The prevalence of smoking cigarettes has repeatedly been found to be greater in schizophrenia as compared with other psychiatric patients and the general population. Patients with schizophrenia have been found to engage in heavy smoking and consumption of higher doses of nicotine, probably by deeper inhalation of cigarettes. The aim of the current study was to assess nicotine exposure through smoking by measuring urinary cotinine, the major nicotine metabolite, in a group of smokers from Greece of smokers with schizophrenia and smokers from the general population. Participants were current smokers and belonged to one of two groups: 35 patients with schizophrenia and 48 healthy controls matched in age, education, and gender. The quantitative analysis of cotinine, the major metabolite of nicotine, in urine samples was performed by a modified high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Patients with schizophrenia who smoke presented a significantly larger time interval between last cigarette smoked and urine sample collection, as well as a significantly higher average number of cigarettes consumed daily than normal smokers. Urinary cotinine levels of patients with schizophrenia who smoke did not significantly differ from that of normal smokers when adjusted for average number of cigarettes per day and time interval between last cigarette smoked and urine collection. These results suggest that patients with schizophrenia did not present higher nicotine exposure through smoking compared with smokers from the community. The pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic properties of nicotine, as well as patient medications of the patients may explain our findings.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2004.08.002 | DOI Listing |
Lancet Psychiatry
February 2025
Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden; Center for Psychiatry Research, Stockholm City Council, Stockholm, Sweden; Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Background: The best pharmacological treatment practices for relapse prevention in patients with first-episode schizophrenia are unclear. We aimed to assess different treatment strategies used before and after the first relapse, and their associations with subsequent relapse risk.
Methods: In this population-based cohort study, we enrolled individuals (aged ≤45 years) with first-episode schizophrenia who were hospitalised and subsequently relapsed between 1996 and 2014 from the nationwide Finnish Hospital Discharge Register.
Chest
January 2025
Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Division of Critical Care, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Institut du Savoir Montfort, Hôpital Montfort, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Background: Survivorship after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) critical illness may be associated with important long-term sequelae, but little is known regarding mental health outcomes.
Research Question: What is the association between COVID-19 critical illness and new post-discharge mental health diagnoses.
Study Design: AND METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study in Ontario, Canada (January 1, 2020-March 31, 2022).
Pharmacol Res
January 2025
Center for Brain Research, Department of Molecular Neurosciences, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Electronic address:
α6-containing GABA receptors (α6GABARs) are strongly expressed in cerebellar granule cells and are of central importance for cerebellar functions. The cerebellum not only is involved in regulation of motor activity, but also in regulation of thought, cognition, emotion, language, and social behavior. Activation of α6GABARs enhances the precision of sensory inputs, enables rapid and coordinated movement and adequate responses to the environment, and protects the brain from information overflow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSemin Thromb Hemost
January 2025
Department of Neurology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Ha'Shomer, Israel.
Coagulation factors are intrinsically expressed in various brain cells, including astrocytes and microglia. Their interaction with the inflammatory system is important for the well-being of the brain, but they are also crucial in the development of many diseases in the brain such as stroke and traumatic brain injury. The cellular effects of coagulation are mediated mainly by protease-activated receptors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Med
January 2025
Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Background: There is limited and conflicting evidence on the comparative cardiometabolic safety and effectiveness of aripiprazole in the management of severe mental illness. We investigated the hypothesis that aripiprazole has a favourable cardiometabolic profile, but similar effectiveness when compared to olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone.
Methods And Findings: We conducted an observational emulation of a head-to-head trial of aripiprazole versus olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone in UK primary care using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.
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