HIV and HCV among drug users and people living in prisons in Germany 2022: WHO elimination targets as reflected in practice.

People who inject drugs (PWID) and prisoners are considered key populations at risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). In 2016, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) was implemented to eliminate HIV and AIDS by 2030 and the World Health Organization (WHO) presented the first strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030 as well. Following the objectives of the WHO and the United Nations, the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) presented the first integrated overall strategy for HIV and HCV in 2017. This article discusses the situation of PWID and prisoners in Germany with regard to HIV and HCV five years after the adoption of this strategy, on the basis of available data and against the background of the most recent practice in the field. In order to meet the elimination goals by 2030, Germany will have to improve the situation of PWID and prisoners substantially, mainly through the implementation of evidence-based harm reduction measures as well as the promotion of diagnosis and treatment in prisons and in freedom.

The effects of cannabidiol on impulsivity and memory during abstinence in cigarette dependent smokers.

Acute nicotine abstinence in cigarette smokers results in deficits in performance on specific cognitive processes, including working memory and impulsivity which are important in relapse. Cannabidiol (CBD), the non-intoxicating cannabinoid found in cannabis, has shown pro-cognitive effects and preliminary evidence has indicated it can reduce the number of cigarettes smoked in dependent smokers. However, the effects of CBD on cognition have never been tested during acute nicotine withdrawal. The present study therefore aimed to investigate if CBD can improve memory and reduce impulsivity during acute tobacco abstinence. Thirty, non-treatment seeking, dependent, cigarette smokers attended two laboratory-based sessions after overnight abstinence, in which they received either 800 mg oral CBD or placebo (PBO), in a randomised order. Abstinence was biologically verified. Participants were assessed on go/no-go, delay discounting, prose recall and N-back (0-back, 1-back, 2-back) tasks. The effects of CBD on delay discounting, prose recall and the N-back (correct responses, maintenance or manipulation) were null, confirmed by a Bayesian analysis, which found evidence for the null hypothesis. Contrary to our predictions, CBD increased commission errors on the go/no-go task. In conclusion, a single 800 mg dose of CBD does not improve verbal or spatial working memory, or impulsivity during tobacco abstinence.

Reduction of neophobia in humans by exposure to novel foods.

In the first part of a two-part study we attempted to determine whether individuals consider novel foods (in comparison to familiar foods) to be dangerous and expect to dislike their tastes, and, if so, whether willingness to eat them is systematically related to the degree of perceived danger and expected disliking. A series of multiple regression analyses revealed that disliking and danger are both good predictors of willingness to try novel foods while willingness to try familiar foods is predicted only by disliking. In the second part of the study we examined experimentally the effect of "forced" exposure to novel foods on subsequent neophobia. Some subjects were required to taste seven novel foods while others tasted seven similar familiar foods; all subjects were then given the task of selecting for tasting one member of each of 11 pairs of foods. The pairs were comprised of one novel and one familiar food (different from those used in the exposure to novelty manipulation), and number of novel choices was the measure of neophobia (with fewer choices indicative of greater neophobia). The results were discussed in terms of the usefulness of considering food neophobia as a phobia in the sense in which clinical psychologists use the term.