Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome in a Recently Abstinent Chronic User: Assessment and Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) is a condition characterized by episodic bursts of vomiting and abdominal pain linked to cannabis use. The clinical picture mimics an acute abdomen and is often misdiagnosed, especially when the patient avoids reporting their cannabis use for legal reasons. CASE REPORT: We report on the case of a 33-year-old man that was brought to the emergency room with a history of 3 days of non-bloody, non-projectile, and non-bilious brownish vomit, coupled with severe epigastric and left hypochondriac pain, and a slight fever. He was a daily cannabis user for several years and had stopped using a week or so before the onset of the symptoms, as he was traveling to a country with more restrictive cannabis laws. His condition deteriorated rapidly, followed by emergency room attendance, thorough diagnostic work-up, and unsuccessful interventions, including intravenous treatment with the anti-emetic Ondansetron. The patient was referred to a psychiatrist after a suspected psychogenic etiology by the medical team. The history was suggestive of CHS and also included anxious, depressed mood with 'brain fog'. The abdominal pain was the most severe complaint. A combination of tramadol, promethazine, and mirtazapine given on an outpatient basis led to full recovery within 10 days. CONCLUSION: CHS can occur soon after the interruption of chronic cannabis use and overlap with withdrawal symptom. A combination of anti-histaminergic, opioid-based medication, and antidepressant mirtazapine seemed an effective treatment of CHS, which resulted in a relatively quick recovery.

High-salt diet induces microbiome dysregulation, neuroinflammation and anxiety in the chronic period after mild repetitive closed head injury in adolescent mice.

The associations between human concussions and subsequent sequelae of chronic neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension have been reported; however, little is known about the underlying biological processes. We hypothesized that dietary changes, including a high-salt diet, disrupt the bidirectional gut-brain axis, resulting in worsening neuroinflammation and emergence of cardiovascular and behavioural phenotypes in the chronic period after repetitive closed head injury in adolescent mice. Adolescent mice were subjected to three daily closed head injuries, recovered for 12 weeks and then maintained on a high-salt diet or a normal diet for an additional 12 weeks. Experimental endpoints were haemodynamics, behaviour, microglial gene expression (bulk RNA sequencing), brain inflammation (brain tissue quantitative PCR) and microbiome diversity (16S RNA sequencing). High-salt diet did not affect systemic blood pressure or heart rate in sham or injured mice. High-salt diet increased anxiety-like behaviour in injured mice compared to sham mice fed with high-salt diet and injured mice fed with normal diet. Increased anxiety in injured mice that received a high-salt diet was associated with microgliosis and a proinflammatory microglial transcriptomic signature, including upregulation in interferon-gamma, interferon-beta and oxidative stress-related pathways. Accordingly, we found upregulation of tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma mRNA in the brain tissue of high salt diet-fed injured mice. High-salt diet had a larger effect on the gut microbiome composition than repetitive closed head injury. Increases in gut microbes in the families Lachnospiraceae, Erysipelotrichaceae and Clostridiaceae were positively correlated with anxiety-like behaviours. In contrast, Muribaculaceae, Acholeplasmataceae and Lactobacillaceae were negatively correlated with anxiety in injured mice that received a high-salt diet, a time-dependent effect. The findings suggest that high-salt diet, administered after a recovery period, may affect neurologic outcomes following mild repetitive head injury, including the development of anxiety. This effect was linked to microbiome dysregulation and an exacerbation of microglial inflammation, which may be physiological targets to prevent behavioural sequelae in the chronic period after mild repetitive head injury. The data suggest an important contribution of diet in determining long-term outcomes after mild repetitive head injury.

World addiction medicine reports: formation of the International Society of Addiction Medicine Global Expert Network (ISAM-GEN) and its global surveys.

Addiction medicine is a dynamic field that encompasses clinical practice and research in the context of societal, economic, and cultural factors at the local, national, regional, and global levels. This field has evolved profoundly during the past decades in terms of scopes and activities with the contribution of addiction medicine scientists and professionals globally. The dynamic nature of drug addiction at the global level has resulted in a crucial need for developing an international collaborative network of addiction societies, treatment programs and experts to monitor emerging national, regional, and global concerns. This protocol paper presents methodological details of running longitudinal surveys at national, regional, and global levels through the Global Expert Network of the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM-GEN). The initial formation of the network with a recruitment phase and a round of snowball sampling provided 354 experts from 78 countries across the globe. In addition, 43 national/regional addiction societies/associations are also included in the database. The surveys will be developed by global experts in addiction medicine on treatment services, service coverage, co-occurring disorders, treatment standards and barriers, emerging addictions and/or dynamic changes in treatment needs worldwide. Survey participants in categories of (1) addiction societies/associations, (2) addiction treatment programs, (3) addiction experts/clinicians and (4) related stakeholders will respond to these global longitudinal surveys. The results will be analyzed and cross-examined with available data and peer-reviewed for publication.

Patterns of cannabis use, perception of harm, and perceived impact of legislative change in an online sample of young adults from Lebanon: insight on recreational users versus dual motive users.

BACKGROUND: Lebanon remains as one of the major sources of cannabis worldwide. In 2020, its government passed a legislation enabling the cultivation of local medicinal cannabis. This first study following the legislative change examines the overlapping use of cannabis for recreational/medicinal purposes and characteristics of the distinct cannabis user types. METHODS: A total of 1230 young adults (18-24 years) filled an anonymous online survey in early 2020. RESULTS: Young adults in the sample were distributed as follows: 33% 18-20 years; 60% males; 94% Lebanese; 75% students; and 89% living with family. The older young adults (21-24), males, those employed, living with non-family members, and who perceived themselves as being a little/lot richer than most were statistically significantly more present in the cannabis user subtypes (recreational only or recreational/medicinal) than non-cannabis users. When dual recreational/medicinal users are compared to recreational users only, the latter seemed to have a more conservative profile of behaviours, attitudes, and perceptions and acts of harm. The prevalence ratio comparing the prevalence of users supporting consuming cannabis "once or twice" in dual motive users vs. recreational users only was 1.13 for "once or twice", 1.25 for "occasionally", 1.64 for "regularly", and 2.4 for "daily". Any other illicit drug use was reported by 1% of the non-cannabis users, 36% of the recreational users only, and 58% of the recreational/medicinal users (p-value < 0.01). Similarly, any prescription drug use was reported by 3% of the non-cannabis users, 16% of the recreational users only, and 28% of both recreational/medicinal users (p-value < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The interface between recreational and medicinal cannabis use is complex. Dual motive users may warrant special attention as a subpopulation of cannabis users. This is relevant to contexts experiencing medicinal cannabis legislation changes, such as Lebanon, as policymakers and implementers should be sensitized to the emerging evidence for more data-informed policy changes.

Community mental healthcare in Lebanon.

Lebanon is a medium-income country in the Eastern Mediterranean which has seen a surge in interest in mental health over the past two decades following years of stagnation. The mental health needs of the country at primary care level and for severe psychiatric disorders are underserved. Political instability, chronic underfunding and widespread stigma have all contributed to maintaining a traditional model of private clinics affiliated with inpatient and long-stay psychiatric units. A number of initiatives have recently been launched to cater for patients with psychotic disorders and also to offer partial hospitalization for others with mood-related conditions. In parallel, the Ministry of Public Health,with international funding, has been instrumental in its efforts to standardize care at a national level, particularly for early detection and treatment in primary care settings. The priorities of the national mental health programme are consistent with the global trend in shifting services to the community. Hurdles remain, in line with those facing countries with similar socio-demographics and resources. These include limited third-party coverage of mental health,absence of training opportunities in multidisciplinary community settings and some clinicians' reluctance to update their ways of working. Development of a local workforce, familiar with evidence-based models of care and dedicated to providing a patient-centred approach in the least restrictive settings, is essential for consolidating community carein Lebanon. This would be reinforced by (overdue) legislation and implementation of a mental health law.