland consists predominantly of buprenorphine-naloxone (BNX). Both BPN and BNX are associated with diversion, abuse and non-medically supervised use worldwide. Our purpose was to estimate the proportion of BNX to all BPN-related fatalities.

Urine naloxone concentration at different phases of buprenorphine maintenance treatment.

In spite of the benefits of buprenorphine-naloxone co-formulation (BNX) in opioid maintenance treatment, the naloxone component has not prevented parenteral use of BNX. Current laboratory methods are not sufficient to differentiate between therapeutic and illicit use of buprenorphine, and little is known about urine naloxone concentrations. Measurement of urine naloxone, together with buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine, might help to determine the naloxone source and administration route.

Urine analysis of 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone in opioid-dependent patients by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) procedure was developed for the quantitative analysis of the new designer drug methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) in urine together with the common stimulants amphetamine, methamphetamine, and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The procedure involved electron ionization (EI) GCMS in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode after liquid-liquid extraction with toluene and derivatization with heptafluorobutyric acid anhydride. All MDPV findings were confirmed by positive chemical ionization GCMS in SIM mode.

Seizures induced by low-dose right unilateral and bifrontal electroconvulsive stimuli.

The duration of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) seizures of depressive patients has been found to be inversely related to titrated right unilateral (RUL) and bilateral (BL) seizure threshold (ST) levels. This inverse relationship is thought to reflect those neural processes determining seizure duration. The relation between seizure duration and titrated ST level in bifrontal (BF) ECT, which has not been previously studied, is examined here in addition to RUL ECT.

Biodistribution and radiation dosimetry of [123I]ADAM in healthy human subjects: preliminary results.

[(123)I]ADAM [2-((2-((dimethylamino)methyl)phenyl)thio)-5-iodophenylamine (ADAM)] has recently been shown to be a very promising imaging ligand for the detection of serotonin transporters (SERT) in human brain, because of its high specificity for SERT. [(123)I]ADAM has previously been used only for animal studies. In this work, we investigated the radiation dosimetry and biodistribution of [(123)I]ADAM based on whole-body scans in healthy human volunteers.

Right unilateral and bifrontal electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of depression: a preliminary study.

The short-term outcome of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was studied in 24 patients with a current major depressive episode (DSM-IV). Patients were randomized to high dose (400% above the seizure threshold) right unilateral (RUL) ECT, to moderate dose (150% above seizure threshold) RUL ECT, and to low dose (just above seizure threshold) bifrontal (BF) ECT. Primary outcome measures included number of treatments, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score, and Mini-Mental State Examination score.

Differential response to right unilateral ECT in depressed patients: impact of comorbidity and severity of illness [ISRCTN39974945].

Background: Recent electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) efficacy studies of right unilateral (RUL) ECT may not apply to real life clinics with a wide range of patients with major depressive episodes.

Methods: The study included two groups of patients. In addition to a homogeneous group of patients with major depression according to DSM-IV criteria with severity of the major depressive episode > 16 scores on 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS) (Group 1, n = 16), we included a heterogeneous group of patients with less severe major depressive episodes or with a variety of comorbid conditions (Group 2, n = 24).