Publications
324 results found
Ashok AH, Myers J, Frost G, et al., 2021, Acute acetate administration increases endogenous opioid levels in the human brain: A [<SUP>11</SUP>C]carfentanil molecular imaging study, JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, Vol: 35, Pages: 606-610, ISSN: 0269-8811
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- Citations: 3
Fonville L, Paterson L, Herlinger K, et al., 2021, Functional evaluation of NK1 antagonism on cue reactivity in opiate dependence; an fMRI study, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Vol: 221, Pages: 1-7, ISSN: 0376-8716
BackgroundOpiate addiction is a major health challenge with substantial societal cost. Though harm minimisation strategies have been effective, there is a growing need for new treatments for detoxification and relapse prevention. Preclinical research has found neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptors have prominent effects on opiate reward and reinforcement, and human studies have found NK1 antagonism led to reductions in craving and withdrawal. However, its effect on brain mechanisms in opiate addiction has not yet been examined.MethodsThis study aims to assess the impact of NK1 antagonist aprepitant on heroin cue-elicited changes in blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal in opiate dependent individuals undergoing detoxification. Participants will attend two scanning sessions and receive a single dose of aprepitant (320 mg) and a placebo in a randomised, cross-over design. During functional magnetic resonance imaging participants will undergo two runs of a cue reactivity task, which consists of passive viewing of drug cues or neutral cues in a block design fashion. We hypothesise that NK1 antagonism will attenuate the BOLD response to drug cues in the caudate nucleus and amygdala. Regions of interest were selected based on NK1 receptor density and their role in cue reactivity and craving.
Upthegrove R, de Cates A, Shuttleworth A, et al., 2021, Gender equality in academic publishing: action from the <i>BJPsych</i>, BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY, Vol: 218, Pages: 128-130, ISSN: 0007-1250
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- Citations: 8
Herlinger K, Lingford-Hughes A, 2021, Addressing unmet needs in opiate dependence: providing better support for detoxification from OST and advances in relapse prevention, BJPsych Advances, Vol: 27, Pages: 362-372, ISSN: 2056-4678
Despite the record breaking levels of opiate related deaths published this year in the UK, pharmacological management of opioid dependence has evolved little since the advent of methadone in 1965. Along with harm minimisation and psychosocial interventions, the mainstay of pharmacological treatment remains opiate substitution therapy (OST) using methadone or buprenorphine, with many patients receiving OST for many years. Even with these treatments, opiate users continue to face mortality risks of 12 times higher than the general population, and emerging evidence suggests that patients who remain on long-term OST present with a range of physical and cognitive impairments. Therefore, with a growing ageing opiate dependent population who would benefit from detoxification from OST, this article will provide an overview of the current situation regarding opioid abuse and current clinical practice, will explore the reasons why availability and acceptability of detoxification pathways are declining, and will discuss emerging pharmacological therapies that could provide benefit in relapse prevention.
McGinnity CJ, Barros DAR, Hinz R, et al., 2021, Alpha 5 subunit-containing GABA(A) receptors in temporal lobe epilepsy with normal MRI, Brain Communications, Vol: 3, Pages: 1-16, ISSN: 2632-1297
GABAA receptors containing the α5 subunit mediate tonic inhibition and are widely expressed in the limbic system. In animals, activation of α5-containing receptors impairs hippocampus-dependent memory. Temporal lobe epilepsy is associated with memory impairments related to neuron loss and other changes. The less selective PET ligand [11C]flumazenil has revealed reductions in GABAA receptors. The hypothesis that α5 subunit receptor alterations are present in temporal lobe epilepsy and could contribute to impaired memory is untested. We compared α5 subunit availability between individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy and normal structural MRI (‘MRI-negative’) and healthy controls, and interrogated the relationship between α5 subunit availability and episodic memory performance, in a cross-sectional study. Twenty-three healthy male controls (median ± interquartile age 49 ± 13 years) and 11 individuals with MRI-negative temporal lobe epilepsy (seven males; 40 ± 8) had a 90-min PET scan after bolus injection of [11C]Ro15-4513, with arterial blood sampling and metabolite correction. All those with epilepsy and six controls completed the Adult Memory and Information Processing Battery on the scanning day. ‘Bandpass’ exponential spectral analyses were used to calculate volumes of distribution separately for the fast component [VF; dominated by signal from α1 (α2, α3)-containing receptors] and the slow component (VS; dominated by signal from α5-containing receptors). We made voxel-by-voxel comparisons between: the epilepsy and control groups; each individual case versus the controls. We obtained parametric maps of VF and VS measures from a single bolus injection of [11C]Ro15-4513. The epilepsy group had higher VS in anterior medial and lateral aspects of the temporal lobes, the anterior cingulate gyri, the presumed area tempestas (piriform cort
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