A phase III multisite randomised controlled trial to compare the efficacy of cannabidiol to placebo in the treatment of cannabis use disorder: the CBD-CUD study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is increasingly common and contributes to a range of health and social problems. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid recognised for its anticonvulsant, anxiolytic and antipsychotic effects with no habit-forming qualities. Results from a Phase IIa randomised clinical trial suggest that treatment with CBD for four weeks reduced non-prescribed cannabis use in people with CUD. This study examines the efficacy, safety and quality of life of longer-term CBD treatment for patients with moderate-to-severe CUD. METHODS/DESIGN: A phase III multi-site, randomised, double-blinded, placebo controlled parallel design of a 12-week course of CBD to placebo, with follow-up at 24 weeks after enrolment. Two hundred and fifty adults with moderate-to-severe CUD (target 20% Aboriginal), with no significant medical, psychiatric or other substance use disorders from seven drug and alcohol clinics across NSW and VIC, Australia will be enrolled. Participants will be administered a daily dose of either 4 mL (100 mg/mL) of CBD or a placebo dispensed every 3-weeks. All participants will receive four-sessions of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) based counselling. Primary endpoints are self-reported cannabis use days and analysis of cannabis metabolites in urine. Secondary endpoints include severity of CUD, withdrawal severity, cravings, quantity of use, motivation to stop and abstinence, medication safety, quality of life, physical/mental health, cognitive functioning, and patient treatment satisfaction. Qualitative research interviews will be conducted with Aboriginal participants to explore their perspectives on treatment. DISCUSSION: Current psychosocial and behavioural treatments for CUD indicate that over 80% of patients relapse within 1-6 months of treatment. Pharmacological treatments are highly effective with other substance use disorders but there are no approved pharmacological treatments for CUD. CBD is a promising candidate for CUD treatment due to its potential efficacy for this indication and excellent safety profile. The anxiolytic, antipsychotic and neuroprotective effects of CBD may have added benefits by reducing many of the mental health and cognitive impairments reported in people with regular cannabis use. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry: ACTRN12623000526673 (Registered 19 May 2023).

Why are caffeinated alcoholic beverages especially risky?

PURPOSE: Evidence suggests that people drink more alcohol and experience more adverse alcohol-related consequences (ARCs) on occasions when they also consume caffeine. The current study examined whether this increase in risk is a result of caffeine attenuating the subjective effects of alcohol intoxication (i.e., the masking hypothesis). METHODS: Undergraduate students (n = 148) reported their drinking patterns using a modified Timeline Followback approach. For each recalled drinking occasion, alcohol consumption, caffeine consumption, perceived blood alcohol concentration, and ARCs were assessed. Generalized linear mixed models were used to examine the influence that alcohol and caffeine consumption had on perceived intoxication and the experience of ARCs. RESULTS: At the occasion level, greater caffeine consumption was associated with increased consumption of alcohol and increased ARCs. There was also a significant curvilinear relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and perceived intoxication, such that the more alcohol was consumed on each occasion the less each additional drink increased perceived intoxication. Increased caffeine consumption weakened the association between alcohol consumption and perceived intoxication and it also weakened the association between alcohol consumption and ARCs. Specifically, the weakest relationship between ARCs and alcohol consumption existed at the highest level of caffeine consumption (240+ mg). Caffeine increased subjective intoxication. CONCLUSIONS: These findings do not support the masking hypothesis. Caffeine was strongly associated with ARCs when consumed at high doses and this effect does not appear to be the result of drinking more alcohol or underestimating one's blood alcohol content. Efforts to reduce caffeinated alcohol beverage use are greatly needed.

Psychological outcomes and surgical decisions after genetic testing in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer with and without a family history.

In patients with early breast cancer, personal and tumour characteristics other than family history are increasingly used to prompt genetic testing to guide women's cancer management (treatment-focused genetic testing, 'TFGT'). Women without a known strong family history of breast and/or ovarian may be more vulnerable to psychological sequelae arising from TFGT. We compared the impact of TFGT in women with (FH+) and without (FH-) a strong family history on psychological adjustment and surgical decisions. Women aged <50 years with high-risk features were offered TFGT before definitive breast cancer surgery and completed self-report questionnaires at four time points over 12 months. All 128 women opted for TFGT. TFGT identified 18 carriers of a disease-causing variant (50.0% FH+) and 110 non-carriers (59.1% FH+). There were no differences based on family history in bilateral mastectomy (BM) uptake, p = .190, or uptake of risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (RRBSO), p = .093. FH- women had lower decreases in anxiety a year after diagnosis, p = .011, and regret regarding their decision whether to undergo BM, p = .022, or RRBSO, p = .016 than FH + women. FH- carriers reported significantly higher regret regarding their TFGT choice (p = .024) and test-related distress (p = .012) than FH + carriers, but this regret/distress could not be attributed to a concern regarding a possible worse prognosis. These findings indicate that FH- women may require additional counselling to facilitate informed decisions. Carriers without a family history may require additional follow-up counselling to facilitate psychological adjustment to their positive variant results, extra support in making surgical decisions, and counselling about how best to communicate results to family members.