Acute cannabidiol administration reduces alcohol craving and cue-induced nucleus accumbens activation in individuals with alcohol use disorder: the double-blind randomized controlled ICONIC trial.

Although alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly prevalent, only a few medications are approved for its treatment leaving much room for improvement. Cannabidiol (CBD) might be a particularly promising candidate, with preclinical data suggesting that CBD is effective in targeting AUD symptoms and disease processes that drive alcohol use and relapse, due to its anti-craving, stress-reducing, and anti-compulsive effects. Here we report data from the double-blind randomized controlled ICONIC trial that compared the effects of a single dose of 800 mg cannabidiol against placebo (PLC) in N = 28 individuals with AUD.

[Critical Closing Pressure (Pcrit) and Negative (Subatmospheric) Expiratory Pressure (NEP) for Diagnosis of Pharyngeal Collapsibility in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)].

The determination of critical closing pressure (Pcrit) is the diagnostic gold standard for assessing the severity of pharyngeal instability. Pcrit measurements are typically performed during natural nocturnal sleep (NREM Stage 2) in combination with polysomnography. However, determining Pcrit during sleep is time-consuming and impractical for routine use.

It is the habit not the handle that affects tooth brushing - a randomised counterbalanced cross over study with young and healthy adults.

Objective: To assess the effect of the toothbrush handle on video-observed toothbrushing behaviour and toothbrushing effectiveness.

Methods: This is a randomized counterbalanced cross-over study. N = 50 university students and employees brushed their teeth at two occasions, one week apart, using either a commercial ergonomically designed manual toothbrush (MT) or Brushalyze V1 (BV1), a manual toothbrush with a thick cylindrical handle without any specific ergonomic features.

[Stimulants : Current insights into the principles, diagnostics and treatment].

Background: Consumption of stimulant drugs, a heterogeneous group of addictive substances, has significantly increased in recent years with rising numbers of stimulant-associated intoxication and deaths.

Objective: To provide an overview of recent scientific evidence of the diagnosis and treatment of stimulant use disorders.

Material And Methods: A literature review of the neuropathology, clinical presentation, diagnostic criteria and evidence-based treatment for stimulant use disorders.

Does cannabis use substitute for opioids? A preliminary exploratory survey in opioid maintenance patients.

Various studies showed that people with substance use disorder use cannabis to reduce withdrawal or dose of their main drug. Using a questionnaire about their cannabis use, 118 participants in an opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) in Germany were examined regarding this strategy. 60% reported to use cannabis.

[The upper airway in obstructive sleep apnea patients is pathological even when awake].

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by partial or complete obstruction of the pharyngeal airway. Anatomical factors can be distinguished from non-anatomical factors. Age and obesity are the main risk factors for OSA; however, approximately 50% of patients are not obese.

ON-ICE trial: Investigation of the combined effects of oxytocin and naltrexone on stress-induced and alcohol cue-induced craving in alcohol use disorder-Study protocol of a phase II randomised double-blind placebo-controlled parallel-group trial.

Introduction: Although alcohol dependence (AD) is highly prevalent, only few medications are approved for its treatment. While currently approved medications, such as naltrexone (NTX), reduce craving and relapse risk to a certain extent, new approaches are needed to complement these pharmaca. One potential compound is oxytocin (OXY), which proved beneficial effects on alcohol craving and stress reactivity in preliminary clinical studies and synergism with NTX effects.