Therapeutics for Substance Use Disorders
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 192
Editors
Interests: alcohol use disorder; drug and medication use disorders; intoxications; addiction; public health; suicides; pharmacological interventions; forensic toxicology
Interests: new psychoactive substances; post-mortem toxicology; clinical toxicology; forensic toxicology; forensic medicine; intoxications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Psychoactive substances are chemical compounds that act directly on the central nervous system, altering perception, cognition, emotional responses and patterns of behavior. They may induce intoxication accompanied by temporary impairment of consciousness and self-control. This group includes depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, cannabinoids, and other psychoactive agents.
According to the World Health Organization, alcohol consumption contributes to approximately 2.6 million deaths worldwide each year. The UNODC World Drug Report 2019 further indicates that about 271 million people used drugs in the previous year, 35 million experienced drug use disorders, and approximately 585,000 deaths annually are attributable to drug use.
Substance use disorders represent a major public health challenge, with biological, psychological, and social consequences that substantially impair well-being and functioning. Vulnerability to addiction is multifactorial, arising from the interaction of biological predispositions and environmental influences. Both acute intoxication and long-term substance use may contribute to psychopathological symptoms, behavioral disturbances, somatic deterioration, and an increased risk of severe mental health outcomes, including suicidal behavior.
Prevention includes efforts to delay or prevent initiation of substance use, reduce risk factors, strengthen protective factors, and limit health and social harms. Treatment requires a comprehensive, long-term, and individualized approach that may combine psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and harm reduction interventions, tailored to symptom severity and co-occurring somatic and mental conditions.
This Special Issue will focus on current research on psychoactive substance use disorders, with particular attention being paid to the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction, prevention strategies, and contemporary therapeutic approaches.
We invite the submission of original research articles, reviews, and case studies that highlight addressing high-risk groups, co-occurring mental and somatic disorders, innovative treatments, harm reduction, and models of care from clinical, social, experimental, and systemic perspectives.
Dr. Agnieszka Chlopas-Konowalek
Prof. Dr. Marcin Zawadzki
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- psychoactive substances
- depressants use disorder
- stimulants use disorder
- hallucinogens use disorder
- alcohol withdrawal symptoms
- drug withdrawal symptoms
- therapeutics for substance use disorders
- pharmacological treatments
- psychological dependencies
- behavioral dependencies
- psychosocial interventions
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