Volumetric brain abnormalities in polysubstance use disorder patients.

AIM: Polysubstance users represent the largest group of patients seeking treatment at addiction and rehabilitation clinics in Turkey. There is little knowledge about the structural brain abnormalities seen in polysubstance users. This study was conducted to examine the structural brain differences between polysubstance use disorder patients and healthy control subjects using voxel-based morphometry. METHODS: Forty-six male polysubstance use disorder patients in the early abstinence period and 30 healthy male controls underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was performed to examine gray matter (GM) abnormality differences. RESULTS: Polysubstance use disorder patients displayed significantly smaller GM volume in the thalamus, temporal pole, superior frontal gyrus, cerebellum, gyrus rectus, occipital lobe, anterior cingulate cortex, superior temporal gyrus, and postcentral gyrus. CONCLUSION: A widespread and smaller GM volume has been found at different regions of the frontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal lobes, cerebellum, and anterior cingulate cortex in polysubstance users.

Barbexaclone abuse in a cannabis ex-user.

Abuse of drugs including addictive ingredients is common among patients with initial addiction history. This article reports a patient who had experienced a panic attack due to cannabis intoxication and has began to abuse an antiepileptic drug barbexaclone after he had quitted cannabis.