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, hyperactive, and aggressive and had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their hair at ages 3-6.

When Superstorm Sandy hit, mothers who were stressed and smoked pot while pregnant had children 31 times more like to have oppositional defiant disorder and 7 times more likely to have an anxiety disorder. Stress may interact negatively with the effects of pot.

In fetuses aborted after being exposed to pot while in utero had decreased dopamine receptors in the their amygdala and n. accumbens, a reward center in brain. In animal studies, pregnant mother rodents who were exposed to THC had offspring more likely to use heroin.


DADS’ BEHAVIOR COUNTS TOO. Dad’s exposure to THC as an adult also led to offspring who preferred opiates. This was based on epigenetic changes passed on in the sperm. To the extent that this also happens in humans, one could ask how much of the current opiate epidemic is based on parental use of marijuana. Mom’s and dad’s smoking pot could make their offspring more vulnerable to opiate addiction.

Cannabis and Cannabinoids Don’t Work for Pain or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Aaron S. Wolfgang, MD and Charles W. Hoge, MD reviewed data on cannabis in JAMA Psychiatry and found that there were big placebo effects and no evidence for effectiveness of cannabis in military personal.

This negative data, along will all the liability of cannabis potentially causing or triggering psychosis, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia (as well as possibly contributing to cognitive dysfunction, worsening anxiety and depression in patients with mood disorders) makes the use of pot for medical purposes an entirely foolhardy proposition, as well as a waste of money.

Legalization of pot has helped people avoid jail but precipitated a rash of use and over use.

So the bottom line from this editor is: Get Your Priorities Straight. Cannabis and Cannabinoids Don’t Work for Pain or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and they Worsen Most Everything Else. Save your Money and Do Something Nice for Yourself and Others Instead.

FDA Warns of Potentially Lethal Reaction to Seizure Meds

Megan Brooks reports:

“The antiseizure drugs levetiracetam (Keppra, Keppra XR, Elepsia XR, Spritam, generic) and clobazam (Onfi, Sympazan, generic) can cause a rare but serious drug hypersensitivity reaction that can be life threatening if not detected and treated promptly, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns in an alert issued today.

Known as drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), it may start as a rash but can quickly progress and cause injury to internal organs, the need for hospitalization, and death, the FDA notes.

Three cases occurred in the US, and 29 occurred abroad. In all 32 cases, the patients were hospitalized and received medical treatment; in two cases, the patients died.

The median time to onset of DRESS in the levetiracetam cases was 24 days; times ranged from 7 to 170 days. The reported signs and symptoms included skin rash (n = 22), fever (n = 20), eosinophilia (n = 17), lymph node swelling (n = 9), and atypical lymphocytes (n = 4). The median time to onset of DRESS in the levetiracetam cases was 24 days; times ranged from 7 to 170 days. The reported signs and symptoms included skin rash (n = 22), fever (n = 20), eosinophilia (n = 17), lymph node swelling (n = 9), and atypical lymphocytes (n = 4)…. DRESS symptoms resolved when levetiracetam was discontinued.”

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 cases attributable to (cannabis use disorder) CUD. A total of 60,563 participants were diagnosed with CUD. Three quarters of cases were in men; there were 45,327 incident cases of schizophrenia during the study period. The researchers estimate that in 2021, about 15% of schizophrenia cases among males aged 16 to 49 could have been avoided by preventing CUD, compared with 4% among females in this age range. For young men aged 21 to 30, the proportion of preventable schizophrenia cases related to CUD may be as high as 30%, the authors report.

Editors Note: Other data also support an increased risk for bipolar disorder in those abusing cannabis. The notion that cannabis use carries few risks is baloney. Making pot legal does not make it safe.

Assets of Exercise

Highlights from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference Posters and Presentations, Chicago, June 22-25, 2023

Ben Goldstein of the University of Toronto gave a plenary talk on the benefits of exercise.

He found poor aerobic fitness in 19 of 20 young bipolar patients. They had low cerebral blood flow in proportion to the severity of their exhaustion after exercise. He noted the importance of stressing an endpoint of fitness for exercise rather than weight loss. Using an exercise coach and running with family and friends was helpful in motivating patients for consistent exercise.

Childhood Bullying and Maltreatment Yield A Worse Course of Bipolar Illness

Highlights from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference Posters and Presentations, Chicago, June 22-25, 2023

Georgina Hosang of Bart’s & The London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine reported that bullying and maltreatment together were associated with more suicidal behaviors than either childhood experience alone.

The Systematic Treatment Optimization Program for Early Mania

Highlights from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference Posters and Presentations, Chicago, June 22-25, 2023

A. Rathseesh and L. Yatham reported on the importance of systematic vigorous treatment of a first manic episode. If more episodes occurred, losses in cognition did not fully recover. All patients remitted within 1 year of their first mania. Recurrence occurred in 58% by year 1 and 74% by year 4. Predictors of functional recovery included sustained euthymia, especially absence of depressive symptoms, good cognitive functioning, and maintaining a normal weight. More aggressive treatment to prevent relapses in years 1-4 after a first manic episode appears needed and how exactly to achieve this requires further study.

Nighttime Bedroom Light Exposure Increases Episode Relapses in Bipolar Disorder

Highlights from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference Posters and Presentations, Chicago, June 22-25, 2023

Yuichi Esaki of Okehazama Hospital reported that “Of the 172 participants, 39 (22%) experienced manic or hypomanic episodes (during 2 years of follow up). In the Cox proportional-hazards model, the hazard ratio (HR) for manic/hypomanic episode relapses was significantly higher when the average nighttime illuminance was ?3 lux (n = 71) than when it was <3 lux (n = 101; HR, 2.54; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.33–4.84)… Keeping the bedroom dark at night may prevent hypomanic and manic episodes.”

Early Antidepressant Use is Associated with Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder

Highlights from Posters Presented at the Society of Biological Psychiatry Meeting, April 27-29, 2023 in San Diego

A.C. Courtes and Jair Soares reported that “Antidepressants were prescribed as the first psychiatry medication in 74/114 (65%) of BD patients.” This and alcohol use disorder were independent predictors of rapid cycling.

Cannabis Use Disorder Increases Risk of Subsequent Unipolar Depression and Bipolar Disorder

Jefsen et al report in JAMA Psychiatry. that in “[6,651,765] individuals in Demark, cannabis use disorder was associated with an increased risk of (subsequent) both psychotic and nonpsychotic unipolar depression and bipolar disorder….Associations between CUD and subsequent affective disorders were estimated as hazard ratios (HRs) using Cox proportional hazards regression with time-varying information on CUD, adjusting for sex; alcohol use disorder; substance use disorder; having been born in Denmark; calendar year; parental educational level (highest attained); parental cannabis, alcohol, or substance use disorders; and parental affective disorders….Cannabis use was associated with an increased risk of bipolar disorder in men (HR, 2.96; ) and women (HR, 2.54; )”, and was highest for psychotic bipolar disorder (HR, 4.05; 95% CI, 3.52-4.65).

Editors Note: Marijuana is not a benign substance. “In all, 60,?696 individuals received a diagnosis of (cannabis use disorder) during follow-up, and 260,?746 (3.9%) developed an affective disorder.”

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