News

Colorado News

Congratulations to our member "The Office of Drug Strategy"

Karla Maraccini and the Community Awareness Committee arm of the Drug Strategy Commission have done an exceptional job in increasing pro-bono media through the Partnership for a Drug Free America. In terms of free media spots, they increased their efforts from $340,000 in 2007 to over $1 million ($1,350,879) in 2008 - with three months left to go!

Jamie Van Leeuween, Chair of the Drug Strategy Commissio,n gave Karla and her team kudos for advancing an effort to educate the community and ultimately porevent substance abuse.

SAAS thanks Howard Shapiro and welcomes Becky Vaughn as acting Executive Director

The State Associations of Addictions Services (SAAS) and Dr. Howard Shapiro announce the planned resignation of Dr. Shapiro effective 6 January 2008. “I have enjoyed the opportunity to be of service to SAAS for the last 5 years; it has been deeply satisfying to contribute to the growth of the organization,” noted Dr. Shapiro. SAAS wishes to commend Dr. Shapiro for his work as the Executive Director and the fine job he has done to grow and strengthen the Association. “We are grateful to Howard for his leadership and look forward to building upon the progress and success he made possible,” said Cynthia Humphrey, President.

The SAAS board, representing 44 states, now welcomes Becky Vaughn as its acting director. “We are excited that Becky will be leading SAAS,” said Ms. Humphrey. “Her vast experience in substance abuse services and policy, including as the founding and thirteen-year Director of the Georgia provider association and President-Elect of SAAS, will ensure that SAAS remains strong, successful and vibrant and continues to grow.” Ms Vaughn has been working in the field of substance abuse for over 20 years. She will transition at SAAS during the balance of December. She will step in as acting Executive Director on January 1st. She has extensive experience in advocacy, community education and association management. Becky grew up in Atlanta and received her BA from the University of Georgia and her MS at Georgia State University. She has served on numerous panels at the state and federal level.

SAAS has enjoyed a long standing partnership with the Legal Action Center and looks forward to continued collaboration with our many valued partners in the field. SAAS was founded in 1987 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is the only national organization of state alcohol and drug addiction treatment and prevention provider associations. Through our 44 member associations, SAAS has a direct link to thousands of prevention and treatment programs that are the core of the publicly-supported addiction services system. SAAS serves as an information broker and advocate, linking state associations with national developments such as evidence-based practices and providing input to federal organizations on the needs of community-based services providers and their clients.

North Range Behavioral Health and Island Grover Regional Trealment Center Merge

Effective July 1, 2008 North Range Behavioral Health and Island Grove Regional Treatment Center merged their service delivery systems in Weld County. All services provided by Island Grove will continue to be provided in their same locations.

The merger of service systems will provide abundant opportunities for Island Grove and North Range to provide more and better services for peeple seeking help in the areas of mental health, substance abuse or domestic violence.

National News

National Agency Name Changes

The Senate, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed Senate Bill 1011, the Recognizing Addiction as a Disease Act of 2007. The bill would change the name of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), to the National Institute on Diseases of Addiction (remains NIDA), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to the National Institute on Alcohol Disorders and Health (NIADH).

Introduced by Senator Biden (D-DE) with original cosponsors Senator Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator ENZI (R-WY), Senate Bill 1011 reflects recent scientific research finding addiction to be a disease that affects both brain and behavior. It removes the pejorative term “abuse” from the title of NIDA and replaces it with the words “diseases” and “addiction”. It also represents an important step in reducing the stigma associated with addictive disorders, and correctly renames the Institute to recognize that addiction is, in fact, a disease.

In a press release, Senator Biden said the intent of the legislation is to recognize addiction as a preventable and treatable neurobiological disease, and to better identify the roles and missions of our research institutes. “Addiction is a neurobiological disease – not a lifestyle choice – and it’s about time we start treating it as such,” said Senator Biden. “We must lead by example and change the names of our Federal research institutes to accurately reflect this reality. By changing the way we talk about addiction, we change the way people think about addiction, both of which are critical steps in getting past the social stigma too often associated with the disease.”

The bill (HR1348) is currently in the House of Representatives.

- NIDA website/Coalitions Online

Research News

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Fluoxetine and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Adolescents With Major Depression, Behavior Problems, and Substance Use Disorders

Fluoxetine , Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Their Combination for Adolescents With Depression

Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) Randomized Controlled Trial

Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) Team

JAMA.  2004 ;292:807 -820.

Context Initial treatment of major depressive disorder in adolescents may include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). However, little is known about their relative or combined effectiveness.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of 4 treatments among adolescents with major depressive disorder.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Randomized controlled trial of a volunteer sample of 439 patients between the ages of 12 to 17 years with a primary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition , diagnosis of major depressive disorder. The trial was conducted at 13 US academic and community clinics between spring 2000 and summer 2003.

Interventions Twelve weeks of (1) fluoxetine alone (10 to 40 mg/d), (2) CBT alone, (3) CBT with fluoxetine (10 to 40 mg/d), or (4) placebo (equivalent to 10 to 40 mg/d). Placebo and fluoxetine alone were administered double-blind; CBT alone and CBT with fluoxetine were administered unblinded .

Main Outcome Measures Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised total score and, for responder analysis, a (dichotomized) Clinical Global Impressions improvement score.

Results Compared with placebo, the combination of fluoxetine with CBT was statistically significant ( P = .001) on the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised. Compared with fluoxetine alone ( P = .02) and CBT alone ( P = .01), treatment of fluoxetine with CBT was superior. Fluoxetine alone is a superior treatment to CBT alone ( P = .01). Rates of response for fluoxetine with CBT were 71.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 62%-80%); fluoxetine alone, 60.6% (95% CI, 51%-70%); CBT alone, 43.2% (95% CI, 34%-52%); and placebo, 34.8% (95% CI, 26%-44%). On the Clinical Global Impressions improvement responder analysis, the 2 fluoxetine -containing conditions were statistically superior to CBT and to placebo. Clinically significant suicidal thinking, which was present in 29% of the sample at baseline, improved significantly in all 4 treatment groups. Fluoxetine with CBT showed the greatest reduction ( P = .02). Seven (1.6%) of 439 patients attempted suicide; there were no completed suicides.

Conclusion The combination of fluoxetine with CBT offered the most favorable tradeoff between benefit and risk for adolescents with major depressive disorder.


Authors/Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) Team Coordinating Center: John March, Susan Silva, Stephen Petrycki , John Curry, Karen Wells, John Fairbank , Barbara Burns, Marisa Domino, and Steven McNulty, clinical coordinating center, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC; Benedetto Vitiello , Joanne Severe, National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, Md.