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This summer was synonymous of renewal at the laboratory of Dr. Didier Jutras-Aswad, as we welcomed several students in training for the duration of internships, rich in experiential capital. We would like to underline the exemplary work of these trainees who have demonstrated an impeccable integration:

Anita Abboud is a student in the Bachelor of Bioinformatics program at the Université de Montréal (UdM). Anita is also a representative of the Student Association of Biochemistry and Bioinformatics of the UdM (AEBBIUM). She has completed a data management internship and now holds a research assistant position where she coordinates the use and development of various databases. Anita is passionate about emerging biotechnologies and is particularly interested in genomics-oriented programming. Thank you for your dynamism and perseverance, the whole team warmly appreciates your professionalism.

Rafaëlle Valiquette is entering her third year of the Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences program at UdM.  She joined the team as part of an introductory internship to research and now holds a position as a research assistant in which her main tasks consist of recruiting and welcoming volunteers who will participate in the trial on CBD consumption. Inspired by her time with us, Rafaëlle aspires to obtain her medical degree and to pursue her journey in research. Thank you Rafaëlle for your work which proved to be essential to the success of the projects carried out this summer!

Raphaëlle Fortin is also finishing her third year of a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at UdM. She also joined the team as part of an introductory internship and is continuing her work with our team as a research assistant on CBD administration projects. Constantly motivated by the quest for knowledge in neuroscience and its many applications, Raphaëlle also holds a position in neurofeedback for a private clinic. Looking forward to the future, she is already planning to obtain the title of neuropsychologist. Thank you very much for your precious help this summer, without which the projects would not move forward so quickly!

The DJA team would also like to acknowledge the inspiring work of Ana Helena Campos who completed a short and intense internship in scientific communication and knowledge transfer in the laboratory. Thank you for your effective involvement in social networking and your contribution to the team of the Center of Expertise and Collaboration in Concurrent Disorders (CECTC).

A professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Montreal, Alexis Vallée-Bélisle, is developing a rapid detector for the presence of drugs in the blood.

A faster and more efficient detector

The device is digital, and the results are displayed on a mobile device. Compared to other existing models, this detector can provide results in approximately 2 minutes. The portable and fast aspect of the device makes it much more efficient and easier to use.

The detector will be used to measure and control the concentration of drugs in the blood. It will initially be offered to public safety and health personnel, but the developers intend to make it available to the public eventually. The detector can help, for example, in the treatment of patients in hospital emergency rooms, or even when someone wants to monitor their own consumption at home.

A device based on bio-nanotechnology

Professor Alexis Vallée-Bélisle, who specializes in the creation of DNA-based medical technologies, is also co-founder of the company Anasens, which is collaborating in the development of the device. This company works in the field of innovation of home blood analysis technology for the monitoring of chronic diseases. The drug detector’s technology was inspired by the glucometer, a device used to know the level of sugar in the blood, but it will also use DNA’s data to detect the amount of drugs that have been consumed.

The technology has already been proven effective in the lab environment, and the program has received a grant to develop a prototype to be tested in the field. This grant comes from the Ministry of Economy and Innovation and Axelys, a non-profit organization that works to accelerate the development of high-potential innovations from public research.

For more information, you can read the interview Professor Vallée-Bélisle had with the UdeM website and his interview at CBC’s scientific radio programme Les Années Lumière.

An article from our lab, led by Dr. Didier Jutras-Aswad, was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry this month. This publication presents and discusses the most recent data generated through the Optima study, which focuses on the comparison of care models for the management of opioid use.

Specifically, the text discusses about a flexible model of care that is based on using buprenorphine/naloxone. This treatment targets opioid use reduction in individuals with prescription opioid use disorder (POUD).

The study demonstrates that this model of care, which allows the intended clientele to take home doses of buprenorphine/naloxone, is non-inferior to the use of supervised methadone in reducing opioid use among individuals with POUD. The study ran for 24 weeks and included 272 participants aged 18 to 64 years.

Monitored treatment with methadone

Intensive exposure to prescription opioids combined with several factors, such as the pandemic context of COVID-19, has contributed to an increase in estimated opioid mortality, now at 89%.

In order to address this significant increase and reduce the use of these substances, the authors determined that it is important to study and plan an implementation of opioid agonist treatment.

The typical treatment uses methadone, which has a low therapeutic index, in which the difference between therapeutic and toxic doses is small. Therefore, methadone use must be strictly monitored, especially during treatment initiation. This requirement for in-person treatment in specialized clinics, especially in a pandemic context, may demotivate participants to proceed with treatment.

The flexible buprenorphine/naloxone model: is it effective?

Dr. Jutras-Aswad’s team’s paper indicates that buprenorphine/naloxone treatment poses less of a risk at the beginning of treatment, which would allow for earlier implementation of home dosing.

According to the study, participants in the buprenorphine/naloxone usage group were 0.47 times more likely to be maintained in assigned treatment than those in the methadone group.

This model of home care is more flexible, and therefore more acceptable, less costly and better suited to the current context.

There is still room for improvement

The results also show that the overall effectiveness of treatment in a real-life setting is lower than expected. The success rate is particularly low in the context of consumption of very potent opioids (e.g., fentanyl), that are frequently used by people living with a TUO.

The text highlights the importance of developing and testing new and innovative strategies to improve treatment outcomes. A few possible solutions are proposed, such as improving integrated psychosocial interventions, pharmacological treatments and developing new models of care.

To view the article, click here.

There is a strong and complex link between opioid dependence and mental health: more than 74% of people living with an opioid use disorder (OUD) develop depression over their lifetime. It is important to address the impact of mental health status in the treatment of OUD in order to increase treatment success and ensure better management of this population. Gabriel Bastien, a PhD student in biomedical sciences, has been interested in this issue for the past two years.

His project focuses on the interrelationship between depression and opioid addiction. Through this study, Gabriel was recently awarded a scholarship from the Neurobiology of Mood Disorders Axis of the Réseau québécois sur le suicide, les troubles de l’humeur et les troubles associés (RQSHA) The $5,000 scholarship was intended to complement the funding of a graduate student member of the RQSHA to support and enhance the development of its research career.

His RQSHA-funded study analyses data taken from the OPTIMA study to assess the impact of depression on the efficacy of opioid agonist treatments, namely methadone and buprenorphine combined with naloxone.

The results of this research project will serve as a tool to help clinicians work with the complex treatment for opioid dependence in the context of comorbid depression. Overall, people living with depression and opioid addiction will have access to improved treatment options tailored to their specific psychiatric disorders and thus, have a greater chance of recovery.

The RQSHA offers four scholarship top-ups for graduate students per year.

• Clinical Research and Innovative Treatment Interventions Axis (January 15)
• Neurobiology of Mood Disorders Axis (April 15)
• Psychosocial, Ethical and Aboriginal Health Research Axis (July 15)
• Addiction Disorders Axis (October 15)

For more information, visit the RQSHA’s website.

The whole team would like to warmly congratulate one of its dynamic members, Stephanie Coronado-Montoya, who has been awarded a DIALOGUE grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) for her knowledge transfer initiative entitled “The Brain Diaries : A social media project to combat misinformation on mental health and addiction.” Stephanie, a third year doctoral student in biomedical sciences, specializing in psychiatric sciences, is one of four students at Université de Montréal to win the grant this year. The 5000$ award will help to support her social media project, which she runs entirely on her own on a volunteer basis. Stephanie created the Instagram account with the firm intention to integrate and influence a widespread virtual social environment in which few researchers typically share their scientific views on public topics, and where misinformation is omnipresent. The goal is to provide concise evidence-based information to a target audience that is not usually reached with conventional scientific media. Projects such as The Brain Diaries, which are focused on giving back to the public valuable information generated by the scientific community, play a crucial role in solidifying the position of science in society, while also contributing in building rational and critical thinking patterns among the population. Congratulations Stephanie for your outreach efforts and your dedication in making science more accessible and useful!

To follow Stephanie on Instagram : @the.brain.diaries

HiTOP, an efficient alternative model of psychopathology?

Considering the ubiquity and practical omnipresence of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (1) in North American psychiatric practice and research, it may come as a surprise to some that the validity of many (if not most) of the diagnoses described are consistently questioned; in fact, up to 40% of diagnoses failed to reach justifiable reliability in the DSM-5 field trials(2)(3). Moreover, many clinicians do not refer to the DSM in practice (4).

While in a clinical sense it is important for many patients to know they have a psychiatric disorder or not, there is no evidence to support the existence of mental disorders as discrete categorical entities; in fact most evidence points to a dimensional or continuous nature of psychopathology (5).

In response, Roman Kotov and colleagues proposed a new model called “Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology” (HiTOP)(5). This alternative model of psychopathology conceptualizes mental disorders as dimensional and hierarchically organized. This new approach, which is driven by statistical modelling rather than clinical impression, suggests that mental disorders could be described at various levels, beginning from a transdiagnostic factor for psychopathology (“p” factor (6)) down to individual signs, symptoms, and personality traits. It is also considered a living model, which is continuously updated with the most recent scientific evidence(5)(7).

While still quite novel, and changing, the HiTOP model may be a revolutionary alternative to clinicians and researchers alike, with the possibility to be a complementary factor to clinical manuals such as the DSM-5 and ICD, opening the door to innovative ways of conceptualizing and testing hypotheses about mental illness.

References:

1.         American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub; 2013. 1520 p.

2.         Chmielewski M, Clark LA, Bagby RM, Watson D. Method Matters: Understanding Diagnostic Reliability in DSM-IV and DSM-5. J Abnorm Psychol. 2015 Aug;124(3):764–9.

3.         Regier DA, Narrow WE, Clarke DE, Kraemer HC, Kuramoto SJ, Kuhl EA, et al. DSM-5 Field Trials in the United States and Canada, Part II: Test-Retest Reliability of Selected Categorical Diagnoses. AJP. 2013 Jan 1;170(1):59–70.

4.         Ruggero CJ, Kotov R, Hopwood CJ, First M, Clark LA, Skodol AE, et al. Integrating the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) into Clinical Practice. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2019 Dec;87(12):1069–84.

5.         Kotov R, Krueger RF, Watson D, Achenbach TM, Althoff RR, Bagby RM, et al. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): A dimensional alternative to traditional nosologies. J Abnorm Psychol. 2017 May;126(4):454–77.

6.         Caspi A, Houts RM, Belsky DW, Goldman-Mellor SJ, Harrington H, Israel S, et al. The p Factor: One General Psychopathology Factor in the Structure of Psychiatric Disorders? Clin Psychol Sci. 2014 Mar;2(2):119–37. 7.         Kotov R, Krueger RF, Watson D, Cicero DC, Conway CC, DeYoung CG, et al. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): A Quantitative Nosology Based on Consensus of Evidence. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. 2021;17(1):null.

The field of mobile health applications is rapidly increasing as a growing number of users search for easily accessible and effective interventions for health problems. Cannabis consumption is highest among younger adults who can develop in time cannabis use disorder (CUD), a condition that negatively impacts their mental and social wellbeing.

Dr. Jutras-Aswad and his team at the CRCHUM is leading an innovative research project aiming at using technology-based psychological interventions to address cannabis related problems in young adults with psychosis. Using a collaborative approach that included national and international researchers, clinicians, and patient partners, our team identified optimal psychological interventions that could be hosted by a mobile application.

In partnership with Akufen, a Montreal-based media design company, the first version of the application “iCanChange” (iCC) was developed in French and English. Based on the feedback received from young adults treated for psychosis and CUD, we further adapted the language, design, and functionality of the application. After a two-year development process that included overcoming unexpected challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are enthusiastic to announce that iCC is ready to be used as part of a clinical trial. Participant recruitment will start in the next few weeks at the CHUM’s jeune adultes souffrant de psychose (JAP) clinic and other clinics from Quebec and other provinces. Over a period of 24 weeks, we will evaluate participants’ acceptability and satisfaction of using iCC and its effect on cannabis consumption and psychosis. Informed by the results, we look forward to further adapting iCC to increase its utility and prepare for the next steps to make it available to a larger number of young adults with psychosis and CUD.

This month, Violaine Mongeau-Pérusse, a doctoral candidate in biomedical sciences, defended her doctoral thesis entitled “Cannabidiol as a treatment for cocaine use disorders: a randomized placebo-controlled trial”. Now, we are celebrating the completion of Violaine Mongeau-Perusse’s Ph.D. degree, which she brilliantly defended on January 27^th 2022.

Prior to her time in the lab, Violaine completed a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing at the Université de Montréal and then worked as a nurse clinician in psychiatry. She then pursued a Master’s degree in Applied Sciences at École Polytechnique de Montréal during which she designed an innovative project combining nursing and engineering.

Always looking for new challenges, Violaine joined the Didier Jutras-Aswad laboratory in 2017 to complete a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences. Her doctoral project evaluated the effects of cannabidiol on individuals with cocaine use disorders. Her sustained involvement and sense of initiative allowed her to develop new research protocols, write regulatory documents for Health Canada, and publish more than eight scientific manuscripts in the last year!

Violaine Mongeau-Perusse can now add the letters Ph.D. to her name with all due credit! She is the first Ph.D. student to graduate from the DJA lab!

Congratulations Violaine!

This month, Violaine and the team reveal the results of an exploratory study that looked at the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on cortisol (a biomarker of stress) and anxiety symptoms in people who use cocaine. 78 participants with moderate to severe cocaine use disorder participated in the study. They were randomly separated into two groups, receiving a large dose (800 mg) of CBD or a placebo daily for 92 days. The results showed that compared to placebo, CBD was unfortunately not effective in reducing anxiety and cortisol levels in people who use cocaine. You can read the article that will be published shortly in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Only a few days left before the holiday season! On behalf of the entire research team of our laboratory, we would like to wish you and your loved ones, our best wishes for happiness, health and prosperity for the new year!

November is a very active month in our laboratory. Dr. Jutras-Aswad and colleagues will be presenting at the International Society of Addiction Medicine annual meeting the results of the OPTIMA study, a large scale national, multi-site, interventional study that evaluated the effectiveness of two models of care for the management of opioid-related disorders. The results of this study underscore the importance of flexibility in the treatment of opioid use disorders, which allows for greater accessibility to treatment and thus improved clinical management. At the same conference, but also at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction conference and the Journées annuelles de la Santé Publique, Sarah and Elie will present the results of a cross-sectional study on the associations between cannabis source and vulnerability markers to cannabis-related harms. Overall people acquiring their cannabis from the Société Québecoise du Cannabis were more aware of the content of the products procured. In addition, people acquiring their cannabis from an illegal source were more likely to use cannabis frequently.