Cognitive impairment in 'non-user' first-degree relatives of persons with cannabis dependence syndrome: A pilot, endophenotype study.

INTRODUCTION: Cannabis use disorders are global emerging problem nowadays, with high prevalence and morbidity. Cognitive impairments, and also corresponding genetic vulnerability, has been fairly replicated in individuals with cannabis dependence. However, there are few studies that assess cognitive functioning as an endophenotype or a trait marker for cannabis dependence. While the primary objective of this study was to assess the endophenotype pattern of cognitive dysfunction in cannabis dependence, assessing the association between the degree of cognitive functioning, and their socio-demographic and clinical variables in the cannabis dependence patients and their first-degree relatives was the secondary objective. METHODOLOGY: We compared cognitive functioning across three groups- patients with cannabis dependence syndrome, their 'non-user' first-degree relatives and healthy controls, with 30 participants in each group. Five cognitive domains- attention and concentration, verbal fluency, memory, visuospatial ability and executive functions were assessed. We assessed for endophenotype pattern of statistical significance in pairwise analyses of Kruskal-Wallis test, which was corrected for multiple comparisons. Subsequently, correlation analysis to assess association of cognitive impairment with socio-demographic and clinical variables was conducted. RESULTS: Although impairment in attention and executive functions also was seen in patients with cannabis dependence, endophenotype pattern of statistical significance in pairwise analyses, with impairment in first-degree relatives too, was seen in all sub-scores of verbal fluency and verbal memory. None of the correlations were significant. CONCLUSION: 'Non-user' first-degree relatives of patients with cannabis dependence too show significant cognitive impairment. Verbal fluency and verbal memory are possible endophenotypes or trait markers for cannabis dependence syndrome.

External Ear Anomalies and Minor Physical Anomalies in Depressive Disorder Patients and Healthy Controls.

Objective: To determine if external ear anomalies (EEAs) and minor physical anomalies (MPAs) are more prevalent in patients with depressive disorder than in healthy controls.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary-level referral center between October 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020, and included 100 patients with depressive disorder (diagnosed per ICD-10 criteria) and 100 aged- and sex-matched healthy controls. The study participants were examined using the External Ear Anomalies Assessment Scale and the extended Waldrop Scale.Results: Independent samples Mann-Whitney U test showed a higher prevalence of mean EEAs and MPAs in patients with depressive disorder. Adherent ear lobe was the most common ear anomaly in both patients (52%) and controls (41%), followed by Darwinian tubercle (21% in the patient group and 19% in the control group).Conclusions: External ear anomalies are more prevalent in patients with depressive disorder, supporting the neurodevelopmental theory of depression. These EEAs need further description and attention for possible inclusion in scales that assess minor physical anomalies and may be used as an endophenotypic marker for depression in the future.Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2023;25(4):22m03416. Author affiliations are listed at the end of this article.