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Dr. Raymond Johnson Presents Preliminary Outcomes Data on PROMETA(TM) Treated Patients at Florida Society of Addiction Medicine (FSAM) Conference

Posted on: Monday, 27 March 2006, 09:01 CST

92% of Patients Given PROMETA and Intensive Outpatient Therapy Entered

Remission from Alcohol and Stimulant Dependencies

Hythiam, Inc. (Nasdaq:HYTM), which licenses the PROMETA(TM) treatment protocols designed to target the biology of substance dependence, announced today that Dr. Raymond Johnson reported his preliminary findings in clinical experience with 52 private pay patients, who were treated with PROMETA for alcohol and stimulant dependence, in a special session of the Florida Society of Addiction Medicine's (FSAM) Annual Conference on Addictions on March 24th. The presentation discussed results for 24 patients who were treated for alcohol dependence, 27 patients who were treated for combined dependence on cocaine and alcohol, and one patient who was treated for methamphetamine dependence in his practice at Life Works, Inc., in Ft. Myers, FL.

"The majority of patients who completed treatment had immediate, dramatic gains in functional improvement, which, for clinical purposes, constituted remission of their disease," said Dr. Johnson. "The rest showed enough functional improvement soon after treatment with PROMETA, and continued to improve as they participated in group and individual therapy. These patients may have used alcohol or drugs once or twice without reverting to prior, dependent behavior. Many of these patients entered what would be described as early remission, but the improvement observed in both groups of patients can be considered clinically effective in quite an exceptional way."

Dr. Johnson provided outpatient treatment with PROMETA, including 30 consecutive days of outpatient psychosocial therapy. In some instances, post PROMETA treatment, Dr. Johnson prescribed medications based upon psychiatric co-morbidities and/or symptoms. The rates of patient retention, which involved completing 30 days of Dr. Johnson's comprehensive program, were 100% for the 24 alcohol dependent patients, and 86%, or 24 patients, for patients who were co-dependent on alcohol and stimulants, which included cocaine and methamphetamine. 48 out of 52 patients completed comprehensive treatment.

Patients were then offered the opportunity to participate in Dr. Johnson's existing intensive outpatient psychosocial therapy program for an additional 60 days following comprehensive treatment. 92%, or 33 of the 36 patients who elected to receive PROMETA plus the additional 60 days of psychosocial therapy went into remission or early remission during the acute medical phase of PROMETA, or shortly thereafter. 8%, or 3 patients, relapsed and returned to compulsive use. 12 out of the 48 patients who received PROMETA did not accept the intensive outpatient aftercare for various reasons, including finances, having to return to work or to their communities and residences.

Patients were asked to self-report use of substances, and if use was suspected, a counselor would verify abstinence by asking the patient to voluntarily supply a urine sample. Each patient asked to provide a urine sample complied.

"We are pleased that a doctor using PROMETA in naturalistic, clinical treatment presented such positive treatment outcomes with our protocol. The rate of those achieving remission, or early remission is quite gratifying, especially when most of these patients said they had a history of failing in treatment," explained Terren S. Peizer, Hythiam Chairman and CEO. "We believe these reported findings, as well as upcoming data from a clinical study on PROMETA for methamphetamine by Dr. Harold Urschel, a leading addiction psychiatrist and clinical investigator, and various recently announced state initiatives will play an important role in expanding awareness of PROMETA."

Other key findings: -- 30 patients, or 57.7%, had a history of failed treatment attempts -- 23 out of 30 patients, or 77%, with a history of failed treatment went into remission after PROMETA treatment. -- 23 out of 32 patients, or 72%, who had psychiatric co-morbidities in addition to substance dependence also went into remission after PROMETA treatment. Patients were treated for co-morbidities at the same time they received treatment with PROMETA.

Additionally, Hythiam Board Member, and former Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Dr. Andrea Grubb Barthwell gave the keynote address at FSAM. Dr. David E. Smith, Hythiam's Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs also presented at the Conference.

About PROMETA

Hythiam's PROMETA 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 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 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 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) researches, develops, licenses and commercializes innovative physiological treatment protocols that seek to address substance dependence. Hythiam also 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 click on www.hythiam.com.

Forward-Looking Statements and Disclaimer

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 Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

These limited preliminary outcomes may not be confirmed by clinical research studies, have not been subjected to close scientific scrutiny, and may not be indicative of the long-term future performance of the PROMETA protocols. Clinical studies on PROMETA are underway.

Source: Business Wire

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