Hythiam Continues to Expand Presence in Key Metropolitan Markets.

LOS ANGELES -- Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ: HYTM), a healthcare services management company that licenses the PROMETA(TM) physiological protocols designed to treat substance dependence, announced today that Hythiam will offer its PROMETA(TM) protocols through Las Vegas, Nevada based Center for Addiction Medicine (CAM) and through the Neuroscience Institute of Florida (NSIF), based in Celebration, Florida. CAM becomes Hythiam's second licensed site in Las Vegas, Nevada, while NSIF becomes Hythiam's sixth licensed site in Florida, joining sites at the Village South, Compass Health Systems, Life Works, and Recovery from Addictions.

"I do not believe that addiction is a moral failing," said Dr. Lawrence Erlich of Celebration, Florida based NSIF. "Patients experience much frustration when they cannot get control over their cravings. PROMETA seeks to help patients deal with the cravings so they can truly benefit from psychosocial aftercare. Medicines have been developed to treat other chronic diseases, and PROMETA seeks to address the chronic disease of addiction in the same way an internist has tools to address diabetes. Hythiam is at the forefront of developing new technologies that will allow clinicians to medically manage addiction."

Dr. Lawrence Erlich is a practicing psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist with over 30 years of experience. He received his undergraduate, medical, and specialty training from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Erlich is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with added qualifications in Addictions and Forensics. Additionally, Dr. Erlich is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Most recently, Dr. Erlich authored A Textbook of Addiction Psychiatry and Medicine, published by Charles Thomas, Ltd., which he dedicated to leading addiction pioneer, Dr. David Smith. Dr. Erlich has a federal waiver to prescribe Suboxone for the treatment of opiate dependency.

"Our goal for this year was to build an initial footprint of PROMETA licensed sites throughout the country," said Terren S. Peizer, Chairman and CEO of Hythiam. "We have successfully done so in most of the major metropolitan service areas, especially in the key markets of Florida, where Hythiam has licensed six sites, and in Southern California, where there are five licensed sites. Our 2006 marketing efforts will focus on driving patient volumes to areas where we have established capacity."

In 1995, Michael S. Levy, D.O., Director of CAM, established the first outpatient medical practice specializing in addiction medicine in the state of Nevada. CAM provides a full range of medical outpatient services including buprenorphine for the treatment of opiate dependency. Many of the outpatient treatments offered through CAM are reimbursed by managed care. Central to CAM's treatment approach is the intensive outpatient program called Living in Balance, a model embraced many in the addiction treatment field including leading Minnesota based residential treatment center, Hazelden.

Nevada ranks in the top 15 states for the percentage of its residents, aged 18 and over, who are in treatment for substance dependency. Las Vegas ranks second after Los Angeles in methamphetamine related deaths as reported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

"Finally, there is recognition that substance dependency is not a behavioral disease, it's not a psychiatric disease, it's a medical disease that is rooted in the brain," said Dr. Levy. "Hythiam understands that addictive disease needs to belong in the mainstream of medicine, just like heart disease, just like diabetes and that its sufferers deserve cutting-edge therapies in order to treat and manage the biochemical changes it causes in the brain. We look forward to offering the PROMETA protocols for dependency on alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine."

Dr. Levy holds the distinction of being named by his peers as a Fellow in Addiction Medicine, an honor that only 200 physicians in the country hold, for his excellence in the field of treating substance dependencies. Dr. Levy is also a past president of the Nevada chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He is a consultant to nursing and legal organizations in the State of Nevada and serves as an expert witness for criminal cases involving substance dependency. Dr. Levy received his degree in osteopathy from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. Prior to that, he served in the United States Navy.

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.