Biomedical subjects
J Volpicelli
Publications and source records attributed to J Volpicelli.
The role of uncontrollable trauma in the development of PTSD and alcohol addiction.
After a traumatic event, people often report using alcohol to relieve their symptoms of anxiety, irritability, and depression. Alcohol may relieve these symptoms because drinking compensates for deficiencies in endorphin activity following a traumatic experience. Within minutes of exposure to a traumatic event there is an increase in the level of endorphins in the brain. During the time of the trauma, endorphin levels remain elevated and help numb the emotional and physical pain of the trauma. However, after the trauma is over, endorphin levels gradually decrease and this may lead to a period of endorphin withdrawal that can last from hours to days. This period of endorphin withdrawal may produce emotional distress and contribute to other symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because alcohol use increases endorphin activity, drinking following trauma may be used to compensate this endorphin withdrawal and thus avoid the associated emotional distress. This model has important implications for the treatment of PTSD and alcoholism.
Results of two levels of adjunctive treatment used with the nicotine patch.
The authors compared 9-, 16-, 26-, and 52-week outcomes for two randomly assigned groups of nicotine-dependent subjects: 1) nicotine patch plus four smoking cessation sessions with a nurse-practitioner giving advice and instruction (n = 36; moderate-intensity condition, MI); or 2) the foregoing treatments plus 16 weekly individual cognitive/ behavioral relapse-prevention therapy sessions (n = 33; high-intensity condition, HI). Patch completion rates were 69.7% in the HI group and 55.6% in the MI group (NS). Self-reported abstinence rates at the four follow-up points were comparable for the two treatment groups; HI: 39%, 36%, 36%, and 36%; MI: 44%, 28%, 25%, and 28%, respectively. There was some indication that MI patients with high nicotine dependence had lower abstinence rates than highly dependent HI patients.
Combination of the dopaminergic agent, phentermine, and the serotonergic agent, fenfluramine, in the treatment of cocaine dependence.
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