National Meeting in Los Angeles to Focus Attention on Drug Addiction and Treatment

Beverly Jackson, 301-443-6245, In Los Angeles, Michelle Muth, Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel,, 310-216-5858

The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network launched a year ago by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) with grants to six research facilities has been expanded to include an additional five regional research centers and a total of almost 70 community based treatment programs.

"Our over-arching goal is to improve the quality of drug abuse treatment throughout the Nation, using science as the vehicle. By expanding the Clinical Trials Network we will shorten the time it takes to bring the findings of laboratory research about addiction to useful implementation in real-life community treatment settings," explained Dr. Alan I. Leshner, NIDA director.

The five newly funded centers each will receive a total of $11 million over five years. The total funding for all 11 components of the Clinical Trials Network is $121 million over five years.

NIDA announced the Clinical Trials Network (CTN) in January 1999 based on a recommendation made in the 1998 Institute of Medicine Report, "Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice." The first grants were awarded in September 1999. When complete, the network will consist of 20 to 30 regional centers. Each center will be linked with 10 to 15 community treatment programs that represent a variety of treatment settings and patient populations in that region of the country.

Funding for the following five centers was announced today:

Southeastern Node Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Florida Node University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL

Great Lakes Regional Node Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

Ohio Valley Node University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Rocky Mountain Node University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO

Each center's treatment programs respond to diverse patient populations. For example:

The Southeastern node's programs focus on women, African Americans, and adolescents.

The Florida Node covers the entire state and includes programs for adolescent and family treatment, treatment for HIV/AIDS, and mobile counseling.

The Great Lakes Regional Node includes a therapeutic community for the indigent, many of whom also have mental disorders, as well as urban and suburban methadone maintenance programs.

The Ohio Valley Node, which encompasses Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Indiana, serves patients from rural, Appalachian areas and urban, industrial areas.

The Rocky Mountain Node, in addition to serving a racially and ethnically diverse population, also cares for injecting drug users with a high risk of HIV.

Funding for the following six centers was announced previously:

New England Node Yale University, New Haven, CT

Delaware Valley Node University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Mid-Atlantic Node Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA

Pacific Node University of California at Los Angeles, CA

Northwest Node Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR

New York City East Side Node New York University/New York Veterans Administration Medical Center, New York, NY

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports more than 85 percent of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to ensure the rapid dissemination of research information and its implementation in policy and practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and other topics can be ordered free of charge in English and Spanish by calling NIDA Infofax at 1-888-NIH-NIDA (644-6432) or 1-888-TTY-NIDA (889-6432) for the deaf. These fact sheets and further information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at http://www.drugabuse.gov.