News and Notes
2011; Wiley; Volume: 106; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03428.x
ISSN1360-0443
Tópico(s)Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
ResumoAddictionVolume 106, Issue 5 p. 1026-1029 Free Access News and Notes Compiled by Jean O'Reilly and Peter Miller First published: 08 April 2011 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03428.xAboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat PROSPERO: THE INTERNATIONAL PROSPECTIVE REGISTER OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS On 22 February, the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (University of York, UK) and the UK National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR) launched PROSPERO, the international Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. PROSPERO is an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care. It is the first online facility to register systematic reviews for research about health and social care from all around the world. Access is free and open to the public. PROSPERO records key features from the review protocol and maintains them as a permanent record to provide a comprehensive listing of systematic reviews registered at inception, and enable comparison of reported review findings with what was planned in the protocol. The system generates a unique identifying number for each registered systematic review, which can be reported in any publications that arise from the study. Investigators should use the registry to record the existence of the protocol for a planned or ongoing systematic review of health care interventions even before screening studies for inclusion in the systematic review. A minimum dataset specifies the key items that are required for a systematic review to be meaningfully registered. Key data items include a statement of the research question, patients and population, study intervention(s) and outcomes; criteria for inclusion and exclusion of studies in the systematic review; outline of search strategy; and methods to assess risk of bias and for analysis of studies included in the systematic review. Source: The PLoS Medicine Editors, Best Practice in Systematic Reviews: The Importance of Protocols and Registration, PLoS Medicine, 22 February 2011, e1001009. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001009 THE VIENNA DECLARATION The Vienna Declaration is a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. The declaration was drafted by a team of international experts and initiated by several of the world's leading HIV and drug policy scientific bodies, including the International AIDS Society, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP). It was prepared through an extensive consultative process involving global leaders in medicine, public policy and public health. The declaration was the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), held in Vienna, Austria in July 2010. By signing the Vienna Declaration, you will be adding your name to those who have already called for the implementation of evidence-based policies that can meaningfully improve community health and safety by reducing the toll of drugs globally. To read more about the Vienna Declaration, visit http://www.viennadeclaration.com/ USA: WHITE HOUSE DESIGNATES NEEDLE EXCHANGES AS A FORM OF DRUG TREATMENT The Obama administration has designated intravenous needle exchanges as a drug treatment program. The new position, determined by US Surgeon General Dr Regina M. Benjamin, is that US states can receive federal funding for programs that hand out the syringes as a treatment. Said Benjamin to The Washington Examiner, ‘[t]his determination, based on years of scientific research, will permit states and territories to use Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant funds for what had formerly been termed “needle exchange,” ’ Benjamin said. The notice cited a 11-year-old study in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment that found that addicts who participated in needle exchanges were five times more likely to enter drug treatment. Critics say the new policy is a step toward European-style treatment where the government provides the drugs and a clean room to inject them. Source: Scott McCabe, White House moves to fund needle exchanges as drug treatment, The Washington Examiner, 22 February 2011. UK: PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITY CRITICISES INVOLVING THE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY IN HEALTH POLICY PLANNING According to a story in The Guardian, the public health community is alarmed at the present government's plans to involve alcohol firms in planning future health policy. The Public Health Responsibility Deal is the Tory government's mechanism for involving the alcohol industry in improving public health outcomes. The Deal forms networks of food and alcohol company representatives and government and public health representatives with the task of encouraging and enabling consumers to adopt better diets and drink sensibly. The Guardian asserts that the UK government ‘has apparently declined to recognise the fundamental conflicts of interest involved when corporations are invited to design policies ostensibly aimed towards reducing harmful behaviours on which their profitability depends. The deal seems underpinned by presumptions rejecting policies known to work and promoting those that don't. In short, information now emerging on the “responsibility deal” for alcohol suggests it will be entirely consistent with industry preferences and incapable of effectively addressing one of the UK's most serious public health problems.’ Source: Anna Gilmore and Jeff Colin, Drinks companies spread liver disease as surely as mosquitoes do malaria, The Guardian, 21 February 211. CHINA: STRICTER LIMITS ON SMOKING IN FILM AND TELEVISION On 13 February, China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television announced that, effective immediately, it would ban unnecessary smoking scenes in films and television shows. Under the guidelines, minors under age 18 cannot be shown smoking or buying cigarettes, and characters may not smoke in places where smoking is banned. Scenes in which smoking is deemed unavoidable should be edited to be as short as possible. A circular posted on the website of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television stated that ‘frequent smoking scenes in films and TV dramas do not accord with China's stance on tobacco control and will mislead the public, especially the young.’ Source: China announces new limits on smoking in film and television, The Telegraph, 15 February 2011. USA: LINK BETWEEN VARENICLINE AND LIFE-THREATENING RISKS QuarterWatch, a service of the Institute for Safe Medication practices that monitors all serious adverse drug events reported to the FDA, has reported on the adverse effects of varenicline (marketed as CHANTIX in the USA) for more than two years. QuarterWatch reported that ‘[d]espite a prominent boxed warning, a mandatory Medication Guide for every patient and declining use, the stop-smoking drug varenicline (CHANTIX) continued to account for large numbers of reported serious psychiatric side effects. In the second quarter [of 2010] the drug was suspect in more possible cases of hostility-aggression, depression and psychosis than any other monitored drug.’ In the second quarter, varenicline accounted for 130 possible cases of clinical depression, 112 possible cases of hostility aggression, and 70 cases of psychosis or losing touch with reality. Overall, varenicline accounted for 378 serious adverse drug events of all types in the quarter. This drug has now triggered reports of more than 8500 serious injuries. Source: QuarterWatch: 2010 Quarter 2: Signals for Varenicline, Levofloxacin and Fentanyl. Published January 27, 2011. Available at: http://www.ismp.org/quarterwatch/ INTRODUCING THE ISAJE-PARINT ONLINE MENTORING SCHEME The International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE) and its satellite website, PARINT (Publishing Addiction Research Internationally), have established a mentoring scheme to support addiction scientists working in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries. The scheme provides one-to-one support for researchers in LAMI countries to facilitate the publication of completed research. There is no charge for this service. The core of the service is a database of established researchers who have offered their services as mentors. Mentors typically have strong national reputations in their areas of expertise and in many cases are recognized internationally as leaders of the field. They include members of the advisory or editorial boards of scientific journals and many are themselves editors and the recipients of other indicators of esteem from the scientific community. Potential mentees are people in their early careers who have data that they want to publish in a peer-reviewed academic journal but have little or no experience in writing for such publications and do not have a suitable mentor available in their own institution. The current status of mentees may range upwards from recent graduates who have carried out research for a PhD, through postdoctoral fellows and researchers, to junior academics. Mid-career academics aiming to expand the scope of their activities would also be considered. Potential mentors and mentees can get more information and application forms by visiting http://www.parint.org and navigating to the mentoring scheme page. THE IGUANA COLUMN Iggy on this occasion slammed this copy down on the desk and said ‘I am enraged!’ Indeed, she was quivering with anger. Here is the piece she handed in: Iguanas should be warned to keep off the grass Edinburgh Zoo currently has among its guests three of my cousins. They appear in general to be well contented with the hospitality they receive. Ultraviolet light is shone upon them, and the ambient temperature is kept between 29 and 35° C. The menu on offer sounds delicious and includes such delicacies as Romaine lettuce, watercress, and dandelion leaves. The trigger for my column is an article by S.J. Girling and M.A. Fraser that has been published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice under the title ‘Cannabis intoxication in three Green iguanas (Iguana iguana)’1. This report caused me a flutter of concern as I had never previously envisaged my cousins as potential dope heads. How had they gained access to this drug, I wondered? And on that key question the authors of this report are resoundingly coy. All three of my hapless relatives seem to have had cannabis cigarettes dropped into their living areas. Whether this was the mark of a psychopathic zoo keeper or a prank perpetrated by some visitor with reefers to spare, is entirely unclear. Certainly there was no informed consent. The result of this toxic feeding was three very ill iguanas who developed unpleasant cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms. Seizure activity for one of these victims culminated in status epilepticus and only timely life support averted tragedy. How stupid can human beings get, one may well ask. Who next is going to spike one's lettuce for a jape? Horrifyingly, there is also a small literature on cannabis poisoning inflicted on domestic cats and dogs. Cases have also been reported of small children and monkeys addicted to cigarettes so roll up for the freak show and a little more free publicity for bad habits. Reference 1 Girling S. J. and Fraser M. A. (2011) Cannabis intoxication in three Green iguanas (Iguana iguana). Journal of Small Animal Practice 52, 113– 16. Wiley Online LibraryCASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar CONFERENCES AND EVENTS Australian Drug Foundation's 6th International Drugs and Young People Conference, 2–4 May 2011, Melbourne Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia. Website: http://www.adf.org.au Substance Abuse Librarians & Information Specialists 33rd Annual Meeting, 3–6 May 2011, Hilton-President Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Website: http://salis.org/conference/conference.html Royal College of General Practitioners 16th National Conference: Working with Drug and Alcohol Users in Primary Care 2011, 12–13 May 2011, Harrogate International Centre, Harrogate, UK. Website: http://www.rcgp.org.uk/ National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers Annual Conference, 14–17 May 2011, Wild Horse Pass, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Website: http://www.naatp.org/conferences/annualconference.php Fifth Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy, 23–24 May 2011, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Website: http://www.issdp.org/conferences.htm 3rd Asian Pacific Problem Gambling and Addictions Conference 2011, 2–3 June 2011, Hong Kong, SAR, China. Website: http://www.appgac.org/ 4th National Conference: Addiction and the Liver 2011, 8–9 June 2011, London, UK. Website: http://www.mahealthcareevents.co.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/conferences/detail.html?conference_uid=230 2011 UK National Smoking Cessation Conference, 13–14 June 2011, Novotel London West Hotel, London, UK. Website: http://www.uknscc.org/ College on Problems of Drug Dependence 73rd Annual Meeting, 18–23 June 2011, Westin Diplomat, Hollywood, Florida, USA. Website: http://www.cpdd.vcu.edu/ International Conference on Education and Social Integration of Vulnerable Groups, 23–26 June 2011, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece. Website: http://www.kethea.gr/pub/Category.asp?lang=en&page=1&catid=7&contentid=613 34th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, 25–29 June 2011, Atlanta Georgia, USA. Website: http://www.rsoa.org/2011meet-Futures.htm 25th National Conference on Problem Gambling, 30 June–2 July 2011, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Website: http://www.ncpgambling.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4327 NAADAC National Conference on Addiction Disorders, 17–21 September 2011, San Diego, California, USA. Website: http://www.naadac.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351&Itemid=118 13th European Federation of Therapeutic Communities Conference, 20–23 September 2011, Keble College, Oxford University, Oxford, UK. Website: http://www.eftc-europe.com/oxfordtest2011/ Beyond the Buzzword: Problematising ‘Drugs’, 3–4 October 2011, Prato, Italy. Hosted by Contemporary Drug Problems. Website: http://www.federallegalpublications.com/contemporary-drug-problems II International Congress on Dual Disorders, 5–8 October 2011, Barcelona, Spain. Website: http://www.patologiadual.es/cipd2011/en/index.htm Attachment and Addiction, 15–16 October 2011, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. Website: http://www.khbrisch.de/files/flyer_conference_2011_031210_eng.pdf Global Addiction 2011, 5–7 December 2011, Lisbon, Portugal. Website: http://www.globaladdiction.org/cnf-prog.php?confId=1 European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR) Conference 2011, 8–9 December 2011, Lisbon, Portugal. Website: http://www.euspr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=55 News and Notes welcomes contributions from its readers. Send your material to Peter Miller, News and Notes Editor, Addiction, National Addiction Centre PO48, 4 Windsor Walk, London SE5 8AF. Fax +44 (0)20 7848 5966; e-mail jean@addictionjournal.org Conference entries should be sent to Jean O'Reilly at jean@addictionjournal.org. Subject to editorial review, we will be glad to print, free of charge, details of your conference or event, up to 75 words and one entry only. Please send your notification three months before you wish the entry to appear. Volume106, Issue5May 2011Pages 1026-1029 ReferencesRelatedInformation
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