psychiatric Archives - CED Foundation

All posts tagged: psychiatric

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe), cannabidiol (CBD), and kratom in
psychiatric disorders: Clinical and mechanistic considerations

In summary

Researchers have recently unveiled the benefits and challenges of utilizing cannabidiol (CBD) in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. CBD has been FDA approved for rare epileptic disorders in the United States and has been recognized for its anxiolytic effects. Dosing CBD can be difficult due to various consumption methods, different products offering ratios of CBD: THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and terpene contents, all of which cause different effects. Along with anxiolytic effects, the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD have also been well documented, acting through various biological mechanisms. Although THC may not be positively recognized for its psychoactive properties, CBD has been documented by major studies to have anxiolytic and antipsychotic effects with added neuroprotective and anticonvulsant effects. The author concludes that due to the minimal side-effects associated with CBD psychiatrists should seriously consider recommending CBD to patients.

CBD has fallen into a more of a gray area than THC or cannabis in general as it appears to be widely accepted due to its wide availability yet some overarching associations still think poorly of its use. For example, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) explicitly prohibits the use of THC and explains that, while not banned, student-athletes should be hesitant to use CBD products as it increases their risk of testing positive for THC and a healthy athlete should have no reason to utilize CBD anyway. Patients are recommended to seriously discuss their CBD use with a physician and do their research to determine how CBD is received by their places of work or other regulatory bodies they engage in.

The study is available for review or download here

S-adenosyl-L-methionine-SAMe-cannabidiol-CBD-and-kratom-in-psychiatric-disorders-Clinical-and-mechanistic-considerations Download

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Synthetic cannabinoid use in an acute psychiatric inpatient unit

In Summary

Over half of the patients at a psychiatric inpatient unit in Australia reported using synthetic cannabis before their admission to the acute treatment clinic. Although synthetic cannabinoids have been banned from retail centers in Australia patients reported that legality, availability, and the feeling of intoxication were the main motivation for their use of synthetic cannabinoids. There is a high prevalence of new psychoactive substances available and the data from the clinic causes some in the healthcare field to suggest that clinicians should routinely screen for substances during the admission process.

This article mentions the flurry of new synthetic psychoactive substances, including cannabinoids but also extending beyond just those, which highlights the issue of readily available designer drugs. It can be difficult to keep track of illicit designer drugs as illegal manufacturers are often able to quickly modify their product before the previous form is even determined to be an illegal substance. By routinely checking for new drug variants the legal and medical systems would be better able to maintain and keep a record of such substances for future use, tracking, and treatment protocols.