According to findings reported online in the Archives of General Psychiatry, marijuana use at a young age significantly increases the risk of psychotic conditions in young adulthood. According to the Australian-based study, a two to fourfold greater prevalence of three different psychotic conditions was associated with a longer duration of exposure to marijuana in young adults. According to John McGrath, MD, PhD, of the Queensland Center for Mental Health Research in Wacol, and colleagues, “Apart from the implications for policy makers and health planners, we hope our findings will encourage further clinical and animal model-based research to unravel the mechanisms linking cannabis use and psychosis.” Findings from this study reinforce indications from several previous research projects on the same topic. Click here to read an article from Reuters that discusses this study more.

Drunk driving is on the rise among young women. According to data spanning the last decade the rate of increase in fatalities among young female drivers is outpacing similar deaths in young men. Virginia W. Tsai, MD, of the University of California San Diego, and colleague, relayed that between 1995 and 2007 the increase in the number of fatal alcohol related crashes among young men rose 1.2%; this number in young women (ages 16 to 24) rose 3.1% (95% CI 1.9% to 4.3%). “These findings should raise the urgency of implementing effective gender-specific countermeasures to alcohol-impaired driving, including messages and education targeted to women in this age group,” they stated. Click here to read an article from Science Daily that discusses this study more.

The Internet has been used in a variety of therapeutic interventions; online assessment, training, and even counseling have been among the many and increasing uses. Now an online pain management program has shown significant promise in improving coping skills, reducing depression and limiting stress in chronic pain patients. According to two studies, patients engaged in the online self-management program experienced significant improvements in behavioral, social and emotional outcomes after six months. A control group that did not participate in the program showed no significant improvement. According to Emil Chiauzzi, PhD, of Inflexxion, “Our goal is to help people communicate better with providers, understand better how they can use social support, understand the comorbid conditions, like anxiety and depression, and develop cognitive skills to help get them through their pain episodes.” The site, www.painaction.com, utilized multimedia education units, a pain inventory, general pain education, and medication risk management modules. A tour of the program can be found at http://www.painmanagement.com.

According to a presentation at the American Academy of Pain Medicine, almost 80% of chronic opioid therapy patients were non-adherent to treatment. Many of the patients indicated lower or higher than expected opioid levels in their urine upon testing; additionally, illicit and unprescribed drugs were found in some opioid therapy patients. Findings indicated that non-adherence in opioid therapy patients resulted in greater frequency and duration of hospital stays and ultimately greater annual costs of healthcare. Harry L. Leider, MD, of Ameritox, a drug monitoring company in Baltimore, commenting, said, “Likely nonadherent patients were predicted to be 14% more expensive than adherent patients and had significantly more hospital days.” Click here to read an article from Medpage Today that discusses this study more.

Breast cancer patients taking the drug tamoxifen and the drug paroxetine (Paxil) concurrently may have an increased risk for breast cancer mortality. An accumulation of findings from previous studies indicate that paroxetine may cause a inhibition of cytochrome P450 2D6 isozyme (CYP2D6) in patients taking tamoxifen; now findings reported online in BMJ indicate that patients who have used the drugs together may have a excess breast cancer mortality risk up to 91%, although this varies by the duration of concurrent use. According to David Juurlink, MD, PhD, of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto, and colleagues, “… the use of paroxetine for 41% of tamoxifen treatment (the median overlap in our sample) would result in one additional breast cancer death within five years of cessation of tamoxifen for every 19.7 patients so treated; the risk with more extensive overlap would be greater.” Click here to read an article from Business Week that discusses this study more.

Since the 1960s the instance of obesity in American girls and boys has nearly tripled. Many scientists are worried about the relationship between obesity and proper development in children and adolescents. A variety of studies have examined the association between early onset of puberty in girls and obesity. However, a new study reported online in the Feb. 1 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine has found an association between high BMI and puberty in boys. Contrary to what is found in girls, boys with a higher BMI are found to have a later onset of puberty. Specifically, the longitudinal study examined a sample of boys at 11.5 years old and found that boys with the highest body mass index were 165% more likely to be prepubertal. According to Joyce M. Lee, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan, and colleagues, “This longitudinal study provides further evidence that higher BMI during early and middle childhood is not associated with earlier pubertal onset in boys, contrary to what is seen in girls… in fact, higher BMI in earlier childhood may be associated with and precede later onset of puberty among a population-based sample of U.S. boys.” Click here to read an article from Endocrine Today that discusses this study more.

Schizophrenia is a chronic disease associated with a decrease in the size of the hippocampus and an inhibiting of the production of new neurons. The hippocampus plays an important part in spatial navigation and memory; researchers theorize that schizophrenia is chronic in part due to the brain’s apparent limited ability to produce new neurons in this population. According to a study published in the February Archives of General Psychiatry, aerobic exercise may have benefits for patients with chronic schizophrenia. The study found that participants with schizophrenia, after three months of aerobic exercise, experienced a significant increase in the volume of the hippocampus. According to Frank-Gerald Pajonk, MD, of Dr K. Fontheim’s Hospital for Mental Health in Liebenburg, Germany, and colleagues, the increase in volume was also accompanied by slight increases in markers of neuron production and short-term memory. While it is too early to speculate whether or not incorporating aerobic exercise into treatment programs would cause a decrease in symptoms associated with schizophrenia, the researchers all agreed that the clinical benefits of aerobic exercise in this population should be examined more closely. Click here to read an article from Modern Medicine that discusses this study more.

According to a study published in the February Archives of General Psychiatry, high risk psychiatric patients were less likely to have psychotic episodes when taking fish oil / omega-3 (w-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The small randomized clinical trial found that less than 5% of patients that were given fish oil had psychotic episodes, compared to 25% of patients who were given placebo. The authors of the study relayed the obvious; a preventative measure with such little risk to the patient should be seriously considered despite the need for further research. According to G. Paul Amminger, MD, of the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, and co-authors, “The present trial strongly suggests that w-3 PUFAs may offer a viable prevention and treatment strategy with minimal associated risk in young people at ultra-high risk of psychosis, which should be further explore… [fish oil] is an ideal candidate for indicated prevention in young people at risk of psychosis, in whom the use of antipsychotic medication is controversial.” Click here to read an article from the BBC that discusses this study more.