Challenges and considerations for treating PTSD with medicinal cannabis: the Australian clinician's perspective.

INTRODUCTION: Preclinical and experimental research have provided promising evidence that medicinal cannabis may be efficacious in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, implementation of medicinal cannabis into routine clinical therapies may not be straightforward. AREAS COVERED: In this review, we describe some of the clinical, practical, and safety challenges that must be addressed for cannabis-based treatment of PTSD to be feasible in a real-world setting. These issues are especially prevalent if medicinal cannabis is to be combined with trauma-focused psychotherapy. EXPERT OPINION: Future consideration of the clinical and practical considerations of cannabis use in PTSD therapy will be essential to both the efficacy and safety of the treatment protocols that are being developed. These issues include dose timing and titration, potential for addiction, product formulation, windows of intervention, and route of administration. In particular, exposure therapy for PTSD involves recall of intense emotions, and the interaction between cannabis use and reliving of trauma memories must be explored in terms of patient safety and impact on therapeutic outcomes.

Joint Effects of Prenatal Folic Acid Supplement with Prenatal Multivitamin and Iron Supplement on Obesity in Preschoolers Born SGA: Sex Specific Difference.

Prenatal maternal nutrient supplementation has been reported to be associated with offspring obesity, but the reports are inconsistent and have mainly ignored the differences between the total children population and children born small for gestational age (SGA). This study aimed to examine the joint effects of folic acid, iron, and multivitamin supplementation during pregnancy on the risk of obesity in preschoolers born SGA. A total of 8918 children aged 3-6.5 years born SGA were recruited from Longhua District in Shenzhen of China in 2021. Their mothers completed a structured questionnaire about the child's and parents' socio-demographic characteristics, maternal prepregnant obesity, and mothers' prenatal supplementation of folic acid, iron, and multivitamin. In addition, the children's current weight and height were measured by trained nurses. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the associations between prenatal supplementations and the current presence of childhood obesity. After controlling for potential confounders, the results of the logistic regression analysis showed that prenatal supplement of folic acid (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.55~0.93) was associated with a lower likelihood of being an obese preschooler born SGA. In contrast, the ingestion of multivitamin or iron supplements during pregnancy did not seem to be related to the likelihood of childhood obesity in preschoolers born SGA. Moreover, cross-over analysis of prenatal folic acid and multivitamin obtained significant negative associations of prenatal folic acid supplement only (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.55~0.97) and combination supplement of folic acid and multivitamin (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.50~0.90) with obesity of preschoolers born SGA; while the cross-over analysis of prenatal folic acid and iron observed significant negative associations between obesity of preschoolers born SGA and a combination supplement of folic acid and iron (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.52~0.96). Furthermore, the aforementioned significant associations were only found in girls and not in boys when the analyses were stratified by sex. Our findings suggest that the prenatal folic acid supplementation may decrease the risk of obesity in preschool girls born SGA, and that this effect may be modified by prenatal multivitamin or iron supplementation.

A Metacognitive Intervention of Narrative Imagery for young people with cystic fibrosis: A feasibility study.

Cystic fibrosis and its treatment can have substantial functional and emotional impacts on patients and their families. This feasibility study assessed a new cystic fibrosis treatment, Metacognitive Intervention of Narrative Imagery, integrating narrative and meta-cognitive therapies with mental imagery. A total of 13 patients, aged 10-17 years, received three 1-hour sessions and were assessed on emotional functioning, anxiety, and depression at baseline and 4 and 8 weeks post-baseline. Participants had significant improvements in anxiety, and changes in emotional functioning and anxiety had a medium effect size. Participants and parents rated Metacognitive Intervention of Narrative Imagery highly on usability and favourability. Further clinical trials are indicated.