Friday, July 30, 2004

New Study Shows Approximately 4 Million Living with Co-Occurring Serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse
SAMHSA press release - "Adults with a substance use disorder in 2002 were almost three times as likely to have serious mental illness (20.4 percent) as those who did not have a substance use disorder (7.0 percent), according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The rate of serious mental illness was 19.0 percent among those with alcohol dependence or abuse, 29.1 percent among those with illicit drug dependence or abuse, and highest among adults who had both drug and alcohol dependence or abuse (30.1 percent)..." See also the report, Serious Mental Illness and Its Co-Occurrence with Substance Use Disorders, 2002.  
  

FDA Approves Campral for Recovering Alcoholics
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "A new pill intended to help alcoholics not drink again after they have quit could hit the shelves by the end of this year after U.S. health officials approved the drug on Thursday. The drug, Campral (acamprosate), may not work for people who are actively drinking when they start taking the pill or who are abusing other substances, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. It was not clear how the pill worked, health officials said, but studies showed more patients who took the drug abstained from drinking compared to those who took a placebo..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Psychological Therapy Boosts Antidepressant Compliance
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Combined pharmacotherapy and psychological treatment of depression is more effective than drug treatment alone. This, researchers report in the July issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, may be because of an increased adherence to antidepressant regimens." "med"