"Legal highs" on the net-Evaluation of UK-based Websites, products and product information.

BACKGROUND: A vast array of substances are marketed as "legal highs" in the UK. These products are mainly marketed online and are packaged and produced to mimic illicit drugs. Little is known about the full range of products available at present and no studies have evaluated the product information provided to consumers. AIMS & HYPOTHESIS: To describe the available legal high products marketed by UK-based Internet retailers and evaluate the product information provided to consumers. METHODS: Websites were identified using the terms "buy legal highs+UK" and two search engines. The first 100 hits and a random sample of 5% of the remaining results were screened. Websites based in the UK were included and all products were entered on a database. Information on product name, list price, claimed effects, side effects, contraindications and interactions was extracted. A descriptive analysis was conducted using SPSS v14. RESULTS: 115 Websites met the inclusion criteria but due to duplicate listings this was reduced to 39 unique Websites. 1308 products were found and evaluated. The average product price was 9.69 British pounds. Products took the form of pills (46.6%), smoking material (29.7%) and single plant material/extract (18.1%). Most products claimed to be stimulants (41.7%), sedatives (32.3%), or hallucinogens (12.9%). 40.1% of products failed to list ingredients, 91.9% failed to list side effects, 81.9% failed to list contraindications and 86.3% failed to list drug interactions. Top 5 products (with active ingredients in brackets) by frequency were Salvia divinorum (Salivinorin A), Kratom (Mitragynine), Hawaiian Baby Woodrose Seeds (Lysergic Acid Amide), Fly Agaric (Ibotenic Acid, Muscimol) and Genie (JWH018, CP47497). CONCLUSIONS: Products marketed as "legal highs" are easily available from UK-based Internet retailers and are reasonably affordable. Safety information provided to consumers is poor. Uninformed users risk serious adverse effects.

Psycho-education programme for temporomandibular disorders: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are by far the most predominant condition affecting the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), however many patients have mild self-limiting symptoms and should not be referred for specialist care. The aim of this pilot study was to develop a simple, cost-effective management programme for TMDs using CD-ROM. 41 patients (age 18-70) participated in this study, patients were divided into three groups: the 1st group were involved in an attention placebo CD-ROM (contain anatomical information about the temporomandibular system), the 2nd group received information on CD-ROM designed to increase their control and self efficacy, while the 3rd group received the same programme of the 2nd group added to it an introduction to self-relaxing techniques followed by audio tape of progressive muscle relaxation exercises. Each of the groups was asked to complete a number of questionnaires on the day of initial consultation and six weeks afterwards. RESULTS: The two experimental groups (2nd & 3rd) were equally effective in reducing pain, disability and distress, and both were more effective than the attention placebo group (1st), however the experimental groups appeared to have improved at follow-up relative to the placebo-group in terms of disability, pain and depressed mood. CONCLUSION: This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility and acceptability of the design. A full, randomized, controlled trial is required to confirm the efficacy of the interventions developed here.

A psychological comparison of temporomandibular disorder and chronic daily headache: are there targets for therapeutic interventions?

OBJECTIVE: Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and chronic daily headache (CDH) are chronic problems affecting the head and face. The aim of this study was to compare TMD and CDH, in terms of cognitive factors, including illness perceptions and coping strategies. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 102 patients, 18 to 70 years of age, classified into 2 groups, TMD or CDH, were recruited in this study from a variety of centres in London. On initial consultation patients underwent clinical examination and were asked to complete 8 questionnaires and checklists evaluating mental and psychological state. Six months later, identical questionnaires were posted to all patients; response rate was 76% and 65% for the TMD and CDH patients, respectively. The data were then analyzed to assess different targets for therapeutic interventions. RESULTS: At first observation, TMD patients were found to have more clinical signs: localized increased jaw sounds, limited mouth opening, arthralgia, and myalgia during palpation, however, the duration of pain was higher in the CDH group. Significant differences (P < .01) in terms of psychological distress, were identified between the 2 groups. The CDH group scored higher in 3/3 bands of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, indicating difficulty expressing emotion; the consequence band of the Illness Perceptions Questionnaire, indicating they were less likely to expect a cure; and were more likely to catastrophize as shown by the Coping Strategies Questionnaire. The 2/4 bands of the McGill Pain Questionnaire showed that CDH group had more severe pain and more depression as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. TMD patients scored higher in the control band of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire indicating greater control over pain. However, at 6-month follow-up, the only significant difference (P < .01) was in the physiological band of the Illness Perception Questionnaire, the CDH group scored higher. However, this is probably of limited clinical significance. There were no significant differences except in the depression part of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the headache group scored higher. Temporomandibular disorder was reported to be less painful, more controllable, and possibly less responsive to reassurance. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that differences in cognitive findings between the 2 groups of patients are not sustained over time. Initially, the headache patients catastrophized, were more distressed, and more depressed. However, these differences disappeared at follow-up. Significant correlations between perceived performance ("timeline" IPQ); disability and anxious mood; perceived consequence with disability and depressed mood; and catastrophizing (CSG) with pain, disability, and anxious mood present possible targets for therapeutic intervention.

Pain symptoms in depression: definition and clinical significance.

This article presents the findings of a focused literature review and consensus meetings on the definition and clinical significance of painful symptoms in patients with depression. About 50% of depressed patients report pain, and many types of pain occur more frequently in people with depression than in those without. There is some evidence that pain in depressed patients is associated with a poor response to treatment. Pain and depression may share common pathways and may both respond to treatment with certain antidepressants. Doctors need to be alert to pain in depressed patients and be prepared to treat it.

Psychiatric and psychological management considerations associated with nerve damage and neuropathic trigeminal pain.

This article reviews current models of neuropathic pain and relates recent research in the neurobiology of pain to improved understanding of psychiatric and psychological aspects and treatment of chronic aspects of pain. Some of the anomalies associated with beliefs about chronic pain are also outlined. In particular, the notion that pain is either verifiable or due to psychiatric disturbance is laid to rest; the onus is on the clinician to understand and treat the patient with sensitivity, rather than on the patient to provide proof of pain.

Children in pain: an investigation of selective memory for pain and psychological adjustment.

This study investigated the effects of chronic pain on processing and recall of pain-related and neutral information in a group of children suffering from chronic pain due to juvenile arthritis, and a control group. Children were asked to encode pain-sensory, pain-affective and neutral words in a self and another person reference condition. Percentage recall and processing time for each wordtype were used as dependent measures. It was predicted that the pain group would present enhanced recall and faster processing times for pain related information encoded in self-reference when compared to the control group. The results showed that for the recall scores the pain group recalled significantly more sensory and neutral words in the self-reference condition than the control group, which showed the opposite recall pattern. The analysis of the processing times revealed that the pain group allocated less time to the processing of sensory and neutral information in the self-reference condition, whilst again the control group showed the opposite pattern. Selective memory for sensory information encoded in the self-reference condition for the chronic pain group provides preliminary evidence for a pain-specific memory bias in children and replicates the effects observed in studies with adult chronic pain groups. A similar bias was found for neutral words, but this might be due to an experimental artefact. Facilitated processing for sensory information encoded in self-reference was observed only for the pain group. This suggests that children in pain exhibit specific patterns of cognitive processing of pain information whilst they present normal depression and anxiety levels.

Tyramine conjugation deficit in patients with chronic idiopathic temporomandibular joint and orofacial pain.

This study was carried out to explore the value of the tyramine conjugation test, an established trait marker for 'endogenous unipolar depression', in patients with chronic idiopathic temporomandibular joint and orofacial pain. Our results show that the pain patients excrete significantly lower amounts of tyramine sulphate than controls (P < 0.0004). Psychiatric assessment by the structured clinical interview for the diagnosis of mental disorders according to DSM-III-R revealed that 48% of the patients had a history of depression and 10% were currently depressed. However, the never-depressed group of patients had the lowest tyramine sulphate excretion values. These findings suggest that a common biological abnormality underlies the pathogenesis of both chronic idiopathic facial pain and depression.

Reduction of postoperative pain and swelling by ultrasound treatment: a placebo effect.

Ultrasound (US) therapy is used to reduce pain and inflammation and to accelerate healing after soft tissue injury. However, there is little objective evidence of its effectiveness and the mechanisms which may cause these effects are unknown. In a placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial we examined the contribution of placebo and massage effects in ultrasound therapy following bilateral surgical extraction of lower third molars. Four to 6 h after surgery the patients (25 per group) received either no therapy, US (0.1 W/cm2), 'mock' US with massage, 'mock' US without massage, or 'self-massage' with a dummy applicator. Facial swelling, trismus, serum C-reactive protein, serum cortisol, pain and anxiety were measured 24 h postoperatively. The results showed that the beneficial analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of US therapy were placebo-mediated, with maximum effect in the placebo ('mock' US) group without circular massaging with the applicator). Self-massage by the patient produced no significant effect. This placebo action was independent of changes in serum cortisol or patient anxiety state. US therapy can significantly reduce postoperative morbidity, but by placebo-mediated mechanisms which are unrelated to the US itself.

Pain relief by antidepressants: possible modes of action.

There is evidence that both tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors can relieve chronic pain. There are a number of possible mechanisms for this phenomenon, recent studies suggest that this may be due to an analgesic rather than antidepressant effect.