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Introduction: The WHO European Mental Health Action Plan (2013–2030) emphasises the need to generate services that are more inclusive and attentive to the co‐construction of care practices. This exploratory research investigates the needs of young substance abusers shown during their stay in residential communities; in particular, it explores the idea that treatment may include a new phase focused on how to manage moderate or controlled alcohol intake during residential care. Interviews with young ex‐users open up critical reflections on complete abstinence programmes from all substances, including alcohol, as a prerequisite for discharge and also provide examples of how to co‐design a plan for mindful drinking. Methods: Fourteen young adults, aged 19–32 years, non‐alcoholists, treated at rehab in Fermo, in central Italy, were interviewed during a programme between 6 and 18 months of period. They were asked about exploring needs in preparation for the conclusion of the rehabilitation pathway. From this exploration emerged the need to introduce controlled alcohol intake during the rehabilitation stay. This request became the focus of the semi‐structured interviews. Results: Three main themes emerged, which are as follows: (1) difficulties in integrating the new identity with the past of consumption, (2) resistance to the idea of total abstinence in social relations and (3) uncertainties about post‐community behaviour regarding alcohol intake. At the same time, three unexpected needs were expressed: (1) test the personal knowledge and skills on how to manage the alcohol intake, (2) receive support during the residential path to build up self‐control competence given the post‐discharge period and (3) build a personalised therapeutic path together with the supervisor and the operators while still at the rehab, according to the realistic lifestyle and routine outside the rehab. Conclusions: This research highlights the importance of personalising treatment based on each user's needs, going far beyond the standardised treatments for users previously considered unable of self‐control and self‐determination. For that purpose, the relationship between the users and the operators might be privileged, as it is able to cover the specific needs aimed for the new identity. Involving the Participants: The research sparked a discussion within the community, involving and initiating an open dialogue between the operators and the users, allowing them to focus on certain innovative strategies offered by the service, putting the users' needs at the very centre of the attention. The results were compared and discussed actively with the participants involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bis-(diethyldithiocarbamate)-copper (CuET), the disulfiram (DSF)-Cu complex, has exhibited noteworthy anti-tumor property. However, its efficacy is compromised due to the inadequate oxidative conditions and the limitation of bioavailable copper. Because CuET can inactivate valosin-containing protein (VCP), a bioinformatic pan-cancer analysis of VCP is first conducted in this study to identify CuET as a promising anticancer drug for diverse cancer types. Then, based on the drug action mechanism, a nanocomposite of CuET and copper oxide (CuO) is designed and fabricated utilizing bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the template (denoted as CuET-CuO@BSA, CCB). CCB manifests peroxidase (POD)-mimicking activity to oxidize the tumor endogenous H 2 O 2 to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), enhancing the chemotherapy effect of CuET. Furthermore, the cupric ions released after enzymatic reaction can regenerate CuET, which markedly perturbs intracellular protein homeostasis and induces apoptosis of tumor cells. Meanwhile, CCB triggers cuproptosis by inducing the aggregation of lipoylated proteins. The multifaceted action of CCB effectively inhibits tumor progression. Therefore, this study presents an innovative CuET therapeutic strategy that creates an oxidative microenvironment in situ and simultaneously self-supply copper source for CuET regeneration through the combination of CuO nanozyme with CuET, which holds promise for application of CuET for effective tumor therapy., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a serious public health problem. Over 3.3 million people worldwide die each year due to alcohol-related causes, which is almost 5.3% of all deaths. This systematic review examines the effectiveness of injectable naltrexone treatment for people with AUD based on randomized clinical trial studies conducted between January 2004 and December 2019. Following PRISMA-P, this review searched PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for relevant studies. The inclusion criteria were AUD treatment, injectable naltrexone, and randomized clinical trials. Only articles written in English, involving human participants, and published in peer-reviewed journals were considered for this review. A total of 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Ten out of the 11 studies assessed the impact of injectable naltrexone in a 3- to 6-month follow-up period, with one study having a year follow-up. This systematic review indicates that overall, injectable naltrexone therapy produced positive AUD treatment outcomes, including reduced mean time to first drinking day and/or heavy drinking day, decreased number of drinking and/or heavy drinking days, and increased abstinence, frequently at a statistically significant level in the larger studies. However, in all studies, less than half of the participants were completely abstinent after receiving injectable naltrexone. Injectable naltrexone treatment along with psychosocial therapy holds promise for addressing AUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) comprises psychological, somatic, and behavioral symptoms during the luteal phase of almost every menstrual cycle. PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) may be associated with substance use. Between 2018 and 2020 we studied the relationship between PMS and substance use within a prospective case-control design comparing a consecutive series of women having a substance use disorder and being treated in an addiction treatment center (ATC group, n = 151)) and one with community dwelling women attending their general practitioner (GP group, n = 101). The psychoactive substance use disorder women in the ATC were most frequently treated for was alcohol (39.7 percent), cannabis (20.5) and cocaine 7.9 percent) respectively. The relationship between PMS, problematic alcohol use, and craving for alcohol was explored with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Premenstrual Screening Symptoms Tool (PSST), and Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS). Descriptive analyses were used to report demographic variables, and the prevalence and nature of SUD according to DSM-5 and PMS in the two study populations and a two-step multiple hierarchical linear regression to assess the contribution of the variance of the AUDIT and PSST to craving, as measured with PACS. The frequency of PMS and PMDD is significantly higher in the ATC group than in the GP group (48.3 versus 26.7 percent and 16.6 versus 5.9 percent). Craving in the ATC group is better predicted (50 percent) by alcohol-related problems as measured by the AUDIT than in the GP group (25 percent). PMS complaints do contribute to craving in ATC group and not in GP group. There is a high prevalence of PMS/PMDD in the population with a substance use disorder. If these patients with PMS symptoms experience higher levels of craving, it may increase the risk of substance use relapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]