A Role for Pharmacotherapy in the Treatment of “Internet Addiction”

A Role for Pharmacotherapy in the Treatment of “Internet Addiction”

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Clin Neuropharmacol. 2012 Nov; 35(6): 283-289
Camardese G, De Risio L, Di Nicola M, Pizi G, Janiri L

ABSTRACT: The advent of the Internet is among the most significant changes in recent decades and has greatly affected the entire range of human experience. However, it has, in turn, led to the emergence of psychopathological features of addiction linked to its use. Literature on the clinical management of the distress related to Internet use systematically measures up to an evolving nosography, with ambiguous definitions of the phenomenon and a diversity of diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic criteria. To date, case studies on “Internet addiction” treatment are rather limited, and no standard clinical treatment protocols exist. With regard to pharmacological treatment options, empirical or anecdotal assessments are mostly referred to. The aim of this article was to review current literature on Internet addiction treatment and assess the extent to which specific pharmacological interventions alleviate these patients’ symptomatic burden, to propose a rationale that may guide the therapeutic approach. To this end, we also explored pharmacological interventions that target patterns of comorbidity and underlying psychopathological dimensions shared with other behavioral or substance addictions.
HubMed – addiction

Variant of TREM2 Associated with the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

N Engl J Med. 2012 Nov 14;
Jonsson T, Stefansson H, Ph D SS, Jonsdottir I, Jonsson PV, Snaedal J, Bjornsson S, Huttenlocher J, Levey AI, Lah JJ, Rujescu D, Hampel H, Giegling I, Andreassen OA, Engedal K, Ulstein I, Djurovic S, Ibrahim-Verbaas C, Hofman A, Ikram MA, van Duijn CM, Thorsteinsdottir U, Kong A, Stefansson K

Background Sequence variants, including the ?4 allele of apolipoprotein E, have been associated with the risk of the common late-onset form of Alzheimer’s disease. Few rare variants affecting the risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease have been found. Methods We obtained the genome sequences of 2261 Icelanders and identified sequence variants that were likely to affect protein function. We imputed these variants into the genomes of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and control participants and then tested for an association with Alzheimer’s disease. We performed replication tests using case-control series from the United States, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany. We also tested for a genetic association with cognitive function in a population of unaffected elderly persons. Results A rare missense mutation (rs75932628-T) in the gene encoding the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2), which was predicted to result in an R47H substitution, was found to confer a significant risk of Alzheimer’s disease in Iceland (odds ratio, 2.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.09 to 4.09; P=3.42×10(-10)). The mutation had a frequency of 0.46% in controls 85 years of age or older. We observed the association in additional sample sets (odds ratio, 2.90; 95% CI, 2.16 to 3.91; P=2.1×10(-12) in combined discovery and replication samples). We also found that carriers of rs75932628-T between the ages of 80 and 100 years without Alzheimer’s disease had poorer cognitive function than noncarriers (P=0.003). Conclusions Our findings strongly implicate variant TREM2 in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Given the reported antiinflammatory role of TREM2 in the brain, the R47H substitution may lead to an increased predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease through impaired containment of inflammatory processes. (Funded by the National Institute on Aging and others.).
HubMed – addiction

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