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Biomedical subjects

G Bammer

Publications and source records attributed to G Bammer.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Controlled heroin availability in Australia? How and to what end?

The general public, police, service providers, and users/ex-users were asked their views about options for trial design and trial outcomes with regard to a proposal for experimental controlled heroin availability. There was substantial agreement between the samples on issues concerning trial design. In general, the samples from the community, service providers and users/ex-users were more likely to report that a trial would result in positive outcomes, whereas the police sample was more likely to report that a trial would result in negative outcomes. This study illustrates the value of systematic consultation of key groups in exploring the options for change, raising potential difficulties, and highlighting different interests.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

Becoming an ex-user: insights into the process and implications for treatment and policy.

Studies of the processes by which people give up dependent heroin use are useful in helping services evaluate their treatment practices and in informing drug policy debates. In this exploratory investigation, a diverse group of 18 Canberra-based ex-users was interviewed about stopping, the role of treatment and their views on a proposal to make heroin available in a controlled manner as a new treatment option. Factors involved in stopping dependent heroin use included 'hitting rock bottom' or a less intense crisis such as the death by overdose of someone close, falling in love, wanting to be a good parent, geographical relocation, wanting to avoid becoming caught up with the police or going to jail, maturing out or becoming sick of the lifestyle, finding a new purpose in life or developing a new lifestyle, dealing with past hurts and the support of family, friends, other ex-users and professionals. Many respondents had been in methadone treatments and in therapeutic communities and their advantages and disadvantages in stopping use are discussed. The respondents were evenly divided in their support for the controlled availability of heroin and the potential benefits and problems of such treatment are also discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

Multiple drug use by older people: exploring the health development and political economy perspectives.

The use of multiple medications by a large number of older people provides grounds for concern in terms of quality of life as well as cost. We argue that problems faced by older people are being over-medicalized in a manner that palliates and obscures social causes such as loss of income, the falling away of social support and a discounted role in society. Primary health care is a policy model for the development of health services which offers a credible strategy for addressing clinical problems associated with growing old in ways that also contribute to recognizing and addressing social and structural problems that may be expressed in people's private troubles.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

Should the controlled provision of heroin be a treatment option? Australian feasibility considerations.

A proposal for a trial to provide heroin to dependent users in a controlled manner is currently being considered in the Australian Capital Territory. The political background to this proposal is outlined, as is the current 'drug scene'. A Stage 1 examination found that a trial of controlled provision of heroin is feasible in principle and recommended a further stage (Stage 2) of feasibility investigations to explore the practicalities. The results of the Stage 1 investigations and the proposals for Stage 2 are incorporated into discussion about three important issues: the feasibility research process, the therapeutic relationship, and social control. These considerations have wider applicability, both for treatment services for illegal drug users generally and for informing drug policy debates. Much can be learnt from the feasibility considerations, whether or not a trial of the controlled provision of heroin eventuates in Australia.

Drug and Narcotic Control↗
PubMed1993

The ethics of experimental heroin maintenance.

In response to widespread concern about illegal drug use and the associated risk of the spread of HIV/AIDS, a study was undertaken to examine whether it was, in principle, feasible to conduct a trial providing heroin to dependent users in a controlled manner. Such a trial involves real ethical issues which are examined in this paper. The general issues examined are: should a trial be an experiment or an exercise in public policy?; acts and omissions; countermobilization; termination of a trial, and payment for drugs and for a trial. The specific issues examined are: selection of trial participants; privacy; issues for staff working on a trial; coupling the trial with other treatment, and issues for researchers. A number of alternative approaches to the various ethical issues are presented and discussed.

Australia↗
PubMed1992

Australian reports into drug use and the possibility of heroin maintenance.

Official Australian reports into drug use reveal a high level of agreement over the nature of drug use and the problems associated with drug use. We examine the lines of argument which make up the shared approach of past reports into drugs, and assess to what degree the connections between these lines of argument are changing. This assessment reflects on the possibility of arguing that heroin should be made available for the treatment (including maintenance) of heroin-dependent users. This paper is derived from a report prepared for a feasibility study which examined whether or not heroin should be made available in the Australian Capital Territory in a controlled manner. After a close reading of a number of official reports, we conclude that it is possible to argue that heroin should become available.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

The Australian High and Low avoidance rat strains: differential effects of ethanol and alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine.

Two new lines of rats have been selectively bred for high or low active avoidance responding--the Australian High (AHA) and Low (ALA) Avoiders. Ethanol (1-1.5 g/kg body weight, i.p.) improved acquisition of active avoidance responding only in ALA, whereas alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT; 80 mg/kg body weight, i.p.) seemed to selectively impair acquisition of responding in AHA. The combination of ethanol and AMPT caused a general depression of behaviour. The 2 lines did not differ consistently in the latency to escape from shock, locomotor activity, 'emotionality' or passive avoidance responding. Ethanol had no effect on locomotor activity or 'emotionality', but increased the latency to escape from shock and impaired passive avoidance responding in both lines.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

An analysis of some effects of ethanol on performance in a passive avoidance task.

In a one-trial step-through passive avoidance task, pretraining administration of ethanol was shown to decrease the latencies to step through at both training (day 1) and testing (day 2) for both rats and mice. A detailed analysis of these effects showed that they differed from those reported previously by others. The mechanisms underlying these effects of ethanol were also examined. The decreased day 1 latency to step through seen in rats may have been caused by an ethanol-induced hypermotility. However, ethanol did not increase the locomotor activity of mice, although it also reduced the day 1 latency to step through of this species. In addition, it was found that the ethanol-induced impairment of passive avoidance responding (i.e. the decreased day 2 latency to step through) was not state-dependent and that it was unlikely that it could be explained by a drug-induced impairment of task acquisition, long-term memory formation or memory recall. It also seemed unlikely that the impairment could be explained by an ethanol-induced decrease in shock sensitivity. Other mechanisms which may be involved are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Pharmacological investigations of neurotransmitter involvement in passive avoidance responding: a review and some new results.

The roles of acetylcholine (ACh), noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) in passive avoidance responding are examined by reviewing previous studies of the effects on this task of drugs which alter the functioning of these neurotransmitter systems and also by presenting the results of a new study. This new study includes a number of drugs which do not seem to have been examined before, namely pilocarpine, pempidine, pentolinium, tetrabenazine, desipramine, clonidine, isoprenaline, pimozide, fluoxetine, L-tryptophan, methysergide and cyproheptadine. Because there is large variability in the effects of any one drug or class of drugs on passive avoidance responding, it is difficult to determine the exact involvement of the various neurotransmitter systems. There is also little good evidence that drug effects on performance of the passive avoidance response are caused by drug-induced changes in learning and memory processes or by state-dependent effects. Three other factors which may influence performance of the passive avoidance response-shock sensitivity, the biochemical response to stress and locomotor activity-are discussed and may be responsible for many of the drug-induced changes in passive avoidance responding.

Acetylcholine↗