Drug trajectories among youth undergoing treatment: the influence of psychological problems and delinquency.

Previous research has documented associations of addiction with delinquency and psychological problems. However, few studies have evaluated their influence on adolescent's drug use trajectories. The current study aims to examine the influence of these factors on the recovery trajectories of 199 youths aged 15.6 years on average admitted to inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment centers, followed up three and six months later. Results indicate that youth who show higher severity of drug abuse exhibit greater improvement than youth with a lower severity of drug abuse at the onset of treatment. Although psychological problems were associated with baseline drug use, they did not influence drug use trajectory over time. Only delinquency influenced the recovery trajectories of these youth. Results suggest that a high level of delinquency can have a significant effect on the drug recovery process of adolescents and that interventions should attempt to reduce both drug use and delinquency.

Substance abuse treatment for adolescents: how are family factors related to substance use change?

Parental involvement in adolescents' substance abuse treatment is highly recommended, even though the mechanisms explaining how this favors youths' recovery are not well understood. The present study examines the association between (1) changes in adolescents' substance use and parenting practices, as measured by adolescent self-disclosure and parental warmth; (2) changes in mothers' mental health and their parenting practices, and (3) parental use of services offered by substance abuse treatment centres, parenting practices and adolescent substance use. In total, 147 adolescents and 69 mothers participated in this study. Participants were assessed upon adolescent admission into treatment, as well as at three- and six-month follow-up. Results show an association between improved maternal mental health and greater parental warmth, as perceived by adolescents. In addition, greater parental use of treatment services was found to be associated with greater adolescent self-disclosure and greater reduction of adolescent substance use. Finally, greater adolescent self-disclosure and parental warmth were both associated with lower adolescent substance use. These findings underscore the need to facilitate parents' access to and involvement in treatment of adolescents. The parent-adolescent relationship and the mental health of parents are essential aspects to consider for interventions.

Assessing covariates of drug use trajectories among adolescents admitted to a drug addiction center: mental health problems, therapeutic alliance, and treatment persistence.

This study aimed to assess covariates of drug use trajectories among 102 adolescents admitted to a drug user treatment program between November 2005 and November 2006 in Québec, Canada. The influences of mental health, therapeutic alliance, and treatment persistence were examined. The Addiction Severity Index was used to measure drug use severity and mental health problems; the California Psychotherapy Alliance Scales was used for therapeutic alliance. latent growth curve analysis showed associations between (1) mental health and initial drug use severity; (2) therapeutic alliance and initial drug use severity; and (3) number of post-treatment sessions attended and drug use severity over time.

Expression, subcellular localization and cytokinic modulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in normal human keratinocytes: TLR2 up-regulation in psoriatic skin.

The aim of the research described here was to investigate the expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in normal human keratinocytes, to study its modulation by proinflammatory cytokines, and to characterize the function of the latter within the epidermis. Our results demonstrate that normal human keratinocytes may present an intra-cytoplasmic expression of TLR2, TLR3, and TLR4. Exposure of keratinocytes to IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha increased intra-cytoplasmic expression and led to partial translocation at the cell surface. Keratinocyte activation by TLR2, TLR3, and TLR4 ligands led to the nuclear translocation of NF-kappab and the release of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-8. In immunochemistry analysis, psoriatic skin showed a strong over-expression of TLR2 in the epidermis compared with normal skin. Our results thus demonstrate large TLR expression in keratinocytes and the functionality of TLRs 2, 3, and 4. TLR2 over-expression in psoriatic skin provides new insights into TLR implication in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, through inappropriate stimulation by infectious or endogen ligands.