Addiction Rehab: Improved Detection of Common Variants Associated With Schizophrenia by Leveraging Pleiotropy With Cardiovascular-Disease Risk Factors.
Improved Detection of Common Variants Associated with Schizophrenia by Leveraging Pleiotropy with Cardiovascular-Disease Risk Factors.
Filed under: Addiction Rehab
Am J Hum Genet. 2013 Jan 29;
Andreassen OA, Djurovic S, Thompson WK, Schork AJ, Kendler KS, O’Donovan MC, Rujescu D, Werge T, van de Bunt M, Morris AP, McCarthy MI, , , , Roddey JC, McEvoy LK, Desikan RS, Dale AM
Several lines of evidence suggest that genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have the potential to explain more of the “missing heritability” of common complex phenotypes. However, reliable methods for identifying a larger proportion of SNPs are currently lacking. Here, we present a genetic-pleiotropy-informed method for improving gene discovery with the use of GWAS summary-statistics data. We applied this methodology to identify additional loci associated with schizophrenia (SCZ), a highly heritable disorder with significant missing heritability. Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest comorbidity between SCZ and cardiovascular-disease (CVD) risk factors, including systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, low- and high-density lipoprotein, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and type 2 diabetes. Using stratified quantile-quantile plots, we show enrichment of SNPs associated with SCZ as a function of the association with several CVD risk factors and a corresponding reduction in false discovery rate (FDR). We validate this “pleiotropic enrichment” by demonstrating increased replication rate across independent SCZ substudies. Applying the stratified FDR method, we identified 25 loci associated with SCZ at a conditional FDR level of 0.01. Of these, ten loci are associated with both SCZ and CVD risk factors, mainly triglycerides and low- and high-density lipoproteins but also waist-to-hip ratio, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index. Together, these findings suggest the feasibility of using genetic-pleiotropy-informed methods for improving gene discovery in SCZ and identifying potential mechanistic relationships with various CVD risk factors.
HubMed – addiction
Preventing addiction related suicide: A pilot study.
Filed under: Addiction Rehab
J Subst Abuse Treat. 2013 Jan 31;
Voss WD, Kaufman E, O’Connor SS, Comtois KA, Conner KR, Ries RK
Persons addicted to alcohol and drugs are at 5-10 times higher risk for suicide as compared to the general population. To address the need for improved suicide prevention strategies in this population, the Preventing Addiction Related Suicide (PARS) module was developed. Pilot testing of 78 patients demonstrated significant post-treatment changes in knowledge [t(66)=12.07, p=.000] and attitudes [t(75)=6.82, p=.000] toward suicide prevention issues. Significant gains were maintained at 1-month follow-up for changes in knowledge [t(55)=6.33, p=.000] and attitudes [t(61)=3.37, p=.0001], with changes in positive help seeking behaviors in dealing with suicidal issues in friends [?(2)(1) =10.49, p=.007], family [?(2)(1)=9.81, p=.015], and self [?(2)(1)=19.62, p=.008] also observed. The PARS was also highly rated by treatment staff as feasible within their standard clinical practice.
HubMed – addiction
Cannabis use and cannabis use disorders among individuals with mental illness.
Filed under: Addiction Rehab
Compr Psychiatry. 2013 Jan 30;
Lev-Ran S, Le Foll B, McKenzie K, George TP, Rehm J
BACKGROUND: National epidemiological surveys have reported increased rates of cannabis use and cannabis use disorders (CUDs) among individuals with mental illness. However, this subject has not been sufficiently investigated, particularly given limitations in diagnostic tools used and lack of data pertaining to frequency of cannabis used. OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence of cannabis use and CUDs among individuals with a wide range of mental illness. METHOD: We analyzed data on 43,070 respondents age 18 and above from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a nationally representative survey conducted from 2001 to 2002. Main outcome measures included rates of cannabis use by frequency (at least weekly and less than weekly use) and DSM-IV CUDs according to the number and type of axis I and axis II psychiatric diagnoses, assessed by the Alcohol Use Disorders and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-IV. We estimated the proportion of cannabis used by individuals with mental illness using reported daily dose and frequency of cannabis used by individuals with and without mental illness. RESULTS: Rates of weekly cannabis use, less than weekly cannabis use and CUDs among individuals with 12-month mental illness were 4.4%, 5.4% and 4.0%, respectively, compared to 0.6%, 1.1% and 0.4%, respectively, among individuals without any 12-month mental illness (P<0.0001 for all comparisons). The odds ratio for cannabis use among individuals with 12-month mental illness vs. respondents without any mental illness was 2.5, and the odds of having a CUD among individuals with 12-month mental illness were 3.2, after adjusting for sociodemographic variables and additional substance use disorders. Cannabis use and CUDs were particularly associated with bipolar disorder, substance use disorders and specific (anti-social, dependant and histrionic) personality disorders. Persons with a mental illness in the past 12months represented 72% of all cannabis users and we estimated they consumed 83% of all cannabis consumed by this nationally representative sample. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides further evidence of the strong association between cannabis use and a broad range of primary mental illness. This emphasizes the importance of proper screening for frequent cannabis use and CUDs among individuals with primary mental illness and focusing prevention and treatment efforts on this population. HubMed – addiction
Optogenetic interrogations of the neural circuits underlying addiction.
Filed under: Addiction Rehab
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2013 Jan 30;
Britt JP, Bonci A
Exposure to addictive drugs can result in maladaptive alterations in neural circuit function. This review highlights recent progress made in identifying the organization, function, and cellular plasticity of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc), two brain regions strongly implicated in substance use disorders. Emphasis is given to advances made with new research methodologies, particularly optogenetics, which have provided scientists with an unprecedented ability to map neural circuitry and pinpoint drug-induced synaptic modifications. A better understanding of these adaptive events will aid the development of pharmacological treatments for drug addiction and, more generally, further our understanding of motivated behaviors.
HubMed – addiction
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