Medical treatments for opioid use disorder in Iran: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled comparison of buprenorphine/naloxone and naltrexone maintenance treatment

Objective. This study aimed to investigate the effect of bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the electroencephalography (EEG) amplitude and coherence in male patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), who were under methadone therapy. It compares the effects of active versus sham tDCS. Methods. This is a double-blind sham-controlled clinical trial. Participants were 30 male patients with OUD; they were divided into 3 groups of left anode/right cathode tDCS, right anode/left cathode tDCS, and sham tDCS. Their brainwave activity was measured by quantitative EEG before study and then active groups underwent tDCS (2 mA, 20 min) applied over their right/left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for 10 consecutive days. After stimulation, they were re-assessed. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS, MATLAB, and NeuroGuide v.2 applications. Results. After active tDCS, a significant decrease in amplitude of slow brain waves (delta, theta, and alpha) in prefrontal, frontal, occipital, and parietal areas, and an increase in the coherence of beta, delta, and theta frequency bands in the parietal, central, and temporal regions of addicts were reported. In the sham group, there was a significant decrease in the amplitude of the alpha wave and in the coherence of delta and theta waves. Conclusion. The active tDCS over the right/left DLPFC, as a noninvasive and complementary treatment, can modulate the amplitude and coherence of brainwaves in patients with OUD.

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Lithium vs valproate in the maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder: A post- hoc analysis of a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0004867419894067 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (3) ◽

pp. 298-307

Author(s):

Mehar G Kang ◽

Hong Qian ◽

Kamyar Keramatian ◽

Trisha Chakrabarty ◽

Gayatri Saraf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Confidence Interval ◽

Atypical Antipsychotic ◽

Maintenance Treatment ◽

Atypical Antipsychotics ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Double Blind ◽

Double Blind Placebo ◽

Post Hoc Analysis ◽

Post Hoc

Objective: Lithium and valproate are commonly used either in monotherapy or in combination with atypical antipsychotics in maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder; however, their comparative efficacy is not well understood. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of valproate and lithium on mood stability either in monotherapy or in combination with atypical antipsychotics. Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis using data from a 52-week randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, that recruited 159 patients with recently remitted mania during treatment with lithium or valproate and adjunctive atypical antipsychotic therapy. Patients were randomized to discontinue adjunctive atypical antipsychotic at 0, 24 or 52 weeks. Results: No significant differences in efficacy were observed between valproate and lithium (hazard ratio: 0.99; 95% confidence interval: [0.66, 1.48]) in time to any mood event. Valproate with 24 weeks of atypical antipsychotic was significantly superior to valproate monotherapy in preventing any mood relapse (hazard ratio: 0.46; 95% confidence interval: [0.22, 0.97]) while lithium with 24 weeks of atypical antipsychotic was superior to lithium monotherapy in preventing mania (hazard ratio: 0.27; 95% confidence interval: [0.09, 0.85]) but not depression. Conclusion: Overall, this study did not find significant differences in efficacy between the two mood-stabilizing agents when used as monotherapy or in combination with atypical antipsychotics. However, study design and small sample size might have precluded from detecting an effect if true difference in efficacy existed. Further head-to-head investigations with stratified designs are needed to evaluate maintenance therapies.

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20. Practical application of subcutaneous immunoglobulin for maintenance treatment in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy – results from a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (The PATH Study)

Clinical Neurophysiology ◽

10.1016/j.clinph.2019.11.053 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 131 (3) ◽

pp. e9

Author(s):

I.N. Schaik ◽

V. Bril ◽

N. Geloven ◽

H.P. Hartung ◽

R.A. Lewis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Maintenance Treatment ◽

Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Demyelinating Polyneuropathy ◽

Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin ◽

Practical Application ◽

Double Blind ◽

Double Blind Placebo ◽

Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy

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Patient Adherence and Efficacy of Certolizumab Pegol in the Management of Crohn's Disease

Clinical Medicine Insights Gastroenterology ◽

10.4137/cgast.s7613 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. CGast.S7613 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Wojciech Blonski ◽

Anna M. Buchner ◽

Gary R. Lichtenstein

Keyword(s):

Tumor Necrosis ◽

Maintenance Treatment ◽

Patient Adherence ◽

Certolizumab Pegol ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Double Blind ◽

Double Blind Placebo ◽

The Us ◽

Necrosis Factor ◽

Adherence To Therapy

Treatment with Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (anti-TNF) therapy has become a mainstay of therapy for patients with CD who are unresponsive to conventional medical management. Currently there are three anti-TNFα antibodies that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of CD, namely infliximab, adalimumab and certolizumab pegol (CZP). Several double blind placebo controlled trials determined that CZP is effective as induction and maintenance treatment in adult patients with CD regardless of their prior exposure to other anti-TNFα antibodies. This review discusses the efficacy of CZP and adherence to therapy with anti-TNFα antibodies in patients with CD.

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