Developing the Guideline of Therapeutic Interventions for Street Children With Substance Use Disorders

An Evaluation of Diverse Therapeutic Interventions for Substance Use Disorders: Serotonergic Hallucinogens, Immunotherapy, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

10.5772/intechopen.98514 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

William Meil ◽

William Farrell ◽

Reem Satti

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Drug Addiction ◽

Substance Use Disorders ◽

Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Therapeutic Interventions ◽

Health Concern ◽

Complex Nature ◽

Therapeutic Approaches ◽

Potential Applications

Substance Use Disorders are a substantial public health concern whose treatment remains challenging. High rates of relapse are in fact a hallmark of drug addiction despite the wide variety of psychotherapeutic and pharmacotherapeutic approaches. This chapter discusses three innovative and controversial therapeutic approaches for Substance Use Disorders that have received considerable attention: the use of classic serotonergic hallucinogenic drugs (LSD and psilocybin), addiction immunotherapy and anti-addiction vaccines, and the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation. These treatments are not necessarily new but are discussed because they represent a diverse set of approaches that address varied aspects of drug addiction. Furthermore, they have an accumulated body of research from which to assess their future viability. For each of these therapeutic approaches this chapter considers the theoretical basis for use, history, status of the literature supporting their use, limitations, and potential applications. While these three interventions represent highly varied approaches to the treatment of Substance Use Disorders, this diversity may be necessary given the complex nature of addictive disorders.

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Potassium Channels and Their Potential Roles in Substance Use Disorders

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22031249 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 1249

Author(s):

Michael T. McCoy ◽

Subramaniam Jayanthi ◽

Jean Lud Cadet

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Potassium Channels ◽

Potassium Channel ◽

Substance Use Disorders ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Firing Frequency ◽

Therapeutic Interventions ◽

Channel Expression

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are ubiquitous throughout the world. However, much remains to be done to develop pharmacotherapies that are very efficacious because the focus has been mostly on using dopaminergic agents or opioid agonists. Herein we discuss the potential of using potassium channel activators in SUD treatment because evidence has accumulated to support a role of these channels in the effects of rewarding drugs. Potassium channels regulate neuronal action potential via effects on threshold, burst firing, and firing frequency. They are located in brain regions identified as important for the behavioral responses to rewarding drugs. In addition, their expression profiles are influenced by administration of rewarding substances. Genetic studies have also implicated variants in genes that encode potassium channels. Importantly, administration of potassium agonists have been shown to reduce alcohol intake and to augment the behavioral effects of opioid drugs. Potassium channel expression is also increased in animals with reduced intake of methamphetamine. Together, these results support the idea of further investing in studies that focus on elucidating the role of potassium channels as targets for therapeutic interventions against SUDs.

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Substance use among street children in the city of Yaounde, Cameroon

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1180441/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Varela Mabouopda ◽

Michael Guy Toguem ◽

Christelle Domngang Noche ◽

Christian Eyoum ◽

Jean-baptiste Fotso Djemo

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Substance Use Disorders ◽

Street Children ◽

Peer Pressure ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Open Questions ◽

Test Version ◽

Substance Involvement ◽

The City

Abstract Background Substance use is known to be more common among street children. Sometimes responsible for the runaway and repeated run-away behavior. To be able to reinsert these children, the reasons why there joined the streets, why they use substance and their pattern of substance use need to be understood. Methods We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional mix method study in February 2021 in the streets of Yaounde. We did a semi-structured interview of 159 street children using a sociodemographic questionnaire made of open questions and, the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test, version 3.0. The data were analyzed using R 4.1.0 for Windows. Results All street children were male. The most common reason for joining the streets was, questing for money, reported by one-quarter of the children. 60% of them used a substance, of which half used a substance because of peer pressure. The most commonly used substance was cannabis (36.48%), followed by Tobacco (35.85%). 14.47% were dependent on tobacco and 11.32% on cannabis. Conclusion Substance use and substance use disorders are highly common among street children of Yaounde. This needs to be addressed to facilitate their reinsertion as shown in other studies. The mechanisms that lead to the absences of girls in the streets should also be explored to see if they can be applied to boys.

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