EMA Panel Backs Esketamine Nasal Spray for Resistant Depression Megan Brooks Medscape Medical News, October 18, 2019 The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval of esketamine nasal spray (Spravato, Janssen-Cilag) in combination with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) for adults with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRD). Patients are considered to have TRD if they have not responded to at least two different treatments with antidepressants in the current moderate to severe depressive episode. Spravato will be available as a 28 mg nasal spray solution. The safety and [...]
Lire la suiteMarijuana Users May Be More Likely to Survive Acute Heart Failure Hospitalization Steve Stiles Medscape Medical News © 2019 , September 16, 2019 PHILADELPHIA — There's sunny news, potentially, for patients with heart failure who are keen on cannabis. Hospitalized patients with a primary diagnosis of acute heart failure (HF) who say they are marijuana users are more likely to survive to discharge than nonusers, and they stay fewer days at less cost to the hospital, an observational study suggests. It may be only patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) who benefit, not those with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), [...]
Lire la suiteCan Psychedelic Drugs Attenuate Age-Related Changes in Cognition and Affect ? Jacob S. Aday, Emily K. Bloesch, & Christopher C. Davoli Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, August 2019 DOI: 10.1007/s41465-019-00151-6 Abstract Older adulthood can be characterized by various cognitive and affective changes. In general, older adults show declines in creativity and executive functioning. They also score lower in openness to experience, empathy, and many suffer from a paucity of meaningful experiences. Further, depression, pessimism, and suicide can be major concerns for this population. Although currently there are few interventions that can effectively address these changes, recent findings from psychedelic science suggest myriad parallels between the effects [...]
Lire la suiteClinicians’ Guide to Cannabidiol and Hemp Oils Harrison J. VanDolah, Brent A. Bauer, and Karen F. Mauck Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2019, 94, (9), 1840-1851 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.01.003 Abstract Cannabidiol (CBD) oils are low tetrahydrocannabinol products derived from Cannabis sativa that have become very popular over the past few years. Patients report relief for a variety of conditions, particularly pain, without the intoxicating adverse effects of medical marijuana. In June 2018, the first CBD-based drug, Epidiolex, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of rare, severe epilepsy, further putting the spotlight on CBD and hemp oils. There is a growing body of preclinical and [...]
Lire la suitePsychiatric Practice Patterns and Barriers to the Adoption of Esketamine Samuel T. Wilkinson, David H. Howard, Susan H. Busch JAMA Published online August 2, 2019 doi:10.1001/jama.2019.10728 Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects approximately 17.3 million adults in the United States,1 with a 12-month and lifetime prevalence of 10.4% and 20.6%, respectively.2 Conducting clinical trials and developing new treatments for depression can be difficult because of spontaneous recovery rates and placebo effects.3 In addition, many patients with chronic and refractory MDD do not experience clinical improvement even after several treatment courses. There is growing interest in the use of exercise and improved nutrition to treat depression,4 [...]
Lire la suiteFrom local to global—Fifty years of research on Salvia divinorum Ivan Casselman, Catherine J. Nock, Hans Wohlmuth, Robert P. Weatherby, Michael Heinrich Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2014, 151, 768–783 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2013.11.032 a b s t r a c t Ethnopharmacological relevance : In 1962 ethnopharmacologists, Hofmann and Wasson, undertook an expedition to Oaxaca,Mexico. These two researchers were the first scientists to collecta flowering specimen of Salvia divinorum allowing theidentification ofthisspecies.Whilet he species'traditional use is confined to a very small region of Mexico, since Hofmann and Wasson's expedition 50 years ago, Salvia divinorum has become globally recognized for its main active constituent, the diterpene salvinorin A, which has [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelic drugs in the treatment of anxiety, depression and addiction Tor-Morten KVAM, Lowan H. STEWART, Ole A. ANDREASSEN Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening, 2018. Doi : 10.4045/tidsskr.17.1110 B A C K G R O U N D There is growing interest in the use of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of mental disorders. The drugs are considered safe when administered within a clinical framework. Older studies performed prior to 1970 had methodological shortcomings, but studies in recent years have shown promising results regarding the use of psychedelic drugs in unipolar depression, depression in life-threatening illness, anxiety and addiction. The aim of this literature review is [...]
Lire la suiteNabiximols combined with motivational enhancement/cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of cannabis dependence : A pilot randomized clinical trial Jose M. Trigo, Alexandra Soliman, Lena C. Quilty, Benedikt Fischer, JuÈrgen Rehm, Peter Selby, Allan J. Barnes11¤a, Marilyn A. Huestis, Tony P. George, David L. Streiner, Gregory Staios, Bernard Le Foll PLoS ONE, 2018, 13, (1), e0190768. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190768 Abstract Background The current lack of pharmacological treatments for cannabis use disorder (CUD) warrants novel approaches and further investigation of promising pharmacotherapy. We previously showed that nabiximols (27 mg/ml Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)/ 25 mg/ml cannabidiol (CBD), Sativex®) can decrease cannabis withdrawal symptoms. Here, we assessed in a pilot study the [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybin – Summary of knowledge and new perspectives Filip Tylš, Tomáš Páleníček, Jiří Horáček European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2014, 24, 342–356 Doi : 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2013.12.006 Abstract Psilocybin, a psychoactive alkaloid contained in hallucinogenic mushrooms, is nowadays given a lot of attention in the scientific community as a research tool for modeling psychosis as well as due to its potential therapeutic effects. However, it is also a very popular and frequently abused natural hallucinogen. This review summarizes all the past and recent knowledge on psilocybin. It briefly deals with its history, discusses the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and compares its action in humans and animals. It attempts to describe the mechanism of psychedelic effects [...]
Lire la suiteThe administration of psilocybin to healthy, hallucinogen-experienced volunteers in a mock-functional magnetic resonnance imaging environment : a preliminary investigation of tolerability Robin L. Carhart-Harris et al., Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2010, 1-6 DOI: 10.1177/0269881110367445 Abstract This study sought to assess the tolerability of intravenously administered psilocybin in healthy, hallucinogen-experienced volunteers in a mock-magnetic resonance imaging environment as a preliminary stage to a controlled investigation using functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the effects of psilocybin on cerebral blood flow and activity. The present pilot study demonstrated that up to 2 mg of psilocybin delivered as a slow intravenous injection produces short-lived but typical drug effects that [...]
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