Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Different psychotropic medications are associated with different risks of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients with serious mental illness, a new study suggests. Investigators found that second-generation antipsychotics were associated with a 48% lower risk of COVID-19, while valproic acid was associated with … Read more
This article was originally published in French on Univadis. Key Takeaways According to French addiction surveillance data compiled from 2013 through 2018, the problematic use of tramadol is increasing in France, even though prescription levels remain stable. The rate of dependence among patients treated for pain seems high, and tramadol could become the opioid analgesic … Read more
The prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is difficult to evaluate, and the diagnosis is based primarily on clinical criteria. In 2008, a French study estimated the prevalence to be between 3.5% and 5.6%, but the study’s design was questionable. Treatment of this disorder consists first and foremost in educational, social, and psychotherapeutic management. Only if … Read more
New research points to a general mechanism that may explain how psychedelics act on the brain to alleviate depression and potentially other psychiatric conditions marked by fixed patterns of thinking, including rumination and excessive self-focus. Led by investigators from the University of California San Francisco and Imperial College London’s Center for Psychedelic Research, the findings … Read more
In her month-long memoir, A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life (Knopf, 2017), author Ayelet Waldman turns herself into a one-woman experiment. Over a single month she takes one tenth of a recreational dose of LSD every third day. She plots her emotions, her … Read more
PARIS — Following the suspension of the decree that banned the sale of cannabidiol (CBD) flowers, raw cannabis is again available in France for over-the-counter sales. The “feel-good” plant is praised for its relaxing properties. The suspension of the ban, which lasted for 3 weeks, is a mixed blessing for businesses that sell CBD-based products … Read more