Biology
Trace lithium levels in drinking water reduce the risk of dementia: a systematic review
Fraiha-Pegado, de Paula, Alotaibi, Forlenza & Hajek -- International Journal of Bipolar Disorders volume 12, Article number: 32 (2024) -- The sample size varied in the studies from 37,597 to 35,000,000. Lithium levels rang...
No HIV Infections After Twice-a-Year PrEP
Lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable HIV-1 capsid inhibitor, has shown 100% efficacy in preventing HIV in women at a high risk for infection, according to an interim analysis of the phase 3 PURPOSE 1 trial. -- The result...
Accelerated iTBS Treats Bipolar Depression in 5 Days
Yvette Sheline, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, reported that 10 intermittent theta burst stimulations (iTBS) per day for 5 days yielded dramatic improvement in patients with bipolar depressi...
Childhood
Highlights from BNN 2019 and 2020
Two different subtypes of early onset unspecified bipolar disorder (USBD)
The first subtype is classical BP NOS (Not Otherwise Specified) having all the characteristics of full-blown bipolar disorder except for only having brief durations of mania and responding to conventional treatment. The se...
Adolescent Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol induces long-term neuronal disturbances in dorsal vs. ventral hippocampus
De Felice et al reported in Neuropsychopharmacology (2022) how adolescent THC exposure in a rodent model can induce significant morphological disturbances and glutamatergic signaling abnormalities in the hippocampus. The d...
Public Policy
Quotes from Kay Jamison, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
“There’s this notion that mania and depression are uncommon or certainly that mania is uncommon, and that is not true. The bipolar illness spectrum is associated with a lot of very damaging things, most importantly suicide...
Even Psychotic Mania Does Not Preclude Remarkable Success
Highlights from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference Posters and Presentations, Chicago, June 22-25, 2023 -- Major (Two Star) General Gregg F. Martin described his lifetime hyperthermia (high energy) ...
Projected Health Outcomes Associated With 3 US Supreme Court Decisions in 2022 on COVID-19 Workplace Protections, Handgun-Carry Restrictions, and Abortion Rights
Adam Gaffney et al reported in JAMA New. Open (2023) reported “In this decision analytical modeling study, the model projected that the Supreme Court ruling to invalidate COVID-19 workplace protections was associated with?...
Risk Factors
Adolescent Cannabis Use is Associated with Regional Decreases in Cortical Volume and Greater Decreases in Males than Females
Mona Darvishi of The Ohio State University reported that adolescent cannabis use is associated with regional decreases in cortical volume in 10 of 42 brain regions. -- In two of these regions, the superior frontal gyrus an...
Smoking Pot While Pregnant is a No-No
Mom, Don’t Think Smoking Pot When Pregnant is Harmless for your Child -- In a new article in Science, Jasmine Hurd reports on a large sample of mothers who smoked pot while pregnant. Their offspring were more anxious, hype...
Cannabis Contributes to 15% of Case of Schizophrenia
A study in Psychological Medicine (May 2, 2023) reported on ” Danish registry data spanning five decades and representing more than 6.9 million people in Denmark to estimate the population-level percentage of schizophrenia...
Although the editors have made every effort to report accurate information, much of the work referenced here is in abstract or pre-publication form, and may not have received proper review by the scientific community at this time. Patients should consult with their physicians about any treatment decisions. Physicians should consult the peer-reviewed literature.