American Addiction Centers’ vision to revolutionize addiction treatment features Addiction Labs, a premium clinical and toxicology lab that is one of the few labs nationwide dedicated solely to addiction treatment.
Addiction Labs’ personalized approach ensures patients receive the right medication and dosage, which leads to fewer side effects, faster results, improved compliance, reduced prescription costs, and, ultimately, better outcomes.
Addiction Labs’ approach includes three main areas: pharmacogenetics, toxicology, and medical screenings:
Pharmacogenetics
Pharmacogenetic testing is the combined study of medications and inherited genetic traits. By conducting genetic testing, physicians can work to develop personalized treatment protocols to enhance therapeutic initiatives and ensure that patients are receiving the proper medication at the earliest point in treatment.
Toxicology
Addiction Labs has one of the most robust and comprehensive addiction treatment-focused testing menus in the nation and can test for more than 29 drug classes and 190 metabolites. The testing menu includes:
- More than 40 fentanyl analogs
- Tests for fentanyl analogs often identify unexpected fentanyl derivatives laced in abused substances such as heroin and opioids. The lab is one of only a few in the country that can also test for carfentanil, a fentanyl analog 10,000 times more potent than morphine. By closely monitoring the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) seizures list, the lab can create tests for various drugs, allowing treatment centers nationwide the ability to apply these tests to their patients.
- Designer stimulants
- Bath salts carry a high risk for fatal overdose and psychotic behavior. Up to 40 percent of emergent treatment for bath salt abuse suffered psychotic symptoms including harm to themselves or others.
- Kratom
- Kratom is a botanical product with psychotropic, opioid-like effects that is currently a legal substance. Due to health risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned kratom imports in August 2016 and the DEA has listed kratom as one of its newest Drugs and Chemicals of Concern.
- Synthetic cannabinoids
- K2 / Spice is the second most popular illegal drug among American teenagers with rising prevalence of 3.7 percent of 12th graders in 2017. Addiction Labs offers tests for more than 50 of the most popular synthetic cannabinoid derivatives.
Medical Screening
Patients with addiction problems typically have co-occurring health issues—many of which are serious— that must be assessed. Co-morbid medical conditions can hinder the recovery process and increase the risk of relapse or even death. To understand the whole patient, the lab also offers testing in hematology, chemistry, infectious disease and hormone levels, among others. This philosophy of treating the whole person enables medical professionals to accurately monitor the effectiveness of the patient’s treatment regimen, giving them their best chance at achieving long-term sobriety.
A nationally known toxicologist and a team of geneticists oversee Addiction Labs’ research about the role of genetics in addiction. This work continues to advance pharmacokinetics, how patients process medication; and pharmacodynamics, how medication affects the patient. Researchers also continue to identify additional traits that can contribute to addiction vulnerability; suggest better treatment guidelines; and aid providers in achieving better patient outcomes.
