Showing posts with label Addiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Addiction. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

"The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is Not a Disease" by Marc Lewis

Marc Lewis explores the neurobiology of addiction in this short book, with proposed approaches to better understanding and helping people who are struggling with addictions.  

He comes across very clearly as a compassionate person, with a good understanding and personal experience in this area.  Probably someone who would be good to have as a therapist or support in the context of addictive problems.   

The book presents several case stories, which is always a compelling style in describing health care issues.  They could be a source of inspiration that could help people in their own journeys through addiction.  But of course testimonial accounts have only limited value in a scientific study, since they can introduce very strong biases in the reader, if not accompanied by references to large controlled studies.    

He has good reasons for disparaging what he calls "medicalization" of addiction, and emphasizing his opinion that addiction should not be considered a "disease."    Many of these reasons involve emphasis on what most of us would consider "bad medicine," i.e. institutional or even punitive treatment, simple remedies such as drug treatments given without addressing social or psychological issues, etc.    He particularly disparages psychiatrists, as though he thinks all psychiatrists enjoy the narrow or excessive brandishing of labels and dispensing of medications without attending to deep understanding, therapeutic compassion, and a biopsychosocial focus, with patients.  

So I found this part of his message to be tiresome.  Excessive narrow "medicalization" of almost any issue is not good medicine.  Almost any health condition, such as type II diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and certainly conditions such as anxiety or depression, have spectrums of severity or chronicity; there are very important psychosocial factors, often present for years before the onset of the condition, that influence symptoms, severity, and progression.   There are feedback loops involving behaviour which cause spiralling exacerbations or rapidly accumulating harms in all of these conditions.  And treatments for diabetes or heart disease need to involve understanding and help with lifestyle, social, and economic factors affecting these conditions, with long-term goals in mind.    But it is not necessary to avoid calling diabetes a "disease."  Rather, the approach should be, in my opinion, to recognize that any disease state occurs on a continuum.  In many cases, there is no clear-cut line between disease or non-disease.   The word "disease" does not necessarily imply permanence, or need for invasive, narrow,  or institutional treatments.  For example, we could agree that viral pharyngitis is a disease, but is not one which normally requires medical intervention.  Just as in addiction, many conditions uncontroversially considered "diseases" or at least pathological states, such as pneumonia, COVID, migraine, sciatica secondary to disc prolapse, psychotic episodes, or brain injury, can often  recover on their own without any treatment at all; but for some sufferers of these conditions, the symptoms become relentlessly chronic or more difficult to deal with.    Just because something has the possibility of improving on its own, or through lifestyle improvements, after days, months, or years, does not mean that it shouldn't be considered a disease.  Furthermore, the improvements in many conditions can sometimes be associated with improved perspective or lifestyle, but sometimes the improvements are just random.  Many patients I've seen have engaged in all the healthy perspective-taking and good lifestyle habits you can imagine, but are still afflicted by the same tormenting symptoms.  Other patients somehow recover from severe problems without changing their lifestyles much at all.  

Hypertension is a disease, with multifactorial causes, which often requires medication but always requires attention to lifestyle factors.   Simple, overly reductionistic medical treatments can sometimes help with certain disease states (such as repairing a broken limb) but in many or most disease states, medical treatments are only one branch of helping.  The other branches require attention to lifestyle factors, community or social supports, and possibly an existential focus, to help people regain an awareness and passion for long-term goals.  But this multi-pronged focus is what I consider to be normal medical care.  

Lewis argues that because the neurobiology of addiction features entirely "normal" activations of normal brain pathways, akin to learning or falling in love, addiction therefore should not be considered a disease.  But many conditions in medicine feature activation of normal physiologic functions as a component of their pathology.  For example, inflammatory states resulting from infection (this is a major pathology in COVID) are activations of the body's defenses to fight off pathogens, but the inflammation itself ends up causing severe tissue destruction.  The processes are all "normal" but the circumstances of the disease state (germ + host) cause the reaction to be disastrous.  A clear understanding of disease states, mechanisms, and medical interventions to interrupt this cycle, are indicated to save lives and prevent widespread tissue destruction.  

Addictive states can lead to similar destruction of bodies, minds, relationships, and careers.  Just because the mechanisms involve activations of normal neural pathways does not mean we should avoid diagnostic language.    Problems associated with pathologizing labels, such as stigma (from others or from self) do not mean we have to avoid such labels entirely, but it may mean that the labels should be used with care and humility, rather than in a pejorative manner.  

There is interesting neuroscience describing addictive processes, but sometimes discussion of this can devolve into making overly strong literal claims (e.g. about neuroplasticity), often based on compelling testimonial accounts, without as much robust statistical evidence to back these up.  This is a pitfall I've seen with other authors touching on this, such as Doidge.  The use of the neuroscientific language then becomes a tool of persuasion, which sounds impressive to most people.  But it is much more important in this area to back up claims, especially those based on case studies or testimonial accounts, with careful reference to large controlled studies.   

Lewis has good ideas and a passion for his subject, but his focus on addiction not being a "disease" is needless--it is to some degree a semantic squabble, which subtracts needlessly from the impact of his book.  


Wednesday, March 23, 2022

The Urge: Our History of Addiction, by Carl Erik Fisher

The Urge: Our History of Addiction, by Carl Erik Fisher is a good book about the history of addiction, weaved together with a story of the author's own alcohol use problems and rehab.  

The original use of the word "addiction," as Fisher shows us, was more general or broad, referring to situations we might now consider "behavioural addictions," habit problems, or just very strong preferences.    This usage of the word, despite objections from some addictions specialists, may be most accurate from a neurobiological point of view, according to recent evidence.  

He emphasizes many times how addictive phenomena lie on a continuum of severity in different people and within the same person at different points in time, and are influenced strongly by social, economic, and political circumstances.   For some people addiction is a symptom of, or a means of coping with, horrible environmental circumstances.  For others, it is a trap leading to loss of control even when environmental circumstances have improved or are normal.  

Understanding and helping addiction problems has had an interesting history, with some compassionate medical and community help approaches evolving since the 1800s, but often interrupted or negatively influenced by social factors such as stigma or criminalization.  

I agree with his conclusions, that addiction treatments need to be individualized, and that there can be various different causes or problems which underlie addiction for different people.  AA or other 12-step groups can be valuable for many people, but this is not the only effective approach.  Other group styles, such as the "SMART" program, can be preferred.  Abstinence-based models of treatment may be preferred or necessary for some people, but for others it is effective to aim only for moderation without abstinence.  Some people do not want or need peer or group support, and prefer one-on-one counseling.  Others may prefer to manage their addictive problems alone; Fisher cites data showing that many people with addictions can recover without any therapeutic treatment at all.   There are medications that can help, such as naltrexone.  

Fisher acknowledges the importance of loss of control in addiction, and of the phenomenon of denial which delays or prevents many people from seeking help.  

There have been big problems in addiction management that must change.  First, there needs to be much more availability of addiction treatment programs for those who desire or need them.  There should not be economic biases causing some groups to have less access than others.  For opiate addiction in particular, there needs to be easier availability of methadone or buprenorphine maintenance for those who would like to try this approach.  Harm reduction strategies in general have a very strong evidence base.  

Second, public health interventions can be simple and effective, such as restricting the advertising or marketing of addictive products (such measures have been useful for reducing tobacco use in the population).  There is still a big corporate influence on policy (from the alcohol or gambling industries, for example), which should not be allowed to continue.   Third, there should be less focus on prohibition and criminal punishments, which in general have often made addiction problems worse, particularly by focusing expensive social resources on law enforcement rather than on community improvement and rehabilitation.  


Monday, October 7, 2019

Indistractable: Book Review

 Indistractable, by Nir Eyal, is an instruction manual, teaching us how to make healthy choices with our attention and activities, in the midst of the many addictive distractions of the internet age.

It is a good book,  but most of  its content could be acquired through a brief surfing of the net.

Eyal wrote another book in 2014 called Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. Ironically, this earlier book uses his knowledge of persuasion and behavioural psychology to foster the very addictive distractions that Indistractable tries to rescue us from.  In some ways I guess we could compare that to the management of a casino organizing its own addiction treatment program for customers.

The book itself is well-written, and its format is an example of how to keep a reader engaged: the chapters are short, the language is simple and clear, and the main points are summarized at the end of each chapter, then once again at the end of the book.  There is even material provided to get started on a CBT-style program to become "indistractable."  The "indistractable" language is based, I'm sure, on a marketing idea of encouraging an identity-based slogan as a motivational tool.  If one were to wear a t-shirt with the "indistractable" logo it might help motivationally.

The book itself is a product, and I suspect that it will lead to profits for the author.

Yet, the ideas contained within are useful, and worth knowing about.  Aside from simple behavioural techniques (e.g. decluttering your home screen, scheduling in advance, etc.) there is appropriate attention given to identifying the emotions accompanying distracted behaviour, and to identifying core values (e.g. of being a good parent or a good friend) as a primary motivating force to choose relationships or meaningful work rather than surfing Twitter, playing a distracting video game,  or having a text conversation.

This is another example of how therapists or physicians can learn important lessons from people who have expertise in marketing.  It often requires an inspiring persuasive message to help someone who is struggling with depression, anxiety, addictions, or other problems to make positive, sustained engagements with meaningful life change.


Monday, April 27, 2015

Marijuana

Here's another update of this post, to account for studies between 2009 and 2015.

Marijuana use is quite common in the university population I see in my clinic.

It is my opinion that sporadic recreational marijuana use is less dangerous than alcohol use, for many people.  For others, it is more problematic, and the risks may be underestimated. 

Cannabis is an acute intoxicant, which could make activities such as driving much more dangerous. Also, smoking marijuana undoubtedly causes harm to the lungs, though probably not quite to the same degree as smoking tobacco cigarettes (see references below).

There is strong evidence that marijuana use increases the risk of developing a psychotic disorder, probably by about 40%.

People who have a psychotic illness, or who have a family history of psychotic illnesses, are at higher risk for having new or continuing psychotic symptoms if they use marijuana.

Also, based on some of the evidence cited below,  children and adolescents are probably much more vulnerable to negative, long-term emotional and cognitive effects from marijuana use. 

Many regular consumers of cannabis have problems with motivation. This may be reflected in poor grades in school, lack of success in building a career, etc.  This is possibly a non-causal association, but if someone has low motivation to begin with, the addition of cannabis is not likely to help.

There may be some selected exceptions.  For example, some have claimed that a culture of cannabis use has had a catalytic role in helping reclusive technical geniuses relax their social and creative inhibitions, to permit some examples of very successful scientific and business innovation, such as in Silicon Valley.

There is strong evidence that marijuana use is associated with more severe psychiatric symptoms, of almost every type; but much of this association could be due to the fact that those with more severe symptoms are more likely to use marijuana, not the other way around. In any case, those who choose to use marijuana more regularly as a cultural pursuit may be surrounding themselves with others who have more severe symptoms.   This is similar to the case  of alcohol:  part of the harmful effect of drinking heavily is due to proximity to places (such as rough bars) where there are a lot of other heavy drinkers -- in this environment, there is likely to be more physical danger, and much less breadth of social or cultural opportunity.  Ironically, decriminalization should probably reduce this effect, and therefore reduce some of the potential social harms.

There is some evidence that marijuana or other cannabinoids could be helpful to treat a variety of medical ailments. This evidence needs to be taken seriously.

Here is a brief survey of the very large literature on this subject:

Evidence of Risk and Harm

     Psychiatric Risks

This 2007 review from Lancet shows convincing evidence that marijuana use increases the risk of developing a psychotic disorder, and that the risk is dose-dependent (i.e. the more marijuana one uses, the higher the risk is of developing a psychotic disorder):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17662880

It concluded that the evidence is less clear linking marijuana to other problems, such as depression and anxiety: many of the studies looking at this did not sufficiently address non-causal reasons for the association between marijuana and other problems. For example, people who are more depressed or anxious may have a higher likelihood of using marijuana to treat their symptoms. Or, people whose cultural style may lead them away from conventional treatments for depression, may be more likely to use marijuana regularly.    Use of psychotherapy and antidepressants are also more common among those with depression, but this does not prove that psychotherapy and antidepressants cause depression! 

In this 2008 review from the British Journal of Psychiatry, the authors conclude that marijuana use is associated with worse outcome in psychotic disorders--but they say that the existing studies show only an association, not causality. Once again, confounding variables may cause this association to exist:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18978312


A significant cannabis withdrawal syndrome is described in the literature, particularly for heavy, long-term users. The syndrome involves about 2 weeks of irritability, restlessness, and insomnia, which could be quite destabilizing for someone struggling with mood symptoms, therefore leading to continued marijuana/cannabis use. Here is a 2006 review of the subject:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16612207

A few recent prospective studies have demonstrated increased dysphoria, anxiety, tiredness, ideas of reference, and schizotypal symptoms as a result of marijuana intoxication. In particular, individuals with pre-existing schizotypal personality traits had a more substantial increase in schizotypal symptoms following THC exposure. This adds to an evidence base suggesting that marijuana use carries a significant risk of exacerbating a variety of psychiatric symptoms, particularly psychosis-spectrum symptoms, and particularly in those with risk factors for psychotic illness.
Here are the references, which are both from Psychological Medicine in 2009:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19017430
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19335936

This interesting study involved administration of THC to healthy volunteers who did not use THC.  Some members of the cohort experienced transient psychotic phenomena, while others did not.  These differences were associated with differences in cognitive impairment and functional MRI results. This supports the common-sensical observation that some individuals may be more vulnerable than others, to having adverse neuropsychiatric effects from THC use.  
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23020923


Many other studies looked at populations who used different amounts of marijuana over time, and compared them in terms of various symptoms and intellectual functions, etc. Unfortunately, I find this type of retrospective analysis to be weak, and highly prone to confounding variables. In order to understand marijuana's long-term effects for sure, we would need to do a long-term, prospective, randomized, controlled study.

     Physical Risks

Here are some studies looking at risk to the lungs associated with marijuana smoking:

These studies show an increased risk of lung cancer in marijuana smokers:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19057263
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18238947

These studies show a likely causal association between long-term marijuana smoking and obstructive lung disease:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18238947

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17666437

     Prospective Animal Studies

Animal studies could add a little bit more information into the picture, since these have been done in a prospective, controlled fashion. Here is what I've found from the animal research literature:

This study showed that chronic marijuana exposure impairs spatial memory & learning in rats:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19179850

This study showed that chronic marijuana exposure impairs social and cognitive functions in rats, but especially when the period of exposure is during the pubertal ("adolescent") phase of development:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18782382

Another study showing that marijuana exposure may be particularly harmful to the "adolescent" brain in rats:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15582916

This study from UBC suggests that high-dose cannabinoids increase emotionality and "sensitize the stress axis" in rats:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16442741



Evidence of Benefits or Therapeutic Uses

This study shows that a synthetic cannabinoid promotes neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and may have antidepressant and anxiolytic effects:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16224541

Here is a reference to a good 2008 review of the pharmacology and potential therapeutic applications of cannabinoids such as marijuana:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18482430


     Neurological Diseases


Here's a 2012 study showing relief in muscle stiffness in multiple sclerosis patients, due to cannabis administration:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22791906

Another 2012 study from CMAJ showing relief of spasticity and pain in MS patients, following cannabis administration:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22586334


This study shows immediate relief of the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease following cannabis treatment: 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24614667

     Bowel Disease

This study, from a major journal of gastroenterology, shows that cannabis dramatically improved symptoms  of Crohn's disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease), in a prospective, placebo-controlled trial.  
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23648372

Another prospective study, showing that cannabis improves quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22095142

     Pain Disorders


Here's a good 2013 study showing that cannabis compares favorably with other standard pharmacological treatments for neuropathic pain:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23237736

     Heart Disease

This 2005 study from the prestigious journal Nature suggests that cannabinoids could reduce the progression of atherosclerosis (the main cause of heart disease):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15815632
 
Conclusions

In conclusion, I think that marijuana use is dangerous, and harmful to your health in a variety of ways, due to acute intoxication, increased risk of psychosis, possible cognitive side-effects, and lung damage. It may be particularly harmful to adolescents. As a cultural pursuit, it may distract people from other life activities, or meaningful life roles, just as any habit or addictive behaviour can. But it may have beneficial effects for a variety of medical problems.

I have to admit, to be fair, that some people have psychological benefits from marijuana use -- certainly there are many testimonial accounts of this, but evidence beyond this is not clear on this point.  The few studies touting this application tend to be of short-duration, which leads to a similar criticism as that pertaining to mainstream pharmaceuticals:  short-term benefits for symptom relief do not always translate into long-term benefits, if the use continues for years.   More research is needed to gain a better understanding of the potential risks or benefits of cannabinoids, especially over longer-term use.

I have certainly seen people for whom cannabis appears to have a better benefit:risk profile than alternative treatments, for example to treat chronic pain symptoms and associated insomnia.    It may be preferable to use cannabis instead of a benzodiazepine, opiate, pregabalin, etc., particularly if these latter agents are causing a much higher load of side effects in a given person.

For some people, cannabis could be a relatively harmless entertainment, or even a catalyst for enjoying life more richly in various settings.  In this way, it could be analogous to having a glass of wine with meals, etc.

Another angle to the analysis is to consider relative risks of cannabis compared to other accepted intoxicants, such as alcohol.  With this type of risk analysis, one could often see greater risks with alcohol compared to cannabis, on a case-by-case basis, but we don't have good group data on this.  Suppose we had two adjacent similar countries, and prospectively allowed free access to alcohol in one country, and free access to cannabis in the other.  Then, suppose we were to assess health outcomes in these countries 20 years later.  I suspect we would have more examples of ruined families, criminal assaults or manslaughter, chronic diseases, and traffic fatalities, in the "alcohol" country compared to the "cannabis" country. 

The issue is complicated by the fact that those who are more apt to use cannabis are statistically also more apt to use alcohol and other street drugs.  It is possible that cannabis use could have "gateway" effects, leading people into a higher-probability zone of trying or using more dangerous drugs. But this is an open question. 

A proliferation of cannabis dispensaries have appeared in Vancouver in the past year.  While I do think that legalization is a positive step, in terms of the various pros and cons for public health,  I am not happy with the idea being touted by some, that cannabis is some kind of health food, or panacea.   There is an issue of cultural freedom as well, which I support, though I think that many in this "4-20" movement have an exaggerated view of the benefits of cannabis, with an underestimation of risks.


 

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

How long does it take for psychotherapy to work?

There are various research articles done in the past which describe rates of change in psychotherapy patients, some studies for example describing a plateau after about 25 sessions or so.  I find these studies very weak, because of the multitude of confounding factors:  severity and chronicity are obvious variables, also the type of follow-up assessments done.

In the CBT literature, a typical trial of therapy is perhaps 16-20 sessions.

In light of our evolving knowledge of neuroplasticity, and our breadth of understanding about education & learning, it seems to me that the most important variable of all is the amount of focused, deliberate practice time spent in a therapeutic activity.  Oddly, most psychotherapy studies--even CBT studies--do not look at how many hours of practice patients have done in-between therapy appointments.  This would be like looking at the progress of music students based on how many lessons they get, without taking into account how much they practice during the week. 

I have often compared psychological symptom change to the changes which occur, for example, with language learning or with learning a musical instrument.

So, I believe that a reasonable estimate of the amount of time required in psychotherapy depends on what one is trying to accomplish:

-Some types of therapeutic problems might be resolved with a few hours of work, or with a single feedback session with a therapist.  This would be akin to a musician with some kind of technical problem who needs just some clear instruction about a few techniques or exercises to practice.  Or it might be akin to a person who is already fluent in a foreign language, but needs a few tips from a local speaker about idioms, or perhaps some help with editing or grammar in a written text.

-Many more therapeutic problems could improve with perhaps 100 hours of work.  This would be like learning to swim or skate competently if you have never done these activities before.  Regular lessons ("therapy") would most likely speed up your rate of progress substantially.   But most of those 100 hours would be practice on your own, unless you're okay with the progress taking place over a year or more.   With the language analogy, think of how fluent you might become in a foreign language with 100 hours of focused, deliberate practice.  For most of us, this would lead to an ability to have a very simple conversational exchange, perhaps to get around in the most basic way in another country.  

-A much larger change is possible with 1000 hours of work:  with music, one could become quite fluent but probably not an expert.  With a foreign language, comfortable fluency would probably be possible, though probably still with an accent and a preference for the old language.
 
-With 5000-10000 hours of work (this is several hours per day over a decade or more) one could become an expert at a skill or a language in most cases.  

In psychotherapy, another confound though is whether the times in-between "practice sessions" lead to a regression of learning.  An educational analogy would be of practicing math exercises an hour per day with a good teacher, but then practicing another 8 hours a day with another teacher whose methods contradict the first.  Often times, learning will still take place with this paradigm, but it might be much less efficient.    Persistent mental habits, in the context of mental illnesses, can be akin to the "second teacher" in this metaphor, and unfortunately they do tend to plague people for many hours per day.

This reminds me of the evolving evidence about stroke rehabilitation & neuroplasticity:  substantial brain change can happen in as short a time as 16 days--but it requires very strict inhibition or constraint of the pathways which obstruct rehabilitation. (note: 16 days of continuous "immersion" = 16*24 = 384 hours!)  In stroke rehabilitation, the neuroplasticity effect is much more pronounced if the unaffected limb is restrained, compelling the brain to optimize improvement in function of the afflicted limb.  Here is a recent reference showing rapid brain changes following limb immobilization: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22249495

In conclusion, I believe that it is important to have a clear idea about how much time and deliberate, focused effort are needed to change psychological symptoms or problems through therapeutic activities.  A little bit of meaningful change could happen with just a few hours of work.  In most cases, 100 hours is needed simply to get started with a new skill.  1000 hours is needed to become fluent.  And 5000-10000 hours is needed to master something.  These times would be much longer still if the periods between practice sessions are regressive.  In the case of addictions, eating disorders, self-harm,  or OCD, for example, relapses or even fantasies about relapse will substantially prolong the time it takes for any therapeutic effort to help.  Of course, it is the nature of these problems to have relapses, or fantasies about relapse--so one should let go of the temptation to feel guilty if there are relapses.   But if one is struggling with an addictive problem of this sort, it may help to remind oneself that the brain can change very substantially if one can hold onto to quite a strict behavioural pattern for the hundreds or thousands of hours which are needed.

As a visual reminder of this process, start with an empty transparent bottle, which can hold 250-500 mLof liquid (1-2 cups), and which can be tightly sealed with a small cap.  Add one drop of water every time you invest one hour of focused, deliberate therapeutic work.   The amount of time you need to spend in therapy depends on your goal.  If the goal is total mastery--then you must fill the entire bottle.  If simple competence in a new skill is an adequate goal, then you must fill just the cap of the bottle.  If there are activities in your day which contradict the therapeutic work, it would be like a little bit of water leaking out of your bottle.  So you must also attend to repairing any "leaks."  But every hour of your effort counts towards your growth.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Health effects of binge drinking

In Canada, a "drink" or a "standard drink", as a unit of alcohol consumption, refers to a drink containing 13.6 grams of ethanol.  This amount is present in a 12-ounce (355 mL) beer, or a 5-ounce (146 mL) glass of wine, or a 1.5 ounce (44 mL) shot of hard liquor such as whiskey or vodka.  Reference: *

Binge drinking is defined as having 5 or more drinks on one occasion for men; or 4 or more drinks on one occasion for women.  This pattern of consuming alcohol is a common cultural habit, with historic roots going back thousands of years.

There are various sources of epidemiologic evidence that light drinking may have health benefits.  My review of the evidence suggests that the cut-off point for this would be no more than 2 drinks per 24 hours, with any episodes of greater alcohol consumption conferring a substantial health risk (both physical and psychiatric).

When it comes to binge drinking, I believe the health risks are very high.  The immediate risks have to do with accidents & injuries, which are much more likely during a binge drinking episode.  This risk also affects other people, such as passengers in a car or other drivers on the road.

In my opinion, the psychiatric risks of binge drinking can be divided into several categories:

1) Simple addiction.  If heavy intoxication is associated with pleasure or relief, this may easily become an addictive process, such that relief or pleasure may only come with intoxication.  As a result, other activities not involving intoxication become more subjectively boring and more prone to induce dysphoria rather than pleasure.   I call this the "greying of the sky" phenomenon.  The sky becomes less and less blue--figuratively speaking-- the more one repeats an addictive behaviour.  It is so gradual as to often be unnoticable, until years later one may have the realization that the simple pleasure of gazing at the blue sky is no longer available. 

2) Subcultural effect.  In conjunction with simple addiction, binge drinking is likely to affect one's social network, such that one's friends will more likely also be binge drinkers.  This makes it more difficult to leave the behaviour behind, since it would involve leaving one's social network.  Also the subcultural effect tends to cause a subjective normalization of the behaviour, such that people could actually feel abnormal if they cut back or stopped binge drinking.  Heavy drinking and its associated behaviour are a regular source of humour in our culture, which unfortunately may be another normalizing influence for those who are addicted. 

3) Direct pharmacological effects during intoxication and withdrawal.  Aside from the obvious effects during intoxication, I observe that binge drinking often leads to "mini-withdrawals" afterwards.  While many people may normalize their once-weekly alcohol binge, they may not realize that the withdrawal effects during the rest of the week cause impaired sleep quality and heightened anxiety.  Many young people are very resilient, so this may not be a problem, but if there is already a progressing problem with anxiety, depression, or other causes for insomnia, then binge drinking will make these problems much more difficult to treat.   I believe that the presence of binge-drinking behaviour makes antidepressant treatment much less likely to be successful.

My recommendation is never to binge drink.  More than 2 drinks per 24 hours is harmful, causing adverse short-term and long-term health effects in all cases.  If binge drinking is a significant part of recreational culture for any individual, then therapeutic work needs to be done not only to cut back on alcohol consumption, but to build a healthier cultural life, and probably a healthier social network.   

Here is a review of some of the research literature on the subject:


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21345624
binge drinkers have double the rates of depression; reductions of drinking subsequently associated with reduced depressive symptoms.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20858964
This is a very strong 2010 prospective twin study, showing that binge drinkers have double the risk of cognitive impairment (dementia); light drinkers have the lowest risk; abstainers in the middle.   High alcohol intake is clearly a strong risk factor for dementia; binge drinking is a risk factor independent of total alcohol intake. That is, even if you don't drink a large volume of alcohol in a month, if you ever binge drink you will still be in a high risk group. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19556525
prospective study showing increased strokes and overall mortality in binge drinkers

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19438420
Current binge drinking associated with increased depression 5 years later. This was strong data with a good effort to control for confounding factors. Heavy intoxications at least once a month, especially with associated phenomena (e.g. blackouts, hangovers), were associated with double to fourfold increases in hospitalizations due to depression. 


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19144978
binge drinking a stronger predictor of social harms (e.g. violence, loss of relationships) than total alcohol volume


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21294995
2011, large epidemiologic study.  16% of men over 50 met criteria for binge drinking, 6% of women over 50.   Binge drinking behaviour strongly correlated with alcohol dependence (alcoholism). 


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20930706?dopt=Abstract
another major prevalence study

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001a22.htm
a concise review from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Prevalence of binge drinking at least 20% for men, 10% for women; rates were higher still for young adults. 


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19538908
this study shows even higher binge drinking prevalences for college students; 40% of this population engaging in binge drinking in a one month period.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20407040
This is a very nice 2010 review article and discussion from JAMA , about the health impacts of alcohol consumption, particularly the question of whether light drinking might protect against cardiovascular disease.  In the particular case discussion, it is concluded that light drinking could have a small but insignificant positive health impact, and it would be more a lifestyle choice than one rationally motivated by health variables.  For other individuals, any drinking at all could confer substantial health risks (e.g. those with severe addictive disorders, high sensitivity to negative side-effects of alcohol, various medical diseases).  Reasonable warnings are included, such as never to drink while pregnant, before driving, etc.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Working memory exercises for treating addictions?

Here's a link to an interesting article from Biological Psychiatry this month:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20965498

It is based on the notion that the decision to engage in an addiction is often made based on a short-term, possibly impulsive, analysis of benefits and risks; consequently, longer-term risks or benefits associated with the behaviour are undervalued.  This phenomenon is termed "delay discounting."   Resistance to delay discounting could be considered a cognitive faculty that would help, on an intellectual level, with making a healthy decision in the face of strong impulses in the moment.

The authors note a relationship between addictive disorders and increased delay discounting.  They also note a previously described relationship between delay discounting and reduced working memory function. 

Based on these relationships, they did a controlled study of persons with stimulant addiction, in which the active group did a set of memory training exercises for 1-2 months. They found that the memory exercises led to improved (reduced) delay discounting.


This study does not show that memory exercises directly improve the course of addictive disorders; but it does present a promising therapeutic idea which I think is currently underutilized in the therapeutic community, not only for addictions but for other types of problems.

Cognitive exercises could have a variety of benefits for various psychological problems:
1) the improvement one would see with practice could help with self-esteem
2) arguably, the exercises would favourably alter the balance between executive function and visceral, limbic emotional drives (which could often be turbulent or disruptive)
3) the exercises could be an introduction to the various mental and physical disciplines required to effect psychological or behavioural change

In terms of the specific exercises used in this study, I do think that the number of practice sessions was far too small.  I believe that most psychologically beneficial activities start to show substantial results after 50-100 hours of practice.  This study  used only a maximum of 15 training sessions.  The memory practice itself could have been organized in a more engaging, game-like manner.  I think of some quite unique working memory games from the lumosity.com website, which tap into a type of activity most people would rarely work on directly, but yet are quite entertaining and allow gradual progress.

In summary, this was an interesting article looking at the promising theme of using cognitive training exercises as part of the  treatment of  a psychological problem.  This is a relatively new idea, showing up only a few other times so far in the research literature.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Internet, Video Games, and TV: Addictions or Cognitive Enhancers?

I'll introduce this post with my opinion on this issue:

Almost any human activity can be addictive, in a harmful way. That is, the activity could provide a mental reward which leads to the following pattern:
- the activity happens more frequently
- tolerance develops
- increased absorption with the activity develops, in order to achieve the same or greater reward
- other activities feel more boring or unrewarding
- other activities & relationships are neglected
- physical harm may result from sleep deprivation, sedentary behaviour, repetitive strain, reduced self-care, etc.
- social harm may result from relationship neglect or isolation, but also from associating with a cohort of fellow "addicts" who do the same behaviours
- the "mental reward" could probably correlate with functional brain imaging demonstrating increased activity of central dopaminergic reward circuits

Many "good" activities could lead to an addictive pattern. Here's a list of possible activities that can potentially become addictive in this sense:
1) work
2) earning money
3) studying
4) hobbies
5) house chores
6) talking or texting on phones or other electronic devices
7) being in the company of people, or of a particular person
8) sports (playing or watching)
9) reading
10) pursuing excellence


Sometimes, behaviours or thoughts associated with depression or low self-esteem can be "addictive", in that some people may feel a type of masochistic reward from them.

Individuals may not recognize the unhealthy or addictive components of their behaviours. For a person wanting to earn more money, or pursue more excellence, it may seem absurd, and contrary to that person's values, to consider backing away from these pursuits.

For the person "pursuing excellence," it may be true that pouring more time and energy into training might increase achievement in a short-term sense. But this is the addictive trap. In order to pursue excellence in the most effective way, a balanced lifestyle is necessary. In order to achieve that balanced lifestyle, that person may paradoxically need to back away from their immediate pursuit.

I think that all types of modern technology have the potential to be addictive.

Technology and technological culture are changing at an unprecedented pace. And the technologies have ever more powerful and subtle ways to capture our interest, attention, and to stimulate neural reward.

All technological inventions have become addictive for some people. Yet most of these inventions have also contributed to an evolution of modern culture, which has been positive in many ways.

The internet, TV, and video games can all be stimulating, educational activities, which could enhance brain function, intelligence, and could lead to improved social relationships. They could be devices which improve relatedness rather than foster alienation.

Some of these technologies may permit an individual with problems such as a social skills difficulty to explore social connectedness in a different way. In this way, the internet can be an expansion of human connectedness and community. It is a technology which continues the trend of increased potential connectedness through human history. Thousands of years ago, it would have been hard to meet anyone who lived any farther away than the next village. While many individuals would have thrived socially in isolated village culture, some individuals would have been alienated.

Yet technological devices can be easily addictive. And the huge availability of choice in modern technology may permit an individual to find a particular thing that absorbs attention, and disappear into that activity while general physical, social, and mental health deteriorates. There is also a lot of choice available that has violent content, or which creates only an illusion of connection, while none really exists. Facebook or other social connection applications can become preoccupations for many people. While such sites could facilitate social connection, they could also be such a preoccupation that actual social relationships are neglected. The "network" itself could become a meaningless connection of distant acquaintances, yet the preoccupied individual may believe that expanding the network further is a valid solution to this problem. This is not unlike various neurotic social behaviours that exist outside of modern technology: people have always had collections of social behaviours which they believed to be useful, but in fact caused increased social distance & loneliness (e.g. vain behaviours, talking a lot without listening, etc.).

The thing that I believe distinguishes addictions to modern technology from other types of addiction is that many individuals are unquestioningly adopting the technologies as major parts of their daily lives, without being aware of the addictive potential, and without maintaining balance in other parts of life. While everything in life can be addictive, we have a greater understanding of non-technological addiction, since these phenomena have developed more slowly over past decades or centuries. New technology is changing personal culture so rapidly that we may have little chance to understand the risks before the addictiveness is quite entrenched in many people.

So, in conclusion, I do not believe that modern technology, including internet, TV, or video games, are necessarily "bad." They may in fact be wonderful, life-enhancing joys which improve happiness, culture, relationships, and connectedness. Yet they have a high risk to be addictive. I do not believe most people understand the degree of risk involved. I encourage people, in the meantime, to choose wisely when using technology, or when doing supposedly "good" activities such as those listed above, perhaps using the following questions:

1) am I doing this just out of a habit, because of boredom, or as part of procrastinating?
2) is this activity enhancing my life, or is it just gobbling up some of my time and attention?
3) is this activity improving my community, or is it distracting energy away from healthy community?
4) is this activity causing me physical harm, due to lack of exercise, or physical overuse?
5) is this activity consistent with my core values?
6) if it is consistent, is it really helping realize those core values?
7) is the activity itself causing my core values to change in an unwelcome way?
8) is the activity distracting energy or time away from other activities (such as learning, developing a talent, practicing a creative art, developing social relationships) which are important to personal culture?
9) do I have boundaries around this activity, in terms of time & energy, that protect my health?

References & Further Reading:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19818048
{this is a 2009 study by Kira Bailey et al., giving a good review of data concerning video gaming & cognitive variables; they discuss their own study, which leads to the following conclusion:
"these data may indicate that the video game experience is associated with a decrease in the efficiency of proactive cognitive control that supports one’s ability to maintain goal-directed action when the environment is not intrinsically engaging." In other words, video gaming may lead to an ADHD-like phenomenon}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18506602
{a useful review of the subject of technological advancements, in this case specifically regarding gambling technology, looking at whether these advancements constitute increased addictive risk, and if technology to reduce addictive risk is effective. The promise is that the technology itself could evolve--if it is the will of individuals and manufacturers to permit this evolution--to become safer, healthier, and less prone to foster addictive behaviour}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19805713
{this 2-year prospective study of adolescents shows that ADHD, depression, social phobia & hostility symptoms are risk factors for developing internet addiction}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19701792
{one of many associational studies correlating negative mood & internet/gaming addiction; unfortunately, associational studies are very weak, and do not really answer the question for us of how internet/gaming affects people, since we do not see the directions or strengths of causation}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19490510

{a study showing a strong association between addictive internet use and excessive daytime sleepiness}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16634979
{a study associating TV & computer use with sedentary behavior in 5-year-olds}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19428410
{one of the studies showing enhanced visual attentional skills in video gamers. But I find this a severely limited study which should not be over-interpreted--basically it shows that if you play video games, you become more skilled at a visual attention test that resembles the video games you've been playing. It says nothing about general intelligence, social skills, verbal aptitude, etc. which may well have atrophied in the video gamers}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18929349

{a more extensive analysis of cognitive skills in relation to video game playing. But, astonishingly, no cognitive tests were given to assess verbal skills, social skills, etc.; rather the tests were all related to things that seemed to me quite similar to video game tasks--so it is no surprise that the video gamers performed modestly better on some of these! No surprise that playing 1000 hours of Tetris probably will help you mentally rotate 3-d shapes more easily! But at what cost to other social, emotional, and intellectual skills? We need to have prospective studies that do very broad cognitive and psychological evaluations following prolonged exposure to different types of video games. The evaluations must include assessments of emotional state, verbal & non-verbal attention, memory, and reasoning; and they should include assessments of "social intelligence" such as establishing appropriate social communication, empathy, recognition of emotions, etc.}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19016226

{a 30-month longitudinal study showing increased aggression and hostile attribution bias in those exposed to violent video games}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19127289

{here's a description of an interesting psychotherapeutic application for a video game: in this study, those who played Tetris after watching a disturbing film had fewer flashback symptoms afterwards; it may encourage a tactic of treating those who have recently experienced a traumatic event with cognitive distraction, in order to reduce involuntary intrusive emotional memory of the trauma, and therefore to reduce the chance of developing PTSD. The deliberate, voluntary memory of the traumatic scene was unaffected.}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16972829
{an example of using video games to reduce pre-operative anxiety in young children. This sounds like a great idea, which could improve comfort while minimizing medication use in this type of situation.}

http://www.liebertpub.com/products/product.aspx?pid=10
{this is a link to a fairly new journal called "CyberPsychology & Behavior", which looks interesting and pertinent}

Friday, September 11, 2009

Making it through a difficult day or night

It can be hard to make it through the next hour, if you are feeling desperately unhappy, agitated, empty, worthless, or isolated, especially if you also feel disconnected from love, meaning, community, "belongingness," or relationships with others.

Such desperate places of mind can yet be familiar places, and a certain set of coping tactics may evolve. Sometimes social isolation or sleep can help the time pass; other times there can be addictive or compulsive behaviours of different sorts. These tactics may either be distractions from pain or distress, or may serve to anesthetize the symptoms in some way, to help the time pass.

Time can become an oppressive force to be battled continuously, one minute after the next.

I'd like to work on a set of ideas to help with situations like this. I realize a lot of these ideas may be things that are already very familiar, or that may seem trite or irrelevant. Maybe things that are much easier said than done. But I'd like to just sort of brainstorm here for a moment:

1) One of the most important things, I think, is to be able to hold onto something positive or good (large or small), in your mind, to focus on it, to rehearse it, to nurture its mental image, even if that good thing is not immediately present. The "good thing" could be anything -- a friend or loved one, a song, a place, a memory, a sensation, a dream, a goal, an idea. In the darkest of moments we are swept into the immediacy of suffering, and may lose touch with the internalized anchors which might help us to hold on, or to help us direct our behaviour safely through the next 24 hours.

In order to practice "holding on" I guess one would have to get over the skepticism many would have that such a tactic could actually help.

In order to address that, I would say that "covert imagery" is a well-established technique, with an evidence base in such areas as the treatment of phobias, learning new physical activities, practicing skills, even athletic training (imagining doing reps will actually strengthen muscles). The pianist Glenn Gould used covert imagery to practice the piano, and preferred to do much of his practice and rehearsal away from any keyboard; he preferred to learn new pieces entirely away from the piano. There is nothing mystical about the technique -- it is just a different way of exercising your brain, and therefore your body (which is an extension of your brain).

In order for covert imagery to work, it really does help to believe in it though (skepticism is highly demotivating).

Relationships can be "covertly imagined" as well -- and I think this is a great insight from the psychoanalysts. An internalized positive relationship can stay with us, consciously or unconsciously, even when we are physically alone. If you have not had many positive relationships, or your relationships have not been trustworthy, safe, or stable, then you may not have a positive internalized relationship to comfort you when you are in distress. You may feel comforted in the moment, if the situation is right, but when alone, you may be right back to a state of loneliness or torment.

The more trust and closeness that develops in your relationship life, the easier it will be to self-soothe, as you "internalize" these relationships.

Here are some ways to develop these ideas in practical ways:

-journaling, not just about distress, but about any healthy relationship or force in your life which helps soothe you and comfort you

-using healthy "transitional objects" which symbolize things which are soothing or comforting, without those things literally being present. These objects may serve to cue your memory, and help interrupt a cycle of depressive thinking or action.

-if there is a healthy, positive, or soothing relationship with someone in your life, imagine what that person might say to comfort or guide you in the present moment; and "save up" or "put aside" some of your immediate distress to discuss with that person when you next meet.

2) Healthy distraction.
e.g. music (listening or performing); reading (silently or aloud, or being read to); exercise (in healthy moderation); hobbies (e.g. crafts, knitting, art); baking
-consider starting a new hobby (e.g. photography)

3) Planning healthy structured activities
e.g. with community centres, organized hikes, volunteering, deliberately and consciously phoning friends

4) Creating healthy comforts
e.g. hot baths, aromatherapy, getting a massage, preparing or going out for a nice meal

5) Recognizing and blocking addictive behaviours
-there may be a lot of ambivalence about this, as the addictive behaviours may have a powerful or important role in your life; but freeing oneself from an addiction, or from recurrent harmful behaviour patterns, can be one of the most satisfying and liberating of therapeutic life changes.
An addictive process often "convinces" one that its presence is necessary and helpful, and that its absence would cause even worse distress.

6) Humour
-can anyone or anything make you laugh?
-can you make someone laugh?

7) Meditation
-takes a lot of practice, but can be a powerful tool for dealing safely with extreme pain
-could start with a few Kabat-Zinn books & tapes, or consider taking a class or seminar (might need to be patient to find a variety of meditation which suits you)

8) Being with animals (dogs, cats, horses, etc.). If you don't or can't have a pet, then volunteering with animals (e.g. at the SPCA) could be an option.

9) Caring for other living things (e.g. pets, plants, gardens)

10) Arranging for someone else to take care of you for a while (e.g. by friends, family, or in hospital if necessary)

11) Visiting psychiatry blogs
-(in moderation)


...I'm just writing this on the spur of the moment, I'll have to do some editing later, feel free to comment...

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Prazosin and other treatments for PTSD-related nightmares

Nightmares are a common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Various psychotherapeutic approaches can help people to deal with nightmares, both to be more psychologically prepared for them, and to be able to let them pass with a smaller amount of distress. Techniques include simply keeping a written record of the nightmares, with or without doing some cognitive therapy exercises based on this record; practicing relaxation techniques; exposure therapy during the daytime (by evoking the imagery of the nightmares, possibly "rescripting" the sequence of events); or by planning for a "rescripting" of the nightmare during the nightmare itself. Here is a reference to a review article about psychotherapy for nightmares: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18853707

Sedative drugs can change dreaming activity, but often times these medications are problematic: tolerance or oversedation may develop, or sometimes the nightmares continue despite other types of sleep improvement.

Prazosin is a cardiovascular drug which blocks alpha-receptors, and is commonly used to treat high blood pressure. Alpha receptors are stimulated by adrenaline, which causes constriction of blood vessels, therefore increased blood pressure. In the brain, increased stimulation of alpha-receptors may be one of the mechanisms driving PTSD-related sleep disturbances such as nightmares. Prazosin has been shown to help reduce PTSD-related nightmares. Here are a few references:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18447662 {a good review article}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17069768 {a 2007 randomized, controlled, crossover study published in Biological Psychiatry, showing pronounced reduction in PTSD-related nightmares with 10-15 mg bedtime doses of prazosin}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12562588 {a 2003 randomized study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry showing substantial benefit in PTSD-related sleep symptoms with prazosin at an average of 10 mg/d}

There is the suggestion in these studies that prazosin, if dosed in the daytime as well, could help treat other PTSD symptoms.

Prazosin has been used for over 35 years in the treatment of hypertension. Interestingly, it is also one of the treatments of choice in the medical management of severe scorpion stings. It may also be a promising option in the treatment of alcoholism (reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18945226).

Prazosin is well-tolerated by the majority of people taking it. It appears to have minimal psychiatric side-effects. Sedation does not seem to be common. If the dose is too high, too soon, it can cause excessive postural blood pressure drops, with dizziness and a risk of fainting (syncope). It may cause nasal congestion or headache. Priapism (a medically dangerous sexual side-effect) is possible but very rare.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

MDMA (ecstasy): risks and benefits

"Ecstasy" is a common recreational drug. Chemically, it is known as MDMA, or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine. It is a type of chemically modified amphetamine compound which causes a release of serotonin and other transmitters from brain cells. It probably has a variety of other pharmacological effects.

MDMA has been shown in many studies to be neurotoxic, particularly causing harm to the cells in the brain which produce serotonin. There is evidence that MDMA can cause permanent harm or cell death. These studies have been done using rodents, monkeys, and using laboratory cell cultures. The neurotoxicity seems to be associated with, or magnified by, the increase in body temperature caused by ecstasy ingestion. Here are a few of the many references about this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1379014
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18991870
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16884865
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12464456

But here is a paper describing long-term MDMA exposure in monkeys, which did not lead to chemical evidence of neurotoxicity:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15039771

An important body of research is the Netherlands XTC Toxicity (NeXT) study. This 2008 paper from the NeXT study describes a prospective follow-up of new low-dose ecstasy users, and found evidence through functional brain imaging of neurotoxicity in the ecstasy-using group:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18842607

Here is another similar 2007 paper published in Archives of General Psychiatry describing a slight reduction in verbal memory performance in individuals who had used even just a few doses of ecstasy, compared to individuals who had not used any:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17548754

However, this paper gave rise to a good debate in subsequent issues of this journal. Basically, neither group in the study declined in memory performance, it's just that the non-ecstasy group improved more than the ecstasy group on re-testing. The ecstasy group included some people who had used much more than others. Also, the ecstasy-using group may have been more anxious about negative memory effects, since they had been warned about this possibility in advance. Such anxiety can impare test performance. The ecstasy-using group may have taken drugs tainted with impurities. A very important point I would add is that most people who use ecstasy recreationally do so in a chaotic, loud environment such as a rave--the drug may act as an emotional or interpersonal "amplifier", which in the case of a rave, could give rise to an amplification of social chaos. Also such an environment might lead to a higher degree of hyperthermia, which is associated with worse neurotoxicity. Use of ecstasy in a controlled, gentle, intimate environment might be much safer.


Here's a reference to a 2009 British Journal of Psychiatry study showing no difference in serotonin transporter binding between groups of former MDMA users, other drug users, and controls with no history of street drug use:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19336788?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum


This is a randomized, double-blind study looking at physical and emotional effects of acute MDMA ingestion, at low (1 mg/kg) and high (1.6 mg/kg) doses. It did not demonstrate hyperthermia as an effect of the drug, rather it implies that hyperthermia is caused by the environmental situation in conjunction with the drug (e.g. vigorous activity dancing indoors in a crowd).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18626271

There may be therapeutic applications for MDMA. The subjective effects of the drug can be to dramatically increase a feeling of openness, empathy or connectedness with other people, both on an emotional level and also sensually or physically.

Here are some references about this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19273493
{this is a brief 2009 review of the subject of possible psychotherapeutic uses of MDMA, such as in anxiety disorders and PTSD}

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19004414
{this 2008 study from Madrid showed that 50-75 mg doses of MDMA used in conjunction with psychotherapy for PTSD appeared to be physiologically and emotionally safe for 6 subjects. The study apparently had to be ended due to political pressures, before more subjects could be treated. Clearly, this is a controversial issue}

A psychiatrist by the name of Michael Mithoefer is trying to do research about using MDMA for treating PTSD. Here are some related sites:
http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2007/11/mdma_for_ptsd.php
http://www.maps.org/mdma/protocol/
http://www.maps.org/mdma/

I think it is important to be open-minded about things outside the mainstream, and to recognize that mainstream research may sometimes dismiss ideas considered too controversial. Yet I recognize that the above sites have a biased agenda of their own which may undervalue important risk analyses published in the mainstream literature.

Answering questions relating to controversial issues, such as the potential use of MDMA as a therapeutic agent, requires a very neutral, unbiased research environment.

Aside from therapeutic possibilities in PTSD, it seems to me that MDMA might be worth investigating as an adjunct for couples' therapy, particularly for couples who feel inhibited or disconnected with each other. MDMA can foster a sense of connectedness, sensuality, and empathy. These three domains are often major weaknesses in troubled relationships. Apparently MDMA has been used in relationship therapy in the past, but the results have been poorly documented.

I have seen patients for whom MDMA use appears to have been part of a destructive long-term drug abuse pattern, which has most likely exacerbated mood, anxiety, and interpersonal problems. I have also seen a few patients for whom isolated experiences with MDMA have led to strong, memorable experiences of openness and intimacy with friends or partners.

In conclusion, I emphasize that MDMA is clearly a dangerous drug. It is most definitely neurotoxic. The risk of neurotoxicity is most likely higher with frequent, regular, or long-term use. Most "ecstasy" obtained on the street is tainted with numerous impurities--both deliberately, to reduce production costs, and as by-products of crude synthetic techniques; the impurities are likely to add to potential toxicity. I think that the setting in which MDMA is used most frequently (e.g. as a "dance drug") is likely to magnify its toxicity, in that hyperthermia is more likely, and any intimate emotional benefit is less likely. Many MDMA users are taking this drug frequently, over a period of years--I think this pattern has a very high risk of causing permanent neuropsychiatric harm.

We do not know yet if MDMA could have a positive therapeutic role for some people, but if it did, it would most likely have to be used only a very small number of times, in a carefully controlled, socially supported, comfortable, quiet, cool setting, by individuals who are already in a state of relative emotional calm. I suspect that a history of psychotic or bipolar illness, or a history of other street drug use or dependence, would greatly magnify the psychiatric risks of MDMA use. In the meantime, the existing research shows that any possible benefits would have to be weighed against very substantial risks. It remains an illegal drug in most jurisdictions.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

How to Quit Smoking

It is difficult to quit smoking.

Here is my summary of the evidence about things that help:

The single most effective treatment to help smokers quit is a new drug called varenicline. This drug works by mildly stimulating a nicotine receptor, while blocking nicotine itself from interacting with the receptor: in this way it is a "nicotine receptor partial agonist." Varenicline is quite well-tolerated, the most common side-effects being nausea and insomnia. Usually these settle with time, and are less a problem if the dose is started low, and built up gradually. There have been reports of adverse psychiatric side effects (e.g. agitation, worsened insomnia, worsened depression) so it would have to be used cautiously in those with mental illnesses. I have reviewed a few studies below which affirm its usefulness among patients with psychiatric problems.

Evidence shows that there is only about a 10% chance of being able to quit smoking on your own (by quitting, we mean staying abstinent for at least a year).


A 3-month course of bupropion (an antidepressant) approximately doubles your chance of being able to quit. However, this raises your chance only to about 20%.

Tricyclic antidepressants such as nortriptyline can increase abstinence rates, probably comparable to bupropion.

Nicotine replacement (e.g. gum or patch) is less effective than bupropion. But it does increase your chances of quitting to about 15%.

Varenicline is most effective of all; a 3-month course increases your chance of quitting to about 25%.

Probably, combinations of the above pharmacological treatments increase your chances further.

Also I should note that many of the studies looking at pharmacological treatments for smoking addiction only used the active treatment for three months. It seems to me that longer courses of treatment would be more likely to help people maintain sustained abstinence; addictions and other long-standing phenomena in the brain persist, or change, over a course of years, not just months.

Psychotherapeutic strategies (e.g. CBT and other behavioural therapies) may help, but the evidence is weaker. The evidence that is available suggests that if psychotherapeutic or motivational strategies are to be effective, they need to be maintained over the long-term (perhaps permanently). In this regard, it reminds me of a "12-step" philosophy, which emphasizes the permanence of an addictive problem, and emphasizes that lifelong vigilance is needed to prevent relapse.

The following study published in CMAJ showed 54% 1-year abstinence in a group of smokers who had suffered an heart attack (MI), and who were given an "intensive anti-smoking intervention" (advice, an hour of counseling, and 7 telephone follow-up sessions over 60 days). The counseling employed "Marlatt and Gordon's relapse prevention model." A similar group of smokers not receiving this intervention had a 35% 1-year abstinence rate. Interestingly, medications were permitted in this study, and were associated with markedly worse abstinence rates. But the medications were administered more or less ad lib, so the effect of medications would be very confounded and unclear (for example, perhaps only the patients struggling most would have opted for medications--the reason they didn't do as well is because they were more severely addicted in the first place, not because of the medications. Also, with a haphazard administration of medications, patients might not realize the need to continue medications longer-term to maintain a therapeutic effect).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19546455
In my opinion, the level of "intervention" here actually seems quite minimal, yet it seems impressive that an organized effort of any kind to help prevent smoking through counseling methods would produce good results.

This is the best review article about medication treatments to date, in my opinion; it is from The Canadian Medical Association Journal (July 2008):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18625984?ordinalpos=87&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
A current study by Michael Steinberg et al. in Annals of Internal Medicine (2009;150:447-454) shows that combination therapy with bupropion + nicotine patch + nicotine inhaler, increased abstinence rates at 26 weeks to 35% in a group of medically ill smokers, compared to 19% in a group receiving only a nicotine patch. Those in the combination group were encouraged to use the treatments as long as they felt necessary, then to taper and discontinue as they felt able. This instruction, in my opinion, would have discouraged the participants from considering that bupropion could work to prevent relapse in the long-term, therefore they would probably have chosen to discontinue the bupropion as soon as they felt free of their smoking habit for a short time. As I look at the study in detail, I see that most of the combination group indeed did not maintain the bupropion beyond the 3 month mark. I suspect that if people were strongly encouraged to continue the treatments longer, on a preventative basis, then the abstinence rates could have been much higher than 35%.

Here is a 2005 meta-analysis showing that the tricyclic antidepressant nortriptyline can be effective. Once again, the effects were significant but modest. Most of the studies used only a standard 3-month course of treatment, followed by a taper and discontinuing the nortriptyline. In the one study allowing a full year of nortriptyline treatment, the abstinence rate was much higher (40%):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15733245?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=4&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed

Similarly, in a study maintaining varenicline for 52 weeks, the abstinence rate was 36.7%, compared to 7.9% with placebo. However, while the existing evidence about the safety of using varenicline on a long-term basis is generally reassuring, more long-term experience is necessary with this drug to know for sure. I think the potential risks would have to be weighed against the risks of continuing to smoke. Here is a link to the study:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17407636?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed

Similarly again, in the one long-term study of bupropion (a full year of medication), there were considerably higher abstinence rates:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11560455?ordinalpos=18&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

The following small study showed that varenicline helped reduce smoking in patients with schizophrenia, and appeared to have some beneficial cognitive effects in this group.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19251401?ordinalpos=6&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

The following small study showed possible increased abstinence rates when varenicline and bupropion therapy was combined:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19246427?ordinalpos=8&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Another study supporting the idea that combination therapy (e.g. varenicline + nicotine replacement) is more effective than one treatment alone, for helping smokers quit:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18826906?ordinalpos=56&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

The following study shows that varenicline is similarly tolerated and effective in patients with depression, compared with patients without a history of depression. Stress and mood scores improved slightly with time:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19238488?ordinalpos=12&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

This 2009 study from Biological Psychiatry suggests that varenicline could also reduce alcohol consumption in heavy-drinking smokers:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19249750?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

This is a 2009 Cochrane review of smoking relapse prevention interventions; it supports extended treatment with varenicline to prevent relapse, and concludes that there is insufficient evidence at this point to comment one way or another on specific behaviour therapies:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19160228?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed

This study looked at 20 weeks of adjunctive CBT, and found no significant difference in abstinence rates after a year. But it did find an advantage in the CBT group in the shorter term, during the course of CBT (45% abstinence in the CBT group vs. 29% in the control group, at the 20 week mark). This suggests that long-term, ongoing, continuous CBT may be helpful to boost abstinence rates, but the therapy loses its effectiveness if it is not maintained:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18855829?ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

All of these studies support the idea that smoking addiction is a long-term problem. Short-term strategies (typically over a few months) definitely help, but long-term, continuing effort or treatment is needed to maintain abstinence for most people. These strategies could include medications such as varenicline, bupropion, or nortriptyline; and they could include psychotherapeutic approaches such as CBT.

Individuals with psychiatric illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and especially schizophrenia, have much higher rates of smoking. Here is a reference:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15949648?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=2&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed

There is evidence that nicotine can acutely improve elements of cognitive performance and to reduce impulsivity, particularly in those with illnesses such as schizophrenia and ADHD. This may be one of the reasons why individuals with these problems are more drawn to cigarette smoking. Here is some evidence:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17443126?ordinalpos=6&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18022679


Also there is evidence that nicotine can improve performance in attention tests in elderly people with dementia:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10326778?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=3&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed

Yet, of course, nicotine has numerous harmful effects. And it is likely that nicotine could cause long-term harm to cognitive function, through several mechanisms, even if it causes short-term enhancement. A medication such as varenicline, due to its agonist effect on nicotine receptors, may be especially helpful to address some of the cognitive or attentional problems in persons with mental illnesses.

In terms of health care policy, I am puzzled about why effective therapies to improve smoking cessation are not publicly funded. Smoking is one of the largest public health problems in the world, and causes an enormous burden of premature disease and death, as well as an enormous financial drain on the health care system. I believe that all proven therapies for smoking cessation should be freely available.

Unfortunately, varenicline -- and other anti-smoking therapies -- are expensive, and they are often not covered by health plans.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Types of Alcoholism

The term "alcoholic" has been used frequently in contemporary culture. Often the label itself may carry a certain "shock value", which, I suppose, could lead to a recently-labelled "alcoholic" contemplating more seriously a reduction in alcohol use. I always worry about labels, though, because I don't like the idea of being or sounding judgmental or critical (there is enough judgment and criticism in the world today, and in psychiatric illness a lot of extra judgment and criticism comes from one's own mind). Yet I do believe in the value of attempting to fearlessly speak the truth about things, even if they are truths that we don't necessarily want to hear.

Each person who has a drinking problem may have unique factors that have contributed.

Some researchers have categorized "alcoholism" into two types. Type I alcoholics may use alcohol as an attempt to treat anxiety, and are less likely to associate alcohol with thrill-seeking or fighting. Type II alcoholics may use alcohol spontaneously for thrill-seeking, and are more likely to have had alcohol-related problems with fighting, etc.

In my opinion, there is some support for subtyping alcoholism this way, but of course I think there is a much wider range of contributing or causative factors. I can think of some people who started out with a "type II" pattern as a teenager, but ended up in a "type I" pattern later on. Others may have a sort of mixture of "type I" and "type II" characteristics. For both subtypes there is probably a robust hereditary predisposition, some of the predisposing factors being direct (i.e. a predisposition to use alcohol excessively when available or a predisposition to react to alcohol in a certain way), and some of the predisposing factors being indirect (i.e. anxiety for type I, high thrill-seeking for type II).

Type I is more common, and is probably easier to treat, I think because there are underlying issues and needs that can be met in other healthier ways (e.g. treating anxiety, building healthier relationships, engaging in psychotherapy). Type II can be more challenging to treat, particularly because those with this type may be less likely to want treatment or change.

Here's another useful link with info about alcohol and addictions, from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health:
http://www.camh.net

Friday, August 15, 2008

Real vs. Perceived Alcohol & Drug Use in University Students

I always ask patients about drug and alcohol use.

Often times, someone will tell me that they drink alcohol or smoke marijuana "socially" or "on weekends" or "average". I always follow this up with more questions about how much this really amounts to.

Often times, this amounts to a pattern of either daily use, or quite frequently of having binges at least once a month, sometimes once or more per week.

It is quite clear from a medical point of view that binge drinking is psychologically harmful: not only does it place someone in a position of higher risk for physical accidents (I do not have to search my memory far to think of tragic alcohol-related deaths or severe head injuries among young students in the prime of their life), the pharmacological effect of this type of usage will exacerbate all mood and anxiety problems. It will interfere with normal sleep for long periods of time after the binge is over, and if there is a mood-related or anxiety-related sleep problem already, it can push the symptom intensity up much higher and make it much more difficult to treat.

I have found that many people, upon describing their pattern of binge drinking or marijuana use, will say that their behaviour is part of normal, ubiquitous university culture, i.e. "everyone does it."

Here is what some statistics show from a local part of a large recent continent-wide survey of university students:

Percentage of students who actually have never used marijuana: 63%
Students' belief about what percentage of fellow students have never used marijuana: 16%

Percentage of students who actually use marijuana daily: 1 %
Students' belief about what percentage of fellow students use marijuana daily: 16%

Percentage of students who have actually never used alcohol: 16%
Students' belief about what percentage of fellow students have never used alcohol: 3%

Percentage of students who have used alcohol daily: 0.1%
Students' belief about what percentage of fellow students have used alcohol daily: 30%

All of these above figures show that students greatly overestimate how much their fellow students are drinking and using marijuana. Because of how powerful the influence of social pressure is, especially to young people, it is important to be reminded of the facts. It is much more the "norm" for students to drink or use marijuana rarely, if at all. And it is common -- not rare -- to be completely abstinent.

However, one concerning figure from the same study shows that about 40% of male students, and 30% of female students, have had 5 or more drinks in one sitting at least once in the past month. This is a binge. And this is associated with the greatest risk of physical and psychological harm. For almost 10% of students, binge drinking occurs 3-5 times per month, which is more or less on a weekly basis. This type of behaviour is certainly a prelude to a more severe future of alcoholism, with all its physical and psychological sequelae.

Based on my reading of epidemiological studies, it is clear to me that 2 drinks per 24 hours is the maximum quantity of alcohol reliably consistent with good health (it may be that this level of alcohol consumption actually confers health benefits compared to abstinence, at least for some people).

I am not convinced that any amount of marijuana use is consistent with good health, except perhaps for some people who may have used it just a few isolated times in their lives, in a good mood, in a pleasant environment, which may have helped them relax some of their inhibitions or gain some other insight about themselves or the world. It is more often the case, though, that such experimentation leads to negative health effects.