Encephale
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In the 1990s, cannabis consumption in France increased considerably. So, in 10 years, the number of adolescents reporting regular cannabis use (10 or more times during the last 12 months) tripled. In 2004, an official program to address problems related to cannabis addiction was implemented. As part of this program, specific outpatient settings for cannabis use disorders were created. ⋯ The cannabis users seen in our specific setting are a fairly homogeneous group and for the most part addicted to cannabis only, but with very high rates of dependence. Indeed, other than tobacco dependence, 80% of the users were only dependent on, or abused on cannabis in the last 12 months. In comparison with the cohort of French cannabis users (n=4202) seen at specific outpatient settings for marijuana users in 2005, cannabis users seen in Lariboisière Hospital are older, the percentage of females is greater, they are more dependent on marijuana and have a high prevalence of affective and anxiety disorders.
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The knowledge of psychotropic medication consumption is a Public Health stake for the armies and their social partners. Indeed, indirectly, it permits not only assessment of the state of health or the mental state of the working militaries, but also the development of actions to increase consumers' and prescribers' awareness of the main effects of psychotropic drugs and their side effects. The evaluation of the consumption of psychotropic drugs is based on the reimbursements requested from the "Caisse nationale militaire de Sécurité sociale", a particular scheme of the health fund, to which every working military is affiliated. ⋯ Our results show that the consumer's profile in the class of the working militaries does not differ from that found in other studies conducted on professionals. The GP is the main prescriber of psychotropic drugs, but this kind of prescription is different from the psychiatrist's. The military doctor is little implicated in the prescription of psychotropics, the link between aptitude and use is obviously the main explanation. The good use of psychotropic medication has to be reinforced for both consumers and prescribers. Other alternatives than the call on medicine have to be reinforced by improving the prevention and the management of psychological disorders and psychiatric affections.
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In our daily practice in public hospitals, we are regularly confronted with the paradox of helping patients, who do not ask for help. Although the French law is clearly defined to allow us to treat patients suffering from psychiatric conditions, who are unable to give their consent, it is not the case for those with addictive disorders. In fact, their disorder does not always (or does not yet) justify treatment without their consent, according to the 1990 law (psychiatric treatment without the patient's consent). ⋯ Pathology begins when an individual can no longer choose what he/she needs to do. We do not consider that a brief-concrete approach is better than any other approach, but its pragmatic nature seems to fit in with the new conception of addiction therapy, with earlier intervention. However, is it possible to make changes outside of a crisis situation? We are unable to answer this question, except to say that the best time for change is that chosen by the patient.
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Over the last 30 years, several questionnaires have been developed and validated in order to assess many aspects of the motivation to eat that might be susceptible to impair adequate food intake and body weight control. A few of such questionnaires are described here, in particular, the "Three Factor Eating Questionnaire" also called the "Eating Inventory", and the "Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire". Critical aspects of the motivation to eat assessed by these tools are presented, such as dietary restraint, disinhibition, hunger, vulnerability to eat in response to external cues or emotional states, etc. ⋯ It then becomes critical to know whether the psychological dimensions assessed by such questionnaires reflect the action of pharmacological agents that induce weight gain. A research project is now in progress at Sainte-Anne Hospital to investigate many dimensions of the motivation to eat, as assessed by the questionnaires, in psychiatric patients receiving various types of antipsychotic agents. The results of this original study might provide hints about the mechanisms that lead to body weight gain in patients receiving certain types of antipsychotic pharmacological agents and potentially help in preventing or reversing the weight gain associated with such treatments.
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Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common and impairing neuropsychiatric disorder with preschool onset. ADHD occurs in approximately 3-9% of the childhood population. There is a much higher incidence rate in boys who are around three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed. Approximately 30-60% of individuals diagnosed with ADHD in youth have symptoms that persist into adulthood. ⋯ This review provides an overview of the main imaging studies that investigated the neurobiological substrate of ADHD. Some guidelines for future functional magnetic imaging studies are also suggested.