The effectiveness of a standardized tobacco cessation program on psychophysiological parameters in patients with addiction undergoing long-term rehabilitation: a quasi-experimental pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Although there is a very high comorbidity between tobacco dependence and other addictive disorders, there are only few studies examining the implementation and outcomes of a tobacco cessation program in patients with addictive diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate to what extent a standardized tobacco cessation program leads to improvements regarding psychological/physical parameters in patients with addiction undergoing therapy and whether there is a reduction in tobacco consumption. METHODS: The study took place in a therapeutic community specialized in addiction therapy. A total sample of 56 participants were non-randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG; n = 31) and a treatment as usual group (TAUG; n = 25). The IG participated in a 6-week tobacco cessation program, while the TAUG received no additional treatment. Both groups were assessed for changes in primary outcomes (tobacco dependence, smoked cigarettes per day (CPD), and general substance-related craving) and secondary outcomes (heart rate variability (HRV): root mean square of successive differences, self-efficacy, and comorbid psychiatric symptoms) at two measurement time points (pre- and post-treatment/6 weeks). RESULTS: We observed significant improvements in self-efficacy (F(1,53) = 5.86; p < .05; ηp2 = .11) and decreased CPD in the IG (ß = 1.16, ρ < .05), while no significant changes were observed in the TAUG. No significant interaction effects were observed in psychiatric symptoms, general substance-related craving, and HRV. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the potential benefit of an additional tobacco cessation program as part of a general addiction treatment. Although no improvements in the physiological domain were observed, there were significant improvements regarding self-efficacy and CPD in the IG compared to the TAUG. Randomized controlled trials on larger samples would be an important next step. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN15684371.

MRI-related anxiety can induce slow BOLD oscillations coupled with cardiac oscillations.

OBJECTIVE: Although about 1-2% of MRI examinations must be aborted due to anxiety, there is little research on how MRI-related anxiety affects BOLD signals in resting states. METHODS: We re-analyzed cardiac beat-to beat interval (RRI) and BOLD signals of 23 healthy fMRI participants in four resting states by calculation of phase-coupling in the 0.07-0.13 Hz band and determination of positive time delays (pTDs; RRI leading neural BOLD oscillations) and negative time delays (nTDs; RRI lagging behind vascular BOLD oscillations). State anxiety of each subject was assigned to either a low anxiety (LA) or a high anxiety (HA, with most participants exhibiting moderate anxiety symptoms) category based on the inside scanner assessed anxiety score. RESULTS: Although anxiety strongly differed between HA and LA categories, no significant difference was found for nTDs. In contrast, pTDs indicating neural BOLD oscillations exhibited a significant cumulation in the high anxiety category. CONCLUSIONS: Findings may suggest that vascular BOLD oscillations related to slow cerebral blood circulation are of about similar intensity during low/no and elevated anxiety. In contrast, neural BOLD oscillations, which might be associated with a central rhythm generating mechanism (pacemaker-like activity), appear to be significantly intensified during elevated anxiety. SIGNIFICANCE: The study provides evidence that fMRI-related anxiety can activate a central rhythm generating mechanism very likely located in the brain stem, associated with slow neural BOLD oscillation.

Perceived greenness at home and at university are independently associated with mental health.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies reported positive associations between perceived neighborhood greenness and mental health. There has been a focus on perceived neighborhood greenness at people's home environment or in general, but data are lacking on greenness at working places or other locations where they actually spend most of their time during their day. METHODS: This study investigated the perceived greenness of college students' home and study environments and its relation to mental health. An online survey collected data from 601 participants with a mean age of 24 years, living in or around and studying in the city of Graz, Austria. The perceived greenness at home and at university was assessed using questions on quality of and access to green space; mental health was measured with the WHO-5 well-being index. Uni- and multivariate regression analyses were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The analyses revealed positive associations between perceived greenness at home and mental health as well as perceived greenness at university and mental health. This adds more evidence to the existing literature that perceiving the environment as green is positively related to better mental health. CONCLUSIONS: Future research will have to incorporate objective greenness measures as a means of controlling for the reliability of the measurements and investigate the effects of different environments people are exposed to over the course of a day.

Comparison of SSFP and IR GRE techniques for measurement of total myocardial mass-influence of applied contrast dosage and implication for relative infarct size assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To compare total left ventricular mass assessment using steady state free precession (SSFP) and inversion recovery fast gradient echo (IR GRE) imaging and further to assess the influence of contrast dosage on mass by IR GRE and its implications on relative infarct size assessment with both methods. METHODS: Forty-three patients with first documented myocardial infarction and single vessel disease underwent measurement of total myocardial mass using SSFP technique and an IR GRE sequence. As part of a Phase 2 multi-center dose ranging study for infarct identification patients received 1 of 4 possible dosages (0.05, 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3 mmol/kg body weight) of the contrast agent gadoversetamide (OptiMARK, Tyco Healthcare Mallinckrodt, St. Louis, MO, USA). RESULTS: Left ventricular mass assessment using IR GRE resulted in a slightly greater detection of myocardial mass than from the SSFP images (160.1 and 156.4 g, respectively, p < 0.001). The overall good correlation of both methods (R2 = 0.97 for the total study group, p < 0.001) was further improved by using gadoversetamide at doses of 0.2 or 0.3 mmol/kg (R2= 0.99, p < 0.001), mainly as a result of a considerably higher blood-myocardial contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in the IR GRE images. Bland-Altman analysis in these subgroups showed very little scatter of the residuals over the mean (3.5 +/- 5.4 g and 1.3 +/- 6.9 g respectively, 95% confidence interval). The observed differences in total mass calculation, while statistically significant, were not correlated with clinically relevant differences in estimation of relative infarct size. CONCLUSION: Total LV mass calculations using SSFP and IR GRE techniques are interchangeable when using appropriate contrast media, such as gadoversetamide. Late gadolinium enhancement results in good blood myocardial CNR. Hence, for relative infarct size assessment either method for calculation of total myocardial mass can be used.

The Sarcocystis muris-infection as a model for research on the chemotherapy of acute sarcocystosis of domestic animals.

Twelve anticoccidial or antimalarial drugs were tested for their efficacy against various development stages of Sarcocystis muris in NMRI-mice. Schizogonic stages present in the liver from day 11 to 17 p.i. showed to be most sensitive to drug action. Sulfaquinoxaline plus pyrimethamine, zoalene and Bay g 7183 completely eliminated these stages. A strong though not 100 per cent efficacy was observed in experiments with primaquine. The other drugs tested were less (halofuginone, sulfadoxine plus trimethoprim) or not effective (sulfadimethoxine, amprolium, monensin, aprinocid, sulfaquinoxaline plus diaveridine) in the used dosages. In trials to improve the Sarcocystis muris-mouse-cat model it was found that in NMRI-mice the inoculation dose of 50 sporocysts resulted in the highest infection rate and intensity of the infection. By the application of less or more sporocysts or by repeated inoculations poorer infection rates and lower intensities of infection were achieved. Thymus deprived nude mice (NMRI-nu/nu) and the AKR/N-strain were the most susceptible animals in which infection rates of 100 and 95 per cent were achieved by the inoculation of 50 sporocysts. By the application of antilymphocytic serum, cyclophosphamide, irradiation or corticosteroids infection rates of 83, 92, 98 and 100 per cent, respectively, could be achieved in NMRI-mice. For future chemotherapeutical trials an inoculation dose of 50 sporocysts into irradiated NMRI-mice is recommended. It is suggested that the model is also suitable for the screening of drugs for their efficacy against exoerythrocytic schizonts of Plasmodium.