Acute effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on resting brain function

Abstract Background Regarding an important effects of physical exercise on brain function in elders, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of strength and endurance exercise on brain neurobiological factors in older men. Methods Thirty older men volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly assigned to strength, endurance and control groups. The subjects in strength group performed two circuits of resistance exercise (6 exercises with 10 repetition of 65–70% of one repetition maximum), while endurance group performed 30 min running with 65–70% of maximal heart rate. Blood was obtained pre and post-exercise to determine changes in serum BDNF, IGF-1 and platelets. Results After exercise, both the strength and endurance groups showed significant increases in serum BDNF and IGF-1 concentrations and platelets at post-exercise and in comparison to control group (p < 0.05). In addition, no statistically significant differences were detected between the strength and endurance groups at post-exercise. Conclusion Our findings indicate that both the strength and endurance interventions are effective in elevating BDNF, IGF-1, and platelets, without significant differences between them.

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Changes in Online Psychoactive Substance Trade via Telegram during the COVID-19 Pandemic

European Addiction Research ◽

10.1159/000516853 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Matthijs Blankers ◽

Daan van der Gouwe ◽

Lavinia Stegemann ◽

Laura Smit-Rigter

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Relative Increase ◽

Lysergic Acid ◽

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide ◽

Psychoactive Substance ◽

Before And After ◽

Other Substances

Background: In this article, we present an evaluation of online psychoactive substance trade via Telegram, a free encrypted social media messenger service. The evaluation took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed us to monitor the effects of the spring 2020 lockdown in the Netherlands on substance trade via Telegram. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether changes in psychoactive substance trade on Telegram markets in the Netherlands can be observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Between December 2, 2019, and June 29, 2020, a total of 70,226 posts appeared in two analyzed Telegram groups. A total of 5,643 posts were psychoactive substance related. Based on the analyzed posts, Telegram is mostly a ‘“sellers” market as only a minority of the posts (6.3%) could be identified as a request for a substance. The proportion of posts related to specific substances varied between the periods before, during, and after the lockdown. The proportion of posts on the stimulants ecstasy, cocaine, and amphetamine was lower during the lockdown than before and after. For psychedelics – ketamine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine (2C-B) – and other substances, there was a relative increase in the number of posts during the lockdown, which was maintained after the lockdown. Conclusions: Telegram analysis shows that in the Netherlands, online psychoactive substance trade may have been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The direction of this effect was different for different classes of substances.

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