scholarly journals “Plants of the Gods” and their hallucinogenic powers in neuropharmacology — A review of two books

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 343
Author(s):  
Miguel Faria
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Medical Consultation ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Religious Rituals ◽  
Good Index ◽  
Psychiatric Conditions ◽  
Religious Meaning

“Plants of the Gods” is a term referring to the religious meaning members of many primitive cultures worldwide attribute to plants containing hallucinogenic or mind-altering substances. The plants are customarily considered sacred and consumed in religious rituals in an attempt to reach and communicate with gods or revered ancestors. They are frequently used in healing rites. Occasionally, they are used for purely recreational purposes, this being their main use in the modern societies of both industrialized and underdeveloped nations. However, it must be noted that the hallucinogenic or psychedelic experiences, recreational, are not always euphoric. Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers is well-written, fully illustrated with color photographs, and contains a good index. It is an effective compilation of ethnographic, historic, and neuropharmacologic information on the hallucinogenic plants of planet Earth and the psychological and sociological impact they have, particularly in primitive societies. The behavioral side effects and toxic manifestations that may be associated with transient or permanent neurological deficits or psychiatric conditions place them in the realm of neuropsychiatry, when affected individuals present to the emergency room or are referred for medical consultation.

scholarly journals Long-term decreased cannabinoid type-1 receptor activity restores specific neurological phenotypes in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Vazquez-Oliver ◽  
Silvia Perez-Garcia ◽  
Nieves Pizarro ◽  
Laura Molina-Porcel ◽  
Rafael de la Torre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Mouse Model ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Cannabinoid Type 1 Receptor ◽  
Cognitive Improvement

Intellectual disability is the most prevalent and limiting hallmark of Down syndrome (DS), without any pharmacological treatment available. Neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are relevant neurological features of DS reaching to early development of Alzheimer s disease. Preclinical evidence suggests that the endocannabinoid system, an important neuromodulator on cognition and neuroinflammation, could act as beneficial target in DS. Indeed, cannabinoid type-1 receptor (CB1R) activity was enhanced in the hippocampus of young-adult trisomic Ts65Dn mice, a well-characterized surrogate model of DS. In previous studies, inhibition of CB1R, was able to restore key neurological deficits in this mouse model. To determine the possible clinical relevance of this target, it is mandatory to evaluate the long-term consequences of attenuated CB1R activity and to minimize the possible side-effects associated to this mechanism. We found that CB1R expression was significantly enhanced in the hippocampus brains of aged DS subjects. Similarly, middle-aged trisomic mice showed enhanced CB1R expression. Long-term oral administration of a low dose of the CB1R specific antagonist rimonabant was administered to male and female Ts65Dn trisomic and wild-type mice from the time of weaning to 10 months, an age when signs of neurodegeneration have been described in the model. CB1R inhibition resulted in significant cognitive improvement in novel object-recognition memory in trisomic male and female mice, reaching a similar performance to that of wild-type littermates. Interestingly, this long-term rimonabant treatment modify locomotor activity, anxiety-like behavior, body weight or survival rates. Brain analysis at 10 months of age revealed noradrenergic and cholinergic neurodegeneration signs in trisomic mice that were not modified by the treatment, although the alterations in hippocampal microglia morphology shown by vehicle-treated trisomic mice was normalized in trisomic mice exposed to rimonabant. Altogether, our results demonstrate a sustained pro-cognitive effect of CB1R inhibition at doses that do not produce major side effects that could be associated to an anti-inflammatory action, suggesting a potential interest in this target of to preserve cognitive functionality in DS.

Psychiatry in gastrointestinal medicine

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satish Keshav ◽  
Alexandra Kent
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Bowel Disease ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Hepatic Encephalopathy ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Bowel Disease ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Acute Intermittent Porphyria ◽  
Gastrointestinal Medicine ◽  
Inflammatory Bowel ◽  
Psychiatric Conditions

This chapter discusses psychiatric conditions with gastrointestinal (GI) consequences (including eating disorders, depression, and side effects of psychiatric medications), and GI diseases with psychiatric symptoms (including hepatic encephalopathy, coeliac disease, Wilson’s disease, acute intermittent porphyria, functional GI disease, and inflammatory bowel disease).

The Treatment of Restless Psychotics with Methotrimeprazine (Veractil)

1961 ◽  
Vol 107 (449) ◽  
pp. 783-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Muller
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Effective Dose ◽  
Clinical Improvement ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Working Capacity ◽  
Psychiatric Conditions

Since the introduction of methotrimeprazine (Veractil) to psychiatry in 1956 by the French workers, Sigwald, Henne, Bouttier, Raymoneaud and Quetin (1), this drug has been used here and on the Continent for the treatment of various psychiatric conditions with varying and inconsistent success. A rapid review of some examples in the literature will suffice to illustrate this. Deschamps and Madre (2) stated that the drug was more rapidly effective and more powerful than chlorpromazine (Largactil). Gayral et al. (3) reported on their findings in 409 patients, most of them (304) out-patients, and the majority (316) with depression: it was considered that Veractil was not an adequate substitute for electroplexy (E.C.T.) in depression. Larue and Gosselin (4) treated 82 patients with a variety of disorders including 2 cases of trigeminal neuralgia, with marked success. Letailleur, le Borgne and Lebrun (5) reported the side-effects of drowsiness and fainting to be relatively common, but with no true Parkinsonism, in a series of 75 patients of which they regarded 36 as cured and 25 as improved. Baruk, Launay and Roberti (6) claimed good results, not only in depression, as stated by others, but also in obsessive and digestive neuroses; and in patients with syndromes in which other neuroleptics were usually without effect. Deschales, Lanteri-Lausa and Fargeon (7) however concluded that Veractil was no more efficacious than other neuroleptics though they preferred it for depressives: it could usefully be combined with E.C.T. in these cases but it could not replace it. Baker and Thorpe (8) found no difference in comparison with Largactil while treating deteriorated schizophrenics, except that the effective dose of Veractil was only two-thirds that of Largactil. Leitch and Seager (9) found no statistical significance in a placebo-controlled study comparing Veractil, Largactil, acepromazine and promazine. But Quinn, Johnston, Latner and Kiloh (10) again reported a 42 per cent. clinical improvement in patients given Veractil compared with Largactil and a placebo in 146 schizophrenics using the working capacity in males and the degree of deterioration in females as pointers for assessment.

Management of Acute Anxiety Syndrome with Parenterally Administered Lorazepam

1978 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-192
Author(s):  
Pedro Gómez-Lozano
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Private Practice ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
The Other ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Hospital Emergency Room ◽  
Acute Anxiety

After the preliminary successful use of injectable lorazepam in calming 20 patients who presented with acute anxiety crises, a formal study of 115 other such patients was carried out. All were seen either in a hospital emergency room or on an emergency out-patient basis in private practice. Treatment consisted of an initial intravenous injection of lorazepam (3 mg) followed, if necessary, by up to three further injections within a 24-hour period. The result was usually dramatic: complete abolition or reasonable control of symptoms within 30 minutes in all but 2 patients. The major effect was relaxant and sedative; 62 patients slept following the injections, although 55 could be easily aroused, 7 could not. Of the other patients, 49 remained awake but relaxed; only 4 remained tense and were regarded as treatment failures. No significant side-effects or changes in vital signs were noted. The results support and extend those reported by other investigators in a recent controlled, double-blind (but otherwise similarly conducted) trial.

scholarly journals A short therapeutic regimen based on hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin for the treatment of COVID-19 in patients with non-severe disease. A strategy associated with a reduction in hospital admissions and complications.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
José A. Oteo ◽  
Pedro Marco ◽  
Luis Ponce de León ◽  
Alejandra Roncero ◽  
Teófilo Lobera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Qtc Interval ◽  
Therapeutic Regime ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

The new SARS-CoV-2 infection named COVID-19 has severely hit our Health System. At the time of writing this paper no medical therapy is officially recommended or has shown results in improving the outcomes in COVID-19 patients. With the aim of diminishing the impact in Hospital admissions and reducing the number of medical complications, we implemented a strategy based on a Hospital Home-Care Unit (HHCU) using an easy-to-use treatment based on an oral administration regimen outside the hospital with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) plus azithromycin (AZM) for a short period of 5 days. Patients and methods: Patients ≥ 18 years old visiting the emergency room at the Hospital Universitario San Pedro de Logrono (La Rioja) between March, 31st and April, 12th diagnosed with COVID-19 with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by a specific PCR, as follows: Patients with pneumonia (CURB ≤ 1) who did not present severe comorbidities and had no processes that contraindicated this therapeutic regime. Olygosimptomatic patients without pneumonia aged ≥ 55 years. Patients ≥ 18 years old without pneumonia with significant comorbidities. We excluded patients with known allergies to some of the antimicrobials used and patients treated with other drugs that increase the QTc or with QTc >450msc. The therapeutic regime was: HCQ 400 mg every twice in a loading dose followed by 200 mg twice for 5 days, plus AZM 500 mg on the first day followed by 250 mg daily for 5 days. A daily telephone follow-up was carried out from the hospital by the same physician. The end-points of our study were: 1.- To measure the need for hospital admission within 15 days after the start of treatment. 2.- To measure the need to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) within 15 days after the start of the treatment. 3.- To describe the severity of the clinical complications developed. 4.- To measure the mortality within 30 days after starting treatment (differentiating if the cause is COVID-19 or something else). 5.-To describe the safety and adverse effects of the therapeutic regime. Results: During the 13 days studied a total of 502 patients were attended in the emergency room due to COVID-19. Forty-two were sent at home; 80 were attended by the HHCU (patients on this study) and 380 were admitted to the Hospital. In our series there were a group of 69 (85.18%) patients diagnosed with pneumonia (37 males and 32 females). Most of them, 57 (82.60%) had a CURB65 score of <1 (average age 49) and 12 (17.40%) a CURB score of 1 (average age 63). Eighteen (22.50%) of the pneumonia patients also had some morbidity as a risk factor. 11 patients (13.75%) without pneumonia were admitted to the HHCU because comorbidities or age ≥ 55 years. Six patients with pneumonia had to be hospitalized during the observation period, 3 of them because side effects and 3 because of worsening. One of these patients, with morbid obesity and asthma, had clinical worsening needing mechanical ventilation at ICU and developed acute distress respiratory syndrome. With the exception of the patient admitted to the ICU, the rest of the patients were discharged at home in the following 8 days (3 to 8 days). Twelve patients (15%), 11 of whom had pneumonia, experienced side effects affecting mainly the digestive. In another patient a QTc interval prolongation (452 msc) was observed. In total 3 of these patients had to be admitted in the Hospital, 2 because of vomiting and 1 because a QTc interval lengthening. None of the patients needed to stop the HCQ or AZM and all the 80 patients finished the therapeutic strategy. From the group without pneumonia only a patient developed diarrhea that did not require hospitalization or stop the medication. Conclusions: Our strategy has been associated with a reduction in the burden of hospital pressure, and it seems to be successful in terms of the number of patients who have developed serious complications and / or death. None of the patients died in the studied period and only 6 have to be admitted in conventional hospitalization area.

scholarly journals Syndrome of transient headache and neurologic deficits with cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis (HaNDL)

2018 ◽  
pp. 68-71
Author(s):  
Laryssa Crystinne Azevedo Almeida ◽  
Marcelo Moraes Valença
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Clinical Picture ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Headache Syndrome ◽  
Neurologic Deficits

The authors make a narrative review on "headache syndrome and transient neurological deficits with cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis (CRL)," a rare, underdiagnosed disorder of little knowledge by physicians specializing in care in the emergency room. Aspects of the clinical picture, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment are discussed  

scholarly journals Response to Pulsed and Continuous Radiofrequency Lesioning of the Dorsal Root Ganglion and Segmental Nerves in Patients with Chronic Lumbar Radicular Pain

2008 ◽  
Vol 2;11 (3;2) ◽  
pp. 137-144
Author(s):  
Thomas T. Simopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Dorsal Root Ganglion ◽  
Dorsal Root ◽  
Radicular Pain ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Pulsed Radiofrequency ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Kaplan Meier ◽  
Segmental Nerve ◽  
Number Of Patients

Objectives: We aimed to prospectively evaluate the response and safety of pulsed and continuous radiofrequecy lesioning of the dorsal root ganglion/segmental nerves in patients with chronic lumbosacral radicular pain. Methods: Seventy-six patients with chronic lumbosacral radicular pain refractory to conventional therapy met the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to one of 2 types of treatment, pulsed radiofrequency lesioning of the dorsal root ganglion/segmental nerve or pulsed radiofrequency followed immediately by continuous radiofrequency. Patients were carefully evaluated for neurologic deficits and side effects. The response was evaluated at 2 months and was then tracked monthly. A Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to illustrate the probability of success over time and a Box-Whisker analysis was applied to determine the mean duration of a successful analgesic effect. Results: Two months after undergoing radiofrequency treatment, 70% of the patients treated with pulsed radiofrequency and 82% treated with pulsed and continuous radiofrequency had a successful reduction in pain intensity. The average duration of successful analgesic response was 3.18 months (± 2.81) in the group treated with pulsed radiofrequency and 4.39 months (±3.50) in those patients treated with pulsed and continuous radiofrequency lesioning. A Kaplan-Meier analysis illustrated that in both treatment groups the chance of success approached 50% in each group at 3 months. The vast majority of patients had lost any beneficial effects by 8 months. There was no statistical difference between the 2 treatment groups. No side effects or neurological deficits were found in either group. Conclusion: Pulsed mode radiofrequency of the dorsal root ganglion of segmental nerves appears to be a safe treatment for chronic lumbosacral radicular pain. A significant number of patients can derive at least a short-term benefit. The addition of heat via continuous radiofrequency does not offer a significant advantage. A randomized controlled trial is now required to determine the effectiveness of pulsed radiofrequency. Key words: Pulsed radiofrequency lesioning, dorsal root ganglion, segmental nerve, continuous radiofrequency lesioning, chronic lumbosacral radicular pain

An Infant in a Car Seat on a Washing Machine: Epidural Hematoma

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 556-557
Author(s):  
FRIEDA HULKA ◽  
JOSEPH PIATT
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Epidural Hematoma ◽  
Washing Machine ◽  
Noise And Vibration ◽  
Car Seats ◽  
Car Seat ◽  
Clothes Dryer ◽  
Life Threatening

Desperate parents resort to imaginative and sometimes dangerous improvisations to pacify a crying infant. One measure that has actually received physician endorsement in popular parenting publications is to set the inconsolable baby, often suffering from colic, in a car seat on an engaged clothes dryer or washing machine. The warmth, rhythmic noise, and vibration together have the desired soporific effect. As the following case report illustrates, placement of car seats on vibrating elevated surfaces can have life-threatening side effects as well. CASE REPORT A 7-month-old male was brought by ambulance to the emergency room after suffering an apparent seizure.

Hyperglycemic hemianopia as a stroke mimic in hyperosmolar non ketotic state in type 2 Diabetes

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-9
Author(s):  
Sumesh Raj ◽  
Manoj Parameswaran ◽  
Jijun M Ignatius
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Type 2 Diabetes ◽  
Metabolic Disorders ◽  
Central Nervous System Involvement ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Stroke Mimics ◽  
Complicated Migraine ◽  
Psychiatric Conditions ◽  
Stroke Mimic

Stroke mimics are differential presentations of various systemic disorders that simulate an acute stroke. The conditions vary from numerous metabolic and psychiatric conditions to central nervous system involvement in the form of cerebral tumours, complicated migraine, myasthenia gravis and multiple sclerosis. Metabolic disorders represent a small mimicking subgroup of acute focal neurological deficits. They include hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, hyponatremia, hypoxia, uremia encephalopathy and hepatic encephalopathy. Here we report a case of transient homonymous hemianopia and seizures in a patient with hyperosmolar non ketotic state which got completely reversed as euglycemia was achieved.

scholarly journals Efficacy of post-operative analgesia after posterior lumbar instrumented fusion for degenerative disc disease: a prospective randomized comparison of epidural catheter and intravenous administration of analgesics

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Kluba ◽  
Fabian Hofmann ◽  
Sabine Bredanger ◽  
Gunnar Blumenstock ◽  
Thomas Niemeyer
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Epidural Catheter ◽  
Lumbar Fusion ◽  
Sensory Function ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Lumbar Spine Surgery ◽  
Disc Disease ◽  
Motor Weakness ◽  
Post Operative Period ◽  
Reversible Loss

This prospective study aimed to compare the efficacy of epidural (EDA) versus intravenous (PCA) application of analgesics after lumbar fusion. Fifty-two patients scheduled for elective posterior instrumented lumbar fusion were randomized into two groups. EDA patients received an epidural catheter intraoperatively, and administration of ropivacain and sulfentanil was started after a normal post-operative wake-up test in the recovery room area. PCA patients received intravenous opioids in the post-operative period. Differences between EDA and PCA groups in terms of patient satisfaction with respect to pain relief were not significant. Nevertheless, EDA patients reported less pain on the third day after surgery. There were significantly more side effects in the EDA group, including complete reversible loss of sensory function and motor weakness. There were no major side effects, such as infection or persisting neurological deficits, in either group. The routine use of epidural anesthesia for lumbar spine surgery has too many risks and offers very little advantage over PCA.

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