The effect of childhood maltreatment and cannabis use on adult psychotic symptoms is modified by the COMT Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism.

Background: Cannabis use and childhood maltreatment are independent risk factors for the development of psychotic symptoms. These factors have been found to interact in some but not all studies. One of the reasons may be that childhood maltreatment and cannabis primarily induce psychotic symptoms in genetically susceptible individuals.

Advanced paternal age and vulnerability to psychotic-like experiences in the offspring.

Objective: To investigate whether advanced paternal age is associated with increased psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and increased sensitivity to Cannabis in the offspring.

Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study in 1684 participants aged 18 to 25.

Results: We found no association of paternal age with PLEs.

Cannabis with high cannabidiol content is associated with fewer psychotic experiences.

Objective: Cannabis is associated with psychotic outcomes in numerous studies, an effect that is commonly attributed to Δ (9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9-THC). An increasing number of authors identify cannabidiol, another component of the cannabis plant, as an antipsychotic agent. The objective of the current study is to investigate the role of cannabidiol content in the association between cannabis use and psychiatric symptoms in a large non-clinical population of cannabis users.

Role of viruses in Kenyan children presenting with acute encephalopathy in a malaria-endemic area.

In malaria-endemic areas, it is difficult to differentiate between cerebral malaria (CM), bacterial meningitis, and viral encephalitis. We examined the cerebrospinal fluid of 49 children who fulfilled the World Health Organization's (WHO) definition of CM and in 47 encephalopathic children, without malaria, looking for viruses with polymerase chain reaction. In the children with CM, four (9%) had evidence of Herpes simplex virus 1 in the cerebrospinal fluid, whereas in the encephalopathy group without malaria, six (12%) were positive.