Addiction Medicine
Addiction is a common condition with approximately 15% of the population suffering from problematic substance use. The abuse of prescription pain relievers is growing, and many first-time abusers are young people (2003 NSDUH). We are dedicated to researching solutions for people who suffer from the disease of addiction.
Already, emerging research is offering fresh hope for pharmacological treatments:
- To reduce drug craving
- To prevent the adverse effects of opioids
- To limit withdrawal
Progress is also being made toward:
- Less abuse-able formulations that deliver equal analgesia
- New physiologic targets for addiction therapy
- Understanding why “liking” for a drug takes place
To prevent abuse, greater understanding is needed of who is at risk. Written tools to assess each individual patient’s risk for abuse or addiction are in critical need. Dr Lynn R. Webster, Lifetree Clinical Research’s Medical Director has developed and published just such a tool. This tool is available to all clinicians here on our website. View Articles.
Finally, we hope to contribute to the knowledge of why addiction happens, how best to treat it and how to prevent relapse.
Lifetree Clinical Research and Pain Clinic have participated in several addiction medicine studies in all phases of research that required close monitoring, multiple PK draws, and an in-patient stay of up to 23 days.
Care of patients fighting substance abuse requires sensitivity to the issue and careful monitoring of outcomes. We continue to grow in our commitment to researching all areas of addiction medicine. |
A Case Study: Channel 2 Interview with chronic pain patient and Dr Webster.
Channel 2 News - Chronic Pain
Two areas of research offer enormous opportunities for new drug development: The genetics of pain and the pharmacogenetics of analgesia. Although these fields are in their infancy, there is considerable interest in identifying compounds targeted toward individual genetic profiles. Lifetree Clinical Research has begun work with industry to identify subjects whose pharmacogenetics profiles make them more or less likely to respond to drugs metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes. This type of data base will undoubtedly be a unique and valuable resource to cutting edge drug development. Lifetree Clinical Research envisions this emerging area of clinical research to be rich with opportunity. It is another example of how Lifetree strives to be the best in the class, offering a blend of real-time clinical experience and intellectual contributions so critical to rapid and successful drug development.
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