Stephen Baldassarri

• Doctor of Medicine
• Yale University

Introduction The use of recreational substances such cannabis is linked to sleep quality. Long-term cannabis use has been linked to increased sleep latency, less slow wave sleep, and worse sleep efficiency. However, little is known about the relationship between cannabis use and subjective OSA symptoms. We examined the association of cannabis use a...

Purpose of Review Sleep deficiency and pain are two common conditions with the potential to complicate the care of persons with substance use disorders. Substance use disorders are commonly conceptualized as neurologically mediated compulsive and maladaptive patterns of substance use that cause problems. Acquired neurologic changes influenced by en...

Background Menthol cigarette use remains a large public health problem and disproportionately affects Black adults in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration has proposed prohibiting menthol flavor in cigarettes to protect public health. However, e-cigarettes are available in menthol flavor and are a popular alternative product adults m...

Introduction Electronic cigarette (EC) use has increased rapidly in the last decade, especially among youth. Regulating nicotine delivery from ECs could help curb youth uptake and leverage EC use in harm reduction yet is complicated by varying device and liquid variables that affect nicotine delivery. Nicotine flux, the nicotine emission rate, is a...

Dog ownership has been associated with reduced cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in civilian epidemiological samples. Associations between dog ownership and cardiometabolic disease were examined in the 2019–2020 wave of the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Dog and cat ownership data were obtained from 3078 Veterans and cross-t...

Introduction Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent airway obstruction causing intermittent hypoxia, arousal from sleep, and autonomic instability, and is associated with a variety of long-term health sequala. The fragmented sleep resulting from these respiratory events leads to disruption in normal sleep architecture and progr...

Background Psychoactive substance use (i.e., nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine) has substantial effects on sleep architecture in healthy individuals, but their effects in those with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have not been well described. We aimed to describe the association between psychoactive substance use and sleep characteristics and daytime...

Rationale: Poor adherence limits the effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A better understanding of CPAP adherence is needed to develop novel strategies to improve it. Objective(s): To determine if chronotype (morning, evening or intermediate) of patients with OSA is associated wi...

Background Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion, and varenicline are smoking cessation medications (SCM) shown to be similarly effective in people with and without HIV (PWH and PWoH, respectively), though rates of receipt of these medications are unknown. Methods We identified patients in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) with EHR-do...

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) dysregulation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of many psychiatric disorders, as well as nicotine use and dependence. We used positron emission tomography with [18F]FPEB to measure mGluR5 availability in vivo in 6 groups: (1) nicotine users (NUs) without other psychiatric comorbidities (n = 23);...

The cholinergic system is a critical mediator of cognition in animals. People who smoke cigarettes exhibit cognitive deficits, especially during quit attempts. Few studies jointly examine the cholinergic system and cognition in people while trying to quit smoking. We used positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging with the β2-subunit containi...

The role of glutamate system in the etiology and pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders has gained considerable attention in the past two decades, including dysregulation of the metabotropic glutamatergic receptor subtype 5 (mGlu5). Thus, mGlu5 may represent a promising therapeutic target for psychiatric conditions, particularly stress-related di...

Dog ownership has been associated with reduced cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in epidemiological samples. U.S. miliary Veterans exhibit elevated rates of cardiovascular disease. Associations between dog ownership and cardiovascular disease were examined in the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (NHRVS) which surveys nationally...

Introduction: Chronic nicotine exposure desensitizes dopamine responses in animals, but it is not known if this occurs in human tobacco smokers. Deficits in dopamine function are likely to make smoking cessation difficult. We used positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging with the dopamine D2/3 receptor agonist radioligand [ 11C]-(+)-PHNO t...

Obesity is a serious medical condition that often co-occurs with stress-related psychiatric disorders. It is recognized that the brain plays a key role in the (patho)physiology of obesity and that there is a bidirectional relationship between obesity and psychopathology, yet molecular mechanisms altered in obesity have not been fully elucidated. Th...

Given accumulating evidence that electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) may be a harm-reduction alternative to combustible tobacco products, it is important to understand the real-world implications of these devices in the populations that may benefit from them the most. We surveyed the use, perceptions of, and interest in using ENDS among pat...

Acetylcholine (ACh) has distinct functional roles in striatum compared with cortex, and imbalance between these systems may contribute to neuropsychiatric disease. Preclinical studies indicate markedly higher ACh concentrations in the striatum. The goal of this work was to leverage positron emission tomography (PET) imaging estimates of drug occupa...

PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and clinical correlates of impaired sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness among patients receiving methadone for opioid use disorder (OUD).Methods Patients receiving methadone (n = 164) completed surveys assessing sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]), daytime slee...

Electronic cigarettes (EC) are battery-operated devices that heat and aerosolize a liquid solution that typically contains nicotine. ECs have become commonly used among youth and may pose substantial risks of future addiction and health problems in this population. However, ECs are far less toxic per puff compared with combustible cigarettes, and a...

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; i.e., electronic cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vaping devices, vape pens) were introduced to the U.S. market in 2007 as a potential harm reduction alternative for people who smoked combustible cigarettes. Since that time, ENDS popularity grew very quickly, particularly among individuals who smoke cigarettes....

Introduction As of February 18, 2020, states have reported 2,807 cases of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use–associated lung injury to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most cases involved cannabinoids. This study identifies current risk factors for adult marijuana vaping by analyzing 2017 and 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance...

Serotonergic neurotransmission plays a key role in the pathophysiology and treatment of various neuropsychiatric diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in serotonergic neurotransmission after acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) using positron emission tomography (PET) with [¹¹C]P943, a 5‐HT1B receptor radioligand previously sho...

Cigarette smoking addiction is the most common preventable cause of death in the United States. Prevention efforts are critical because once the addiction takes hold it is very difficult to treat and is marked by frequent abstinence attempts, relapse, and low sustained abstinence over time. As a result, harm reduction strategies may become increasi...

The use of electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes has grown in popularity over the last decade without extensive preclinical toxicology testing or long-term safety trials.¹ In the e-cigarette marketplace, there are thousands of combinations of constituents that can comprise e-liquids, including flavors, nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabid...

As of October 28, 2019, 49 states have reported more than 1600 possible cases of severe pulmonary disease related to vaping—the inhalation of a heated, aerosolized solution—to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).¹ To date, 34 deaths have been attributed to e-cigarette, or vaping, product use–associated lung injury (EVALI). This has...

Background: Veterans are a unique population that may be at increased risk of tobacco use disorder and nicotine dependence (ND). We analyzed data from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (NHRVS), a large nationally representative sample of US veterans, in order to more fully understand the prevalence and correlates of lifetime ND i...

Background: Although smoking is prevalent among populations with opioid use disorder (OUD), few studies have examined electronic cigarette (EC) use in individuals seeking opioid agonist therapy (OAT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of EC use among individuals seeking OAT. Methods: 782 patients seeking OAT for...

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (ECs) have emerged as a potential harm-reducing alternative for tobacco smokers. However, the role ECs might play in treatment settings is unclear. We conducted an exploratory study of treatment-seeking smokers enrolling in a standard tobacco treatment program who were provided with either a nicotine or non-nico...

Background: Electronic cigarettes (ECs) can influence nicotine addiction by delivering aerosolized nicotine. We investigated if nicotine from ECs is delivered to the brain β2*-nicotinic-acetylcholine receptors (β2*-nAChR) and how this relates to the behavioral effects and nicotine delivery from cigarettes. Methods: Seven nicotine users participa...

I ntroduction: The emergence of electronic cigarettes (ECs) has become a growing phenomenon that has sharply split opinion among the public health community, physicians, and lawmakers. Aims: We sought to determine chest physician perceptions regarding ECs. Methods: We conducted a web-based survey of 18,000 American College of Chest Physician (CHEST...

Suboptimal use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) may pose a significant barrier to smokers attempting to quit. We examined NRT use as a predictor of smoking abstinence and heavy drinking in a randomised trial of hazardous drinkers who contacted the NY State Smokers’ quitline for smoking cessation assistance. Methods: Participants ( N = 1,948)...

Implications: This article explores how physical and psychiatric conditions may interact in the treatment of tobacco dependence, and discusses the need for smoking cessation as a critical component of comorbid condition management. Five common comorbid domains-psychiatric, cancer, pulmonary, cardiovascular, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-a...

SESSION TITLE: Chest Infections II: Student Resident Case Report Posters SESSION TYPE: Student/Resident Case Report Poster PRESENTED ON: Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at 01:30 PM - 02:30 PM INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary complications remain a major contributor of morbidity and mortality among individuals with AIDS. There are a wide range of infectious and no...

Tobacco smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and illness in the United States. Smoking cessation is particularly relevant for individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease because it is known from multiple studies that individuals who quit smoking experience an initial improvement in pulmonary function, a decreased rate o...

ICU CasesSESSION TYPE: Affiliate Case Report SlidePRESENTED ON: Sunday, October 27, 2013 at 01:15 PM - 02:45 PMINTRODUCTION: Fungal endocarditis is a rare disease with a high mortality rate that requires treatment with antifungal therapy and valve replacement. Individuals with active intravenous drug addiction are at high risk of failing treatment....

This study aims to assess the correlation of CT-based structural rigidity analysis with mechanically determined axial rigidity in normal and metabolically diseased rat bone. A total of 30 rats were divided equally into normal, ovariectomized, and partially nephrectomized groups. Cortical and trabecular bone segments from each animal underwent micro...

Approximately 6 million fractures occur each year in the United States, with an estimated medical and loss of productivity cost of $99 billion. As our population ages, it can only be expected that these numbers will continue to rise. While there have been recent advances in available treatments for fractures, assessment of the healing process remai...

Using a rabbit model of postnatal pulmonary hypoplasia, we investigated how expansion thoracoplasty affected growth of the spine and lungs. By constricting the hemithorax in a growing rabbit to create postnatal pulmonary hypoplasia, we quantified how expansion thoracoplasty affects lung volume, respiratory function, alveolar morphology, and spine g...