The “Eyeballing” technique : an emerging and alerting trend of alcohol misuse

Alternative methods of alcohol consumption have recently emerged among adolescents and young adults, including the alcohol “eyeballing”, which consist in the direct pouring of alcoholic substances on the ocular surface epithelium. In a context of drug and behavioural addictions change, “eyeballing” can be seen as one of the latest and potentially highly risky new trends. We aimed to analyze the existing medical literature as well as online material on this emerging trend of alcohol misusePeer reviewedFinal Published versio

Negative symptoms as key features of depression among cannabis users: a preliminary report.

OBJECTIVE: Cannabis use is frequent among depressed patients and may lead to the so-called "amotivational syndrome", which combines symptoms of affective flattening and loss of emotional reactivity (i.e. the so-called "negative" symptomatology). The aim of this study was to investigate the negative symptomatology in depressed patients with concomitant cannabis use disorders (CUDs) in comparison with depressed patients without CUDs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-one patients with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and concomitant CUD and fifty-one MDD patients were enrolled in the study. The 21-Item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the negative symptoms subscales of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were used to assess depressive and negative symptomatology. RESULTS: Patients with cannabis use disorders presented significantly more severe negative symptoms in comparison with patients without cannabis use (15.18 ± 2.25 vs 13.75 ± 2.44; t100 = 3.25 p = 0.002). DISCUSSION: A deeper knowledge of the "negative" psychopathological profile of MDD patients who use cannabis may lead to novel etiopathogenetic models of MDD and to more appropriate treatment approaches

25C-NBOMe: preliminary data on pharmacology, psychoactive effects and toxicity of a new potent hallucinogenic drug

Copyright © 2014 Francesco Saverio Bersani et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedIntroduction. The use of novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) has rapidly increased as well as their online availability. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the nature and the risks associated with 25C-NBOMe, which has recently appeared in the drug market. Methods. A systematic analysis of the scientific literature and a qualitative assessment of online and media resources (e.g., e-newsgroups, chat-rooms, and e-newsletters) in 10 languages were carried out. Results. 25C-NBOMe is sold online as legal LSD or as research chemical with different designations such as “Boom,” “Pandora,” “Holland film,” or “N-bomb.” It is a partial agonist of 5-HT2A receptors. It is usually ingested orally/sublingually and, less commonly, nasally, through injection, vaginally, rectally, and smoked. Its effects include sublingual numbing, stimulation, “body high,” hallucinations, dissociation, and anxiety. 25C-NBOMe presents high risk of overdoses; acute toxicity and fatalities have been reported. Conclusions. 25C-NBOMe consumption represents an emerging phenomenon with potential harmful effects. Its use is increased by its online availability at low costs. Health and other professionals should be informed about this new trend of substance usePeer reviewedFinal Published versio

P300 component in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder type I, bipolar disorder type II and healthy controls: a preliminary event-related potential study

The aim of the present study was to investigate P300 event-related potential components in euthymic bipolar disorder type I (BDI) and bipolar disorder type II (BDII) patients and matched controls. A total of 10 BDI patients, 10 BDII patients and 10 healthy individuals were enrolled in the study. Event-related potential data were collected according to a standard auditory 'oddball' paradigm. A significant groups effect in both the peak amplitude (P<0.001) and the mean amplitude (P<0.001) was observed; post-hoc comparisons showed that the peak and mean amplitudes of BDI and BDII patients were significantly lower than the peak and mean amplitudes of the healthy controls. The neurophysiological patterns found in the present study might at least partially reflect the presence of a mild selective cognitive impairment in euthymic BDI and BDII patients. From a clinical point of view, these evidences support the potential role of cognitive interventions in the treatment of BD

The diffusion of Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs) on the internet : The abuse of the cognitive enhancer Piracetam

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Substance Use & Miuse on December 2014, available online at: https://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2014.912232Introduction: Performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs), also known as “lifestyle drugs,” are increasingly sold on the Internet to enhance cognitive as well as sexual, muscular, attentive, and other natural capacities. Our analysis focuses on the misuse of the cognitive enhancer piracetam. Methods: A literature review was carried out in PsychInfo and Pubmed database. Considering the absence of peer-reviewed data, review of additional sources of unstructured information from the Internet was carried out between February 2012 and July 2013. Additional searches were conducted using the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN), a secure Internet-based early warning system developed by Health Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO), which monitors media reports in six languages, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Results: Piracetam is sold via illicit online pharmacies with no need of prescription at low prices. Buyers, mainly healthy individuals, purchase the product to enhance study- and work-related performances as well as for recreational purposes. Its nonmedical use is often associated with the occurrence of side effects such as hallucinations, psychomotor agitation, dysphoria, tiredness, dizziness, memory loss, headache, and severe diarrhoea; moreover, several users declared to have neither felt any cognitive improvement nor psychedelic effects. Conclusions: This is a new and fast-growing trend of abuse that needs to be extensively monitored and studied also by using near real-time and unstructured sources of information such as Internet news and online reports in order to acquire rapid knowledge and understanding. Products sold online might be counterfeits and this enhances related health risksPeer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Introducing the new open access Journal Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addiction, and Health

© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for the Study of Emerging Drugs. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )We are pleased to present the first issue of Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addiction, and Health. This is the official Journal of the International Society for the Study of Emerging Drugs, a new, Gold Open Access title. The mutual goal of both the Society and the Journal, is to provide a platform for the rapid exchange of multidisciplinary knowledge on novel psychoactive substances (NPSs), addictions, and their health effects.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Prefronto-cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation increases amplituded and decreases latency of P3b component in patients with euthymic bipolar disorder

INTRODUCTION: Neurocognitive impairments have been observed in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) even during the euthymic phase of the disease, potentially representing trait-associated rather than state-associated characteristics of the disorder. In the present study, we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to cerebellar and prefrontal cortices to improve the neurophysiological performances of patients with euthymic BD. METHODS: Twenty-five outpatients with BD underwent open-label prefrontocerebellar tDCS for 3 consecutive weeks. Neurophysiological performances were assessed through the examination of the P3b and P3a subcomponents of P300 event-related potential at baseline and after stimulation. RESULTS: Compared to baseline, P3b component after tDCS showed significantly higher amplitude and shorter latency (latency: Fz P=0.02, Cz P=0.03, and Pz P=0.04; amplitude: Fz P=0.24, Cz P=0.02, and Pz P=0.35). CONCLUSION: In our sample of patients with euthymic BD, concomitant prefrontoexcitatory and cerebellar-inhibitory modulations led to improved brain information processing stream. This improvement may at least partially result from neuroplastic modulation of prefrontocerebellar circuitry activity

Maintenance deep transcranial magnetic stimulation sessions are associated with reduced depressive relapses in patients with unipolar or bipolar depression

Introduction: Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) is a new form of TMS allowing safe stimulation of deep brain regions. The objective of this preliminary study was to assess the role of dTMS maintenance sessions in protecting patients with bipolar disorder (BD) or recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) from developing depressive or manic relapses in a 12-month follow-up period. Methods: Twenty-four drug-resistant patients with a current depressive episode and a diagnosis of MDD or BD have been enrolled in the study. All the participants underwent daily dTMS sessions for 4 weeks. One group (maintenance - M group) received additional maintenance dTMS sessions weekly or twice a week. Results: After the first dTMS cycle, a significant reduction of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores was observed in all participants. Subsequently, the HDRS mean scores did not significantly change over time in the M group, while it significantly increased in the non-M-group after 6 and 12 months. Discussion: This study confirms previous evidence of a positive therapeutic effect of dTMS on depressive symptoms and suggests that, after recovery from acute episodes, maintenance dTMS sessions may be helpful in maintaining euthymia in a 12-month follow-up period

The relationship between personality traits and individual factors with perinatal depressive symptoms: a cross-sectional study

Background: Pregnancy is a crucial transition moment exposing women to potential mental health problems, especially depressive disturbances. Sociodemographic, pregnancy-related, and psychological factors have been related to depressive symptoms in the perinatal period. This study aims at (1) exploring personality and individual factors related with perinatal depressive symptoms, and (2) testing the mediating role of personality in the relation between characteristics of the woman's family of origin and depressive symptoms. Methods: Women in the perinatal period admitted to the gynecology unit for motherhood-related routine assessments (n = 241) were included in the study. A survey on individual sociodemographic, clinical, and pregnancy-related factors was administered, also including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the BIG-5 personality test. Results: Couple conflict and neuroticism were independent and directly correlated with EPDS total score (respectively: B = 2.337; p = .017; B = 0.303; p &lt; .001). Neuroticism was a significant mediator of the relation between the presence of a psychiatric disorder diagnosis in participant's parents and the EPDS total score (indirect b = 0.969; BCCI95%=0.366-1.607). Conclusions: Couple relation and neuroticism traits are individual factors related to depressive symptoms in the perinatal period. The family of origin also plays an indirect role on perinatal depressive symptoms. Screening of these factors could lead to early recognition and more tailored treatments, ultimately leading to better outcome for the entire family

ECT, rTMS, and deepTMS in pharmacoresistant drug-free patients with unipolar depression: a comparative review

Background: Biological treatments are considered as additional options for the treatment of resistant unipolar depression. Controversial data exist about the efficacy and tolerability of three of the most used somatic treatments: electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), and deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (deepTMS). The aim of this review is to investigate and compare the efficacy and tolerability of these three techniques in drug-free patients with pharmacoresistant unipolar depression. Methods: Three independent reviewers extracted data and assessed the quality of methodological reporting of selected studies. The first outcome was the clinical response to the three different techniques defined as a percentage improvement of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). The second outcome was the evaluation of their neuropsychological effects. The third outcome was the evaluation of the number of remitted patients; remission was defined as an absolute HDRS-24 score of &lt;= 11 or as an absolute HDRS-17 score of &lt;= 8. Tolerability was the fourth outcome; it was evaluated by examining the number of dropped-out patients. Results: The comparative evaluation of HDRS percentage variations shows ECT as the most effective method after 4 weeks of therapy; on the other hand, a better efficacy is obtainable by deepTMS after 2 weeks of therapy. DeepTMS is the technique that gives the best improvement of cognitive performances. The percentage of remitted patients obtained with ECT treatment is the same obtained in the deepTMS group. Both techniques have a remitted patients percentage two times larger than the rTMS. DeepTMS shows a tolerability, measured by the number of dropped-out patients, worse than ECT. Conclusion: Our investigation confirms the great therapeutic power of ECT. DeepTMS seems to be the only therapy that provides a substantial improvement of both depressive symptoms and cognitive performances; nevertheless it is characterized by a poor tolerability. rTMS seems to provide a better tolerability for patients, but its therapeutic efficacy is lower. Considering the small therapeutic efficacy of deepTMS in the last 2 weeks of treatment, it could be reasonable to shorten the standard period of deepTMS treatment from 4 to 2 weeks, expecting a reduction of dropped-out patients and thus optimizing the treatment outcome