Positive Effects of Laser Acupuncture in Methamphetamine Users Undergoing Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Pilot Study

Objective and subjective measurement of sleep in people who use substances: Emerging evidence and recommendations from a systematic review

People who use substances commonly experience sleep disruptions, affecting the regulation of physical and mental health, and presenting a significant barrier to treatment success. Sleep impairments are noted in all phases of substance use; however, differences between subjective versus objective methods used to measure sleep quality have been reported. While polysomnography is the gold-standard for sleep measurement, recent advances in actigraphy may help address the discordance between subjective and objective sleep reports. This systematic review examined emerging evidence (2016-present) for sleep impairment in people who use substances, with the twofold goal of: (1) identifying whether sleep outcomes vary across substance type (alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids); and (2) contrasting results from subjective and objective measures. While some differences between subjective and objective sleep were noted, there was overwhelming evidence of clinically relevant sleep impairment in people who use alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids, with less consistent results for cannabis. Gaps in the literature are identified and future recommendations are presented, including utilization of common methodological frameworks, identification of mechanisms, and closer examination of sleep across stages of substance use and the interconnection between sleep and return to use.

Crystal methamphetamine and its effects on mental and oral health: A narrative review

The purpose of this comprehensive literature review is to present the available evidence on the effects of methamphetamine on mental and oral health, as well as provide an overview of the most widely used medical and dental care strategies in the management of meth mouth. For this purpose, PubMed and Google Scholar electronic databases were searched for relevant articles, yielding 115 search results, which were further scrutinized for their relevance, leaving 55 for a detailed review. The analysis of the gathered data indicates that a comprehensive patient-centered approach that takes into consideration the physical, mental, and social aspects is crucial for mitigating the detrimental effects of increasing methamphetamine use.

Acupuncture modulates the functional connectivity among the subcortical nucleus and fronto-parietal network in adolescents with internet addiction

BACKGROUND

Internet addiction (IA), recognized as a behavioral addiction, is emerging as a global public health problem. Acupuncture has been demonstrated to be effective in alleviating IA; however, the mechanism is not yet clear. To fill this knowledge gap, our study aimed to investigate the modulatory effects of acupuncture on the functional interactions among the addiction-related networks in adolescents with IA.

METHODS

Thirty individuals with IA and thirty age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects (HCs) were recruited. Subjects with IA were given a 40-day acupuncture treatment, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected before and after acupuncture sessions. HCs received no treatment and underwent one fMRI scan after enrollment. The intergroup differences in functional connectivity (FC) among the subcortical nucleus (SN) and fronto-parietal network (FPN) were compared between HCs and subjects with IA at baseline. Then, the intragroup FC differences between the pre- and post-treatment were analyzed in the IA group. A multiple linear regression model was further employed to fit the FC changes to symptom relief in the IA group.

RESULTS

In comparison to HCs, subjects with IA exhibited significantly heightened FC within and between the SN and FPN at baseline. After 40 days of acupuncture treatment, the FC within the FPN and between the SN and FPN were significantly decreased in individuals with IA. Symptom improvement in subjects with IA was well fitted by the decrease in FC between the left midbrain and ventral prefrontal cortex and between the left thalamus and ventral anterior prefrontal cortex.

CONCLUSION

These findings confirmed the modulatory effects of acupuncture on the aberrant functional interactions among the SN and FPN, which may partly reflect the neurophysiological mechanism of acupuncture for IA.

Are We Witnessing a New Wave of Substance Use Disorders?: A Spotlight on Stimulant Use Disorders

Stimulant use disorders are emerging as a serious global threat to health. Although research, clinical, and policy efforts have largely concentrated on opioid use disorders over the past decade, exponential rises in prevalence and overdose deaths attributable to stimulant use disorders warrant renewed attention. To date, no approved medications are available to treat stimulant use disorders; however, behavioral interventions have been effective and should be proactively promoted. Similarly, complementary and integrative therapies and harm reduction services have emerging evidence for effectiveness in treating these conditions. Research, practice, and policy interventions should address stigma for medications for stimulant use disorders when available, vaccine hesitancy if vaccines are approved and safe, environmental surveillance to reduce population exposure to toxic effects of methamphetamines, and educational interventions for health providers to increase competency to reduce the long-term effects on various body systems. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 61(3), 13-18.].

An Initial Study on Automated Acupoint Positioning for Laser Acupuncture

Acupuncture plays an important role in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is one kind of an inexpensive and effective treatment. However, some people might be reluctant to receive acupuncture treatment due to fear of pain. Laser acupuncture, thanks to its painless and infection-free advantages, has recently become an alternative choice to traditional acupuncture. The accuracy of acupuncture point positioning has a decisive influence on the quality of laser acupuncture. In this study, built on top of our prior work, we proposed a low-cost automated acupoint positioning system for laser acupuncture. By integrating several machine learning algorithms and computer vision techniques, we design and implement a robot-assisted laser acupuncture system on top of a smartphone. Our contributions include the following: (a) development of an effective acupoint estimation algorithm with a localization error less than 5 mm; (b) implementation of a smartphone-controlled automated laser acupuncture system with lift-thrust function, as a point-of-care device, that can be used by patients to relieve their symptoms at home.