Long-Term Use of Ketamine Affects Memory, Researchers Say

Long-Term Use of Ketamine Affects Memory, Researchers Say
Frequent, long-term use of the club drug ketamine appears to cause significant impairment in short-term and visual memory, according to researchers from University College London.

Brain scan study shows cocaine abusers can suppress drug cravings

ScienceDaily (2009-12-01) -- A new brain-imaging study shows that active cocaine abusers can suppress drug craving, suggesting new ways to help them quit and avoid relapse.

Are Psychiatrist Characteristics Associated With Postdischarge Suicide of Schizophrenia Patients?

Schizophr Bull. 2009 Jul;35(4):760-5. Epub 2008 Feb 16.

Lee HC, Lin HC.

Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

Information on the relationship between characteristics of mental healthcare providers, including hospitals and psychiatrists, and postdischarge suicide is scanty. This study aims to identify the risk factors for suicide among schizophrenia patients in the 3-month postdischarge period. The study cohort comprised all patients with a principal diagnosis of schizophrenia discharged from psychiatric inpatient care from 2002 to 2004 who committed suicide within 90 days of discharge. The control cohort consisted of all surviving schizophrenia patients discharged from psychiatric inpatient care in the same period and were matched to cases for age, gender, and date of discharge. There were 87 and 348 cases in the study and control cohorts, respectively. For suicide cases, death most frequently occurred on the first day after leaving the hospital (16.1%). The adjusted hazard ratios for committing suicide during the 90-day postdischarge period were 2.639 times greater for patients without previous psychiatric admission than for those hospitalized more than 3 times in the year preceding the index hospitalization. The adjusted suicide hazard for schizophrenia patients treated by male psychiatrists was significantly higher than for patients treated by female psychiatrists, by a multiple of 5.117 (P = .032). The adjusted suicide hazard among patients treated by psychiatrists over age 44 years was 2.378 times (P = .043) that for patients treated by psychiatrists aged younger than 35 years. Risk factors related to psychiatric hospitalization, including number of psychiatric admissions in the previous year and length of stay, together with gender and age of the psychiatrist providing inpatient care, are identified.

PMID: 18281712 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

NIDAMED Resources for Medical and Health Professionals - NIDA

NIDAMED Resources for Medical and Health Professionals - NIDA

NIDAMED - Screening Tools, Resources for Your Practice, Resources for Your Patients, Centers of Excellence for Physician Information from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Georgia Bans Tobacco in All Prisons

Georgia Bans Tobacco in All Prisons
Georgia's Department of Corrections will start phasing out smoking and tobacco use in its 37 facilities beginning Jan. 1, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported Nov. 9.

Evidence for Genetic Association of RORB with Bipolar Disorder

Casey McGrath, et al; BMC Psychiatry 2009, 9:70doi:10.1186/1471-244X-9-70

Bipolar disorder, particularly in children, is characterized by rapid cycling and switching, making circadian clock genes plausible molecular underpinnings for bipolar disorder. We previously reported work establishing mice lacking the clock gene D-box binding protein (DBP) as a stress-reactive genetic animal model of bipolar disorder. Microarray studies revealed that expression of two closely related clock genes, RAR-related orphan receptors alpha (RORA) and beta (RORB), was altered in these mice. These retinoid-related receptors are involved in a number of pathways including neurogenesis, stress response, and modulation of circadian rhythms. Here we report association studies between bipolar disorder and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in RORA and RORB....

NIDA Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide (Second Edition)

Drug addiction is a complex illness.
It is characterized by intense and, at times, uncontrollable drug craving, along with compulsive drug seeking and use that persist even in the face of devastating consequences.

Many people do not realize that addiction is a brain disease. While the path to drug addiction begins with the act of taking drugs, over time a persons ability to choose not to do so becomes compromised, and seeking and consuming the drug becomes compulsive.

Download the pamphlet here.

Stress-induced Changes In Brain Circuitry Linked To Cocaine Relapse

ScienceDaily (2009-10-31) -- Stress-evoked changes in circuits that regulate serotonin in certain parts of the brain can precipitate a low mood and a relapse of cocaine-seeking, based on mouse studies.

Smoking During Pregnancy May Predispose Kids to Behavioral Problems

Smoking During Pregnancy May Predispose Kids to Behavioral Problems
Women who smoked during pregnancy were more likely to report having children with behavioral problems, and researchers think the reason could be fetal brain damage, the BBC reported Nov. 3.