MEPMIS

News

All - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010

Results 6 to 9 out of 9.

• 10/08/2011 - Sleep disturbance and the effects of extended-release zolpidem during cannabis withdrawal.
  Sleep difficulty is a common symptom of cannabis withdrawal, but little research has objectively measured sleep or explored the effects of hypnotic medication on sleep during cannabis withdrawal. Twenty daily cannabis users completed a within-subject crossover study. Participants alternated between periods of ad libitum cannabis use and short-term cannabis abstinence (3 days). Placebo was administered at bedtime during one abstinence period (withdrawal test) and extended-release zolpidem, a non-benzodiazepine GABA(A) receptor agonist, was administered during the other. Polysomnographic (PSG) sleep architecture measures, subjective ratings, and cognitive performance effects were assessed each day. During the placebo-abstinence period, participants had decreased sleep efficiency, total sleep time, percent time spent in Stage 1 and Stage 2 sleep, REM latency and subjective sleep quality, as well as increased sleep latency and time spent in REM sleep compared with when they were using cannabis. Zolpidem attenuated the effects of abstinence on sleep architecture and normalized sleep efficiency scores, but had no effect on sleep latency. Zolpidem was not associated with any significant side effects or next-day cognitive performance impairments. These data extend prior research that indicates abrupt abstinence from cannabis can lead to clinically significant sleep disruption in daily users. The findings also indicate that sleep disruption associated with cannabis withdrawal can be attenuated by zolpidem, suggesting that hypnotic medications might be useful adjunct pharmacotherapies in the treatment of cannabis use disorders.
• 07/08/2011 - The relationship between anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorders: a review of major perspectives and findings
  It is generally agreed that problems related to alcohol use and anxiety tend to occur within the same individual (“comorbidity”); however, the cause of this association remains controversial. Three prominent perspectives are that anxiety disorder promotes pathological alcohol use, that pathological alcohol use promotes anxiety disorder and that a third factor promotes both conditions. We review laboratory, clinical, family, and prospective studies bearing on the validity of these explanatory models. Findings converge on the conclusion that anxiety disorder and alcohol disorder can both serve to initiate the other, especially in cases of alcohol dependence versus alcohol abuse alone. Further, evidence from clinical studies suggests that anxiety disorder can contribute to the maintenance of and relapse to pathological alcohol use. Relying heavily on pharmacological and behavioral laboratory findings, we tentatively propose that short-term anxiety reduction from alcohol use, in concert with longer-term anxiety induction from chronic drinking and withdrawal, can initiate a vicious feed-forward cycle of increasing anxiety symptoms and alcohol use that results in comorbidity.
• 05/08/2011 - MEPMIS Launch
  The inauguration of the MEPMIS learning resources will take place on 22nd September at The Royal Society for the Promotion of Health. The event will present, for the first time, the MEPMIS e-learning package and the face-to-face training resource and how they are addressing a need of line managers across Europe.
• 08/03/2011 - 'Promotion of Mental Health and Wellbeing in Workplaces' Conference in Berlin 3/4 March 2011
  The Mep Mis partners hosted a very successful exhibition at the above conference. We were visted by representatives of over 40 organisatione European wide from countries including Cyprus, Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, UK, Germany, Austria etc. Many of the representatives felt that the outcomes of the project e.g.the e-learning package and the face to face training would be very useful in their countries. We will keep you informed of developments.