Program

November 19th, 2021

All times are in
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9:30

ISAM2021 Congress Opening Ceremony

9:30
Plenary 1: Strengthening the Global Response to Substance Use and Addictive Behaviours: Recent Developments and Post-Pandemic Future

Dr. Devora Kestel, Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization

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10:30

Brain Break

10:45

HIV, HCV and Bacterial Infections Among People Who Use Drugs: Optimal Practice in the “New Normal” of the COVID-19 World

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

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Recovery in Different Cultures

ISAM Philosophy and Human Science Interest Group (PHSIG)

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Tele-Addiction Services in Resource-Poor Settings: An Experience from India During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Neuroscience Interest Group

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Behavioural Addictions: COVID-19 and Other Current Considerations

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Impulsivity and Addictions: From Early Risk to Clinical Phenotypes

ISAM Neuroscience Interest Group (NIG) and the International Society for Research on Impulsivity (InSRI)

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12:15
Plenary 2: Addiction and Stress Vulnerabilities: Relationship to Risk and Relapse Outcomes

Professor Rajita Sinha, Yale University School of Medicine and Founding Director Yale Interdisciplinary Stress Center, United States

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13:15

Brain Break

13:30
Plenary 3: Opioids After Surgery and Trauma in Europe: Is There an Opioid Epidemic?

Professor Patrice Forget M.D. Ph.D. University of Aberdeen, Scotland

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14:30

Reaching the Hard to Reach: Global Challenges, Discussions and Ideas to Ensure People Who Use Drugs are not Left Behind in Vaccination for COVID-19

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

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Creativity for Problem Substance Use: The Practice of Human Sciences

ISAM Philosophy and Human Science Interest Group (PHSIG)

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Cue-Based Cognitive Interventions for Addiction Medicine: Current State and Implications

ISAM Neuroscience Interest Group (NIG)

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Physicians in Twelve Step-Based Recovery

ISAM Spirituality and 12 Step Interest Group (SSIG)

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Alcohol Research Briefs

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16:00

Brain Break

16:15
Plenary 4: Displacement, Intergenerational Trauma and Addiction

Dr. Mindy Fullilove, New School for Social Research, United States

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17:15

Closure of Day 1

November 20th, 2021

All times are in
Eastern Standard Time (EST)

9:15

Day 2

9:15
Plenary 5: Neuromodulation for Substance Use Disorder: Current Situation and Future Direction

Professor Min Zhao, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

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10:15

Brain Break

10:45

Fresh Perspectives In Addiction Medicine: Original Research by NECPAM Members

Network of Early Career Professionals working in the area of Addiction Medicine (NECPAM)

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Considerations Regarding Sex Addiction, Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder and Problematic Pornography Use

ISAM Behavioural Addictions Interest Group (BIG)

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A Functional Taxonomy for Digital Health Interventions in Addiction Medicine

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

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Dual Disorders: An Update from WADD

World Association of Dual Disorders (WADD)

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Research Briefs: Cannabis

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12:15
Plenary 6: Drug Policy and Human Rights: Do They Actually Support Each Other?

Dr. Christos Kouimtsidis, MBBS, MSc, FRCPsych, PhD, National Health Service, United Kingdom​

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13:15

Brain Break

13:30
Plenary 7: Skin and Soft Tissue Infections Among People Who Inject Drugs: Reinvigorating a Needed Harm Reduction Response

Dr. Magdalena Harris, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom

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14:30

Future of Addiction Medicine: Perspective from Early Career Addiction Medicine Professionals

Network of Early Career Professionals of Addiction Medicine (ISAM NExT)

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Current Research in Behavioural Addictions

ISAM Behavioural Addictions Interest Group (BIG)

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Education and Training in Addiction Medicine During COVID-19

ISAM Training Committee

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National Challenges in the Management of Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders: An Overview to the Eastern Mediterranean Region

ISAM Regional Council – Eastern Mediterranean Region

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Opioids — Part 1 Research Briefs

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16:00

Brain Break

16:15
Plenary 8: Alcohol & Drug Addiction: The Gain in the Brain is in the Pain

Professor George Koob, Ph.D., National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, United States

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17:15

Using Long-Term Buprenorphine in Scotland: Context and Applications

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Strengthening the Global Focus on Addictions: Yale Global Addictions Faculty Network

Yale Global Addictions Faculty Network

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ISAM Global Expert Network: How to Contribute in World Addiction Medicine Report

ISAM-GEN

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Novel Interventions at Turkish Green Crescent Counselling Centers

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Opioids – Part 2 Research Briefs

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18:45

Closure of Day 2

November 21th, 2021

All times are in
Eastern Standard Time (EST)

9:15

Day 3

9:15
Plenary 9: The International Scheduling System for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances: Does It Need an Overhaul?

Professor Atul Ambekar, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, India

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10:15

Brain Break

10:30

Migrants, Refugees and Substance Use Disorders and Challenges: A European Perspective

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

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Practice of Addiction Medicine in South and Southeast Asia: Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions in a Post-Pandemic World

ISAM Regional Council Asian Region

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Oxytocin and Substance Use Disorders: From Preclinical Evidence to Treatment and Recovery

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Quality Assurance in International Standards

ISAM Education Committee

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Research Briefs on Inequalities

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12:00
Plenary 10: Community-Based Approaches to Eliminating Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

Professor John Dillon, University of Dundee, Scotland

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13:00

ISAM General Assembly

14:00

Telemedicine Mediated Medication Assisted Treatment (TMAT)

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

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Spanish-Language Symposium: Prácticas de economía comportamental aplicadas a la prevención y asistencia de las adicciones en Latam

ISAM Regional Council South American Region

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OPTIMA: Comparing Flexible Buprenorphine/
Naloxone with Methadone to Reduce Opioid Use in People with Prescription-Type Opioid Use Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Intrauterine Opioid Toxicity and Neural, Visual and Developmental Outcomes

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

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Pivoting During the Pandemic: Sharing Experiences of Online Addiction Medicine Training

ISAM Training Committee

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15:30

Brain Break

15:45
Plenary 11: Rethinking Addiction: Confronting Stigma and Harnessing the Power of Real Stories

Dr. Dan Lubman, Monash University, Australia

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16:45

The Addiction Specialist Fit for the Future: What Education Programmes Need to Look Like

ISAM Education Committee

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Moving Toward Online Capacity Building of Healthcare Workers in Addiction Management: Strategies for Adapting to the New Normal

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Addiction Treatment Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience from a Community Drug Treatment Clinic in Delhi, India

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Correctional Systems and Addiction Treatment Philosophies

ISAM Regional Council North America and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)

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Poster Presentations

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18:15

ISAM2021 Congress Closing Ceremony

Read The Complete Abstracts
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Strengthening the Global Response to Substance Use and Addictive Behaviours: Recent Developments and Post-Pandemic Future

Dr. Devora Kestel

Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization

Consolidated and coherent global actions are needed to promote mental health, reduce the health burden associated with substance use, and to ensure appropriate attention to substance use and addictive behaviours in the current and future developmental agendas. In this plenary session, you’ll hear about new global action plans, initiatives and products from the World Health Organizations, including: the WHO Special Initiative on Mental Health, the draft global alcohol action plan 2022-2030, the WHO-led SAFER initiative on alcohol, the WHO-UNODC initiative on opioid overdose prevention, and the WHO recommendations on treatment of substance use disorders in non-specialized health care settings within the WHO mhGAP program.

HIV, HCV and Bacterial Infections Among People Who Use Drugs: Optimal Practice in the "New Normal" of the COVID-19 World

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

People who use drugs account for one in 10 of the world’s 40 million HIV cases, and three out of four global incident cases of HCV infection. Today, increasing rates of bacterial infection along with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI’s) are cause for alarm as well. In this important symposium, presenters will discuss harm reduction programs and services in Malawi, India and Scotland and examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delivery of harm reduction services worldwide.

  • HIV, HCV, and Bacterial Infections Infections Among People Who Use Drugs: Optimal Practices in the “New Normal” of the COVID-19 World
    Dr. Jenna Butner, Yale School of Medicine, USA

  • General Impact of COVID-19 on HIV Service Delivery (access, diagnosis, treatment, prevention) in Malawi
    Beatrice Matanje

  • The Impact of COVID-19 on HCV Prevention, Testing and Care Services for People Who Use Drugs
    Jason Grebely

  • Bacterial Infections and Harm Reduction: Maintaining Services Where Barriers Exist
    Sophie Given

  • Injecting Injuries in Scotland and the Development of a New Wound Care Resource
    Allison Coull

  • Driving Change Through Incentivised Harm Reduction Interventions
    John Campbell

  • Harm Reduction Among People Who Inject Drugs in India During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    Dr. Arpit Parmar, MD, DM, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar

Recovery in Different Cultures

ISAM Philosophy & Human Science Interest Group (PHSIG)

Eric Peyron, Fatima Elomari, Sarah Namirenbe, Helena Hansen, Tomoshiro Shirasaka

Can we find common criteria for recovery in different cultures? Join the members of ISAM’s Philosophy and Human Science Interest Group to explore the different ways that people think about and define recovery in diverse cultures ranging from Uganda and Morocco to Japan and the United States. Building on Patricia Deegan’s definition of recovery (1996), presenters will explore psychosocial rehabilitation, symptom reduction, social reintegration, and more.

  • Recovery in Uganda
    Sarah Namirenbe

  • Recovery in Japan
    Tomoshiro Shirasaka

  • Recovery in Morocco
    Fatima Elomari

  • Recovery in the US
    Helena Hansen

  • Recovery in France
    George Brousse

  • Common Concepts in Recovery
    Eric Peyron

Tele-Addiction Services in Resource-Poor Settings: An Experience from India During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Neuroscience Interest Group

In this symposium, addiction doctors from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore, India will explain how they set up a cloud-based telephone addiction service during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sociodemographic and clinical profile of patients seen, interventions provided, and clinical outcomes. They’ll explore the role of various factors on clinical outcomes, and comment on barriers to providing tele-addiction services, as well as possible solutions.

  • Process Overview
    Vinit Patel, MD, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences

  • Wave 1
    Prakrithi Shivaprakash, MD, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences

  • Wave 2
    Sudheendra Huddar, MD, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences

  • Clinical Outcomes and Predictors
    Deepak S. Ghadigaonkar, MD, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences

  • Perceptions of Service Providers
    Jayant Mahadevan, MD, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences

Behavioural Addictions: COVID-19 and Other Current Considerations

Discover the latest research in behavioral addictions, from processed food and problematic internet use to online DBT skill training and the benefit of lifestyle change for behavioral problems.

  • Processed Food Addiction: A 21st Century Phenomenon
    Karren-Lee Raymond, Brisbane, Australia

     

  • Prevalence and Risk Factors of Internet Gaming Disorder and Problematic Internet Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Online Survey of Japanese Adults
    Taiki Oka, MA, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Seika, Japan

     

  • Behavioral Problems and Health Benefits of Daily Life Habits: Focusing on Physical Exercises During COVID-19 Pandemic
    Professor. Hironobu Fujiwara, M.D., Ph.D., Kyoto University
     
  • Implications of COVID-19 and Lockdown on Internet Addiction Among Adolescents: Data From a Developing Country
    Kristiana Siste, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Universitas, Indonesia
     
  • The Implementation of Online Psychotherapy During Pandemic: DBT Skill Training for Behavioral Addiction
    Enjeline Hanafi, MD, BMedSci, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia

Impulsivity and Addictions: From Early Risk to Clinical Phenotypes

ISAM Neuroscience Interest Group (NIG) and the International Society for Research on Impulsivity (InSRI)

Impulsivity is associated with vulnerability to and chronicity of substance and behavioural addictions, but the biological and cognitive mechanisms that underpin these behaviours are complex and partly unknown. In this symposium, presenters will provide updates into novel approaches to discover and measure the neurobiological and neuropsychological drivers of impulsive behaviours manifested in addictive disorders. This symposium will cover a range of new research and clinical applications tapping into the link between impulsivity and addictive disorders’ risk and clinical presentation, providing attendees with emerging research tools and clinically relevant information.

  • Disentangling Impulsivity Processes Associated with Craving and Quality of Life in Individuals Seeking Treatment for Stimulant Use
    Dr. Alexandra Anderson, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Australia

     

  • Behavioral Signature Identified for Relapse Vulnerability in a Rodent Model of Cocaine Use Disorder
    Dr. Noelle Anastasio, Center for Addiction Research, University of Texas Medical Branch, USA

     

  • Genome and Phenome-Wide Association: Establishing the Role of CADM2 in Impulsivity in Humans and Mice
    Dr. Sandra Sanchez-Roige, University of California San Diego, USA

     

  • Online Cognitive Assessment of Impulsivity Mechanisms in Addiction
    Dr. Antonio Verdejo-Garcia, School of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

  • Impulsivity and Behavioral and Drug Addictions
    Dr. Marc Potenza, Yale University School of Medicine, USA

Addiction and Stress Vulnerabilities: Relationship to Risk and Relapse Outcomes

Professor Rajita Sinha

Yale University School of Medicine and Founding Director Yale Interdisciplinary Stress Center, United States

Stress and trauma has long been associated with addiction risk and relapse, but specific neural and biobehavioral processes by which stress interacts with chronic drug use to promote and increase drug seeking, addiction relapse and other addictive behaviors have only recently received attention. Individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD), have higher rates of trauma, stress and stress-related mood and anxiety disorders. Drawing from human laboratory, brain imaging, longitudinal outcomes, real world daily data, and clinical treatment development research, Dr. Sinha will focus on specific adaptations in peripheral hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses, brain reward and stress pathways, and show how these alterations map on to functional changes that promote increased craving, greater drug withdrawal and abstinence symptoms and risk of relapse and poor treatment outcomes.

She will then focus on the need for interventions to address such stress-related pathophysiology of substance use disorders and provide clinical outcome research examples of potential targets for treatment to improve outcomes in SUD, including OUD. She will also discuss and present behavioral intervention strategies to reduce risk of stress-related poor treatment outcomes in OUD. Finally, she will highlight the heterogeneity and diversity in substance use disorders and present precision medicine models utilized in other diseases to discuss their application in the treatment of and recovery from substance use disorders.

Opioids After Surgery and Trauma in Europe: Is There an Opioid Epidemic?

Professor Patrice Forget, M.D. Ph.D

University of Aberdeen, Scotland

Are post-surgical opioids a problem or a solution? Can we do better? What are the best practices and current research priorities and questions? In this plenary presentation, Professor Patrice Forget of Scotland’s University of Aberdeen will present evidence regarding the persistent use of postoperative opioids, as well as recent multidisciplinary consensus statements on the use of opioids for acute pain at both patient and policy levels. Finally, he will discuss ongoing studies and projects to illustrate how we could improve our knowledge.

Reaching the Hard-to-Reach: Global Challenges, Discussions and Ideas to Ensure People Who Use Drugs Are Not Left Behind in Vaccination for COVID-19

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

In this important and timely session, presenters will discuss how to ensure that people who use drugs have safe access to COVID-19 vaccines. We know that PWUD are disproportionately affected by the global burden of disease and that vulnerable populations are subject to greater risks and harms as a result of COVID-19, due in part to marginalization and stigma, barriers in accessing healthcare, poorer health and underlying comorbidities. Discussion will center on how existing harm reduction services can take forward lessons learned from years of treatment and care within this population and apply them in a targeted approach to COVID-19 vaccination programmes.

  • Barriers and Innovations To Vaccinating People In The Real-World In The United States
    Dr. Jenna Butner, MD, AAHIVM, Yale School of Medicine and Joshua Barocos

  • COVID-19 Vaccination Among Socially Vulnerable People Who Use Drugs
    Thiago Fidalgo

  • “COVID Down Under” – Responding to the Challenges of SARS COV2 in Regional and Rural Australia
    Adrian Dunlop

  • Assessing Service During Pandemic, HIV/HCV Canada
    Brian Conway

Creativity for Problem Substance Use: The Practice of Human Sciences

ISAM Philosophy and Human Science Interest Group (PHSIG)

Eric Peyron, Chloe Vialle, French Visual Artist (interpreted by Eric Peyron), Naima Bet, Yoga Therapist and Social Worker, Mental Health and Addiction Treatment (interpreted by Patima Elomari), Mukasa Khalid, Ugandan Spiritual Healer (interpreted by Sarah Namirenbe), Ruben Lopez, Recognized “Outsider” Artist in Recovery, New York City, Helena Hansen, Takeshi Ashizawa, Buddhist Psychiatrist, Chitose Hospital, Japan (interpreted by Tomoshiro Shirasaka)

This symposium will present innovative practices from varying cultural and national contexts to cultivate creativity and spirituality as tools for recovery from problem substance use. Panelists will highlight effective techniques for engaging participants with visual art, dance, yoga, Buddhist practice and traditional Ugandan healing rituals. Panelists will highlight how creativity allows participants to alter how traumatic experiences reside in the body, as well as to promote social support, mutual aid, and agency. The discussant will address the role of human sciences in understanding creativity as a medium for acting on the relational etiology of problem substance use.

Cue-Based Cognitive Interventions for Addiction Medicine: Current State and Implications

ISAM Neuroscience Interest Group (NIG)

Join members of the ISAM Neuroscience Interest Group to review new and promising cue-based cognitive interventions for addiction treatment. The session will explore the work of researchers who have achieved promising results in enhancing cognitive functions and treatment outcomes through the use of cue-based cognitive interventions that target working memory, inhibitory control, attentional bias, and episodic future thinking. This highlights the need to incorporate cue-based cognitive interventions into other therapeutic approaches that are used more commonly in addiction medicine.

  • Cue-Based Cognitive Interventions for Addiction Medicine: Current State and Implications 
    Dr. Hamed Ehktiari, University of Minnesota, USA

  • Blunted Within-System and Increased Between-System Brain Abnormalities in Binge Alcohol Drinkers 
    Serenella Tolomeo, NIDA

     

  • Approach Bias Modification Training During Alcohol Withdrawal: Findings From An RCT 
    Victoria Manning

     

  • Neural Processes of Working Memory Training in Stimulant Use Disorder
    Samantha J Brooks

     

  • Cue-Induced Retrieval and Reconsolidation with Episodic Foresight (CIREF): A Newly Developed Framework
    Parnian Rafei, University of Tehran, Iran

     

  • The Future of Cue-Based Interventions for Addiction Treatment: The ISAM Cognitive Rehabilitation Delhi Project
    Dr. Antonio Verdejo-Garcia, School of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Physicians in 12 Step-Based Recovery

ISAM Spirituality and 12 Step Interest Group (SSIG)

Discover how the recovery process can operate for physicians monitored for substance use disorders, and how 12 Step-based spirituality is reflected in many such physicians. One specific example of this is found in the 12 Step fellowships of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. This presentation includes video segments of an interview of a physician in 12 Step recovery who undertook recording for medical education purposes. It vividly portrays his experiences within the Twelve Step process, an explanation with recourse to studies on physician recovery, and related discussion by the presenters. It also focuses on the nature of recovery among many physicians monitored by state-based agencies in the US.

Dr. Marc Galanter, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA

Dr. Penelope Ziegler, Florida Professionals Resource Network

Alcohol Research Briefs

  • Impact Of Alcohol Withdrawal Training Program on Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception Among Healthcare Providers in a Hospital Setting
    Padma Rani Kumar

  • Rule-Based Algorithmic Approach to Classify Primary Care Electronic Health Records of Alcohol Consumption in Scotland
    Amaya Azcoaga Lorenzo, MD, PhD, University St. Andrews

  • A Tale of Two Wernicke’s: How This Common Presentation is Still Missed in Atypical Patients
    Dr. Kelly Ridley, Australia

     

  • Are Short-Term Alcohol Biomarkers Sensitive in Detecting Alcohol Use In Heavy Drinkers?
    Shayani Ghosh, MD, Post Graduate Institute of MED Education and Research

  • The Effectiveness of a Web-Based Self-Help Program to Reduce Alcohol Use Among Adults with Drinking Patterns Considered Harmful, Hazardous, or Suggestive of Dependence in Four Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Randomized Controlled Trial
    Michael Schaub, MP, PhD, Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF

     

  • Effects of a Minimal-Guided On-line Intervention For Alcohol Misuse in Estonia: A Randomized Controlled Trial
    Michael Schaub, MP, PhD, Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF

     

  • Take Care of You — Efficacy of Integrated, Minimal-Guidance, Internet-Based Self-help for Reducing Co-Occurring Alcohol Misuse and Depression Symptoms In Adults: Results of A Three-arm Randomized Controlled Trial
    Michael Schaub, MP, PhD, Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF

     

  • Suicide Ideation Among Outpatients With Alcohol Use Disorder
    Dr. Wenyu Hsu, MD, Psychiatry Attending Physician, Taiwan

Displacement, Intergenerational Trauma and Addiction

Dr. Mindy Fullilove

New School for Social Research, United States

Displacement is a monumental global problem — according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 82.4 million people were forcibly displaced in 2020 alone. Today, long-standing causes of displacement including war and development are compounded by the upheavals caused by climate change. Displacement disrupts generational bonds and takes generations to heal, and displaced people are highly vulnerable to addiction. In this talk, Dr. Mindy Fullilove of the New School for Social Research will discuss the social integration that is needed to heal these harms.

Neuromodulation for Substance Use Disorders: Current Situation and Future Direction

Prof. Min Zhao
Prof. Min Zhao
Professor Min Zhao

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

Neuromodulation has recently shown significant promise as an effective treatment for substance use disorders. This approach to treatment involves altering nerve activity through the targeted delivery of a stimulus, such as electrical stimulation, to specific neurological sites in the body. In addiction medicine, non-invasive neuromodulation primarily includes repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), transcranial electrical stimulation, and vagus nerve stimulation. There have been more than thirty rTMS studies for substance use disorders to date. In this session, Professor Min Zhao of Shanghai Jiao Tong University will review the efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of substance use disorders. She will consider the current limitations and future direction of rTMS for addiction, and share results from her own research group, along with a series of rTMS intervention protocols they have developed for methamphetamine use disorder.

Fresh Perspectives In Addiction Medicine: Original Research by NECPAM Members

Network of Early Career Professionals working in the area of Addiction Medicine (NECPAM)

In this symposium, attendees will learn about the results of the latest research conducted by members of the global Network of Early Career Professionals working in the area of Addiction Medicine (NECPAM). The symposium draws together inspiring original research conducted by early career professionals. The objectives are to share new scientific insights into harm reduction strategies among special population groups and share new epidemiological data regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in high-risk population groups.

 

  • Smoking Heroin Versus Injecting Heroin: Unexpected Impact On Treatment Outcomes
    Dr. Nirvana Morgan, MD, MMed, FCPsych, PhD, NECPAM

  • Dexamphetamine Substitution Therapy For Severe Stimulant Use Disorder: Case Series
    Tarun Yadav, MD Psychiatry, FRANZCP, Hunter New England Local Health District

  • Global Perspectives On Prescription Opioid Misuse
    Arnt Schellekens, MD, PhD. Professor in Psychiatry and Addiction at Radboud University Medical Centre/Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior; Scientific Director Nijmegen Institute for Scientist Practitioners in Addiction

  • Maladaptive Behaviour and Stress of Italians HCPs During the First Wave of Pandemic
    Dr. Paolo Grandinetti, MD, PhD, ASL TERAMO

Considerations Regarding Sex Addiction, Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder and Problematic Pornography Use

ISAM Behavioural Addictions Interest Group (BIG)

In this symposium, members of ISAM’s Behavioral Addictions Interest Group will cover compulsive sexual behavior disorder and problematic pornography use from multiple theoretical and practical perspectives, and provide participants with up-to-date information that may be used to guide clinical and research efforts. Group co-chairs Dr. Matthias Brand and Dr. Marc Potenza will present on diagnostic and theoretical conceptualizations of compulsive sexual behavior disorder and problematic pornography use within the context of the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

  • Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder and Problematic Pornography Use: Same or Different?
    Dr. Matthias Brand, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany

  • Withdrawal and Tolerance as Related to Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder and Problematic Pornography Use Based on a Nationally Representative Sample in Poland
    Dr. Magdalena Wizła, Institute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw, Poland

  • Properties of the Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS-18) in Community and Subclinical Samples in China and Hungary
    Dr. Lijun Chen, Fuzhou University, China

  • Problematic Pornography Use Shares Features of Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder – But Not All
    Dr. Stephanie Antons, General Psychology: Cognition and Center for Behavioral Addiction Research (CeBAR), University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany

  • Study Protocol of the International Sex Survey: A Cross-Cultural Collaborative Study in 45 Countries
    Beata Bothe

A Functional Taxonomy for Digital Health Interventions (DHI) in Addiction Medicine

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

Technology-supported programs are complex interventions that rely on dynamic interactions between individuals, structures, constructs and attributes. Conventional research designs, such as randomised controlled trials, will not tell us what we need to know when seeking digital health interventions (DHI) for addiction service provision problems. With this in mind, we take a pragmatic, implementation science approach to the digital re-design of addiction services.

In this symposium, we present a multidimensional matrix taxonomy that looks at the perspectives of the service user, the service provider and society at large, and focuses on the following questions:

  • What is the problem we are trying to solve?
  • What are our resources, strengths and opportunity costs by investing in DHI?
  • What are the risks and risk management approaches?
  • What is the design, technical quality and evidence base for the DHI?


We then demonstrate the application of this taxonomy, and how its use can help direct resources in the most effective way for the benefit of our patients.

  • The Digitalisation of Addiction Services: A Functional Taxonomy for Digital Health Interventions
    Joseph Tay Wee Teck MB BCh BAO MSc, DigitAs Project, Population and Behavioural Science Division

  • What is The Problem We Are Trying To Solve? Developing a Functional Typology To Guide Digital Health Intervention Choice
    Joseph Tay Wee Teck MB BCh BAO MSc, DigitAs Project, Population and Behavioural Science Division

  • Digital Addiction Psychiatry and The Way Forward: Digital Phenotyping to Enhance Addiction Treatment
    Dr. Laura Orsolini, M.D., Spec. GAP, Addiction and Forensic Psychiatry, MSc, Unit of Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences/DIMSC, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy
     
  • Digitalizing Aspects of Drug Use Disorder Treatment Service Provision: Experience From Indonesia and Tanzania
    Anja Busse, UNODC
     
  • The Overdose Detection and Responder Alert Technologies (ODART)
    Dr. Alberto Oteo Perez, St Andrews University, Scotland, UK

  • DrinkCoach: A Digital Alcohol Identification and Brief Advice Intervention
    Dylan Kerr, BHSc (Nursing), MSc, RGN, University of Hertfordshire

Dual Disorders: An Update from WADD

World Association of Dual Disorders (WADD)

Presented by the World Association of Dual Disorders (WADD), this symposium will include three presentations focused on dual disorders. The first will offer insights into the relevance of dual disorders in the context of the practice of addiction medicine, the second will discuss the psychobiology of suicidal behavior in dual depression with alcohol use disorder, and the third will focus on the screen time, behavioral addictions and other mental disorders.

  • Why Do We Need a Dual Disorders Perspective?
    Nestor Szerman, MD, World Association on Dual Disorders

  • Psychobiology of Suicidal Behavior in Dual Depression With Alcohol Use Disorder
    Leo Sher, M.D., JJP VA Medical Center and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  • Screen Time, Behavioral Addictions and Other Mental Disorders
    Yatan Pal Singh Balhara, MD, AIIMS, New Delhi

Research Briefs: Cannabis

  • The Association Between Markers of Vulnerability to Cannabis-Related Harms and Source of Supply: Results From a Cross-Sectional Survey in Quebec, Canada
    Sarah Drouin, Biomedical Sciences, Canada

  • Factors and Conditions Leading to Synthetic Cannabinoid Use: A Qualitative Study
    Dr. Arzu Akalın, MD, Assist Prof., Yeditepe University

  • Growing Cannabis Use Among Youths in Iran: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Trend Analysis
    Dr. Yasna Rostam-Abadi, Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

  • CANreduce 2.0 Adherence-Focused Guidance for Internet Self-Help Among Cannabis Users: Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial
    Michael Schaub MP, PhD, Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF

Drug Policy and Human Rights: Do They Actually Support Each Other?

Dr. Christos Kouimtsidis, MBBS, MSc, FRCPsych, PhD

National Health Service, United Kingdom

The global nature of the drug phenomenon demands national, regional and multilateral approaches. In this plenary session, Dr. Kouimtsidis will discuss the clear consensus that drug policies must be pragmatic, based on facts rather than on ideology, and seek to reduce the harm that drug use causes. It is our common responsibility to pursue a comprehensive approach that combines health, criminal justice and social services, and that respects and protects human rights.

Kouimtsidis will advocate for an integrated, balanced and multidisciplinary approach in which efforts to reduce both supply and demand for drugs are viewed as equally important and mutually reinforcing. Civil society has a crucial role to play to increase awareness, reduce stigma and discrimination, and to promote dialogue and exchanges of best practices. Solid evidence on all aspects of the drug situation worldwide is critical to boost timely and proactive responses, to inform policy and measure results. There is a need, more than ever, for reliable and robust drug-monitoring information which should be the basis for defining reliable and clear policy priorities and for investing in areas of proven effectiveness.

Skin and Soft Tissue Infections Among People who Inject Drugs: Reinvigorating a Needed Harm Reduction Response

Dr. Magdalena Harris

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom

Skin, soft tissue and venous infections (SSTVIs) are an increasing cause of acute and chronic morbidity among people who inject drugs globally. SSTVI-related complications are a leading cause of hospitalisation for this group, with delays in care precipitating systemic infections such as septicaemia and endocarditis. For many people who inject drugs, SSTVIs constitute a hidden epidemic of suffering that impacts the most marginalised: those who are unstably housed, economically insecure and living with multiple morbidities. SSTVI complications are exacerbated by and can entrench experiences of social exclusion.

In this plenary presentation, Dr. Harris will present an overview of SSTVIs among people who inject drugs and introduce data generated for a recent London-based study with 455 participants. Findings include those related to a hypothesised causal pathway between overuse of acidifier for injection, venous damage and SSTVI risk; environmental constraints to safe injecting practice; and the role of opioid withdrawal in delaying or interrupting hospital-based SSTVI treatment. Capacitating culturally safe care can reduce treatment interruption and serious SSTVI complications among people who inject drugs, while enhancing trust and reducing shame among a highly stigmatised and marginalised population.

Future of Addiction Medicine: Perspective from Early Career Addiction Medicine Professionals

Network of Early Career Professionals of Addiction Medicine (ISAM NExT)

Addiction medicine is an emerging field of medicine with many young, enthusiastic professionals opting for a career in this field. This symposium will cover recent developments in the domains of clinical care, research and training in addiction medicine, from the perspective of early-career professionals.

  • Nosology of Substance Use Disorders: ICD-11 and Beyond
    Dr. Jiang Long, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

     

  • Role of Technology for Addiction Medicine Training in the Post-COVID-19 World
    Dr. Jenna Butner, Yale School of Medicine, USA
     
  • Advances in Addiction Neuroscience: Clinical Implications and Opportunities for Research
    Parnian Rafei, University of Tehran, Iran

     

  • Artificial Intelligence and Application of Machine Learning in Treatment of Addictive Disorders
    Dr. Venkata Lakshmi Narashmi, Psychiatry, AIIMS, India

     

  • A Lifestyle Medicine Approach To Managing Chronic Medical Issues in Recovery
    Dr. Mitika Kanabar, Kaiser Permanente, USA

Current Research in Behavioural Addictions

ISAM Behavioural Addictions Interest Group (BIG)

Behavioral addictions have become established in psychiatric nomenclature systems including the DSM-5 and ICD-11. ISAM is home to a Behavioral Addictions Interest Group (BIG). In this symposium, presenters will provide updates from different jurisdictions and provide participants with clinically relevant information on a range of behavioral addictions, from multiple perspectives.

  • A Comparison of Cognitive and Affective Processes in Gaming Disorder and Problematic Social Networks Use
    Elisa Wegmann, General Psychology: Cognition and Center for Behavioral Addiction Research (CeBAR), University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany

     

  • The Motivational Background of Gambling and Gaming Behavior
    Dr. Zsolt Demetrovics, Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Gibraltar

     

  • Gambling and Problem Gambling in Canada 2002-2018: The AGRI Comparisons
    Nady el-Guebaly, MD, FRCPC, DPH, DPsych, DFASAM, DFAAAP, EFACP, DFCPA, CSAM (Certificant), ISAM (Certification), ABAM (Diplomate), C.M.

     

  • Negative Reinforcement Motivations in Youth Gambling and Gaming Behaviors
    Dr. Marc Potenza, Yale University School of Medicine, USA

     

  • Excessive Online Stock Trading as a Form of Disordered Gambling: A Case Series
    Dr. Jayant Mahadevan, MD, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences

Education and Training in Addiction Medicine During COVID-19

ISAM Training Committee

In this symposium, five international scholars will present the results of varying studies on aspects of training and education in Addiction Medicine. Dr. Annabel Mead of Canada will explore the efficacy of tailored training to enhance the care of pregnant and postpartum women with substance use. Dr. Barbara Broers of Switzerland will discuss the impact of a massive open online course (MOOC) titled Drugs, Drug Use, Drug Policy, and Health. Dr. Cornelis DeJong from the Netherlands will give an overview of online seminars that were offered to addiction medicine specialists and psychiatrists in training in the Netherlands and Lithuania during the pandemic. Dr. Leendert van Rijn from the Netherlands will present results from a qualitative study on help-seeking behavior in medical doctors in the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Indonesia. Finally, Dr. Enjelina Hanafi of Indonesia will present the proposal on a global survey on training needs in addiction medicine.

  • A Multisectoral, Collaborative Approach in Developing Tailored Training is Effective in Enhancing Care of Perinatal Women With Substance Use
    Dr. Annabel Mead, Vancouver Coastal Health, Canada

     

  • MOOC “Drugs, Drug Use, Drug Policy and Health”
    Dr. Barbara Broers, Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland

     

  • Online Seminars On Competencies In Addiction Psychiatry
    Cornelis DeJong, Professor, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands

     

  • Barriers in Help-Seeking Behaviour in Medical Doctors
    Leendert Van Rijn, verslavingszorg noord nederland

     

  • A Global Survey on Training Needs in Addiction Medicine During Pandemic COVID-19
    Enjeline Hanafi, MD, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia

National Challenges in the Management of Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders: An Overview to the Eastern Mediterranean Region

ISAM Regional Council - Eastern Mediterranean Region

This symposium will explore the need to develop a regional network of addiction medicine experts in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, with regular meetings for discussion around pressing regional issues in the management of substance use disorder, as well as the creation of a plan for collaboration in addressing those national and regional concerns.

  • National Challenges in the Management of Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders: An Overview to the Eastern Mediterranean Region 
    Dr. Hamed Ehktiari, University of Minnesota, USA

Panelists:

  • Maged El-Setouhy, Saudi Arabia
  • Mohammed Aljneibi, UAE
  • Ali Farhoudian, Iran
  • Riaz Khan, Pakistan
  • Amira Al-Raaidan, Oman
  • Jallal Toufiq, Morocco
  • Salih Mehdi Al Hasnawi, Iraq
  • Rabih El Chammay, Lebanon
  • Raghdah Elgamil, Egypt

Opioids — Part 1 Research Briefs

  • The Association Between Methadone Dosage and Fracture Risk in Taiwan
    Wenyu Hsu, MD, Psychiatry Attending Physician, Taiwan

     

  • The Cascade of Care for Opioid Use Disorder: A Multi-Clinic Retrospective Study in Ontario, Canada
    Farah Tahsin, MHSc, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Canada

  • Neurocognitive Dysfunctions In Individuals With Opioid Dependence: Does the Type of Opioid Matter?
    Dr. Abhishek Ghosh, Institute of Medical Education and Research, India

  • The Impact of COVID-19 on Quality of Life, Drug Use and Experience of PTSD of People on Opioid Substitution Treatment
    Sofia Koutelou, Regional Development & Mental Health (EPAPSY), Greece

  • Predictors of Non-Fatal Opioid Overdose Among People Who Inject Drugs in India: A Community-Based Study
    Dr. Romil Saini, MD, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Alcohol and Drug Addiction: The Gain in the Brain is in the Pain

George F. Koob, Ph.D.

National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, United States

In this session, George Koob of the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism will explore the role that hyperkatifeia plays in addiction and deaths of despair. Hyperkatifeia (derived from the Greek katifeia, for dejection or sadness) is an increase in intensity of the constellation of negative emotional or motivational signs and symptoms of withdrawal from drugs of abuse. He will introduce compelling evidence that hyperkatifeia triggered by excessive drug intake is sensitized during the development of compulsive alcohol use, persists into protracted abstinence, and contributes to the development and persistence of compulsive drug seeking. Finally, he will explore how significant overlap in the engagement in addiction of circuits mediating brain emotional pain and brain physical pain may help explain the prominent role of alcohol and drugs in deaths of despair.

Using Long-Term Buprenorphine in Scotland: Context and Applications

  •  Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and Long-Term Buprenorphine as a Risk Reduction Intervention
    Joseph Tay Wee Teck MB BCh BAO MSc, DigitAs Project, Population and Behavioural Science Division

 

  • Establishing Long-Acting Buprenorphine in a Community Setting: A Clinicians Perspective
    James Tidder

     

  • Establishing Long-Acting Buprenorphine in a Community Setting: A Consumer’s Perspective
    Dr. Craig Sayers, MBChB, RCGP, NHS Forth Valley

     

  • Long-Acting Buprenorphine and Micro-Dosing in an Assertive Outreach Setting
    Joseph Tay Wee Teck MB BCh BAO MSc, DigitAs Project, Population and Behavioural Science Division

     

  • Long-Acting Buprenorphine Within a Pharmacy Context
    Duncan Hill

Strengthening the Global Focus on Addictions

Yale Global Addictions Faculty Network

Global, international aspects of addictions are an important focus among researchers, clinical practitioners, and scholars at Yale University. The Yale Institute for Global Health encourages faculty members at Yale to form long-term, collaborative academic and research partnerships centered on thematic or geographic areas. The Yale Global Addictions Faculty Network was established in the spring of 2021. The network includes a multidisciplinary group of Yale faculty working on research, clinical care, education, prevention, and policy pertaining to individuals with addictions or unhealthy substance use. Through scheduled meetings, the network offers a space for broad discussions across disciplines that aim to stimulate collaborations with global community partners. The network discussions also focus on international drug policy and aims to become a forum for hosting invited presentations and conferences. We will present overviews of international collaborative research and educational efforts of the network members.

 

  • A Long-Standing and Multi-Faceted Collaboration Between Yale University and Universiti Sains Malaysia
    Dr. Marek Chawarski, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
     
  • Addiction Mini-Residency Curriculum for Primary Healthcare Workers in a Low- and Middle-Income Country
    Dr. Theddeus Iheanacho, Yale University School of Medicine

     

  • Rapid Situational Assessment of Substance Use Among Lebanese Nationals and Displaced Populations in Lebanon
    Dr. Kaveh Khoshnood, Yale School of Public Health, USA

     

  • Addressing Substance Use and Addictive Behaviors: Global Considerations
    Dr. Marc Potenza, Yale University School of Medicine, USA

  • Using a Massive Open Online Course on Interprofessional SUD Treatment to Reach Global Learners
    Ellen L. Edens, MD MPE, Yale School of Medicine / Brent Moore, PhD, Yale School of Medicine

ISAM Global Expert Network: How To Contribute In World Addiction Medicine Report

This symposium will discuss early attempts at global surveys of addiction medicine experts by the International Society of Addiction Medicine, their strengths and weaknesses, and the development of a global expert network to pave the way for more representative and valid expert opinion elicitation in addiction medicine.

 

  • From the ISAM 2020 Global Survey to the ISAM Global Expert Network: Progress and the Road Ahead
    Arash Khojasteh Zonoori
     
  • The Promise of Expert Elicitation: Exemplar Projects and Protocols
    Arshiya Sangchooli
     
  • Different Facets of Reliable Expert Elicitation
    Victoria Hemming Universitas Indonesia

  • Protocol Development for Structured Expert Elicitation
    Anca Hanea

  • Social Network Analysis for Recruitment and Validation in Expert Networks
    Dimitris Christopoulos

  • Conclusion and Discussion
    Dr. Hamed Ehktiari

Novel Interventions at Turkish Green Crescent Counselling Centers

In this symposium, attendees will learn about five unique tool and systems introduced at the Turkish Green Crescient Counselling Centres to assist people with substance use disorders. Speakers will introduce the Addiction Counseling Matrix, the CoDependency Scale and Psychoeducation Program, Change Workbooks, the BAMPERDE Performance Evaluation System and the YEDAMSoft software system.

  • Novel Interventions at Turkish Green Crescent Counseling Centers
    Ceren Senyuz, MA, Turkish Green Crescent

  • Addiction Counseling Matrix (ACM)
    Dr. Kultegin Ogel, Turkish Green Crescent, Moodist Psychiatry and Neurobiology Hospital

  • Co-Dependence Program
    Melike Simsek, MSc, Turkish Green Crescent

  • Individual, Family and Social Change Workbook
    Ceren Senyuz, MA, Turkish Green Crescent

  • YedamSoft
    Ozgen Kaplan Furundaoturan, Turkish Green Crescent

  • BAMPERDE: Performance Evaluation System
    Dr. Ezgi Gocek Yorulmaz, PhD, Turkish Green Crescent

Opioids - Part 2 - Research Briefs

  • A Retrospective Cohort Study Evaluating the Impact of Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Use Among Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder in Ontario, Canada
    Shreedhar Acharya, MPH, MHM, M.Sc, PhD Student, Northern Ontario School of Medicine

  • Clinical Profile of Adolescent Opioid Users in Out-Patient Clinic of a Tertiary Level Drug Dependence Treatment Centr
    Pooja Shakya. MD, AIIMS NEW DELHI

  • Altering the Opioid Crisis: An Evaluation of Opioid Prescribing Patterns and Implications for a Novel Behavioral Science-Based Solution
    Jaden Duggal, Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists

  • Evaluating the Impact of Urine Drug Screen Frequency on Retention in Opioid Agonist Treatment in Ontario, Canada
    Dr. Kristen Morin, PhD MPH, Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Health Sciences North Research Institute

  • Predictors of Treatment Outcome in Patients of Heroin Dependence Initiated on Naltrexone Maintenance Treaetment: A 3-Month Follow-Up Study
    Nishtha Chawla, Department of Psychiatry and NDDTC, AIIMS, New Delhi

The International Scheduling System for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances: Does it Need an Overhaul?

Professor Atul Ambekar

National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, India

The three United Nations Drug Conventions form the bedrock of the international drug control framework, the stated aim of which is to curb diversion and misuse of controlled products while ensuring access for medical and scientific purposes. It has been unsuccessful on both counts. Production, trafficking and consumption of so-called ‘illicit’ drugs continues unabated, while there are gross inequities in the availability of controlled medications for genuine medical indications.

In this session, Professor Atul Ambekar of India’s National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre will explain the system that exists for evaluating and classifying drugs under the United Nations conventions. He will examine the roles of the World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), a political body. He will offer a critical analysis of the review process, the framing of recommendations and the debate and manoeuvring that take place during CND deliberations. In particular, he will focus on the CND’s recent decision to accept the ECDD’s recommendation to reclassify cannabis while rejecting additional recommendations to change the classification of other cannabis-related substances designed to ensure their availability for medical use whilst preventing harms associated with non-medical use.

Migrants, Refugees and Substance Use Disorders and Challenges: A European Perspective

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

Since 2015, more than one million refugees and migrants have entered Europe via land and sea routes, mainly through Greece — an unprecedented number. The national health system and humanitarian actors in the field faced huge challenges trying to respond to the needs of these transiting populations. During their travels, refugees and migrants often face harsh living conditions, limited access to healthcare, and violence. Overcrowded reception centers and hotspots are associated with severe disease burden, including infectious disease, mental health, women’s health, SGBV and children’s health issues. In addition, refugees and migrants are extremely vulnerable to substance use disorders due trauma from war, loss of homeland, uncertainty about the future, barriers into accessing work, and social marginalization.

  • Migrants, Refugees and Substance Use Disorders and Challenges: A European Perspective
    Dr. Christos Kouimtsidis, MBBS FRCPsych MSc PhD, National Coordinator for Addressing Drugs of Greece

  • Drug Related Challenges For Refugees and Migrants in Europe and The European Societies
    Ourania Botsi, Pompidou Group, Council of Europe

     

  • Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Greece: Unmet Physical and Mental Health Needs
    Dr. Chryssa Botsi, Scientific Coordinator for Refugees’ Health Programme 2016-2019 (Project PHILOS I AMIF)

     

  • Intervention in the Long-Term Accommodation Sites for Refugee-Prevention and Counselling Services for Addiction
    Savvopoulou Foteini, KETHEA Mosaic, Greece

Practice of Addiction Medicine in South and Southeast Asia: Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions in a Post-Pandemic World

ISAM Regional Council Asian Region

Countries in South and Southeast Asia have unique challenges with respect to addiction treatment: high demand for services, proportionately lower resources, and a dynamic scenario of pattern of substance use. The COVID-19 pandemic added still more challenges. In this international symposium, national addiction medicine experts from countries including Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand will describe the challenges of organizing and delivering addiction-related interventions and services in their respective countries in the context of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Each presenter will raise issues for discussion and propose a set of recommendations.

  • Practice of Addiction Psychiatry in South and Southeast Asia: Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions in a Post-Pandemic World
    Atul Ambekar, MD, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)

     

  • Training of Psychiatry, Addiction and Mental Health Before and After COVID-19 Outbreak: Experience from Thailand
    Dr. Rasmon Kalayasiri, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Medicine (MDCU)

     

  • Managing People with Substance Use Disorders in Sri Lanka During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Solutions
    Dr. Aruni Hapangama, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

     

  • Methadone Maintenance Therapy in Myanmar
    Dr. Nanda Myo Aung Waa, MD, Ministry of Health, Myanmar

     

  • Substance Use Disorders in Bangladesh: The Concern and Continuous Combat To Control India: What Will the Addiction Treatment Scenario Look Like In the Post-Pandemic World?
    Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed, MD, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

     

  • India: What Will the Addiction Treatment Scenario Look Like in the Post-Pandemic World?
    Atul Ambekar, MD, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)

Oxytocin and Substance Use Disorders: From Preclinical Evidence to Treatment and Recovery

Reducing opioid craving is key to reducing opioid-related deaths, but no pharmacotherapies exist that can be used as needed to reduce craving. This symposium will focus on preclinical evidence implicating the central oxytocin system in the neurobiology underlying drug-related emotional dysregulation. The presenters will highlight findings that point towards oxytocin-based pharmacotherapy as a promising intervention for the management of this comorbidity. The translational application of preclinical findings in humans has been problematic. Presenters will discuss recent findings that shed light on the above questions.

  • Oxytocin and Substance Use Disorders:  From Preclinical Evidence to Treatment and Recovery
    Dr. Christos Kouimtsidis, MBBS FRCPsych MSc PhD, National Coordinator for Addressing Drugs of Greece

  • Rebalancing The Addicted Brain: What’s Oxytocin Got To Do With It?
    Dr. Alexis Bailey, St. George’s University of London

  • Interoceptive Processing Substance Use and The Role of Oxytocin
    Dr. Theodora Duka, University of Sussex, UK

  • From the Nose to the Brain? Intranasal Oxytocin and Central Target Engagement in Humans
    Dr. Yannis Paloyelis, King’s College London, UK

Quality Assurance in International Standards

ISAM Education Committee

This symposium will explore quality assurance for international standards in addictions education. A number of international bodies responsible for addictions education will bring a global perspective to the session.

  • Quality Assurance in International Standards for Addictions Education 
    Dr. Susanna Galea-Singer, MD, MRCPsych, MSc Addictive Behaviour, Dip. Forensic Mental Health, NHS Fife, Scotland

  • European Standards in Addictions Education 
    Marica Ferri

  • Further Enhancing the Implementation of the Quality Standards Across Europe (FENIQS-EU) Project: Educational Insights
    Dijanas Jerkovic

  • ICUDDR Perspectives Regarding Quality Assurance Standards in Addictions Education
    Kimberly Johnson

  • ISSUP Perspectives Regarding Quality Assurance Standards in Addictions Education
    Joanna Travis, Annette dale-Perera

Research Briefs on Inequalities

  • Spectrum of Mephentermine Abuse: From Harmful Use to Dependence and Induced Psychosis
    Dr. Sidharth Arya, MD, PDF, State Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, Institute of Mental Health, Pt. B.D.S University of Health Sciences

  • Anabolic Androgenic Steroids Used As Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs in Professional and Amateur Athletes: Toxicological and Psychopathological Findings
    Daria Piacentino, MD, PhD, MS, National Institutes of Health

  • Some Patterns of Tobacco Smoking Among Students of Belarus
    Vladimir Vdovichenko, Grodno State Medical University, Belarus

  • First Report of Successful HCV Microelimination Among Romanian Patients in Methadone Maintenance
    Dr. Adrian Abagiu, National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Bucharest, Romania

  • Poor Engagement in Substance Use Treatment and HIV Services Among Young People Who Inject Drugs in India
    Dr. Lakshmi Ganapathi, MBBS, Boston Children’s Hospital

  • Individualized Addiction Treatment: The Impact of Social Factors on Effective Management
    Kathryn Renard, California University of Science and Medicine, USA

  • Profile of Substance Use, Psychopathology and Quality of Life Amid SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in the Population of Homeless Drug Users Living in A Transitional Guesthouse
    Dr. Konstantinos Kokkolis, OKANA – Organization Against Drugs, Greece

Community-Based Approaches to Eliminating Hepatitis C

Professor John Dillon

University of Dundee, Scotland

The Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a fatal infectious disease that affects the most vulnerable, deprived and stigmatised members of our society and disproportionately affects people with addictions. In this session, Professor John Dillon will introduce new methodologies and care pathways to deliver support, treatment and cure to people affected by HCV. He will show how the combination of these new care pathways and patient-focussed treatment have delivered high levels of HCV cure and placed leading sites on the verge of HCV elimination, while also improving outcomes for patients across a range of health and social outcomes.

Telemedicine Mediated Medication Assisted Treatment (TMAT)

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

In this symposium, we delve more deeply into the most prominent example of technology adoption in addiction services, that of Telehealth mediated Medication Assisted Treatment (TMAT). The exponential rise in the number of publications around TMAT over the pandemic is striking, yet it is also clear that its use is not consistent across nations and health systems. We present a proposal for best practice in the implementation of TMAT, the experiences of TMAT delivery in North America, Australia, India and the UK, and finally an application of Normalisation Process Theory to evaluate implementation facilitators and barriers across an international context.

  • The Digitalisation of Addiction Services (2): Telemedicine Mediated Medication Assisted Treatment (TMAT)
    Joseph Tay WeeTeck, MB BCh BAO MSc, DigitAs Project, Population and Behavioural Science Division

  • Applying the NOMAD Constructs in Comparing TMAT Implementation Across an International Context: Preliminary Findings
    Dr. Heidi Dritschel, PhD, The University of St. Andrews

  • Developing TMAT Best Practice Guidance in the Scottish Context: The DigitAS-TMAT Project
    Dr. Susanna Galea-Singer MD, MRCPsych, Dip Forensic Mental Health, NHS Fife, Scotland, Dr. Giedre Zlatkute, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
     
  • Telemedicine Versus Face-to-Face Consultations for Opioid Dependence Treatment
    Dr. Soraya Mayet, BSc (Hons) MBBS PGCert FHEA FRCPsych MD (Res), Humber Teaching NHH FT
     
  • Community-Based Tele Medication Assisted Treatment (TMAT) for Delivery of Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) During the Covid-19 Pandemic: An Indian Experience
    Dr. Roshan Bhad, MD, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre & Department of Psychiatry

     

  • Telehealth in Addiction Medicine in Australia: Impact of the Digital Divide
    Shalini Arunogiri, Dr. Anthony Hew, MBBS, FRANZCP, Turning Point & Monash University

     

  • Telemedicine in Irish Addiction Treatment Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Innovation by Accident
    Dr. Garrett McGovern, MB BCH. BAO; MSc; CISAM, Priority Medical Clinic, Dundrum, Dublin 14

     

  • Telemedicine-mediated Medication-assisted Treatment (TMAT): An Indian Experience
    Dr. Abhishek Ghosh, MD, DM, Institute of Medical Education and Research, India

Spanish-Language Symposium: Prácticas de economía comportamental aplicadas a la prevención y asistencia de las adicciones en Latam

ISAM Regional Council: South American Region
  • Behavioral Economics Practices applied to the Prevention and Assistance of Addictions in Latin America
    Dr. Dario Gigena Parker, MD, MSc, Secretary of Prevention and Treatment of Addictions. Ministry of Health of Cordoba, Argentina

  • From “Just Say No…” to “Do You Know…?” An Intervention to Prevent Problematic Alcohol Consumption by Argentinean Youth
    Dr. Ricardo Marcos Pautassi, PhD

  • Do Reminders Increase Adherence to Substance Abuse Treatment?
    Pablo Bonino & Dr. Florencia Caneto, PhD, Secretaría de Prevención y Asistencia de las Adicciones, Ministerio de Salud, Gobierno de la Provincia de Córdoba

  • Haggling For a Cigarette: A Natural Field Experiment on Price Discrimination in the Informal Cigarette Markets of Mexico City
    Dr. Hernan Bejarano, PhD, Center of Economic Teaching and Research, CID

  • The Role of Behavioral Insights in the Approach to Trust
    Santiago Silva Jaramillo, MSc, Universidad EAFIT

OPTIMA: Comparing Flexible Buprenorphine/Naloxone with Methadone to Reduce Opioid Use in People with Prescription-Type Opioid Use Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Exposure to prescription-type opioids has resulted in major harm in North America, requiring more flexible approaches to opioid agonist therapy. Although methadone has long been the standard of care for the treatment of opioid use disorder in Canada, the superior safety profile of buprenorphine/naloxone (BUP/NX) supports its use as a first-line therapy for opioid use disorder. In this session, attendees will learn about OPTIMA, the first national clinical trial conducted by the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse. The study examined whether a BUP/NX flexible model of care with early take-home doses was non-inferior to a standard closely supervised methadone dosing regimen under realistic treatment conditions among prescription-type opioid users with opioid use disorder. Researchers compared BUP/NX with methadone in regards to opioid use, retention, safety and other key clinical outcomes.

  • OPTIMA: Comparing Flexible Buprenorphine/Naloxone with Methadone to Reduce Opioid Use in People with Prescription-Type Opioid Use Disorder: Trial Results
    Dr. Didier Jutras-Aswad MD, MSc, University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre

  • Impacts of Fentanyl Use on Retention in Treatment Among Individuals with Prescription-Type Opioid Use Disorder: Findings from a Canadian Pragmatic Trial
    Dr. Eugenia Socías, MD, MSc, BC Centre on Substance Use

     

  • Cost-Effectiveness of Take-Home Buprenorphine-Naloxone Among People with Prescription Use Disorders: Economic Evaluation Alongside the OPTIMA Trial
    Dr. Bohdan Nosyk, PhD, MA, Simon Fraser University and Benjamin Enns, MA, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

Intrauterine Opioid Toxicity and Neural, Visual and Developmental Outcomes

ISAM Practice and Policy Interest Group (PPIG)

This symposium presents an overview of and new research into the potential short-term and long-term outcomes of intrauterine opioid exposure. The main aim is to provide a more holistic view and a better understanding of the impacts of drug addiction during pregnancy on the child at different life stages. These potential outcomes will be discussed in terms of neurological, visual, and developmental findings.

  • Using Eye Tracking to Investigate Visual Perception in Drug-Exposed Children
    Dr. Carolien Konijnenberg, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway

  • Long-Term Visual Outcomes of Children Born to Opioid-Dependent Methadone-Maintained Mothers Suggest a Fetal Opioid Syndrome
    Dr. Ruth Hamilton, PhD, Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, UK

  • Ophthalmic Outcomes in Children Exposed to Opioid Maintenance Treatment in Utero
    Zeynab Hemmati, BSc (Hons), University of Manchester

  • Neonatal Outcomes After Exposure to Opioids in Utero: Neuro Developmental Changes
    Dr. Anna Maria Vella, Sedqa, Valletta, Malta

Pivoting During the Pandemic: Sharing Experiences of Online Addiction Medicine Training

ISAM Training Committee

In this symposia, attendees will hear the results of a study that explored the attitudes of doctors (thoughts, feelings and behaviours) when in need of help from a colleague or when having to offer professional care to a colleague. The presenters will offer several new starting points for further research about the cultural, gender and age differences when seeking help or when having to help a colleague, including being patient and using cognitive behavioural therapy as a tool to change the reaction chain.

  • Online Teaching of Leadership to Addiction Specialists During COVID-19: Lessons Learned
    Lucas Pinxten

  • Public Health Online
    Hans Dupont

     

  • Online Training During COVID: Experiences from India
    Anju Dhawan, MD, AIIMS, New Delhi

  • Addiction Psychiatry Training in Malaysia Amid the Pandemic
    Mohd Fadzli Mohamad Isa

     

  • The Turning Point Addiction Doctors Education Program (ADEP)
    Vicky Phan

Rethinking Addiction: Confronting Stigma and Harnessing the Power of Real Stories

Dr. Dan Lubman

Monash University, Australia

Addiction remains one of the most stigmatised health conditions globally. It affects people of all ages and all backgrounds, yet common stereotypes prevail. The politicisation of drug use, coupled with negative stories in media and film, reinforce these stereotypes and perpetuate stigma.

A devastating consequence of the shame, discrimination and judgement that many individuals and families experience is an almost two-decade delay in in help-seeking, compounded by multiple barriers to treatment. Yet society refuses to have an honest conversation about how we respond to alcohol, drug and gambling-related harm. How do we start to change the conversation and counter the many myths associated with addiction?

In this presentation, Dr. Dan Lubman of Australia’s Monash University will discuss how the recent Australian documentary series Addicted Australia has challenged stigma and stereotypes through humanising narratives and increased community awareness. He will also explore learnings from the national Rethink Addiction campaign in Australia, which has been an important platform for helping to tell the real stories of addiction and to advocate for change.

The Addiction Specialist Fit for the Future: What Education Programmes Need to Look Like

ISAM Education Committee

The symposium will take a futuristic view of addictions treatment and will discuss what skills, knowledge and attitudes addiction specialists need to be equipped with in the near future. The symposium will discuss what addiction educational curricula should look like to develop addiction specialists fit for the future.

  • Intro to the Addiction Specialist of the Future 
    Dr. Susanna Galea-Singer MD, MRCPsych, MSc Addictive Behaviour, Dip. Forensic Mental Health, Consultant Psychiatrist

     

  • Addictions Education Now and For the Future: The Swiss Perspective
    Yasser Khazaal

     

  • Addictions Education Now and For the Future: The U.S. Perspective
    Kelly Clark

     

  • Addictions Education Now and For the Future: The NRC Perspective
    Shamil Wanigaratne

  • Addictions Education Now and For the Future: The Egyptian Perspective
    Amany Haroun

  • Addictions Education Now and For the Future: The Chinese Perspective
    Jiang Du

  • Addiction Education & Training for Psychiatry in the CBME Era
    Dr. Anees Bahji, University of Calgary

Moving Toward Online Capacity-Building of Healthcare Workers in Addiction Management: Strategies for Adapting to the New Normal

Substance use disorders are one of the most serious public health problems in India. The 2016 National Mental Health Survey reported a treatment gap of more than 70%, confirming a significant mismatch between demand and availability of treatment services. Capacity-building and addiction management training for non-specialist physicians and healthcare professionals is the need of the hour. This symposium will share the various operational challenges and lessons learned from recent virtual capacity-building programs, concluding that the use of digital technology for capacity-building needs to be adapted and further refined to train healthcare professionals from various backgrounds.

  • ACCMAD 2021: A Blended Online Certificate Programme for Capacity-Building in the Treatment of Addictive Disorders
    Udit Panda, MD, PDF, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru

  • Virtual Capacity Building of Medical Doctors for Opioid Agonist Maintenance Treatment (OAMT): The Early Indian Experience
    Dr. Arpit Parmar, MD, DM, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar

  • Online Capacity Building Approach for Refresher Training of Medical Doctors and Its Impact
    Dr. Amit Singh, MD, DM, King George’s Medical University

  • Project ILBS LEAD: Capacity Building Initiative for Management of Alcohol Use Disorders in Liver Disease Patients
    Mohit Varshney

  • Advanced Training of Hepatologists in Alcohol Use Disorder Management (PRATHAM): A Digital Training Programme
    Prabhat Chand, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS)

Addiction Treatment Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience from a Community Drug Treatment Clinic in Delhi, India

In India, opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is provided in government hospitals and through community-based OAT clinics. The COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown adversely impacted OAT services delivery in the country. The National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) runs a community drug treatment clinic in an impoverished urban area of East Delhi, providing low-threshold, free-of-cost OAT services for patients who live in the vicinity. The clinic continued to provide OAT during the pandemic by making substantial changes in its operations. This symposium shares the experience of the NDDTC in running community-based OAT services using Clinical Workflow Automation-based digital platform, teleconsultations, and various strategies adapted to deliver uninterrupted services during this unprecedented time. The various operational challenges faced and lessons learned during delivery of OAT services will also be discussed.

  • Addiction Treatment Scene for Opioid Use Disorders and Covid-19 Situation in India: Challenges
    Dr. Roshan Bhad, MD, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre & Department of Psychiatry

  • Community Drug Treatment Clinics: Principles and Operations
    Deepak Yadav, MSW, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre & Department of Psychiatry

  • Providing Addiction Treatment Services in India During COVID-19: Experiences and Learning from a Community Drug Treatment Clinic
    Dr. Ravindra Rao, MD, Additional Professor, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre and  Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS, New Delhi, India

Correctional Systems and Addiction Treatment Philosophies

ISAM Regional Council (North America) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)

In this presentation, four expert addictions colleagues will describe the current state of American law as it applies to treatment options for those with substance use disorders and identify where we can recapture opportunities. One panelist will construct a straw man, our token person with addiction (PWA), to serve as a case basis for discussion.

Moderator:  Dr. William Haning, American Society of Addiction Medicine [ASAM], USA

  • Incarceration in the US: How Do We Measure Success?
    Lori D. Karan, VA Loma Linda Health Care System, USA

  • An Ethical Imperative: Offering Evidence-based Treatment for Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder Who Are Incarcerated
    Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury, University of Wisconsin, USA

     

  • Drug Use Response in the Criminal Justice System in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
    Dr. Hamad AlGhaferi, National Rehabilitation Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Poster Presentations

  • Spatial Modeling Using Kernel Density Analysis for Drugs Crime Risk Mapping Index
    Fitri Isnaini, DDS, M.Sc, Medical Staff, Rehabilitation Center National Narcotic Board of Indonesia

  • Treating Complex Pain and Opioid Withdrawal with Bio-Electrode Therapy
    Les Moncrieff, R. Ac., Provincial Health Services Authority

  • Alcohol Use Disorders Medications in Essential Medicines Lists of 134 Countries: An Observational Study
    Dr. Arpit Parmar, MD, DM, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar

  • Understanding Real-World Treatment Patterns in Opioid Use Disorder (OUD): Clinical Practice Versus Treatment Guidelines
    Mr. Brad Millson, Real World Solutions, USA

  • Real-World Evidence for the Optimal Management of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) During COVID-19 Pandemic for Patients Receiving Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT)
    Dr. Kenneth Lee, RAAM Clinic, Canada

  • Examining the Benefit of RBP-6000 300mg Versus 100mg Maintenance Dose in Opioid Injectors
    Dr. Katharina Wiest, Boulder Care, USA

  • Initiating Monthly Buprenorphine Injection After Single Dose of Sublingual Buprenorphine
    Dr. Katharina Wiest, Boulder Care, USA

  • Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of a Monthly Subcutaneous Buprenorphine Depot Injection for Opioid Use Disorder
    Dr. Daniel Rutrick, Harvard School of Medicine, USA

  • Psychedelics: A Paradigm Shift in Addiction Treatment
    Dr. Eli Kotler, MBBS, MPH, FRANZCP, Cert. Old Age Psych., AFRACMA, Malvern Private Hospital, Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre

  • Understanding Fatal and Non-Fatal Drug Overdose Risk Factors (OdRi): A Conducted Cross-Sectional Study in Scotland
    Radhouene Doggui, Université de Sherbrooke, Canada

  • To Investigate the Relation Between Smoking and Communication Skills Among Young Adults
    Kainaz Bharucha, MA

  • Effect of Economic Growth and Inequalities of Income on Alcohol Use Across 186 Countries Spanning Over Six Decades: An Ecological Study
    Dr. Darshan Shadakshani, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences [NIMHANS], Bangalore, India

  • Relation Between Demographic Variables, Economic Factors, and Per Capita Alcohol Consumption
    Dr. Diptadhi Mukherjee, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences [NIMHANS], Bangalore, India

  • Types of Income Inequality and Per Capita Alcohol Consumption Across the World
    Dr. Lekhansh Shukla, MD, DM, Assistant Professor, Centre for Addiction Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences

  • Responding to the Need of Philippine Society: The Development of the First Addiction Medicine Fellowship Training Program in the Philippines 
    Dr. Salvador Benjamin Vista, University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital, Manila, Philippines

  • Disconnect To Connect: Smartphone Overuse, Process Addictions and Challenges in Providing Care
    Dr. Mitika Kanabar, Kaiser Permanente, USA