Rural New England Health Study (Phase 2)
Hepatitis COpioid Use Disorder1 moreThis study will integrate mobile hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing and treatment with expanded syringe access in order to improve uptake of HCV testing and treatment, and reduce syringe sharing behavior in rural northern New England. The intervention aims to reach rural opioid injectors with HCV and to fill service gaps identified around access to syringe services and HCV testing and treatment, while limiting the burden on local partners. If effective, this mobile model of HCV telehealth integrated with syringe services will provide a promising approach for local public health authorities seeking to curb opioid injection, syringe sharing and HCV rates in rural America, and reduce the risk environment for HIV outbreaks in those communities.
Long-Term Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
Drug AddictionEmploymentPoverty and opioid addiction are interrelated and chronic problems which have not been addressed adequately. The Therapeutic Workplace could treat the many adults with opioid use disorder who are unemployed and live in poverty. The Therapeutic Workplace pays participants to work. To promote drug abstinence, the Therapeutic Workplace arranges employment-based abstinence reinforcement in which participants are required to provide drug-free urine samples to maintain maximum wages. Many studies have shown that employment-based abstinence reinforcement in the Therapeutic Workplace can promote and maintain drug abstinence. Recently, the investigators showed that abstinence-contingent wage supplements in the Therapeutic Workplace could promote drug abstinence and employment and reduce poverty. However, the investigators have not demonstrated the real-world impacts of the Therapeutic Workplace. The Therapeutic Workplace requires two modifications to produce real world impacts. The investigators must develop a real-world version of the Therapeutic Workplace that community treatment programs can implement. The investigators must reduce the costs of maintaining employment-based abstinence reinforcement. This application seeks to develop and evaluate a low-cost Therapeutic Workplace that community treatment programs can implement and that addresses the persistent nature of opioid addiction and poverty. The investigators propose to conduct a Stage III study in which a community clinic (REACH Health Services) adapts and implements the Therapeutic Workplace intervention. To improve the feasibility of this intervention, the investigators will use low-cost abstinence-contingent wage supplements to maintain abstinence. The investigators propose to conduct a randomized controlled study to evaluate the effectiveness of the low-cost abstinence-contingent wage supplements in a community Therapeutic Workplace to maintain long-term drug abstinence and employment, and to reduce poverty in adults with opioid use disorder. All participants will be invited to attend a 4-week induction period and 76 weeks of support by an employment specialist. At the end of a 4-week induction period, REACH unemployed methadone or buprenorphine patients with opioid use disorder who meet the Induction Period inclusion criteria (N=225) will be randomly assigned to a "Usual Care Control," an "Initiation Only," or an "Initiation and Maintenance" group. All groups will be offered methadone or buprenorphine treatment and an employment specialist for 76 weeks. "Initiation Only" and "Initiation and Maintenance" participants will earn high magnitude abstinence-contingent wage supplements during a 24-week Initiation period (weeks 1-24). "Initiation and Maintenance" participants will also earn low-magnitude abstinence-contingent wage supplements during a 52-week Maintenance period (weeks 25-76). The investigators will base the primary outcome measures on assessments conducted every four weeks of the Maintenance period. If low-cost abstinence-contingent wage supplements in the community Therapeutic Workplace maintain drug abstinence and employment and decrease poverty, community drug abuse treatment clinics could apply this intervention widely as a long-term maintenance treatment for unemployed adults with opioid use disorder.
Peer Recovery Support Services for Individuals in Recovery Residences on MOUD
Opioid Use DisorderSubstance Use DisorderThe United States is experiencing an unprecedented opioid epidemic with a rapid increase in overdose deaths. Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) including methadone, buprenorphine, and extended-release naltrexone are efficacious and the recommended standard of care, yet barriers to sustained MOUD treatment reduce the overall efficacy of MOUD. Rates of MOUD retention are alarmingly low and MOUD dropout predicts opioid use/relapse, overdose, and death. While previous research has identified predictors of MOUD retention and adherence, there are no evidence-based interventions to improve MOUD retention. Recovery support services are a broad set of strategies to promote healthy outcomes among individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) that are typically separate from standard professional treatment. Among those strategies most utilized are peer recovery support services (PRSS) and recovery residences (RRs). PRSS include coaching, mentoring, education, and other supports delivered by individuals uniquely qualified by their lived experience with SUD. PRSS are increasingly utilized in a range of clinical settings, and advantages of PRSS include inherent shared understanding of addiction and a high degree of acceptance and understanding that is not found in most professional relationships. Existing research tentatively supports PRSS; however, the evidence to date is sparse and comes with significant methodological limitations and inconsistencies that make it difficult to conclude the efficacy of PRSS. No studies have examined the role of PRSS in promoting retention in MOUD. RRs provide a supportive living environment for persons in recovery from SUD and are widely utilized in the United States with an estimated 17,943 residences in 2020. Despite their proliferation, the evidence for RRs is only moderate and diminished by methodological weaknesses. Further, individuals on MOUD seeking housing through RRs often face increased MOUD-related stigma or may be disqualified from a RR for taking MOUD and need additional support to navigate these challenges. The potential synergistic benefits of combining PRSS and RRs to improve MOUD retention are considerable. PRSS and RRs are already mainstays in the recovery support services repertoire and could be leveraged to support MOUD retention. For example, more frequent, informal outreach typical of PRSS could facilitate regular monitoring of shifting attitudes and behaviors related to MOUD. The structure and accountability embedded in RRs could be used to support MOUD adherence and retention. Waxing and waning motivation to participate in MOUD treatment is common, and standard treatment is often unsuccessful at identifying early signs of future dropout or facilitating re-engagement after dropout. We will recruit participants on MOUD in RRs and provide them with PRSS using approaches such as recovery coaching and care navigation with a particular focus on supporting retention in MOUD care. PRSS will also provide assertive outreach between episodes of care, emphasize continuation in treatment and other recovery activities after leaving a RR (either successfully or unsuccessfully), and emphasize return to care after treatment dropout and/or relapse. The peers will be deeply embedded within the local provider community and care continuum to facilitate ease of care navigation. The ultimate goal of our research agenda is to test the efficacy of a PRSS intervention among individuals with OUD living in RRs through a rigorous trial. The eventual trial design would be informed by preparatory activities and experience proposed in this planning project. Preparatory activities proposed in this project include three major phases. Phase 1 - preparation for the intervention including: building a network of RRs that will be recruitment sites in the pilot RCT, recruiting and training peer support specialists, conducting focus groups and interviews to gather stakeholder input, and developing PRSS approaches to promote MOUD retention. Phase 2 - pilot test the PRSS intervention by randomizing N=50 individuals on MOUD recruited from collaborating RRs to either: a 24-week course of the PRSS intervention added to usual services, or usual services without the PRSS intervention. Phase 3 - gather additional input from former participants and RR staff post-intervention to further refine the intervention, and use lessons learned to inform our trial design and data collection procedures for the next-step R01 application.
EA for Protracted Withdrawal of OUD
Opioid-Related DisordersOpioid use disorder (OUD) the most harmful of all the illicit drugs is a serious substance-related disorder resulting from abuse or misuse of opioids. Huge number of patients are addictive to opioid and evidences show that patients with OUD have high rates of infectious diseases.The "World Drug Report 2020" has declared that 58 million people used opioids in 2018 and some 35.6 million people suffered from drug use disorders globally. More than 11 million people inject drugs, while 1.4 million PWID are living with HIV, 5.5 million with hepatitis C and 1.2 million are living with both hepatitis C and HIV. The long-term physical and mental symptoms of some opioid drug users after detoxification treatment are called protracted opioid withdrawal syndrome (POAS). POAS is one of the important causes of relapse. Methadone maintenance treatment is the most widespread and extensively researched treatment for heroin addiction and has been shown to reduce the frequency of opioid use, the mortality, and the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and viral hepatitis. But higher daily methadone dose and increasing duration of treatment conduce the addiction in methadone. Other medication therapy like naltrexone treatment is also associated with high rates of noncompliance and opioid relapse. Meanwhile, relapse to heroin use following cessation of agonist maintenance treatment is common. The problems associated with use of opioid agonists have made it necessary to develop non-opioid therapies to ameliorate the symptoms of acute and protracted opioid withdrawal. Acupuncture based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory is becoming a popular complementary and alternative treatment worldwide. Study showed that acupuncture reduced the depression symptoms and cravings of patients under methadone maintenance treatment. Another study by Le et al. (2016) showed that electric acupuncture has been associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms through the adjustment of HPA axis function and increasing the hippocampus activity. And also some research show the efficiency of acupuncture in treating mice with OUD. Investigators conduct a pragmatic randomized controlled trials(pRCT) to observe the effect of acupuncture in a larger sample. It combines the advantages of randomization and real-world data, and the results can provide the best real-world evidence for the assessment of intervention effects or comparative effects.
Evaluating the Safety of Acute Baclofen in Methadone-maintained Individuals With Opiate Dependence....
Addiction OpiateOpiate addiction is a major health challenge. The mainstay of treatment is opiate substitution therapy (OST), typically methadone, but many desire to be opiate-free. Abstinence in older opiate addicts with increasingly complex health needs may also be advantageous. Detoxification generally involves tapering of OST with adjunct medication to treat emerging symptoms, but these are often ineffective or inappropriate for longer-term prescribing. New treatments are therefore needed. The investigators propose that baclofen has the desired properties to facilitate OST detoxification. It is licensed for spasticity, is currently used to treat alcoholism and there is promising pre-clinical and clinical evidence of potential efficacy in opiate dependence. Common symptoms of withdrawal are likely to be improved by baclofen. Whilst the investigators clinical experience and other studies suggest baclofen can be taken safely with methadone, they could potentially interact causing adverse effects such as respiratory depression. Also, the possibility of abuse liability remains unexplored and is an important consideration in this indication. The investigators will therefore determine the safe dose combinations of baclofen and methadone and to assess if baclofen is 'liked'. Patients engaged in treatment for opiate dependence from community addiction services and receiving stable doses of OST with methadone will be invited to undergo screening at the Imperial Clinical Research Facility (ICRF) at Hammersmith hospital, or at their local addiction clinic. Up to 64 eligible patients will attend the ICRF for an experimental visit. Acute baclofen or placebo will be orally administered (randomised, single-blind, 3:1 ratio respectively) with the dose determined by a Bayesian adaptive trial algorithm. Measures will comprise respiratory, sedation, self-report and cardiovascular monitoring, and blood sampling for 5 hours post-dose. The study duration will be ~2-3 weeks from pre-screening phone call to the post visit follow up phone call.
Reducing Pain and Opioid Use With CBD
Opioid Use DisorderThis is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study designed to assess the tolerability and efficacy of fsCBD and bsCBD, compared to a placebo control, to reduce opioid use, anxiety, and pain and improve sleep and cognitive function. If eligible for the study, subjects will be randomized to receive one of the conditions for 12 weeks.
Efficacy of Buprenorphine and XR-Naltrexone Combination for Relapse Prevention in Opioid Use Disorder...
Opioid-use DisorderThis study will evaluate the effectiveness of a new pharmacological approach to increase efficacy of treatment with extended release naltrexone (XR-naltrexone) for individuals with opioid use disorder by combining it with buprenorphine-naloxone. This is a two arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to examine whether addition of buprenorphine-naloxone will improve treatment retention, reduce opioid craving, and improve mood over 24 weeks of treatment with extended release naltrexone (XR-naltrexone) administered every four weeks for a total of 6 injections.
Adjunctive Transcranial Stimulation to Reduce Impulsivity in Opiate Use Disorder
Opioid-use DisorderTobacco Use DisorderThe goal of this study is to examine the effect of four sessions of theta burst stimulation (TBS) versus sham TMS on attentional bias for smoking and opioid cues versus neutral stimuli in a population of patients with tobacco use disorder (TUD) with comorbid opioid use disorder (OUD) that is stable and on treatment with buprenorphine. The investigators will also examine the effect of TBS on craving for cigarettes as well as opioids. Participants will perform a stress induction procedure that mirrors an optimum combination of cues that trigger tonic craving in their environment while exposed to stress. All four sessions of TBS/sham TMS will be performed on the same day, with each session lasting for approximately 10 minutes and separated by 50 minute intervals.
An Adaptive Walking Intervention to Manage Chronic Pain in Veterans With Opioid Use Disorder Engaged...
Opioid Use DisorderChronic PainSevere chronic pain and opioid use disorder (OUD) occur at significantly higher rates in Veterans compared to the general population. Chronic pain often persists despite engagement in opioid agonist treatment (OAT), the first line treatment for OUD. Recent VA guidelines strongly recommend non-pharmacologic treatment for chronic pain, but individuals with OUD are frequently excluded from pain treatment studies. There is a need for evidence-based pain treatments that compliment OAT for Veterans with chronic pain and OUD. In this study, the investigators will determine feasibility and acceptability for a behaviorally focused pain treatment that includes pain education and a pedometer assisted adaptive walking program for Veterans receiving OAT for OUD. Potential treatment outcomes will be repeatedly assessed using a mobile device, and study-provided pedometers. By offering pain treatment within OAT clinical care, the investigators hope to decrease stigma and increase access for Veterans with chronic pain and OUD.
Smartphones for Opiate Addiction Recovery
Opioid-use DisorderTreatments for opioid addiction exist, but effectiveness is compromised when subjects use illicit opiates during treatment. Reuse rates during treatment can be high, and reducing illicit opiate use during treatment has thus recently become a major NIDA policy goal. The 5-minute battery indicates the numerical probability that a patient will reuse illicit opiates within the next 7-10 days.