The Swiss trials on medical prescription of injectable diacetylmorphine (pharmaceutical heroin) for “severe” heroin dependence provoked very controversial commentaries. Despite methodological shortcomings, the evaluation of the Swiss heroin trials yielded some interesting findings. Study participants showed substantial improvements in health and well-being and noticeable declines in illicit drug use and criminal activities. Heroin prescription may thus be helpful for some of those who continue to regularly use illicit heroin while maintained on methadone or who refuse other available treatment options. However, research-based evidence suggests that the intravenous (IV) application of heroin under medical supervision may have untoward side effects. Recent studies have shown that heroin injections produce transient, but significant decreases in systemic and cortical oxygenation most likely secondary to respiratory depression. Among others, these effects are the subject of ongoing studies.

The objective of this study was to develop new standardized alcohol-associated cues and assess their effects on brain activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Pictures of alcoholic and neutral beverages and affectively neutral pictures were presented to 44 abstinent alcoholics and 37 age-matched healthy control subjects. We assessed the skin conductance response, and the elicited arousal and valence. Alcoholics and control subjects did not differ in arousal, valence or skin conductance response evoked by alcohol-associated and affectively neutral stimuli, while nonalcoholic beverages were rated as more unpleasant and arousing by alcoholics compared with control subjects. In the fMRI pilot study, alcohol and abstract pictures were presented to six abstinent alcoholics and induced a significant activation of brain areas associated with visual emotional processes such as the fusiform gyrus, parts of the brain reward system (basal ganglia and orbitofrontal gyrus) and further brain regions in the frontal and parietal cortices associated with the attention network. These observations suggest that standardized pictures of alcoholic beverages can be used to assess brain circuits involved in the processing and evaluation of alcohol cues.

The interpersonal dependency inventory comprised three subscales called Emotional reliance of another person (ER), lack of social self confidence (LSS) and Assertion of autonomy (AUT). Several formula have been developed for deriving whole-scale scores.

The aim of the study on 621 addictive subjects was to determine the best formula using the DSM-IV dependent personality disorder as gold standard. The formula 3 ER + LSS – AUT yielded the best values of sensitivity and specificity.

A co-existence of chemical dependence and other psychiatric syndromes is commonly referred to as “dual-diagnosis.” This categorization is commonly made by social workers in several European countries assigned the primary responsibility for the care of drug and alcohol dependence. Here, we examined the validity of this categorization through systematic, structured patient evaluation following a minimum of 3 weeks of abstinence from drugs and alcohol. Less than one-third of patients originally labelled as suffering from “dual-diagnosis” by the social services did in fact obtain any Axis I DSM IIIR diagnosis, and less than half of the patients had any psychiatric diagnosis other than dependence. Syndromes commonly discussed in the context of self-medication, i.e., unipolar depression and anxiety syndromes, were not over-represented compared to a population sample, while chronic psychoses and bipolar syndromes were highly significantly more common. We conclude that the dual-diagnosis concept, unless substantiated through stringent diagnostic procedures by psychiatrically trained personnel, may be of questionable utility in caring for patients presenting with psychiatric symptoms and substance dependence. A systematic individual evaluation in an alcohol- and drug-free state of sufficient duration is necessary to obtain a basis for an adequate individual treatment plan.

A study was conducted to assess differences in psychotropic prescription (PP) in various non-psychiatric hospital settings. After adjustment for demographic, medical and psychological status, rates of PP were significantly lower for surgical, intensive care and outpatients and higher for geriatric patients than for patients in other settings, suggesting inadequate consideration of psychiatric problems in certain contexts, in particular intensive care units.