Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
J Altern Complement Med. 2013 Mar;19(3):204-10. doi: 10.1089/acm.2011.0311. Epub 2012 Oct 12.
Cocaine addiction continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. With no U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmaceutical therapy, treatment often relies on psychosocial interventions. This pilot therapy development study attempts to examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of adding breathing-based Integrative Meditation and Ear Acupressure (IMEA) to outpatient treatment of cocaine addiction.
Fifty-six (56) cocaine-dependent patients were recruited from an outpatient addiction treatment facility in Baltimore, MD and randomized into either an IMEA or a treatment as usual (TAU) group for the 12 weeks of study, with weekly meetings to monitor treatment outcomes and to facilitate meditative therapy.
The outcome measures consisted of treatment retention rates by week 8 and 12; abstinence rates measured by 6 continuous weeks of negative urinalysis for cocaine, and addiction-related symptoms such as anxiety, craving, depression, and withdrawal symptoms.
With the assistance of simplified breath training and a portable MP4 device, 80% of IMEA participants self-reported practicing breathing or meditation 5+ days a week with acceptable compliance and showed strong interest in meditative techniques. Compared to TAU, IMEA participants reported significantly higher treatment completion rates by week 8 (89% versus 63%) and week 12 (81% versus 58%), higher abstinence rates (66% versus 34%), and significantly greater reduction in craving, anxiety, and other addiction-related symptoms. Some participants continued meditation after study completion.
It is feasible to add breathing-based IMEA to outpatient treatment of cocaine addiction. Although a number of limitations exist for this pilot study, further large-scale clinical trials and therapy-development studies of IMEA for addiction are warranted.
可卡因成瘾在美国仍是一个主要的公共卫生问题。由于没有美国食品和药物管理局批准的药物治疗，治疗往往依赖于心理社会干预。本试验性治疗开发研究试图探讨将呼吸为基础的整合冥想和耳压（IMEA）添加到可卡因成瘾的门诊治疗中的可行性和初步疗效。
56 名可卡因依赖患者从马里兰州巴尔的摩的一家门诊成瘾治疗机构招募，并随机分为 IMEA 组或常规治疗（TAU）组，接受为期 12 周的研究，每周会面以监测治疗结果并促进冥想治疗。
通过第 8 周和第 12 周的治疗保留率；通过连续 6 周可卡因阴性尿检测量的戒断率，以及焦虑、渴求、抑郁和戒断症状等与成瘾相关的症状。
在简化呼吸训练和便携式 MP4 设备的协助下，80%的 IMEA 参与者自我报告每周至少 5 天进行呼吸或冥想练习，具有可接受的依从性，并对冥想技术表现出强烈的兴趣。与 TAU 相比，IMEA 参与者在第 8 周（89%对 63%）和第 12 周（81%对 58%）的治疗完成率显著更高，戒断率更高（66%对 34%），渴求、焦虑和其他与成瘾相关的症状显著减轻。一些参与者在研究结束后继续进行冥想。
将基于呼吸的 IMEA 添加到可卡因成瘾的门诊治疗中是可行的。尽管这项初步研究存在一些局限性，但仍需要进一步开展大规模的临床试验和 IMEA 对成瘾的治疗开发研究。
