Longitudinal patterns of amphetamine use from adolescence to adulthood: A latent class analysis of a 20-year prospective study of Australians

To examine the longitudinal patterns of amphetamine use over twenty years from adolescence to the mid-thirties; and identify adolescent antecedents of future problematic patterns of use.Ten-wave longitudinal study following participants from age 15 to age 35 in Victoria, Australia. Participants (N = 1755; 47% males) first enrolled in the Victoria Adolescent Health Cohort Study in 1992.Outcome: Self-reported frequency of amphetamine use.Gender, depression and anxiety, peer alcohol and tobacco use; self-reported alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use, self-reported adolescent antisocial behavior.Three different longitudinal patterns were identified: Non-user (83.7%); Occasional user (14.5%); Regular user (1.8%). Among the two user patterns, amphetamine use was commonly initiated in late teenage years or early 20s, peaked at mid-20s, and declined substantially by mid-30s. Participants who used cannabis and had smoking peers during adolescence were at significantly more likely to become an occasional or regular user (p

Parental supply of alcohol to Australian minors: An analysis of six nationally representative surveys spanning 15 years

Background: Most adolescents begin alcohol consumption during adolescence, heavy alcohol use by adolescents is common, and alcohol-related harm amongst adolescents is a major public health burden. Parents are a common source of alcohol amongst adolescents, but little is known about how parental supply of alcohol has changed over recent years. This study examines national trends in parental supply of alcohol to adolescent children in Australia since 1998. Methods: Six Australian National Drug Strategy Household Surveys (1998-2013) yielded rates of parental supply of current and first ever alcohol consumed. Lifetime and current alcohol use were also estimated. The surveys were conducted for households across all Australian states and territories. Surveyed adolescents were aged 14-17 years (N = 7357, 47.6 % male). Measures included the reported source of currently consumed alcohol and first ever alcoholic beverage (parents/friends/others), lifetime alcohol use, number of standard alcohol units consumed on drinking days, and frequency of alcohol use. Corrected Pearson chi-squared tests were used to compare survey years. Results: There was a significant drop in parental supply of current alcohol use from 21.3 % in 2004 to 11.79 % in 2013 (p <.001). The lower prevalence of parental supply coincided with legislative changes on parental supply of alcohol to adolescents, but causality cannot be established because of the variation in the timing and reach of parental supply legislation, and small samples in some states. There were downward trends in adolescent experimentation, quantity and frequency of alcohol use across years, with the largest drop in alcohol use in 2010 and 2013. Conclusions: In Australia, there has been a substantial reduction in parental supply of alcohol to adolescents from 2010, and this factor may partially account for reductions in adolescent alcohol use

Management of acute agitation in the accident and emergency setting: a survey of practice in Hong Kong

Poster abstractThis FREE journal suppl. entitled: Special Issue: Abstracts of the 31st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, 7–11 December 2014, Melbourne, Australia.BACKGROUND: Little is known about the use of sedation drugs for the management of acute agitation in Hong Kong’s Accident and Emergency Departments (AEDs), and how it compares with Australasian practice. OBJECTIVES: To determine drug preferences, clinician’s perceived confidence in management, barriers/gaps in training, and perceived usefulness of existing clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in Hong Kong. METHOD: A validated questionnaire was used, with case vignettes typical of those presenting to AEDs with acute agitation. The questionnaire was distributed by hand to all trainees and fellows of the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine (HKCEM). Two reminders were sent to non-responders. RESULTS: Of 483 HKCEM members, 58.0% (95%CI 53.5–62.3) responded. For monotherapy, 46.8% (95%CI 41.0–52.6) of respondents chose haloperidol to manage the undifferentiated patient, followed by midazolam (3.9%, 95%CI 28.6–39.7) and diazepam (13.9%, 95%CI 10.4–18.5). Most respondents (83.6%, 95%CI 78.8–87.5) would not administer combination therapy. The lack of local/institutional CPGs (55.7%, 95%CI 49.9–61.4) was perceived as an important barrier. Respondents were confident in agitation management overall. Institutional guidelines were considered the most useful CPGs (66.4%, 95%CI 60.7–71.7). Most respondents (72.9%, 95% CI 67.4–77.7) perceived an HKCEM endorsed CPG as useful. CONCLUSION: The use of haloperidol and benzodiazepines as monotherapy is common in the management of acute agitation in Hong Kong’s AED. Combination therapy is less popular compared to Australasian practice. Prescribers’ choice of sedation drugs are also more conservative and less variable overall. Future work could focus on CPG development and training regarding the safe use of combination therapy.link_to_OA_fulltextThe 31st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, Melbourne, Australia, 7-11 December 2014. In Emergency Medicine Australasia, 2015, v. 27 suppl. S1, p. 3

Enhanced hippocampal CA1 LTP but normal spatial learning in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate 3-kinase(A)-deficient mice

To define the physiological role of IP(3)3-kinase(A) in vivo, we have generated a mouse strain with a null mutation of the IP(3)3-kinase(A) locus by gene targeting. Homozygous mutant mice were fully viable, fertile, apparently normal, and did not show any morphological anomaly in brain sections. In the mutant brain, the IP4 level was significantly decreased whereas the IP3 level did not change, demonstrating a major role of IP(3)3-kinase(A) in the generation of IP4. Nevertheless, no significant difference was detected in the hippocampal neuronal cells of the wild-type and the mutant mice in the kinetics of Ca2+ regulation after glutamate stimulation. Electrophysiological analyses carried out in hippocampal slices showed that the mutation significantly enhanced the LTP in the hippocampal CA1 region, but had no effect on the LTP in dentate gyrus (DG). No difference was noted, however, between the mutant and the wild-type mice in the Morris water maze task. Our results indicate that IP(3)3-kinase(A) may play an important role in the regulation of LTP in hippocampal CA1 region through the generation of IP4, but the enhanced LTP in the hippocampal CA1 does not affect spatial learning and memory.X1170sciescopu