A tale of two towns: A comparative study exploring the possibilities and pitfalls of social capital among people seeking recovery from substance misuse

Background: Social capital has become an influential concept in debating and understanding the modern world. Within the drug and alcohol sector, the concept of ‘recovery capital’ has gained traction with researchers suggesting that people who have access to such capital are better placed to overcome their substance use-related problems than those who do not (Cloud and Granfield, 2008), leading to requests for interventions that focus on building social capital networks (Neale & Stevenson, 2015). While accepting that the concept of social capital has enormous potential for addressing the problems associated with drug use, this paper also considers its ‘dark side’. Methods: Data were drawn from semi-structured interviews with 180 participants including 135 people who use drugs and 45 people who formerly used drugs. Results: High levels of trust, acquired through the establishment of dense social networks, are required to initiate recovery. However, these ‘strong bonds’ may also lead to the emergence of what is perceived by others as an exclusive social network that limits membership to those who qualify and abide by the ‘rules’ of the recovery community, particularly around continuous abstinence. Conclusions: Depending on the nature of the networks and the types of links participants have into them being socially connected can both inhibit and encourage recovery. Therefore, the successful application of social capital within the drugs and alcohol field requires a consideration of not only the presence or absence of social connections but their nature, the value they produce, and the social contexts within which they are developed

Influence of antacids on the bioavailability of glibenclamide.

A single oral dose of glibenclamide (2.5 mg) was given to eight healthy volunteers in a randomized cross-over study after a standardized fasting and breakfast (374 kcal), with or without a concomitant intake of 10 ml of antacid suspension. Serum glibenclamide levels were determined by means of a specific radioimmunoassay method. The areas under the blood concentration-time curves (AUC0-infinity), with or without antacid, were 408.17 +/- 168.25 and 307.9 +/- 84.13 ng/ml (p less than 0.05), respectively. The peak concentrations of 96.88 +/- 49.9 and 66.19 +/- 32.35 ng/ml/h (p less than 0.05) with or without antacid, were reached in 4.13 and 3.81 h, respectively. Values of tmax, Vd and t1/2 were not affected by the presence of the antacid. A 33% increase in bioavailability of glibenclamide emerged, as seen from the respective AUC values, but no clinically remarkable effect was observed in the subjects

Serum naltrexone and 6-beta naltrexol concentrations in detoxified addicts during long term naltrexone treatment

The pourpose of the present study was to evaluate naltrexone and 6-b-naltrexol plasma time course during long term treatment in the usual clinical setting, in drug addicts. The plasma levels of naltrexone and 6-b-naltrexol were determined for 24 hours following an oral dose of 100 mg at the beginning and after months of naltrexone treatment. Our results showed large differences among patients in serum naltrexone and 6b-naltrexol levels. On the other hand, there were no differences in serum time course of both substances in the same patient over 3 months. Peak levels and AUCs of naltrexone were lower than those of 6b-naltrexol in 10 addicts and higher than those of the metabolite in 3 patients. No significant differences in the apparent half-lives of the two drugs were detected among groups. These data are consistent with the occurrence of a decreased first-pass metabolism of naltrexone in 3 patients leading to a larger availability of an oral dose

L'uso degli indicatori nell'epidemiologia delle tossicodipendenze in Italia

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