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Biomedical subjects

Nadia Solowij

Publications and source records attributed to Nadia Solowij.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Fatty acid relationships in former cannabis users with schizophrenia.

Abnormalities in the fatty acid (FA)-based endocannabinoid lipid signaller anandamide, and prevalent cannabis use, have been found to be associated with schizophrenia and may potentially alter stress mechanisms. Other FA-based signallers, however, reportedly enhance anandamide function. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between peripherally-measured levels of the FA sources of anandamide and its related signallers. The authors examined erythrocyte FA levels in patients who were former cannabis users ("C-ever") (n=6) or cannabis-naïve ("C-never") (n=6), in relation to symptoms of stress measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS). The results showed that, in former cannabis users only, arachidonic acid (AA, anandamide's precursor) was positively correlated with total 16- and 18-carbon monounsaturated and saturated FAs (16,18m+sFAs), precursors of lipid signallers that enhance or interact with anandamide function. In C-ever, both AA and 16,18m+sFAs correlated inversely with stress, while the 18-carbon polyunsaturated FA, linoleic acid, was positively correlated with stress. Although the findings are tentative in this small sample, potential interventions are indicated. Future research may determine whether these FAs are involved in hypothesised links between anandamide abnormalities, cannabis use and stress in schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Cognitive functioning of long-term heavy cannabis users seeking treatment.

CONTEXT: Cognitive impairments are associated with long-term cannabis use, but the parameters of use that contribute to impairments and the nature and endurance of cognitive dysfunction remain uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of duration of cannabis use on specific areas of cognitive functioning among users seeking treatment for cannabis dependence. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Multisite retrospective cross-sectional neuropsychological study conducted in the United States (Seattle, Wash; Farmington, Conn; and Miami, Fla) between 1997 and 2000 among 102 near-daily cannabis users (51 long-term users: mean, 23.9 years of use; 51 shorter-term users: mean, 10.2 years of use) compared with 33 nonuser controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures from 9 standard neuropsychological tests that assessed attention, memory, and executive functioning, and were administered prior to entry to a treatment program and following a median 17-hour abstinence. RESULTS: Long-term cannabis users performed significantly less well than shorter-term users and controls on tests of memory and attention. On the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, long-term users recalled significantly fewer words than either shorter-term users (P =.001) or controls (P =.005); there was no difference between shorter-term users and controls. Long-term users showed impaired learning (P =.007), retention (P =.003), and retrieval (P =.002) compared with controls. Both user groups performed poorly on a time estimation task (P<.001 vs controls). Performance measures often correlated significantly with the duration of cannabis use, being worse with increasing years of use, but were unrelated to withdrawal symptoms and persisted after controlling for recent cannabis use and other drug use. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that long-term heavy cannabis users show impairments in memory and attention that endure beyond the period of intoxication and worsen with increasing years of regular cannabis use.

Adult↗