Browsing by Author "Potenza, Marc N."

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    A Global Survey on Changes in the Supply, Price, and Use of Illicit Drugs and Alcohol, and Related Complications During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic
    (Frontiers Media, 2021-08-06) Farhoudian, Ali; Radfar, Seyed Ramin; Ardabili, Hossein Mohaddes; Rafei, Parnian; Ebrahimi, Mohsen; Zonoozi, Arash Khojasteh; De Jong, Cornelis A. J.; Vahidi, Mehrnoosh; Yunesian, Masud; Kouimtsidis, Christos; Arunogiri, Shalini; Hansen, Helena; Brady, Kathleen T.; ISAM Global Survey Consortium (ISAM-GSC); Potenza, Marc N.; Baldacchino, Alexander Mario; Ekhtiari, Hamed; Psychology, School of Science
    Background and Aims: COVID-19 has infected more than 77 million people worldwide and impacted the lives of many more, with a particularly devastating impact on vulnerable populations, including people with substance use disorders (SUDs). Quarantines, travel bans, regulatory changes, social distancing, and “lockdown” measures have affected drug and alcohol supply chains and subsequently their availability, price, and use patterns, with possible downstream effects on presentations of SUDs and demand for treatment. Given the lack of multicentric epidemiologic studies, we conducted a rapid global survey within the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) network in order to understand the status of substance-use patterns during the current pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Worldwide. Participants: Starting on April 4, 2020 during a 5-week period, the survey received 185 responses from 77 countries. Measurements: To assess addiction medicine professionals' perceived changes in drug and alcohol supply, price, use pattern, and related complications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: Participants reported (among who answered “decreased” or “increased”) a decrease in drug supply (69.0%) and at the same time an increase in price (95.3%) globally. With respect to changes in use patterns, an increase in alcohol (71.7%), cannabis (63.0%), prescription opioids (70.9%), and sedative/hypnotics (84.6%) use was reported, while the use of amphetamines (59.7%), cocaine (67.5%), and opiates (58.2%) was reported to decrease overall. Conclusions: The global report on changes in the availability, use patterns, and complications of alcohol and drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered in making new policies and in developing mitigating measures and guidelines during the current pandemic (and probable future ones) in order to minimize risks to people with SUD.
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    Digital Media and Developing Brains: Concerns and Opportunities
    (Springer, 2024) Hutton, John S.; Piotrowski, Jessica Taylor; Bagot, Kara; Blumberg, Fran; Canli, Turhan; Chein, Jason; Christakis, Dimitri A.; Grafman, Jordan; Griffin, James A.; Hummer, Tom; Kuss, Daria J.; Lerner, Matthew; Marcovitch, Stuart; Paulus, Martin P.; Perlman, Greg; Romeo, Rachel; Thomason, Moriah E.; Turel, Ofir; Weinstein, Aviv; West, Gregory; Hurst‑Della Pietra, Pamela; Potenza, Marc N.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Purpose of review: The incorporation of digital technologies and their use in youth's everyday lives has been increasing rapidly over the past several decades with possible impacts on youth development and mental health. This narrative review aimed to consider how the use of digital technologies may be influencing brain development underlying adaptive and maladaptive screen-related behaviors. Recent findings: To explore and provide direction for further scientific inquiry, an international group of experts considered what is known, important gaps in knowledge, and how a research agenda might be pursued regarding relationships between screen media activity and neurodevelopment from infancy through childhood and adolescence. While an understanding of brain-behavior relationships involving screen media activity has been emerging, significant gaps exist that have important implications for the health of developing youth. Summary: Specific considerations regarding brain-behavior relationships involving screen media activity exist for infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood; middle childhood; and adolescence. Transdiagnostic frameworks may provide a foundation for guiding future research efforts. Translating knowledge gained into better interventions and policy to promote healthy development is important in a rapidly changing digital technology environment.
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    A global survey on changes in the supply, price and use of illicit drugs and alcohol, and related complications during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
    (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2020-07-24) Farhoudian, Ali; Radfar, Seyed Ramin; Ardabili, Hossein Mohaddes; Rafei, Parnian; Ebrahimy, Mohsen; Zonoozi, Arash Khojasteh; Jong, Cornelis A. J. De; Vahidi, Mehrnoosh; Yunesian, Masud; Kouimtsidis, Christos; Arunogiri, Shalini; Hansen, Helena; Brady, Kathleen T.; Potenza, Marc N.; ISAM-PPIG Global Survey Consortium; Baldacchino, Alexander Mario; Ekhtiari, Hamed; Psychology, School of Science
    Background and aims: COVID-19 has infected more than 13 million people worldwide and impacted the lives of many more, with a particularly devastating impact on vulnerable populations, including people with substance use disorders (SUDs). Quarantines, travel bans, regulatory changes, social distancing and ′lockdown′ measures have affected drug and alcohol supply chains and subsequently their availability, price and use patterns, with possible downstream effects on presentations of SUDs and demand for treatment. Given the lack of multicentric epidemiologic studies, we conducted a rapid global survey within the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) network in order to understand the status of substance-use patterns during the current pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Worldwide. Participants: Starting on April 4th, 2020 during a 5-week period, the survey received 185 responses from 77 countries. Measurements: To assess addiction medicine professionals′ perceived changes in drug and alcohol supply, price, use pattern and related complications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: Participants reported (among who answered ″decreased″ or ″increased″, percentage of those who were in majority is reported in the parenthesis) a decrease in drug supply (69.0%), and at the same time an increase in price (95.3%) globally. With respect to changes in use patterns, an increase in alcohol (71.7%), cannabis (63.0%), prescription opioids (70.9%), and sedative/hypnotics (84.6%) use was reported while the use of amphetamines (59.7%), cocaine (67.5%), and opiates (58.2%) was reported to decrease overall. Conclusions: The global report on changes in the availability, use patterns and complications of alcohol and drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered in making new policies and in developing mitigating measures and guidelines during the current pandemic (and probable future ones) in order to minimize risks to SUDs. Key words: COVID-19, pandemic, alcohol, drug, substance use disorder, supply, price.
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    Multi-ancestral genome-wide association study of clinically defined nicotine dependence reveals strong genetic correlations with other substance use disorders and health-related traits
    (medRxiv, 2025-02-03) Johnson, Emma C.; Lai, Dongbing; Miller, Alex P.; Hatoum, Alexander S.; Deak, Joseph D.; Balbona, Jared V.; Baranger, David A. A.; Galimberti, Marco; Sanichwankul, Kittipong; Thorgeirsson, Thorgeir; McColbert, Sarah; Sanchez-Roige, Sandra; Adhikari, Keyrun; Docherty, Anna; Degenhardt, Louisa; Edwards, Tobias; Fox, Louis; Giannelis, Alexandros; Jeffries, Paul; Korhonen, Tellervo; Morrison, Claire; Nunez, Yaira Z.; Palviainen, Teemu; Su, Mei-Hsin; Romero Villela, Pamela N.; Wetherill, Leah; Willoughby, Emily A.; Zellers, Stephanie; Bierut, Laura; Buchwald, Jadwiga; Copeland, William; Corley, Robin; Friedman, Naomi P.; Foroud, Tatiana M.; Gillespie, Nathan A.; Gizer, Ian R.; Heath, Andrew C.; Hickie, Ian B.; Kaprio, Jaakko A.; Keller, Matthew C.; Lee, James L.; Lind, Penelope A.; Madden, Pamela A.; Maes, Hermine H. M.; Martin, Nicholas G.; McGue, Matt; Medland, Sarah E.; Nelson, Elliot C.; Pearson, John V.; Porjesz, Bernice; Stallings, Michael; Vrieze, Scott; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C.; Walters, Raymond K.; Polimanti, Renato; Malison, Robert T.; Zhou, Hang; Stefansson, Kari; Potenza, Marc N.; Mutirangura, Apiwat; Shotelersuk, Vorasuk; Kalayasiri, Rasmon; Edenberg, Howard J.; Gelernter, Joel; Agrawal, Arpana; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Genetic research on nicotine dependence has utilized multiple assessments that are in weak agreement. We conducted a genome-wide association study of nicotine dependence defined using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-NicDep) in 61,861 individuals (47,884 of European ancestry, 10,231 of African ancestry, 3,746 of East Asian ancestry) and compared the results to other nicotine-related phenotypes. We replicated the well-known association at the CHRNA5 locus (lead SNP: rs147144681, p =1.27E-11 in European ancestry; lead SNP = rs2036527, p = 6.49e-13 in cross-ancestry analysis). DSM-NicDep showed strong positive genetic correlations with cannabis use disorder, opioid use disorder, problematic alcohol use, lung cancer, material deprivation, and several psychiatric disorders, and negative correlations with respiratory function and educational attainment. A polygenic score of DSM-NicDep predicted DSM-5 tobacco use disorder and 6 of 11 individual diagnostic criteria, but none of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) items, in the independent NESARC-III sample. In genomic structural equation models, DSM-NicDep loaded more strongly on a previously identified factor of general addiction liability than did a "problematic tobacco use" factor (a combination of cigarettes per day and nicotine dependence defined by the FTND). Finally, DSM-NicDep was strongly genetically correlated with a GWAS of tobacco use disorder as defined in electronic health records, suggesting that combining the wide availability of diagnostic EHR data with nuanced criterion-level analyses of DSM tobacco use disorder may produce new insights into the genetics of this disorder.
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    Reorganization of Substance Use Treatment and Harm Reduction Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Global Survey
    (Frontiers Media, 2021-04-29) Radfar, Seyed Ramin; De Jong, Cornelis A. J.; Farhoudian, Ali; Ebrahimi, Mohsen; Rafei, Parnian; Vahidi, Mehrnoosh; Yunesian, Masud; Kouimtsidis, Christos; Arunogiri, Shalini; Massah, Omid; Deylamizadeh, Abbas; Brady, Kathleen T.; Busse, Anja; ISAM-PPIG Global Survey Consortium; Potenza, Marc N.; Ekhtiari, Hamed; Baldacchino, Alexander Mario; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted people with substance use disorders (SUDs) worldwide, and healthcare systems have reorganized their services in response to the pandemic. Methods: One week after the announcement of the COVID-19 as a pandemic, in a global survey, 177 addiction medicine professionals described COVID-19-related health responses in their own 77 countries in terms of SUD treatment and harm reduction services. The health responses were categorized around (1) managerial measures and systems, (2) logistics, (3) service providers, and (4) vulnerable groups. Results: Respondents from over 88% of countries reported that core medical and psychiatric care for SUDs had continued; however, only 56% of countries reported having had any business continuity plan, and 37.5% of countries reported shortages of methadone or buprenorphine supplies. Participants of 41% of countries reported partial discontinuation of harm-reduction services such as needle and syringe programs and condom distribution. Fifty-seven percent of overdose prevention interventions and 81% of outreach services were also negatively impacted. Conclusions: Participants reported that SUD treatment and harm-reduction services had been significantly impacted globally early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our findings, we highlight several issues and complications resulting from the pandemic concerning people with SUDs that should be tackled more efficiently during the future waves or similar pandemics. The issues and potential strategies comprise the following: (1) helping policymakers to generate business continuity plans, (2) maintaining the use of evidence-based interventions for people with SUDs, (3) being prepared for adequate medication supplies, (4) integrating harm reduction programs with other treatment modalities, and (5) having specific considerations for vulnerable groups such as immigrants and refugees.