Sober N Clean

A study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) supports previous reports that adolescents with bipolar disorder are at increased risk for smoking and substance abuse. Researchers say the study is a reminder that teens with bipolar disorder should be screened for drug and alcohol use and abuse.

“This work confirms that bipolar disorder (BPD) in adolescents is a huge risk factor for smoking and substance abuse, as big a risk factor as is juvenile delinquency,” says Timothy Wilens, MD, director of Substance Abuse Services in MGH Pediatric Psychopharmacology, who led the study. “It indicates both that young people with BPD need to carefully be screened for smoking and for substance use and abuse and that adolescents known to abuse drugs and alcohol – especially those who binge use – should also be assessed for BPD.”

It has been estimated that up to 20 percent of children and adolescents treated for psychiatric problems have bipolar disorder, and there is evidence that pediatric and adolescent BPD may have features, such as particularly frequent and dramatic mood swings, not found in the adult form of the disorder. While elevated levels of smoking and substance abuse previously have been reported in young and adult BPD patients, it has not been clear how the use and abuse of substances relates to the presence of BPD or whether any increased risk could be attributed to co-existing conditions such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder or anxiety disorders.

The current study, which appeared in the June issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence, analyzes extensive data – including family histories, information from primary care physicians, and a detailed psychiatric interview – gathered at the outset of a continuing investigation following a group of young BPD patients into adulthood. In addition to 105 participants with diagnosed BPD, who enrolled at an average age of 14, the study includes 98 control participants of the same age, carefully screened to rule out mood disorders.

Incidence of each measure – alcohol abuse or dependence, drug abuse or dependence, and smoking – was significantly higher in participants with BPD than in the control group. Overall, rates of substance use/abuse were 34 percent in the bipolar group and 4 percent in controls.

The data also indicated that bipolar youth whose symptoms began in adolescence were more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than were those whose symptoms began in childhood. “It could be that the onset of mood dysregulation in adolescence puts kids at even higher risk for poor judgement and self-medication of their symptoms,” Wilens says.
_________
source: Coalitions Online

Depression will affect up to 25% of the population at some point in their lives. It also has been shown to have a strong genetic component. For example, if one of your close family members has depression, your chance of also being a sufferer is three to four times the general population risk.

Now University of Aberdeen researchers have joined forces with the University of Liverpool and the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London to try to find the genetic causes of depression.

They believe the answers could lie with short DNA sequences which act as 'genetic switches' controlling key genes in an area of the brain that influences mood.

These switches ensure that certain genes are only used in the correct parts of the brain at the proper times and in the right dose. Any changes in these can cause imbalances in the amount of critical proteins in the brain that may increase susceptibility to depression.

Unlike genes, little is know of these switches, technically known as enhancers, because up until now they have been very hard to find.

Recently, however, it was found that these switches were so important in evolution that they have been kept, nearly unchanged, through hundreds of millions of years from a time before the dinosaurs.

Dr Alasdair MacKenzie, Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, and the scientist leading the study, explained: "Only by comparing the genomes of species as diverse as mice, marsupials and birds has it been possible to identify these switches as, in many cases, they are located far away from the genes they control. The distances involved are as surprising as having a light bulb in London with the switch for controlling it in Liverpool."

Comparing the genomes of different species has helped them to identify the switches responsible for controlling genes known to be involved in depression, as well as addiction, obesity and inflammatory pain.

This new study funded by the Medical Research Council will allow them to build on their earlier work and also analyse common sequence differences found in the general population which can result in increased risk of developing depression.

Researchers in Aberdeen and Liverpool will study the functional effect of these 'switch' sequences. Scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's, led by Dr Gerome Breen and Professor Peter McGuffin, will look at common variations found in these sequences using DNA samples taken from thousands of patients with chronic depression.

It is hoped the three year study - which will also examine why some sufferers do not respond to anti-depressant treatments - will ultimately pave the way for new drugs to treat the condition.

Dr Alasdair MacKenzie said: "This study would have been impossible even four years ago. It is only through advances in the sequencing of the DNA of many different species that we can now use powerful computers to pick out the most important bits of the human genome that includes the switches needed to control genes.

"In addition to depression, this technology has the potential for exploring the causes of a number of other disorders including chronic pain, obesity or even cancer."

Professor Quinn at the University of Liverpool said: "This study hopes to discover how the same genes in different people are controlled in slightly different ways in the parts of the brain that control fear and mood.

"We hope to link differences in the switches that control these genes with susceptibility to distressing conditions such as depression and chronic anxiety. Also, we hope to find out how these differences may change the way that depressed patients respond to their medicines."

Dr Breen, jointly leading the Institute of Psychiatry at King's involvement, said: "We can now analyse millions of genetic variations in the human genome but it is only studies like that that will allows us to track down those that are important in disorders such as depression."

Professor McGuffin added: "We are delighted to be part of such a potentially exciting project and look forward to our collaboration further enlightening clinical research and practice."
__________
source: Medical News Today

A new report providing analyses of substance use and mental health patterns occurring in each state reveals that there are wide variations among the states in problems like illicit drug use and underage drinking, but that no state was immune from these problems. For example, past month use of alcohol among persons aged 12 to 20 (underage use of alcohol) ranged from a low of 21.5 percent in Utah to a high of 38.3 percent in Vermont. Yet Utah had the highest level of people age 18 or older reporting serious psychological distress in the past year (14.4 percent), while Hawaii had the lowest level (8.8 percent).

The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that although there are some differences in the patterns of substance use and mental health problems experienced among states and regions, all parts of the country are seriously affected by these problems.

"This report shows that although states may be uniquely affected by serious public health problems like underage drinking, every state and region must confront these issues," said SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. "By highlighting the nature and scope of the challenges affecting each state, we can help focus and target substance abuse and mental illness prevention and treatment resources."

State Estimates of Substance Use is based on the 2005-2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and provides state-level estimates for 23 measures of substance use and mental health problems, including underage drinking, use of illicit drugs, serious psychological distress, major depression, and tobacco use. These estimates are based on combined data collected from 136,110 respondents surveyed in 2005 and 2006 (the most recent data available). The report also reveals statistically significant changes that have occurred within each state between 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.

Notable findings in this report include:

Underage Alcohol Use and Binge Drinking

Georgia had the lowest level of past month underage binge drinking of alcohol (15.2 percent), and North Dakota had the highest level (28.5 percent).

Increases in underage drinking levels between the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 NSDUH surveys occurred in Arkansas (from 25.2 to 28.7 percent), Nevada (from 25.1 to 27.9 percent), and Vermont (from 34.0 to 38.3 percent). Arkansas and Vermont also experienced increases in underage binge alcohol use during this same period (Arkansas from 17.0 to 19.4 percent, and Vermont from 24.5 to 28.0 percent).

South Dakota's and Wisconsin's levels for underage drinking decreased from 38.3 to 34.1 percent, and from 39.5 to 35.4 percent respectively. These two states also experienced declines in the level of underage binge drinking (South Dakota dropped from 27.0 to 23.7 percent and Wisconsin went from 28.1 percent to 25.1 percent).

Illicit Drug Use

Past month use of illicit drugs for all persons aged 12 or older ranged from a low of 5.7 percent in North Dakota to a high of 11.2 percent in Rhode Island.

The percentage of persons aged 12 or older who used an illicit drug in the past month increased in the period between the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 NSDUH surveys in Washington state from 8.5 to 10 percent. The level decreased in Kentucky during this period from 8.4 to 7.0 percent.

Utah had the lowest level of past month marijuana use among persons age 12 or older (4.3 percent). Vermont had the highest level of past month marijuana use among the same age group (9.7 percent).

In 2005-2006, Oklahoma had the highest percentage (6.7 percent) of persons aged 12 or older using pain relievers for nonmedical purposes in the past year. Hawaii, New Jersey, and South Dakota had the lowest rate in the Nation-3.9 percent.

Tobacco Use

Utah had the lowest prevalence level for past month tobacco use among persons aged 12 or older (22.1 percent). West Virginia had the highest level for this age group (40.6 percent).

Two states showed increases in past month tobacco use among persons 12 or older between the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 NSDUH surveys -- the rate in California rose from 21.2 to 22.6 percent and the level in Oklahoma went up from 33.7 to 36.9 percent.

Substance Dependence and Abuse

The percentage of persons with a substance use disorder, including either drug or alcohol dependence or abuse, ranged from a low of 7.5 percent in New Jersey to a high of 12.3 percent in the District of Columbia.

The highest rate of illicit drug dependence or abuse was in the District of Columbia (4.3 percent), while the lowest rate was in Iowa (2.1 percent).

Kentucky had the lowest rate of alcohol dependence or abuse (6.3 percent). Montana had the highest rate (10.8 percent).

Mental Health Problems

Hawaii had the lowest level of people age 18 or over reporting at least one major depressive episode in the past year (5.0 percent) while Nevada had the highest rate (9.4 percent).

The full report is available on the Web here. Copies may be obtained free of charge by calling SAMHSA's Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727). Request inventory number SMA 08-4311. For related publications and information, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/ .

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health services delivery system.

http://www.samhsa.gov/

It is not uncommon to see a person with depression struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Such a co-occurring problem can actually magnify the difficulties with both depression and addiction.To counter this, the Cirque Lodge drug rehab program has instituted a dual diagnosis service to address both problems at hand. Therapy services are engineered to look at the disorder and address the problem as it presents itself.

Depression can be the reason behind the addiction. People who develop depression are often times more recluse and can turn to drugs and alcohol to satisfy their condition. Depression can also present itself in forms of pain throughout the body. With this condition, an individual can turn to narcotic prescription drugs to end the pain, and develop an addiction to these drugs. These addictive substances are taken to suppress the depression. The development is an addiction and a greatly compounded depression issue.

Depression increases the risk of developing addiction. The central nervous system of someone struggling with depression is more susceptible to the influences of drugs and alcohol. Recent studies have shown that within people who have been diagnosed with depression that over 50% were dependent on drugs, 37% abused alcohol, and 25% were struggling with both drugs and alcohol abuse. Some therapy officials feel that the very same thing that causes depression is the thing that increases the risk of addiction.

Adversely, alcohol and drug addiction can be the cause of the depression. The make up of some drugs can create a sense of depression within the individual. This can depend on the extent, the amount, and type of drug or alcohol that is abused. Drug rehab programs will usually stop the abuse of alcohol and drugs to see if the depression begins to fade. If the symptoms of depression begin to disappear, most likely it was brought on by the addiction itself.

Depression, Addiction Treatment and Diagnosis

In looking for a drug rehab program for you or a loved one, it is advantageous to seek an addiction treatment center that offers a dual diagnosis service. Dual diagnosis works with many types of psychiatric disorder, beyond depression. An effective dual diagnosis drug rehab can bring a halt to addiction and then address the issue of depression. This provides a proper recovery for both of the problems at hand.

source: Information provided by Cirque Lodge a private alcohol and drug rehab program in Sundance Utah.