FDA's Rapid Approval of Esketamine for Severe Depression Questioned Pauline Anderson Medscape, November 13, 2019 https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/921248 While some experts have hailed intranasal esketamine (Spravato, Janssen) as a "game changer" for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), others are concerned over the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) rapid approval of the drug. Dr Erick Turner In an editorial published online October 31 in Lancet Psychiatry, Erick H. Turner, MD, who sits on one of the FDA advisory committees that recommended approval of Spravato, said the drug did not meet standard criteria for FDA approval and that there was little evidence to support its safety and efficacy based on data from [...]
Lire la suiteA Chocolate a Day Keeps Depression Away ? Megan Brooks, Laurie Barclay Medscape, 13 / 09 /2019 https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/917963 Clinical Context Accumulating evidence suggests that dietary factors, such as eating chocolate, may affect depressive symptoms. The potential mood-enhancing properties of chocolate may relate to its orosensory properties, psychoactive ingredients, and activation of neural reward pathways. However, only a few studies have analyzed associations between chocolate consumption and depressive symptoms, with conflicting results. The goal of this analysis was to evaluate associations between chocolate consumption and depressive symptoms in a large, representative sample of US adults enrolled in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between [...]
Lire la suiteCalifornia Psilocybin Decriminalization Initiative The Beckley Foundation is proud to announce its partnership with Decriminalize California (the California Psilocybin Decriminalization Initiative 2020), an open-source citizens’ initiative which would: legalize psilocybin mushrooms and their extracts and derivatives for therapeutic and medical use, and decriminalize it for personal, spiritual and religious use; allowing people to cultivate and use psilocybin mushrooms in their own home and on privately-owned property; and enabling those convicted of psilocybin-related crimes to have their sentences reviewed and, when appropriate, have their criminal records expunged. You can read the full press release here. The initiative decriminalizes psilocybin use by adults aged 18+. [...]
Lire la suiteIACM-Bulletin du 18 Novembre 2019 IACM: L'Assemblée Générale élit Kirsten Mueller-Vahl à la présidence, modifie ses statuts et sa structure de cotisation Science/Homme: Le cannabis peut réduire la douleur chez les patients atteints d'endométriose Science/Homme: Selon une vaste étude épidémiologique, le cannabis pourrait réduire la dépression chez les patients présentant un trouble de stress post-traumatique Science/Homme: Le cannabis peut être bénéfique aux personnes âgées pour divers symptômes En bref Un coup d'œil sur le passé IACM: L'Assemblée Générale élit Kirsten Mueller-Vahl à la présidence, modifie ses statuts et sa structure de cotisation Lors [...]
Lire la suiteSafety and Efficacy of Medical Cannabis in Fibromyalgia Iftach Sagy, Lihi Bar-Lev Schleider, Mahmoud Abu-Shakra and Victor Novack Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2019, 8, 807 doi : 10.3390/jcm8060807 Abstract : Background : Chronic pain may be treated by medical cannabis. Yet, there is scarce evidence to support the role of medical cannabis in the treatment of fibromyalgia. The aim of the study was to investigate the characteristics, safety, and eectiveness of medical cannabis therapy for fibromyalgia. Methods : A prospective observational study with six months follow-up period based on fibromyalgia patients who were willing to answer questionnaire in a specialized medical cannabis clinic between 2015 and 2017. Results : Among the [...]
Lire la suiteWhat Are the Benefits of CBD ? More than 60 percent of CBD users were taking it for anxiety, according to a survey of 5,000 people. Does it help? THE NEW YORK TIMES, By Dawn MacKeen Published Oct. 16, 2019 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/style/self-care/cbd-oil-benefits.html Credit...Photo Illustration by The New York Times; Shutterstock The CBD industry is flourishing, conservatively projected to hit $16 billion in the United States by 2025. Already, the plant extract is being added to cheeseburgers, toothpicks and breath sprays. More than 60 percent of CBD users have taken it for anxiety, according to a survey of 5,000 people, conducted by the Brightfield Group, a cannabis market [...]
Lire la suiteSome distorted thoughts about ketamine as a psychedelic and a novel hypothesis based on NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic plasticity Rachael Ingram, Heather Kang, Stafford Lightman, David E. Jane, Zuner A. Bortolotto, Graham L. Collingridge, David Lodge, Arturas Volianskis Neuropharmacology, 2018, 142, 30e40 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.06.008 Abstract Ketamine, a channel blocking NMDA receptor antagonist, is used off-label for its psychedelic effects, which may arise from a combination of several inter-related actions. Firstly, reductions of the contribution of NMDA receptors to afferent information from external and internal sensory inputs may distort sensations and their processing in higher brain centres. Secondly, reductions of NMDA receptormediated excitation of GABAergic interneurons can result in [...]
Lire la suiteThe Varieties of Psychedelic Epistemology Chris Letheby Published in N. Wyrd, D. Luke, A. Tollan, C. Adams, and D. King (eds.) : "Psychedelicacies: more food for thought from Breaking Convention", Strange Attractor Press, 2019. INTRODUCTION Is it possible to gain knowledge1 by taking psychedelic2 drugs? One influential answer is ‘yes’: according to this conception, by inducing mystical states of consciousness, psychedelics afford direct knowledge of supernatural, transcendent dimensions of reality. This is an entheogenic conception of the drugs as agents that “generate the divine within”. A second influential answer is ‘no’: since materialism or physicalism3 is true, there are no transcendent realities, and psychedelics [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinoids for the treatment of mental disorders and symptoms of mental disorders : a systematic review and meta-analysis Nicola Black, Emily Stockings, Gabrielle Campbell, Lucy T. Tran, Dino Zagic, Wayne D. Hall, Michael Farrell, Louisa Degenhardt Lancet Psychiatry, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30401-8 Summary Background : Medicinal cannabinoids, including medicinal cannabis and pharmaceutical cannabinoids and their synthetic derivatives, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), have been suggested to have a therapeutic role in certain mental disorders. We analysed the available evidence to ascertain the effectiveness and safety of all types of medicinal cannabinoids in treating symptoms of various mental disorders. Methods : For this systematic review and meta-analysis [...]
Lire la suite2-Linoleoylglycerol Is a Partial Agonist of the Human Cannabinoid Type 1 Receptor that Can Suppress 2-Arachidonolyglycerol and Anandamide Activity Leanne Lu, Gareth Williams, and Patrick Doherty* Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2019 Doi : 10.1089/can.2019.0030 Abstract Introduction : The cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor and cannabinoid type 2 (CB2) receptor are widely expressed in the body and anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are their best characterized endogenous ligands. The diacylglycerol lipases (diacylglycerol lipase alpha and diacylglycerol lipase beta) not only synthesize essentially all the 2-AG in the body but also generate other monoacylglycerols, including 2- linoleoylglycerol (2-LG). This lipid has been proposed to modulate endocannabinoid (eCB) [...]
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