Addiction Rehab: Are Cardiovascular Risk Factors Associated With Verbal Learning and Memory Impairment in Patients With Schizophrenia? a Cross-Sectional Study.

Are cardiovascular risk factors associated with verbal learning and memory impairment in patients with schizophrenia? A cross-sectional study.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Cardiovasc Psychiatry Neurol. 2012; 2012: 204043
Lancon C, Dassa D, Fernandez J, Richieri R, Padovani R, Boyer L

Objective. The aim of this study is to assess the relationships of cardiovascular risk factors with verbal learning and memory in patients with schizophrenia. Methods and Design. cross-sectional study. Inclusion Criteria. Diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria. Data Collection. Sociodemographic information, clinical characteristics, anthropometric measurements, blood tests, and episodic memory using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). Analysis. A multivariate analysis using multiple linear regressions was performed to determine variables that are potentially associated with verbal learning and memory. Results. One hundred and sixty-eight outpatients participated in our study. An association was found between the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and memory impairment on measures of verbal learning, and short- and long-term memory. Among the different components of MeTS, hypertriglycerides, abdominal obesity, and low HDL cholesterol were the only factors associated with memory impairment. Alcohol dependence or abuse was associated with a higher rate of forgetting. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that MetS and alcohol use may be linked with memory impairment in schizophrenia. These findings provide important insights into the interdependencies of cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive disorders and support novel strategies for treating and preventing cognitive disorders in patients with schizophrenia.
HubMed – addiction

Pathway Analysis of Smoking Quantity in Multiple GWAS Identifies Cholinergic and Sensory Pathways.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

PLoS One. 2012; 7(12): e50913
Harari O, Wang JC, Bucholz K, Edenberg HJ, Heath A, Martin NG, Pergadia ML, Montgomery G, Schrage A, Bierut LJ, Madden PF, Goate AM

Cigarette smoking is a common addiction that increases the risk for many diseases, including lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified and validated several susceptibility loci for nicotine consumption and dependence. However, the trait variance explained by these genes is only a small fraction of the estimated genetic risk. Pathway analysis complements single marker methods by including biological knowledge into the evaluation of GWAS, under the assumption that causal variants lie in functionally related genes, enabling the evaluation of a broad range of signals. Our approach to the identification of pathways enriched for multiple genes associated with smoking quantity includes the analysis of two studies and the replication of common findings in a third dataset. This study identified pathways for the cholinergic receptors, which included SNPs known to be genome-wide significant; as well as novel pathways, such as genes involved in the sensory perception of smell, that do not contain any single SNP that achieves that stringent threshold.
HubMed – addiction

Associations of Children’s Appetitive Traits with Weight and Dietary Behaviours in the Context of General Parenting.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

PLoS One. 2012; 7(12): e50642
Rodenburg G, Kremers SP, Oenema A, van de Mheen D

Individual variations in child weight can be explained by genetic and behavioural susceptibility to obesity. Behavioural susceptibility can be expressed in appetite-related traits, e.g. food responsiveness. Research into such behavioural factors is important, as it can provide starting points for (preventive) interventions.To examine associations of children’s appetitive traits with weight and with fruit, snack and sugar-sweetened beverage intake, and to examine whether parenting style interacts with appetite in determining child weight/intake.Data were used from 1275 children participating in the INPACT study in 2009-2010, with a mean age of 9 years in 2009. Their height and weight were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI). Parents completed a questionnaire to measure children’s appetitive traits, children’s dietary intake and parenting style. Child BMI z-scores, fruit, snack and sugar-sweetened beverage intake were regressed on appetitive traits. Moderation by parenting style was tested by adding interaction terms to the regression analyses.Food-approaching appetitive traits were positively, and food-avoidant appetitive traits were negatively related to child BMI z-scores and to child fruit intake. There were no or less consistent associations for snack and sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Authoritative parenting voided the negative association between food fussiness and fruit intake, while neglecting parenting strengthened the positive association between food-approaching appetitive traits and weight.Early assessment of appetitive traits could be used to identify children at risk for overweight. As parenting style can moderate the associations between appetitive traits and weight/intake in a favourable way, parents are a promising target group for preventive interventions aimed at influencing the effect of appetitive traits on children.
HubMed – addiction

Allure of dice.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Indian J Psychiatry. 2012 Jul; 54(3): 290
George S

This poem paints the picture of a gambling addict who narrates his story in the course of a psychiatric consultation.
HubMed – addiction

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