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22nd Judicial District of Louisiana to Partner With Southern University for Groundbreaking Drug Court Trial of Hythiam's PROMETA(TM)

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 February 2006, 09:01 CST

Study's Published Outcomes to Aid in Marketing PROMETA to State Medicaid and Criminal Justice Systems

Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYTM), a healthcare services management company that licenses the PROMETA(TM) physiological protocols designed to treat substance dependence, announced today that the 22nd Judicial Court in the State of Louisiana working with Southern University will assess the psychological effects of the PROMETA protocols for alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine dependence in drug court participants. Results of the study will be compared against the Court's existing outcomes data on participants who complete the typical drug court process.

Thirty drug court participants will be enrolled in the study and patients who elect to participate in the study will have already been treated with PROMETA by Hythiam's Louisiana licensee, Addiction Recovery Services (ARS). Dr. Murelle G. Harrison from Southern University will serve as principal investigator.

"We are pleased to announce this three way partnership between Judge Garcia's court, Southern University, and our licensee, ARS," said Terren S. Peizer, CEO and Chairman of Hythiam. "Hurricane Katrina had affected the progress of this pilot, but now we are back on track. Since this is a controlled study, we will be in a position to use the published outcomes broadly in marketing to States the adoption of PROMETA to both Medicaid and the criminal justice system."

"We pride ourselves in the 22nd Judicial District on our methodical capture and analysis of outcomes data among the drug court offender population," said Chief Judge Peter J. Garcia. "We look forward to comparing the Southern University PROMETA-treated population to our historical success rate to confirm if PROMETA exceeds those success rates. Louisiana's drug courts are going to watch this study closely, and should PROMETA compare favorably, we will be eager to adopt and seek funding for PROMETA treatment in our parish," concluded Garcia. There are currently 40 programs providing services to approximately 2,800 clients monthly in the state.

Researchers at Southern University will conduct monthly follow-up interviews with drug court participants who have been treated with PROMETA. They will collect self-report of alcohol and other drug use, reports of drug-related activities, and, using a standardized psychometric instrument, measure participants' readiness for change of drug using behavior. Participant's interview data collected by the Southern University team is confidential and not available to the court. The Drug Court's usual monitoring of participants (e.g., frequent urine drug testing, breathalyzer, and case manager's assessments of participants' activities) will continue unchanged. Information collected by the drug court will be compared to participants' self-report, with the goal of developing improved methods of monitoring participants' progress in drug court and assessment of PROMETA's clinical effectiveness when used for treatment of drug court participants.

"We are looking forward to comparing the self-report of the PROMETA-treated participants to the outcomes data kept by the drug court," said Dr. Murelle G. Harrison. "Establishing standardized outcomes measures will enable drug courts across the country to make decisions about data collection methods to determine treatments that are effective and necessary."

About Southern University

Southern University adheres to the spirit of its function as a 1890 land-grant institution. Comprising five campuses that make up the nation's only historically black university system, Southern University offers a world of opportunity for more than 10,000 students (17,000 students in the entire system). Its growth appeals to and touches the lives of people in an ever-widening circle of communities from around the globe. The University offers programs of study ranging from associate to doctoral and professional degrees.

About PROMETA(TM)

Hythiam's PROMETA(TM) treatment protocols are designed for use by healthcare providers seeking to treat individuals diagnosed with dependencies to alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamines, as well as combinations of these drugs. The PROMETA(TM) protocols include medically supervised procedures designed to address both the neurochemical imbalances in the brain and some of the nutritional deficits caused or worsened by substance dependence. Changes in brain chemistry and function play an important role in the physical and behavioral symptoms of substance dependence, including tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, craving and relapse. The PROMETA(TM) protocols also provide for one-month of prescription medication and nutritional supplements, combined with psychosocial or other recovery-oriented therapy chosen by the patient in conjunction with their treatment provider. As a result, PROMETA(TM) represents an innovative approach to managing alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamine dependence that is designed to address physiological, nutritional and psychosocial aspects of the disease, and is thereby intended to offer patients an opportunity to achieve sustained recovery.

About Hythiam, Inc.

Hythiam(R) is a healthcare services management company, focused on delivering solutions for those suffering from alcoholism and other substance dependencies. Hythiam researches, develops, licenses and commercializes innovative physiological treatment protocols that seek to address substance dependence. Additionally, Hythiam provides proprietary administrative services to assist physicians and facilities with staff education, marketing and sales support, and outcomes tracking for data analysis. For further information, please visit www.hythiam.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. These risk factors include, among others, limited operating history and lack of statistically significant formal research studies, the risk that treatment protocols might not be effective, difficulty in developing, exploiting and protecting proprietary technologies, intense competition and substantial regulation in the healthcare industry; and additional risks factors as discussed in the reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on its website at http://www.sec.gov.

Source: Business Wire

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