Journal of addiction psychiatry
January 1, 2024
Gianni Martire, Daniel Sipple, David Baron et al.
341 citations
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) share overlapping neurobiological mechanisms, particularly reward deficiency and stress-like anti-reward processes. The authors propose reclassifying BPD as a "traumatic personality stress disorder" (TPSD) to unify therapeutic strategies that may stabilize dopaminergic reward function, such as psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT). They argue that PAT could treat trauma-induced personality disorders by addressing these shared mechanisms. Reframing BPD as TPSD may lead to more effective, personalized interventions, reduce stigma, and improve understanding of underlying mechanisms, benefiting conditions characterized by anhedonia, negative affect, hypervigilance, and dissociation.
Frontiers in Public Health
January 25, 2024
Yu Kyung Lee, Mark S Gold, Kenneth Blum et al.
45 citations
Opioid use disorder remains a major public health crisis, with overdose deaths at an all-time high despite increased access to naloxone, buprenorphine, and harm reduction strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened substance use and disrupted treatment. Current medications have not reversed the rising death toll, indicating a need for different prevention and treatment approaches. This article reviews recent trends and limitations of existing medications and briefly examines novel treatments that may be more durable and effective. These include interventional treatments, psychedelics, neuroimmune, nutraceutical, and electromagnetic therapies, which are at various stages of investigation and FDA approval and may reduce overdoses, attenuate OUD, and address comorbid disorders.
Substance use & misuse
February 1, 2026
Kai Uwe Lewandrowski, Kenneth Blum, Sergio Schmidt et al.
Since 2000, suicide and opioid overdose rates have risen sharply. About one-third of people with major depressive disorder have treatment-resistant depression, creating an urgent need for new therapies. This narrative review synthesizes key preclinical and clinical findings on low-dose ketamine's rapid antidepressant effects. Low-dose ketamine quickly alleviates depressive symptoms, even in refractory depression. Proposed mechanisms include modulation of dopamine signaling via epigenetic neuroadaptation, interactions with D1/D2 receptor systems, optogenetic activation of D1 pathways, and changes in D2/D3 receptor availability. No consensus exists on its definitive mechanism of action. Ketamine's psychoactive properties and abuse potential underscore the need for enhanced clinical oversight and regulation.