Adapting the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Healthcare Providers to Measure Opioid-Related Stigma.

The opioid crisis in Canada continues to cause a devastating number of deaths. Community-based naloxone programs have been identified as one of the solutions for combatting this crisis; however, there are disparities in which pharmacies stock and offer naloxone. Opioid-related stigma is a major barrier for limited naloxone distribution through pharmacies. Therefore, the development of anti-stigma interventions is crucial to improve naloxone distribution in Canada. However, there is no validated tool to specifically measure opioid-related stigma. The Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Healthcare Providers (OMS-HC) is a validated scale used to measure mental illness-related stigma. This study will adapt the OMS-HC by using four different opioid-related terminologies to determine which is the most stigmatizing to use in an opioid-related anti-stigma intervention. Pharmacy students completed four versions of the adapted OMS-HC. The average OMS-HC scores and Cronbach's α co-efficient were calculated for each version. The term "opioid addiction" was found to be the most stigmatizing term among participants and will be used in the adapted version of the OMS-HC in a future anti-stigma interventions.

Benzofuran and Benzo[b]thiophene-2-carboxamide Derivatives as Modulators of Amyloid Beta (Aß42) Aggregation.

A group of N-phenylbenzofuran-2-carboxamide and N-phenylbenzo[b]thiophene-2-carboxamide derivatives were designed and synthesized as a novel class of Aß42 aggregation modulators. In the thioflavin-T based fluorescence aggregation kinetics study, compounds 4a, 4b, 5a and 5b possessing a methoxyphenol pharmacophore were able to demonstrate concentration dependent inhibition of Aß42 aggregation with maximum inhibition of 54% observed for compound 4b. In contrast, incorporation of a 4-methoxyphenyl ring in compounds 4d and 5d led to a significant increase in Aß42 fibrillogenesis demonstrating their ability to accelerate Aß42 aggregation. Compound 4d exhibited 2.7-fold increase in Aß42 fibrillogenesis when tested at the maximum concentration of 25 µM. These results were further confirmed by electron microscopy studies which demonstrates the ability of compounds 4a, 4b, 4d, 5a, 5b and 5d to modulate Aß42 fibrillogenesis. Compounds 5a and 5b provided significant neuroprotection to mouse hippocampal neuronal HT22 cells against Aß42-induced cytotoxicity. Molecular docking studies suggest that the orientation of the bicyclic aromatic rings (either benzofuran or benzo[b]thiophene) plays a major role in moderating their ability to either inhibit or accelerate Aß42 aggregation. Our findings support the application of these novel derivatives as pharmacological tools to study the mechanisms of Aß42 aggregation.

Association Between Opioid-Related Mortality and History of Surgical Procedure: A Population-Based Case-Control Study.

Objective: This study examined whether there is an association between opioid-related mortality and surgical procedures. Methods: A case-control study design using deceased controls compared individuals with and without opioid death and their exposure to common surgeries in the preceding 4 years. This population-based study used linked death and hospitalization databases in Canada (excluding Quebec) from January 01, 2008 to December 31, 2017. Cases of opioid death were identified and matched to 5 controls who died of other causes by age (±4 years), sex, province of death, and date of death (±1 year). Patients with HIV infection and alcohol-related deaths were excluded from the control group. Logistic regression was used to determine if there was an association between having surgery and death from an opioid-related cause by estimating the crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Covariates included sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, and the number of days of hospitalization in the previous 4 years. Results: We identified 11,865 cases and matched them with 59,345 controls. About 11.2% of cases and 12.5% of controls had surgery in the 4 years before their death, corresponding to a crude OR of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.83-0.94). After adjustment, opioid mortality was associated with surgical procedure with OR of 1.26 (95% CI: 1.17-1.36). Conclusions: After adjusting for comorbidities, patients with opioid mortality were more likely to undergo surgical intervention within 4 years before their death. Clinicians should enhance screening for opioid use and risk factors when considering postoperative opioid prescribing.

The Interplay Between Cholesterol and Amyloid-ß on HT22 Cell Viability, Morphology, and Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Signaling.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of understanding in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease that has hindered progress on therapeutic development. The focus has been on targeting toxic amyloid-ß (Aß) pathology, but these therapeutics have generally failed in clinical trials. Aß is an aggregation-prone protein that has been shown to disrupt cell membrane structure in molecular biophysics studies and interfere with membrane receptor signaling in cell and animal studies. Whether the lipid membrane or specific receptors are the primary target of attack has not been determined. OBJECTIVE: This work elucidates some of the interplay between membrane cholesterol and Aß42 on HT22 neuronal cell viability, morphology, and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) signaling pathways. METHODS: The effects of cholesterol depletion by methyl-ß-cyclodextrin followed by treatment with Aß and/or PDGF-AA were assessed by MTT cell viability assays, western blot, optical and AFM microscopy. RESULTS: Cell viability studies show that cholesterol depletion was mildly protective against Aß toxicity. Together cholesterol reduction and Aß42 treatment compounded the disruption of the PDGFα receptor activation. Phase contrast optical microscopy and live cell atomic force microscopy imaging revealed that cytotoxic levels of Aß42 caused morphological changes including cell membrane damage, cytoskeletal disruption, and impaired cell adhesion; cell damage was ameliorated by cellular cholesterol depletion. CONCLUSIONS: Cholesterol depletion impacted the effects of Aß42 on HT22 cell viability, morphology, and receptor tyrosine kinase signaling.

Search for lithium isotope effects in neuronal HT22 cells.

Lithium has been used as a treatment for bipolar disorder for over half a century, but there has thus far been no clinical differentiation made between the two naturally occurring stable isotopes (6Li and 7Li). While the natural lithium salts commonly used in treatments are composed of a mixture of these two stable isotopes (approximately 7.59% 6Li and 92.41% 7Li), some preliminary research indicates the above two stable isotopes of lithium may have differential effects on rat behaviour and neurophysiology. Here, we evaluate whether lithium isotopes may have distinct effects on HT22 neuronal cell viability, GSK-3-ß phosphorylation in HT22 cells, and GSK-3-ß kinase activity. We report no significant difference in lithium isotope toxicity on HT22 cells, nor in GSK-3-ß phosphorylation, nor in GSK-3-ß kinase activity between the two isotopes of lithium.

Differential Effects of Endocannabinoids on Amyloid-Beta Aggregation and Toxicity.

The regulation and metabolism of the endocannabinoid system has received extensive attention for their potential neuroprotective effect in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is characterized by amyloid ß (Aß) -induced cell toxicity, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Using in vitro techniques and two cell lines, the mouse hippocampus-derived HT22 cells and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing human cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), we investigated the ability of endocannabinoids to inhibit Aß aggregation and protect cells against Aß toxicity. The present study provides evidence that endocannabinoids N-arachidonoyl ethanol amide (AEA), noladin and O-arachidonoyl ethanolamine (OAE) inhibit Aß42 aggregation. They were able to provide protection against Aß42 induced cytotoxicity via receptor-mediated and non-receptor-mediated mechanisms in CB1-CHO and HT22 cells, respectively. The aggregation kinetic experiments demonstrate the anti-Aß aggregation activity of some endocannabinoids (AEA, noladin). These data demonstrate the potential role and application of endocannabinoids in AD pathology and treatment.

Drug-Drug Interaction of the Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitors with Statins and Myopathy: A Disproportionality Analysis Using Adverse Events Reporting Data.

INTRODUCTION: An increased risk of myopathy due to a potential interaction between sodium glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i) and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) has been suggested by case reports. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess if the reporting of myopathy is disproportionally higher among people using both SGLT-2i and statins compared to using either SGLT-2i or statins alone. METHODS: We conducted a disproportionality analysis using data from the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). We included reports with at least one antihyperglycemic agent. We compared the proportion of myopathy cases to non-cases between those not using SGLT-2i or statins, using SGLT-2i only, statins only, or both. We calculated the reporting odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. We further stratified by individual SGLT-2i and selected statins (rosuvastatin or atorvastatin). RESULTS: We included 688,388 reports with at least one antihyperglycemic agent recorded, of which 9.80% had at least one SGLT-2i agent. Among all included reports, there were a total of 2202 myopathy cases with the majority, 61.26%, occurring among those using statins alone and only 2.72% of myopathy cases were among those using both SGLT-2i and statins together. Reporting of myopathy was not disproportionally higher among those reporting the use of SGLT-2i with statins (reporting odds ratio 2.95, 95% confidence interval 2.27-3.85) compared to statins alone (reporting odds ratio 6.41, 95% confidence interval 5.86-7.02). CONCLUSIONS: Reports of myopathy were not disproportionally higher among those using SGLT-2i with statins compared to SGLT-2i or statins alone at the class level. Further observational studies may be needed to better assess this interaction at the agent level.

Assessing the impact of a cannabis course on pharmacy students' understanding, beliefs and preparedness regarding medical and recreational cannabis.

BACKGROUND: With the legalization of cannabis in Canada in 2018, pharmacists are increasingly likely to encounter patients using this substance. The primary objective of this pre-post questionnaire study was to evaluate the impact of an accredited cannabis course on the understanding, beliefs, perceptions and knowledge of undergraduate PharmD students. METHODS: A 38-question, web-based survey generated in REDCap was administered to third-year PharmD students at the University of Waterloo, prior to and right after taking an accredited cannabis course. The pre- and postsurvey data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Pearson chi-square tests were performed on questions in which answers consisted of qualitative categorical data. Two-sided t tests were performed to test the significance of mean differences of questions measuring continuous variables. RESULTS: In a class of 120 students, 110 completed the presurvey and 79 students completed the postsurvey. After the course, students were more likely to report being knowledgeable and prepared for patient encounters dealing with medical and recreational cannabis, understanding that medical cannabis should be prescribed for select (vs all) medical conditions, rating the quality of evidence as poor to moderate for medical use of cannabis, understanding that medical documents should be more prescriptive and understanding that cannabis should not be sold in pharmacies (p < 0.05). INTERPRETATION: With cannabis education a part of their curriculum, pharmacy students felt more prepared to engage patients using cannabis both medically and recreationally. Furthermore, students were more cautious regarding the potential use of cannabis therapeutically and indicated that more oversight should be in place. Can Pharm J (Ott) 2021;154:xx-xx.

The role of pharmacists in opioid stewardship: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: The opioid epidemic is an international public health concern. Pharmacists are in a strategic position to promote and implement effective opioid stewardship due to both their central role on health care teams and frequent interaction with patients. Despite this integral role, pharmacists do not have harmonized scopes of practice in opioid stewardship. OBJECTIVES: This scoping review was conducted to identify and critically review the role of pharmacists in opioid stewardship and identify future areas of study. METHODS: The scoping review was conducted according to the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley, which was further modified by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Six databases were searched for original, peer-reviewed research; PubMed (MEDLINE), Ovid Embase, Ovid International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and APA PsycInfo. RESULTS: In 92% of the included studies (n = 77), opioid stewardship interventions led by either a pharmacist or in an interdisciplinary team resulted in improvements in at least one outcome measure, with education and medication therapy adjustments being the most predominant activities. Other areas supported by evidence include community stakeholder education, policy and guideline setting, and risk assessment. CONCLUSION: This scoping review provides valuable insight into the various roles pharmacists can have in opioid stewardship. The findings from this review identified opioid stewardship activities that can make significant contributions towards reducing the impact of the opioid crisis. This review informs future research and has the potential to influence pharmacy practice on a national and international scale.

Investigating Community Pharmacy Take Home Naloxone Dispensing during COVID-19: The Impact of One Public Health Crisis on Another.

A recent report found that the number of opioid-related deaths in Ontario in the first 15 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic was 38.2% higher than in the 15 weeks before the pandemic. Our study sought to determine if pharmacy professionals self-reported an increase or decrease in naloxone provision due to the pandemic and to identify adjustments made by pharmacy professionals to dispense naloxone during the pandemic. A total of 231 Ontario community pharmacy professionals completed an online survey. Pharmacy professionals' barriers, facilitators, and comfort level with dispensing naloxone before and during the pandemic were identified. The sample consisted of mostly pharmacists (99.1%). Over half (51.1%) reported no change in naloxone dispensing, while 22.9% of respondents reported an increase and 24.7% a decrease. The most common adjustments made during the pandemic were training patients how to administer naloxone over video or phone, delivering naloxone kits, and pharmacy technicians offering naloxone at prescription intake. Over half (55%) of participants said the top barrier for dispensing was that patients did not request naloxone. Naloxone distribution through pharmacies could be further optimized to address the increased incidence of overdose deaths during the pandemic. Future research should investigate the reasons for changes in naloxone dispensing.

Chronic early-life social isolation affects NMDA and TrkB receptor expression in a sex-specific manner.

Exposing mammals to adverse social environments early in life can affect brain development in ways that alter adult behaviour. For example, chronic, early-life social isolation (CELSI) has been found to cause novelty-induced hyperactivity, impaired pre-pulse inhibition, and enhanced anxiety-related behaviour. Although the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the embedding of CELSI have not been fully elucidated, evidence suggests changes in the level of excitatory neurotransmission and neurotrophic factor signalling may be quite important. Since much of the work in this area has focused upon mRNA-level analyses, and has shown variable responses across both brain region and animal sex, our study aimed to explore the impact of CELSI on the expression of two important plasticity-related proteins (Tropomyosin receptor kinase B and the GluN2B subunit of the NMDA receptor) in the pre-frontal cortex and hippocampus of both male and female rats. We observed that the expression of both proteins was clearly changed by CELSI, but that the effect occurred in a sex (but not region) specific manner. Our results support the growing view that early-life adversity can cause structural changes reasonably associated with adult behaviour, and emphasise that the study of such changes benefits from a sex-based analysis.

The role of pharmacists in opioid stewardship: Protocol.

BACKGROUND: The opioid crisis is a worldwide public health concern. In North America, evidence suggests that the increase in opioid prescriptions correlates with the observed increase in opioid-related mortality and morbidity. Pharmacists are in a strategic position to promote effective opioid stewardship as they have a central role on healthcare teams. However, in many contexts, pharmacists do not have a harmonized scope of practice and no standardized opioid stewardship approach has been implemented. OBJECTIVES: A scoping review will be conducted to identify and summarize evidence on the role of pharmacists in opioid stewardship and identify areas for future study. METHODS: The scoping review will be conducted according to the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley, which was further modified by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Six databases will be searched which include PubMed, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and APA PsycInfo. PROJECT IMPACT: The findings of this review will identify opioid stewardship activities that can contribute towards reducing the impact of the opioid crisis. Additionally, it will provide foundational strategies to promote policy level change and foster a harmonized scope of practice. This review has the potential to inform future research, impact pharmacy practice, and drive policy change.

What Is Known about Community Pharmacy-Based Take-Home Naloxone Programs and Program Interventions? A Scoping Review.

A variety of new sources describing community pharmacy-based take-home naloxone (THN) programs have emerged recently in the literature. There is a need to define the types of take-home naloxone programs being offered to support future research designs in implementing and evaluating standardized programs that fill pharmacist and patient knowledge gaps and lift current barriers for optimal community pharmacy naloxone provision. The objective of this paper is to summarize the literature on community pharmacy-based THN programs, including specific program interventions used to increase naloxone dispensing, naloxone availability and dispensing patterns, facilitators and barriers for the THN programs, and knowledge gaps. Online databases such as PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) and a search of the grey literature were used to identify eligible sources. Sources were screened by two reviewers for eligibility in COVIDENCE software. Both reviewers compared screening results and resolved conflicts through discussion. A data extraction form for all identified full texts was completed by both reviewers and results were compiled through reviewer discussion. Fifty-two sources met the eligibility criteria. The top three barriers identified were: cost/coverage of naloxone, stigma, and education/training for pharmacists. THN program interventions included screening tools, checklists, pocket cards, patient brochures, and utilizing the pharmacy management system to flag eligible patients. Patient knowledge gaps included naloxone misinformation and lack of awareness, while pharmacists demonstrated administrative, clinical, and counselling knowledge gaps. Naloxone availability was found to be highly variable, where independent and rural pharmacies were less likely to stock or dispense naloxone. Further, pharmacies located in districts with higher rates of opioid overdose deaths and lower household income were also less likely to have naloxone available. This review identified multiple new programs, showcasing that the implementation and evaluation of THN programs are an expanding area of research. Future research should focus on implementing and evaluating a THN program through a randomized controlled trial design that incorporates solutions for the barriers and knowledge gaps identified in this study.

The effects of heat and freeze-thaw cycling on naloxone stability.

PURPOSE: The availability of take home naloxone (THN) was increased for Canadians in 2016, including access to kits via pharmacies. Unlike typical over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription drugs, THN kits may be stored in non-standard conditions, including in vehicles, backpacks, and out of doors. To evaluate whether these non-standard storage conditions affect stability, we investigated the impact of heat and freeze-thaw cycling on naloxone hydrochloride stability. METHODS: To assess the effect of heat, naloxone hydrochloride ampoules were exposed to 80 °C in a temperature-controlled oven for 8 h followed by 16 h at room temperature. To assess the effect of freeze-thaw cycles, naloxone hydrochloride ampoules were exposed to - 20 °C for 16 h followed by 8 h at 4 °C. The impact of these conditions on naloxone hydrochloride stability was evaluated each day for 1 week and after 2 and 4 weeks. The concentration of remaining naloxone hydrochloride was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Naloxone hydrochloride ampoules stored at room temperature served as the experimental control. RESULTS: Naloxone hydrochloride ampoules exhibit no changes in drug concentration following exposure to heat or freeze-thaw cycles for up to 28 days compared to ampoules maintained at room temperature (as indicated in the product monograph). CONCLUSIONS: Naloxone hydrochloride remains chemically stable following exposure to heat or freeze-thaw cycles after 28 days. If THN kits are stored in non-standard conditions (for up to 28 days) the active naloxone is likely to remain stable. Despite this, pharmacists should continue to emphasize the importance of appropriate storage of THN kits to ensure optimal efficacy should naloxone administration be required in an emergency situation.