A survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) research consortium found that the United States had among the highest lifetime rates of tobacco and alcohol use and led in the proportion of participants reporting cannabis (marijuana) or cocaine use at least once during their lifetime. The study, led by Dr. Louisa Degenhardt of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and colleagues, looked at patterns in the use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and cocaine in 17 countries representing all six WHO regions (the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania). The study, funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is published in the July 1, 2008 issue of the open access journal PLoS Medicine.

“These findings add to our understanding of substance abuse world-wide, and suggest that drug use is still a major problem in this country, pointing to the need for more effective prevention interventions,” said Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, NIH director.

“A survey of lifetime use does not provide the entire picture; however, because it does not reflect current use or trends over time,” said Dr. Volkow, sounding a note of caution. “For example, although lifetime use of tobacco was reported by this study to be 74 percent in the U.S., current use has been documented at approximately 30 percent. Moreover, NIDA’s Monitoring the Future survey has been consistently reporting a decrease in the past year use of illicit drugs over the past decade, so this survey may reflect a longer history of drug use in certain countries relative to others, but not necessarily current trends.”

Among the significant findings of this study were:

- Across countries and across the drug types in this survey, drug use is becoming more common over time.

- Males were more likely than females to have used all drug types in all countries and all age groups.

- Younger adults were more likely than older adults to have used these substances.

- Those with higher incomes were more likely to have used legal and illegal drugs.

- Alcohol had been used by the vast majority of survey participants in the Americas, Europe, Japan, and New Zealand, compared to smaller proportions in the Middle East, Africa and China.

- Alcohol use by age 15 was far more common in European countries than in the Middle East or Africa.

- Lifetime tobacco use was most common in the United States (74 percent), Lebanon (67 percent) Mexico and the Ukraine (60 and 61 percent), followed by the Netherlands (58 percent.)

“In addition to the factors measured in this study, the role of culture, drug availability and knowledge about drug use are likely to be important in the types and patterns of drug use throughout the world,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, NIDA director. “Even within the United States, rates and patterns of substance use differ based on geographical location and ethnicity, among other factors.”

The authors point out that the survey is limited to those countries that had the resources and willingness to participate, and that efforts were made to account for possible cultural differences in participants’ willingness to answer truthfully, which could impact measures of actual drug use. For more information about the survey, Toward a Global View of Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis and Cocaine Use: Findings from the WHO Mental Health Surveys go to plosmedicine.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at drugabuse.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) – The Nation’s Medical Research Agency – includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.

National Institutes of Health

Poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional injury and death in the U.S. While several recent high-profile Hollywood celebrity cases have brought the problem to public attention, the rates of unintentional poisoning deaths have been on the rise for more than 15 years, and in fact, unintentional poisoning has surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of unintentional injury death among people 35 years of age. In a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that hospitalizations for poisoning by prescription opioids, sedatives and tranquilizers in the U.S. have increased by 65% from 1999 to 2006.

“Deaths and hospitalizations associated with prescription drug misuse have reached epidemic proportions,” said the study’s lead author, Jeffrey H. Coben, MD, of the West Virginia University School of Medicine. “It is essential that health care providers, pharmacists, insurance providers, state and federal agencies, and the general public all work together to address this crisis. Prescription medications are just as powerful and dangerous as other notorious street drugs, and we need to ensure people are aware of these dangers and that treatment services are available for those with substance abuse problems.”

In the first comprehensive examination of nationwide hospitalizations associated with these prescription medications, researchers examined data gathered from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), which contains records for approximately 8 million hospitalizations per year. By using standard diagnosis codes from the ICD-9-CM, the authors extracted from the NIS all poisonings by drugs, medicinal, and biological substances reported from 1999-2006, and further categorized the specific types of drugs in each case. It was also possible to determine whether the poisoning was diagnosed as intentional, unintentional or undetermined.

Dr. Coben believes that while the data reveals a fast-growing problem, there’s an urgent need for more in-depth research on this wave of injuries and deaths. Writing in the article, he said, “Interviews with survivors could provide important additional details regarding the pathways to abuse of these drugs, the methods used to obtain the medications, the sequencing and combination of drugs that result in overdose, and the immediate precursors to these serious events. The association between hospitalization for prescription opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers and subsequent morbidity and mortality is another area in need of further research.”

While the majority of hospitalized poisonings are classified as unintentional, substantial increases were also demonstrated for intentional overdoses associated with these drugs, likely reflecting their widespread availability in community settings.

From 1999, total estimated hospitalizations in the U.S. for poisoning by prescription opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers increased by 65%; while unintentional poisonings by these drugs increased by 37%. In comparison, during this same period, hospitalizations for poisoning by other drugs, medicinal and biological substances increased by 33%, while all other hospitalizations increased by just over 11%. Unintentional poisonings by other substances increased by 21%. Intentional poisonings from prescription opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers rose by a total of 130% compared to a 53% increase in intentional poisonings from other substances.

The largest percentage increase in hospitalizations for poisoning for a specific drug was observed for methadone (400%). Poisonings by benzodiazepines increased 39%. Hospitalizations for poisoning by barbiturates actually decreased 41%, as did hospitalizations for poisoning by antidepressants (a decrease of 13%).

The article is “Hospitalizations for Poisoning by Prescription Opioids, Sedatives, and Tranquilizers” by Jeffrey H. Coben, MD, Stephen M. Davis, MPA, MSW, Paul M. Furbee, MA, Rosanna D. Sikora, MD, Roger D. Tillotson, MD, and Robert M. Bossarte, PhD. The article, doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2010.01.022, appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 38, Issue 5 (May 2010) published by Elsevier.

Source:
AJPM Editorial Office

Elsevier Health Sciences

Laboratories that perform pre-employment drug screening are fighting back – against hundreds of products now on the market that promise to mask evidence of illicit drug use, according to an article scheduled for the Sept. 8 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS’ weekly news magazine.

In the article, C&EN Senior Business Editor Melody Voith points out that job applicants now have access to an array of products purported to alter urine samples to hide evidence of marijuana, cocaine, and other illegal drugs. Some are supposed to dilute evidence of illicit drugs to levels undetectable by conventional tests. Others used adulterants advertised to inactivate or destroy chemical markers used to identify drugs.

Drug-testers are responding with more sensitive tests that can identify tell-tale chemical signs of diluted urine samples or quickly detect the presence of adulterants. The article also explains that testers may get a boost from proposed new drug testing guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. They would permit use of hair and saliva samples in drug screening of candidates for federal jobs. That screening could indentify illicit drugs more reliably than urine samples alone, the article notes.

“Catching a Cheater”
Click here to view article online.

American Chemical Society

The odds of substance use for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth are on average 190 percent higher than for heterosexual youth, according to a study by University of Pittsburgh researchers published in the current issue of Addiction. What’s more, for some sub-populations of LGB youth, the odds were substantially higher, including 340 percent for bisexual youth and 400 percent for lesbians, researchers found.

“Homophobia, discrimination and victimization are largely what are responsible for these substance use disparities in young gay people,” said Michael P. Marshal, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC, who led the study. “History shows that when marginalized groups are oppressed and do not have equal opportunities and equal rights, they suffer. Our results show that gay youth are clearly no exception.”

In a meta-analysis of 18 previous studies from 1994 to 2006, which tested the association between sexual orientation and teen substance use, Pitt researchers found that gay youth reported higher rates of cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use, as well as other illicit drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamines and injection drugs. Almost all of the studies in their review were cross-sectional, suggesting that very little is known about the long-term patterns or consequences of drug use in this vulnerable population. Furthermore, the authors conducted a systematic review of the prevention and intervention guidelines published by the American Medical Association, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism and the Institute of Medicine. They found that none of the institutions mentioned sexual orientation as a potential risk factor for substance use in teens, and did not provide information for researchers and health care professionals on how to prevent such problems.

“It is important to remember that the vast majority of gay youth are happy and healthy, despite the stressors of living in a violent, homophobic society,” noted Dr. Marshal. “More than anything, gay youth need love, support and acceptance from their family members and friends. It also is imperative that health care providers offer a safe, confidential environment to discuss health care needs with gay teens.”

Co-authors of the study include Oscar G. Bukstein, M.D., M.P.H., Jonathan Miles, Ph.D., and Jennifer Q. Morse, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry; Mark S. Friedman, Ph.D., and Ron Stall, Ph.D., M.P.H., Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health; Melanie A. Gold, D.O., Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and Kevin M. King, Ph.D., University of Washington.

Dr. Marshal was supported in part by funding provided by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) is considered to be one of the nation’s foremost university-based psychiatric care facilities and one of the world’s leading centers for research and treatment of mental health disorders. WPIC houses the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and is the flagship of UPMC Behavioral Health, the psychiatric specialty division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Reshaping of the DNA scaffolding that supports and controls the expression of genes in the brain may play a major role in the alcohol withdrawal symptoms, particularly anxiety, that make it so difficult for alcoholics to stop using alcohol.

The finding is reported by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in the April 2 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

DNA can undergo changes in function without any changes in inheritance or coded sequence. These “epigenetic” changes are minor chemical modifications of chromatin — dense bundles of DNA and proteins called histones.

“This is the first time anyone has looked for epigenetic changes related to chromatin remodeling in the brain during alcohol addiction,” said Dr. Subhash C. Pandey, professor and director of neuroscience alcoholism research at the UIC College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, the lead author of the study.

Chemical modification of histones can change the way DNA and histones are wound up together. Histone acetyltransferases (HATs) are enzymes that add acetyl groups to histones and loosen the packing, promoting gene expression. On the other hand, histone deacetylases (HDACs) remove acetyl groups from histones, causing them to wrap with DNA more tightly, decreasing gene expression.

The UIC researchers had previously shown in an animal model that levels of neuropeptide Y in the amygdala modulate anxiety and alcohol-drinking behavior. In the new study, they looked at the HDAC activity, acetylation of histones, and expression of the genes for NPY in the amygdala and the anxiety-like behaviors associated with withdrawal from chronic alcohol use.

Pandey and his colleagues found that acute exposure to alcohol decreases HDAC activity; increases the acetylation histones; increases levels of NPY — and reduced anxiety in the animals.

Conversely, anxiety-like behaviors during withdrawal in animals with chronic alcohol exposure was associated with an increase in HDAC activity and decrease in histones acetylation and NPY levels.

Importantly, blocking the observed increase in HDAC activity using an HDAC inhibitor during alcohol withdrawal brought up histone acetylation and NPY expression levels in the amygdala and prevented the development of anxiety-like behaviors.

“Our findings suggest that HDAC inhibitors may have potential as therapeutic agents in treating alcoholism,” Pandey said.

The researchers also found that levels of a protein known as CREB binding protein, which has HAT enzymatic activity, were increased by acute alcohol but were decreased during ethanol withdrawal.

They concluded that the enzymes that are involved in remodeling of chromatin play an important role in the anxiety that accompanies alcohol withdrawal as well as in the anti-anxiety effects of acute alcohol use.

“We need new strategies to treat alcoholism that are directed toward the prevention of withdrawal symptoms,” Pandey said. “Anxiety associated with withdrawal from alcohol abuse is a key factor in the maintenance of alcohol addiction.”

The research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Department of Veteran Affairs. Rajesh Ugale, Huaibo Zhang, Lei Tang and Anand Prakash of UIC and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center also contributed to the study.

For more information about UIC, visit uic/.

Source: Jeanne Galatzer-Levy

University of Illinois at Chicago

According to a study by the research group “Alcoholism and drug addiction”, of the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada), although there are no specific reasons to become an alcoholic, many social, family, environmental, and genetic factors may contribute to its development. Thanks to this study, researchers have shown that the lack of endorphin is hereditary, and thus that there is a genetic predisposition to become addicted to alcohol.

Beta-endorphin is a kind of “morphine” released by the brain in response to several situations, such as pain. In this way, beta-endorphins can be considered “endogenous analgesics” to numb or dull pains.

Researchers have focused on the low beta-endorphin levels in chronic alcohol abusers. According to Jos?© Rico Irles, lecturer of Medicine of the UGR, and head of the research group, this low beta-endorphin level determines whether someone may become an alcoholic. When a subjects’ brain with low beta-endorphin levels gets used to the presence of an exogenous surplus, then, when its own production stops, a dependence starts on the external source: alcohol.

Who may become an alcohol abuser?

A total of 200 families of the Southern Spanish province of Granada participated in the research. There was at least one chronic alcoholic parent in each family. From birth, each subject presented predetermined beta-endorphin levels. However, children of this population group aged between 6 months and 10 years old, registered lower beta-endorphin levels than other children of the same age. “These levels were even lower in children whose both parents were alcohol abusers”, the researcher states.

According to researcher, although alcohol consumption does not affect all people in the same way, differences in endorphin levels make some subjects more vulnerable to alcohol. Therefore, they are more likely to become alcohol dependent.

Beta-endorphins constitute a useful biological marker to identify specifically those subjects who have a higher risk of developing alcohol abuse, the research claims.

Regarding the results of this study, professor Rico states the following: “alcohol-abuse prevention must consist of locating and identifying genetically predisposed subjects.” More campaigns for children and teenagers should be launched before these young people make contact with alcohol. Alcohol awareness is fundamental to prevent addiction, the researcher affirms, because alcohol is a drug with reversible effects up to a point.

In relation to the “botell??n culture” (gathering in the streets to drink with friends), Jos?© Rico states that some of these “social drinkers” could have low beta-endorphin levels and, therefore, a higher predisposition to become “solitary drinkers” and to develop alcohol abuse.

Reference

Prof. Jos?© Rico Irles. Department of Medicine, University of Granada.

Contact: Professor Jos?© Rico Irles

Universidad de Granada

In a newly published study, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have shown for the first time that the same molecular mechanisms that drive people into drug addiction are behind the compulsion to overeat, pushing people into obesity.

The new study, conducted by Scripps Research Associate Professor Paul J. Kenny and graduate student Paul M. Johnson, was published March 28, 2010 in an advance online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

The study’s startling findings received widespread publicity after a preliminary abstract was presented at a Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago last October. Articles heralding the new discovery appeared in news publications around the world, focusing on the point obese patients have been making for years – that, like addiction to other substances, junk food binging is extremely difficult to stop.

The study goes significantly further than the abstract, however, demonstrating clearly that in rat models the development of obesity coincides with a progressively deteriorating chemical balance in reward brain circuitries. As these pleasure centers in the brain become less and less responsive, rats quickly develop compulsive overeating habits, consuming larger quantities of high-calorie, high-fat foods until they become obese. The very same changes occur in the brains of rats that overconsume cocaine or heroin, and are thought to play an important role in the development of compulsive drug use.

Kenny, a scientist at Scripps Research’s Florida campus, said that the study, which took nearly three years to complete, confirms the “addictive” properties of junk food.

“The new study, unlike our preliminary abstract, explains what happens in the brain of these animals when they have easy access to high-calorie, high-fat food,” said Kenny. “It presents the most thorough and compelling evidence that drug addiction and obesity are based on the same underlying neurobiological mechanisms. In the study, the animals completely lost control over their eating behavior, the primary hallmark of addiction. They continued to overeat even when they anticipated receiving electric shocks, highlighting just how motivated they were to consume the palatable food.”

The scientists fed the rats a diet modeled after the type that contributes to human obesity – easy-to-obtain high-calorie, high-fat foods like sausage, bacon, and cheesecake. Soon after the experiments began, the animals began to bulk up dramatically.

“They always went for the worst types of food,” Kenny said, “and as a result, they took in twice the calories as the control rats. When we removed the junk food and tried to put them on a nutritious diet – what we called the ‘salad bar option’ – they simply refused to eat. The change in their diet preference was so great that they basically starved themselves for two weeks after they were cut off from junk food. It was the animals that showed the “crash” in brain reward circuitries that had the most profound shift in food preference to the palatable, unhealthy diet. These same rats were also those that kept on eating even when they anticipated being shocked.”

Lethally Simple

What happens in addiction is lethally simple, Kenny explained. The reward pathways in the brain have been so overstimulated that the system basically turns on itself, adapting to the new reality of addiction, whether its cocaine or cupcakes.

“The body adapts remarkably well to change – and that’s the problem,” said Kenny. “When the animal overstimulates its brain pleasure centers with highly palatable food, the systems adapt by decreasing their activity. However, now the animal requires constant stimulation from palatable food to avoid entering a persistent state of negative reward”.

After showing that obese rats had clear addiction-like food seeking behaviors, Johnson and Kenny next investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms that may explain these changes. They focused on a particular receptor in the brain known to play an important role in vulnerability to drug addiction and obesity – the dopamine D2 receptor. The D2 receptor responds to dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is released in the brain by pleasurable experiences like food or sex or drugs like cocaine. In cocaine abuse, for example, the drug alter the flow of dopamine by blocking its retrieval, flooding the brain and overstimulating the receptors, something that eventually leads to physical changes in the way the brain responds to the drug.

The new study shows that the same thing happens in junk food addiction.

“These findings confirm what we and many others have suspected,” Kenny said, “that overconsumption of highly pleasurable food triggers addiction-like neuroadaptive responses in brain reward circuitries, driving the development of compulsive eating. Common mechanisms may therefore underlie obesity and drug addiction.”

Consistent with common mechanisms explaining addiction and obesity, levels of the D2 dopamine receptors were significantly reduced in the brains of the obese animals, similar to previous reports of what happens in human drug addicts, Kenny noted. Remarkably, when the scientists knocked down the receptor using a specialized virus, the development of addiction-like eating was dramatically accelerated.

“This addiction-like behavior happened almost from the moment we knocked down the dopamine receptors,” Kenny noted. “The very next day after we provided access to the palatable food, their brains changed into a state that was consistent with an animal that had been overeating for several weeks. The animals also became compulsive in their eating behaviors almost immediately. These data are, as far as we know, the strongest support for the idea that overeating of palatable food can become habitual in the same manner and through the same mechanisms as consumption of drugs of abuse.”

The study, “Addiction-Like Reward Dysfunction and Compulsive Eating in Obese Rats: Role for Dopamine D2 Receptors,” was supported by a Bank of America Fellowship, The Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Source:
Keith McKeown

Scripps Research Institute

Attention all smokeless tobacco users! It’s time to banish the comforting notion that snuff and chewing tobacco are safe because they don’t burn and produce inhalable smoke like cigarettes. A study that looked beyond the well-researched tobacco hazards, nitrosamines and nicotine, has discovered a single pinch – the amount in a portion – of smokeless tobacco exposes the user to the same amount of another group of dangerous chemicals as the smoke of five cigarettes.

The research on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in smokeless tobacco was reported here today at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). It adds to existing evidence that smokeless contains two dozen other carcinogens that cause oral and pancreatic cancers, the scientists say.

“This study once again clearly shows us that smokeless tobacco is not safe,” said Irina Stepanov, Ph.D., who led the research team. “Our finding places snuff on the same list of major sources of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as smoking cigarettes.” PAHs are widespread environmental contaminants formed as a result of incomplete burning of wood, coal, fat in meat, and organic matter. PAHs form, for instance, during the grilling of burgers, steaks and other meat.

The findings come in the midst of a rise in both marketing and consumption of smokeless tobacco, which many consumers regard as less dangerous than other forms of tobacco. Estimates suggest that sales of moist snuff in the United States have doubled since the 1980s.

“The feeling of safety among some smokeless users is wrong,” said Stepanov, a chemist with Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. “A total of 28 carcinogens were identified in smokeless tobacco even before our study. Continued exposure to these over a period of time can lead to cancer. Now we have found even more carcinogens in snuff.” In addition to the heightened cancer risk, she noted that chronic use of snuff leads to nicotine addiction, just as it does with cigarette smoking.

Stepanov said that until recently, scientists believed that only trace amounts of PAH existed in snuff because the tobacco was not burned when used. This assumption proved to be wrong. “Even though smokeless tobacco use does not involve burning, moist snuff is getting contaminated with PAH during its manufacturing,” according to Stepanov. The most likely source of this contamination with PAH is the curing process that is used to turn tobacco leaves into snuff. This process is called ‘fire-curing’, and it puts tobacco into direct contact with the smoke generated by smoldering hardwoods – a rich source of various PAHs.

Looking to the next project, she said the team is working on a study that will examine a wide range of smokeless tobacco brands to compare PAH levels among them.

Funding for Stepanov’s research came from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center at the University of Minnesota. The research team working on this project includes Dr. Dorothy Hatsukami and Dr. Stephen Hecht, renowned experts in tobacco carcinogenesis and tobacco harm reduction.

Source:
Michael Bernstein

American Chemical Society

Previously married mothers had higher rates of depressive disorders and alcohol abuse compared to married or never-married mothers, according to a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The study, which highlights differing rates of psychiatric and substance use disorders between single and married mothers over a 12-month period, fills an important information gap in our understanding of the relationship between family structure and psychiatric outcomes.

Lead by Dr. John Cairney, Canada Research Chair, and Research Scientist in CAMH’s Health Systems Research Consulting Unit, the study also showed that previously married mothers had higher rates of mental illness, when compared to currently married mothers. In addition, single mothers who were never married and married mothers have similar prevalence rates of psychiatric and substance use disorders. These rates were generally lower than the illness rates among women who experience a disruption in their marriage.

“This pattern of results suggests that divorced or separated women with children are at greater risk for psychiatric and substance use disorders,” said Dr. Cairney.

Although the increased risk for psychiatric disorder among single mothers is well established, this study enhances our understanding by examining how the pathway to single-motherhood impacts mental health.

Added Dr. Cairney, “the picture of Canadian families has changed so dramatically over the past 60 years, including the dramatic rise in lone parent families. Understanding how these transformations in family structure influence health and well-being in our population is critical.”

Dr. Cairney and his team suggest that clinicians look at the impact of marital history on the relationship between family structure and psychiatric outcomes, and carefully screen for psychiatric and substance use disorders in mothers who’ve experienced marital disruption.

For Dr. Lori Ross, Research Scientist in CAMH’s Social Equity & Health Research Section, this study makes an important contribution by “enhancing our understanding of the relationship between single parenthood and mental illness, in particular by highlighting the diversity among single parents. The data show that it is important for both researchers and clinicians to recognize that all single parents are not alike. This concept is critical to understanding the context of single parenthood, its potential mental health implications.”

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is one of the leading addiction and mental health organizations in North America and Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital. CAMH is a Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre, and is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. CAMH combines clinical care, research, policy, education and health promotion to improve the lives of people impacted by mental health and addiction issues.

Contact: Michael Torres

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Catalyst
Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPRX), a biopharmaceutical company
that acquires, in-licenses, develops and commercializes prescription drugs
for the treatment of drug addiction, announced positive initial
top-line results from an investigator-initiated Phase II double-blind,
placebo-controlled trial, which demonstrates that vigabatrin is effective
for the treatment of cocaine addiction. Catalyst’s lead compound, CPP-109,
is bioequivalent to vigabatrin.

This 103 subject trial is the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-
controlled clinical trial studying vigabatrin’s effectiveness in treating
cocaine addiction. These data show that a statistically significantly
greater number of subjects treated with vigabatrin were able to abstain
from cocaine usage during the last three weeks of the dosing period
compared to those receiving placebo. Achievement of abstinence for an
extended period during treatment is the critical first step for cocaine
addicted patients to potentially achieve abstinence for much longer time
periods. The data confirm the positive results seen in two previous
open-label trials conducted in 2003 and 2004 by the same investigators.

Commenting on the trial results, Patrick J. McEnany, Catalyst’s
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “This trial represents a key
development in the field of cocaine addiction research. CPP-109, our
product candidate based on vigabatrin, could have a significant impact on
how patients struggling with cocaine addiction will be treated in the
future. We believe that the success of the trial provides scientific proof
of concept. We are highly encouraged by the top-line results and look
forward to publication of the results in a peer-reviewed journal. Catalyst
will also evaluate the methodology and results for their potential
applicability to our ongoing U.S. Phase II trial evaluating CPP-109 for the
treatment of cocaine addiction and to our planned U.S. Phase II trial
evaluating CPP-109 for the treatment of methamphetamine addiction.”

About The Trial

This trial is the third in a series of human trials conducted in
Mexico, which successfully tested the safety and efficacy of vigabatrin to
treat cocaine and/or methamphetamine addiction. These trials followed more
than 15 years of animal studies conducted by Dr. Stephen Dewey at
Brookhaven National Laboratory. All three human trials were conducted under
the direction of Dr. Jonathan Brodie, the Marvin Stern Professor of
Psychiatry at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine and Dr.
Emilia Figueroa, Director of the Clinica Integral de Tratamiento Contra las
Adicciones, S.A. de C.V. The first two trials were small open-label
studies. The trial’s protocol was approved by NYU’s Institutional Review
Board in May 2006 and the Federal Commission for Sanitary Risks Protection
(Mexico) in September 2006 and is registered at clinicaltrials with
the identifier NCT00527683. Catalyst provided financial support through an
unrestricted gift to NYU.

One hundred and three community-based, non-hospitalized cocaine
addicted individuals participated in this investigator-initiated,
randomized, double- blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at a single
site in Mexico City. All subjects had ready access to cocaine and were
self-motivated to stop their use. The trial was designed to show whether
vigabatrin treatment could significantly increase abstinence compared to
placebo. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a placebo or vigabatrin
and were treated for a period of nine weeks. Of the 103 participants in the
trial, 50 were treated with vigabatrin and 53 received placebo.
Twice-weekly urine screening tests were obtained from each subject in order
to objectively evaluate each subjects’ cocaine use. All subjects were also
offered one group counseling session per week.

The primary outcome measure of the trial was negative urine tests for
cocaine for the last three weeks of the nine-week trial.

A total of 18 subjects fulfilled the criteria for the primary outcome
measure. Of these, 14 (28%) were treated with vigabatrin versus four (7.6%)
who were treated with placebo. A logistic regression utilizing years of
cocaine use and average amount per day at baseline yielded statistically
significant treatment differences. The p-value was 0.009.

There were no serious adverse events reported in this trial.

“These positive results demonstrate that there is hope for the millions
of individuals who suffer from the life threatening consequences of this
terrible illness,” said Dr. Brodie. “It also demonstrates how a dedicated
team of basic scientists and clinicians who persevere in a mission can
produce important medical advances by taking an idea from the bench to the
community.”

About Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company
focused on the development and commercialization of prescription drugs for
the treatment of addiction. The Company has obtained from Brookhaven
National Laboratory an exclusive worldwide license for nine patents and
four patents pending in the United States relating to the right to use
vigabatrin to treat a wide variety of substance addictions. Catalyst has
also been granted rights to Brookhaven’s vigabatrin-related foreign patents
or patents pending in more than 30 countries.

The Company’s initial product candidate based on vigabatrin is CPP-109.
CPP-109 has been granted “Fast Track” status by the U.S. Food & Drug
Administration (FDA) for the treatment of cocaine addiction. This indicates
that the FDA has recognized that CPP-109 is intended for the treatment of a
serious or life-threatening condition for which there is no effective
treatment and which demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical
needs. CPP-109 recently was selected as one of the five most promising
drugs entering Phase II trials in the July-September 2007 issue of The Ones
To Watch, published by Thomson Scientific, a Thomson Corporation
publication. For more information about the Company, go to
catalystpharma.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may
cause the Company’s actual results in future periods to differ materially
from forecasted results. A number of factors, including the Company’s
ability to successfully complete the clinical trials required for it to
file a new drug application for CPP-109, its ability to complete such
trials on a timely basis within the budgets established for such trials,
whether the Company’s trials, which are being conducted in the U.S. under
FDA good clinical practice guidelines, will evidence that CPP-109 is safe
and effective for the treatment of cocaine addiction and methamphetamine
addiction, the Company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and
those other factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K
for 2006 and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended September 30, 2007 that the Company has previously filed with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), could adversely affect the
Company. Copies of the Company’s filings with the SEC are available from
the SEC or may be obtained upon request from the Company. The Company does
not undertake any obligation to update the information contained herein,
which speaks only as of this date.

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc.
catalystpharma