[Life style drug laughing gas (nitrous oxide, NO) and the dependency criteria according to ICD-10].

Objective: The increasing popularity of nitrous oxide (NO) as a recreational drug raises questions about its potential for dependency. This narrative review examines the dependency risk of NO using the ICD-10 criteria for substance use disorders and evaluates the current literature.

Material And Methods: A comprehensive literature search until April 2024 was conducted to identify publications addressing NO consumption in the context of dependency criteria.

The significance of nonurgent psychiatric emergencies in an ED: a retrospective study.

Background: In emergency departments, patients with mental health conditions are a major concern and make up the third or fourth of the most common diagnosis seen during all consultations. Over the past two decades, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of cases, particularly due to an increase in nonurgent visits for somatic medical issues. The significance of nonurgent visits for psychiatric patients is yet to be determined.

GHB: a life-threatening drug complications and outcome of GHB detoxification treatment-an observational clinical study.

Background: GHB (gammahydroxybutyrate) and its precursors are popular recreational drugs due to their sedative, anxiolytic and sexually stimulating effects. Their use has been steadily increasing in recent years. The detoxification process is complex and prone to high rates of complications while little is known about the pathophysiology.

[Legalization of Recreational Cannabis use in Germany - Implications Based on Experiences in Uruguay, Canada und USA: a Narrative Review].

The current government of Germany has agreed on legalizing the recreational use of cannabis in their coalition agreement. Legalization will be implemented in 2023. This issue has continuously been a subject of controversial discussion including most parts of society, executive authorities and science.

Label-Free Plasmonic Detection of Untethered Nanometer-Sized Brownian Particles.

Optical detection of individual nanometer-sized analytes, virus particles, and protein molecules holds great promise for understanding and control of biological samples and healthcare applications. As fluorescent labels impose restrictions on detection bandwidth and require lengthy and invasive processes, label-free optical techniques are highly desirable. Here, we introduce an optical technique capable of transforming gold nanorods commonly used as photostable labels into highly localized high-speed probes.

[Ayahuasca - religion, life-style or drug?].

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive drug which has been used by indigenous cultures in the amazonas basin for hundreds of years for medical and religious purpose. Backpackers who came in contact with ayahuasca exported its use in the western world and increased its popularity. By presenting a case report of a patient seeking medical help due to psychotic symptoms after having attended an ayahuasca ritual we give an short overview of pharmacology, legal status, use and side effects of the substance.

Treatment of the Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome in International Therapy Guidelines: A Comparative Analysis.

Introduction: The neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a potentially life-threatening condition associated to the use of antipsychotics. Since it requires rapid and efficient medical care, high-quality treatment guidelines should be available. In this article, we analyzed and compared different international therapy guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia, in which NMS treatment recommendations might be contained.

The Effect of Detoxification on Sleep: How Does Sleep Quality Change during Qualified Detoxification Treatment?

Sleep disturbances are common in addiction and withdrawal. This study examined the course of sleep quality in a population of alcohol dependent patients during qualified detoxification treatment in a psychiatric hospital. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was administered to 77 electively admitted alcohol dependent patients hospitalized for qualified detoxification treatment.

[Course and complications of GHB detoxification treatment: a 1-year case series].

Background: Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and its precursors have gained popularity over the last decade as a drug in the party and club scene; however, the clinical knowledge of these substances is low. In the literature there have been case reports of severe dependence and withdrawal but there is a lack of systematic knowledge about the clinical course and complications of detoxification treatment.

Objective: The aim of this article is to evaluate the prevalence, treatment course, complications and compliance of GHB patients seeking inpatient qualified detoxification treatment (QDT).

[Discussing possible new regulations in german cannabis policy with special regard to the experiences in the Netherlands and Colorado].

In Deutschland wird seit einiger Zeit zunehmend über eine neue Cannabispolitik nachgedacht. Von vielen Seiten wird die Forderung nach einer Liberalisierung oder Freigabe des Cannabis laut. Der vorliegende Artikel fasst die wichtigsten Erfahrungen der Cannabis-Politik aus den Niederlanden und dem US-Bundesstaat Colorado zusammen und versucht, daraus Schlussfolgerungen für eine mögliche Neuregulierung der Cannabispolitik in Deutschland abzuleiten.

Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and depression: A comparison of stability and course.

Cognitive deficits are clinically relevant features in schizophrenia and depression, yet little comparative data on changes in both disorders is available. This study compares cognitive performance of inpatients with schizophrenia (N = 52) and unipolar major depression (N = 67) during psychiatric treatment, assessing performance twice: after admission to hospital (acute) and prior to discharge (postacute) on average seven weeks later. A group of healthy controls was tested at comparable intervals.

When Habits Are Dangerous: Alcohol Expectancies and Habitual Decision Making Predict Relapse in Alcohol Dependence.

Background: Addiction is supposedly characterized by a shift from goal-directed to habitual decision making, thus facilitating automatic drug intake. The two-step task allows distinguishing between these mechanisms by computationally modeling goal-directed and habitual behavior as model-based and model-free control. In addicted patients, decision making may also strongly depend upon drug-associated expectations.

Predicting Inpatient Detoxification Outcome of Alcohol and Drug Dependent Patients: The Influence of Sociodemographic Environment, Motivation, Impulsivity, and Medical Comorbidities.

. This prospective study aims to identify patient characteristics as predictors for treatment outcome during inpatient detoxification treatment for drug and alcohol dependent patients. .

The Effect of Significant International Sports Events on Qualified Detoxification Treatment Outcome - Do Drop-Out Rates Change during UEFA European Championship?

No previous studies have evaluated the influence of significant international sports events on qualified detoxification treatment outcome. This prospective study examines the impact of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship on inpatient treatment outcome of alcohol dependent patients. Hospital admission and premature drop-out rates of consecutively admitted alcohol dependent patients were determined before, during and immediately after the UEFA Championship in the year 2012.

A comparison of cognitive functioning in acute schizophrenia and depression.

Objective: Even though cognitive deficits are well recognised in schizophrenia and depression, direct comparisons between the disorders are scarce in literature. This study aims to assess specificity and degree of cognitive deficits in inpatients with acute schizophrenia and unipolar major depression.

Methods: A neuropsychological test battery was administered to 76 schizophrenic patients, 102 patients with unipolar major depression and 85 healthy controls (HCs), assessing verbal learning [Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT)], processing speed (Trail Making Test), verbal fluency and visual memory (Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised test).

Algorithm-guided treatment of depression reduces treatment costs--results from the randomized controlled German Algorithm Project (GAPII).

Background: The German Algorithm Project, Phase 2 (GAP2) revealed that a standardized stepwise treatment regimen (SSTR) results in better treatment outcomes than treatment as usual (TAU) in depressed inpatients. The objective of this study was a health economic evaluation of SSTR based on a cost effectiveness analysis (CEA).

Methods: GAP2 was a randomized controlled study with 148 patients.

Cerebrovascular reactivity over time-course - from major depressive episode to remission.

Introduction: Depression is a prospective risk factor for stroke. Little is known, however, about the pathophysiologic links leading to this association. Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) reflects the compensatory dilatory capacity of cerebral arterioles to a dilatory stimulus and is an important mechanism to provide constant cerebral blood flow.

Efficacy of an algorithm-guided treatment compared with treatment as usual: a randomized, controlled study of inpatients with depression.

Objective: Medication algorithms have been proposed as effective means to offer optimal treatment and improved outcome for patients with severe mental illness. This single-center prospective study compared the efficacy and effects on treatment prescriptions of an algorithm-guided treatment regimen with treatment as usual (TAU) in depressed inpatients.

Methods: Depressed inpatient participants were randomized to an algorithm-guided standardized stepwise drug treatment regimen (SSTR, n = 74) or TAU (n = 74).

Motor cortex excitability after vagus nerve stimulation in major depression.

Recent data suggest that inhibitory pathways may be involved in the pathophysiology of depression and in the mode of action of some antidepressant interventions. The aim of the present study was to test whether vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) can affect motor cortex excitability. Measures of motor cortical excitability were probed by using single-pulse and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation at baseline, after 10 weeks of left VNS, and additionally, in an on-off paradigm in 10 patients with treatment-resistant unipolar depression.

Nerve growth factor serum concentrations rise after successful cognitive-behavioural therapy of generalized anxiety disorder.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic stress disease with permanent physical tension and cognitive strain. Raised nerve growth factor (NGF) serum levels were reported as an acute stress reaction in soldiers before their first parachute jump even before the rise in cortisol. Taking GAD as a clinical model of chronic stress, we measured NGF in the serum of 22 patients with GAD before and after cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and compared them to those of healthy normal controls.

Cerebrovascular reactivity following administration of mirtazapine in healthy probands--a randomized, placebo controlled double-blind clinical study.

Introduction: Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) reflects the compensatory dilatory capacity of cerebral arterioles to a dilatory stimulus and is important for maintaining constant cerebral blood flow. A reduced CVR increases the risk of stroke. We recently found that CVR was reduced in patients with depression.