Overview of New Research Findings in Drug Addiction - Herbert D. Kleber, M.D.
Drug use is a major public health problem with multiple effects on users, families, and society. Dr. Kleber gives a general overview of the extent of the problem, recent developments, their impact on needs & policies and the impact of policy decisions on treatment availability and outcome. Presentation

Contingency Management with Cocaine Dependent & Special Treatment Populations - Stephen T. Higgins, Ph.D.
Comprehensive psychosocial treatments including systematic use of incentives and consequences is shown to be effective in establishing sustained cocaine abstinence. Presentation

Cognitive Behavioral Treatments of Drug Addiction - Kathleen Carroll Ph.D.
These are among the most frequently evaluated approaches to substance abuse treatment and have been found to be effective in many clinical trials & with many different types of substance-dependent populations. This presentation focuses on the theoretical background of this approach, its goals, the fundamentals of implementing CBT and a brief review of evidence supporting its effectiveness. Presentation

Treatment Outcome Research on Drug Addiction - A. Thomas. McLellan, Ph.D.
The seemingly simple questions of whether treatment for substance abuse is "effective" is actually one of the more complex health, social & financial issues facing the nation. First, what results do we expect from an "effective" intervention (regardless of whether it is a treatment intervention), and do conventional treatments effectively meet them? Second, is treatment better and more cost-effective than alternatives like no treatment, self-help groups, community service, or jail? If treatment is considered an effective solution, who should deliver it, to whom, for how long, and in what circumstances? Presentation

Biology of Reward Mechanisms - Eliot L. Gardner, Ph.D.
Neurobiological mechanisms underlying reward/reinforcement and their role in drug addiction and attendant phenomena, including craving, rebound dysphoria, and relapse. Lab paradigms for studying the role of reward mechanisms, genetic variation in brain reward activation, and implications for development of rational pharmacotherapies. Presentation

Brain Imaging and Substance Abuse Research - Nora D. Volkow, M.D.
PET is used to study the concentration of specific receptors, transporters, enzymes, drugs of abuse and their pharmacokinetics and binding properties. The effects of cocaine, one of the most highly reinforcing drugs, and methylphenidate (ritalin), which blocks dopamine transporters (DAT) far more effectively than cocaine yet is less abused, are compared. Presentation

Anti-Cocaine Catalytic Antibodies - Donald W. Landry, M.D.
As an alternative to therapeutic approaches based on cocaine receptor pharmacology, binding cocaine by a circulating agent would interrupt delivery so that a dose would no longer have a reinforcing effect. The exciting development of catalytic antibodies has allowed the creation of an artificial enzyme to degrade cocaine. One antibody was found active enough to block cocaine-induced reinforcement in animal models of addiction and overdose. Presentation

Pharmacological Treatment of Drug Addiction - Frances R. Levin, M.D.
The role of pharmacologic treatment in creating a 'window of opportunity' to allow non-pharmacologic interventions to work, treatment of withdrawal or overdose, and as maintenance agents. Detailed discussion of methods of treatment of alcohol, opiates, and cocaine, including rapid detoxification, and anesthesia-aided detoxification. Presentation