| PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT THE 9th STAPLEFORD INTERNATIONAL ADDICTION CONFERENCE STAPLEFORD -ATHENS May 24th-26th 2008 (Why not combine it with attendance at the EuroPAD meeting in Sofia a few days later 29th-30th. The train jurney from Athens is very scenic) MAIN THEMES:
Following the success of the last Stapleford International Conference in Berlin (March 2006) we have been planning the next one. We wanted to build it around the first presentation of the results of three very important Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) of naltrexone implants, which should become available around May next year. We also had to fit in with other major addiction meetings, notably ASAM and CPDD in April and June 2008 respectively and it was proving difficult to find a suitable Berlin hotel for the right slot. At the last Berlin meeting, an invitation to hold the next conference in Athens was well-received and since I was recently on holiday in Greece, I took the opportunity to check it out. The upshot is that we will hold it in Athens on the weekend of May 24th 2008. The three RCTs (now FOUR-See Programme and Latest Conference New) are: The multi-centre double-blind, double-dummy trial of the Russian-produced implant Prodetoxona, which will be presented by Evgeny Krupitzky of St Petersburg. The similar double-blind, double-dummy trial of the O’Neil implant organised by Gary Hulse and colleagues in Perth. A randomised trial of the O’Neil implant vs Methadone Maintenance Therapy in prisoners about to be released into the community, organised by Helge Waal’s team in Oslo. The latest studies (mainly in alcoholism) of Vivitrol, the only licensed depot naltrexone preparation so far, will also be presented. Naturally, if the evidence for depot or implanted naltrexone in opiate dependence is as strong as it seems, it will only be possible to maximise its potential benefit by providing patients with methods of opiate withdrawal and naltrexone induction that are both humane and have high completion rates. As usual, we will be reviewing developments in this field, including a new technique using relatively little sedation and some reassuring data about the safety of techniques using anaesthesia. In the field of alcoholism treatment, Hannu Alho will present the latest follow-up of the Helsinki RCT of disulfiram, naltrexone and acamprosate, the initial results of which were first presented at the last Berlin meeting. We will also have updates on the latest developments in antagonist, vaccine and monoclonal antibody therapies targeting nicotine, phencyclidine, cannabis, benzodiazepines and cocaine. Indeed, the promising developments in this field have motivated us to make a real effort to complete the long gestation of the International Society for the Treatment of Addictions with Antagonists (ISTAA) – a society that was first conceived at an earlier Stapleford meeting in London in 1996 but has remained at the pipe-dream stage. Following the notorious but pragmatic example of the Chinese war-lord of the 1920s who baptised all his soldiers by spraying them with water from a hosepipe, everyone who registers at Athens will automatically be enrolled as a member of ISTAA and a nominal €1 will be taken from the registration fee for this purpose, so that the formal foundation meeting can be held.Athens is a wonderful city, of course, full of history, atmosphere, vistas and world-class museums as well as excellent food, which is presumably why the suggestion of meeting there went down so well. The weather in May should be perfect, too but there is another important benefit. Greece has the same sort of substance-abuse problems as other European countries (though its proximity to what was until quite recently a war zone in the former Yugoslavia can’t have helped) but it has been slow to develop appropriate services. Greek methadone programmes have long waiting lists and high admission thresholds, buprenorphine is not yet licensed for treatment and there is no formal Greek professional association focusing on addiction medicine. That may help to explain the uniquely crazy and ludicrous situation in which naltrexone was, for a while, classed as an addictive drug and one senior and respected academic was in serious danger of a long prison sentence for using it. We hope therefore that holding the next Stapleford meeting in Athens will lead to the formation of a Greek Society of Addiction Medicine, affiliated to ISAM. For this reason, although as usual the language of the conference (ie all presentations, questions and answers) will be English, we will for the first time provide simultaneous one-way, English-to-Greek translation to maximise the benefit of the conference for local professionals. For the same reason, there will also be more emphasis on agonist maintenance than is usual at our meetings. The conference is being organised by Linda and me in cooperation with Merimna SA and a scientific committee of local academics and specialists. Merimna SA is a Greek private clinic, providing a variety of medical and pathology services. Since 1996, they have also provided detoxification assistance to substance abuse patients and a developed a family-based, ‘network-therapy’ relapse-prevention programme that uses supervised oral naltrexone, since government regulations have made it impossible so far to import naltrexone implants.
Further details of venue, registration, fees, speakers and choice of accommodation will be confirmed very soon. Colin Brewer, Linde Partecke, Yiannis Kasvikis. January 2008.
Presentations are invited on the above topics or closely
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