Addiction Treatment

Fact Sheet

12-Step Programs and Opioid Use Disorder

January 1, 2025

Noah Capurso, MD, MHS, Talia Puzantian, PharmD, BCPP, and Daniel Carlat, MD

Dr. Capurso, Dr. Hendrick, and Dr. Carlat have no financial relationships with companies related to this material.
Full Fact Sheet Editorial Information

12-step peer support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) are associated with better outcomes for those already taking medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD)

Fact Sheet

Gambling Addiction: Diagnosis and Treatment Fact Sheet

January 1, 2025

Daniel Carlat, MD

Dr. Carlat has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.
Full Fact Sheet Editorial Information

Gambling becomes disordered when it causes harmful consequences in a person’s life.

Patient Sheet

Understanding Metabolic Syndrome: A Fact Sheet for Patients

January 1, 2025

Noah Capurso, MD, MHS, Talia Puzantian, PharmD, BCPP, and Daniel Carlat, MD

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and stroke.

Research Update

Long-Term Patient Outcomes with Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder

January 1, 2025

Peter J. Farago, MD.

Peter Farago, MD. Dr. Farago has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Researchers compare outcomes in patients who take buprenorphine for shorter and for longer. Their findings are revealing.

Research Update

Methamphetamine Withdrawal Treatment

January 1, 2025

Maryam Soltani, MD, PhD.

Maryam Soltani, MD, PhD. Dr. Soltani has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

While stimulant withdrawal typically does not cause physiologic symptoms requiring immediate medication treatment, patients can be behaviorally challenging during this time. Here, researchers developed a protocol to treat patients withdrawing from methamphetamines on an inpatient unit.

Expert Q&A

Navigating Cannabis Withdrawal

January 1, 2025

Alan J. Budney, PhD

Alan J. Budney, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry; Professor of Biomedical Data Science; Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH.

Dr. Budney has served as a scientific advisor for Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Indivior Inc. Relevant financial relationships listed for the author have been mitigated.

Cannabis withdrawal is a largely underappreciated phenomenon that nonetheless interferes with many patients’ ability to stop using cannabis. Dr. Budney discusses some of the symptomatology of cannabis withdrawal and reviews how to discuss it with our patients.

Expert Q&A

Managing Withdrawal From Multiple Substances

January 1, 2025

Darius Rastegar, MD

Darius Rastegar, MD

Associate professor of medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

Dr. Rastegar has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Substance use disorders are highly comorbid with one another and it is therefore common to have patients presenting for care withdrawing from multiple substances at one time. Here, Dr. Rastegar discusses how to assess patients with multiple withdrawal syndromes and how to treat them.

Clinical Update

Effective Management of Buprenorphine-Precipitated Opioid Withdrawal

January 1, 2025

Jaewon Lee, MD, MPH

Jaewon Lee, MD, MPH. PGY-2, psychiatry resident, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY.

Dr. Lee has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Buprenorphine is a first-line treatment for opioid use disorder, however, given buprenorphine to a patient who still has opioids in their system can precipitate severe withdrawal. Careful assessment of withdrawal can minimize the risk, but despite our best efforts, precipitated withdrawal can still occur. In this article, we review what to do for our patients experiencing buprenorphine-precipitated opioid withdrawal.

Clinical Update

Boost or Bust: Navigating the Risks of Prescription Stimulants

October 1, 2024

David Stiffler, MD and Noah Capurso, MD

David Stiffler, MD. Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Director of the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Center at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY.

Noah Capurso, MD, MHS. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University, and Editor-in-Chief, The Carlat Addiction Treatment Report.

Drs. Stiffler and Capurso have no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Prescription stimulants, while effective for treating ADHD, are widely taken without a prescription, particularly by young adults for cognitive enhancement, weight loss, and recreational purposes. This misuse poses serious risks, from developing stimulant use disorder to experiencing severe cardiovascular and psychiatric effects. In this article, you'll learn about the prevalence and patterns of stimulant misuse, its associated dangers, and tips on how to manage it in clinical practice.