Uzależnienie od benzodiazepin

Benzodiazepines are widely prescribed and have anxiolytic, sedative and hypnotic activity. They pushed the barbituranes out thehealth market because of relatively low toxicity and high efficacy. However, used chronically, can lead to addiction and caution must be used when prescribing benzodiazepines. The article presents current problems of benzodiazepines abuse risk, dependence and treatment.Benzodiazepiny stanowią grupę leków o działaniu przeciwlękowym, uspokajającym i nasennym. Jako preparaty skuteczne i mało toksyczne szybko wyparły z lecznictwa pochodne barbituranów. Przewlekłe stosowanie benzodiazepin prowadzi do fizycznej zależności i może powodować uzależnienie, co jest poważnym problemem w terapii. W pracy przedstawiono problematykę uzależnienia od benzodiazepin

Examining the Effects of Detraining and Retraining on Health Outcomes in Community Fitness Program.

Color poster with text and graphs describing research conducted by Jenna L. Grotthus, advised by Lance C. Dalleck.The primary purpose of this study was to determine if not participating in a regular community fitness program (CFP) during the summer months (12-wk) negatively impacts health (detraining). The secondary purpose was to determine if potential decreases in health for participants not exercising during the summer months could be regained after resuming fall CFP (retraining).University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Culture and perception of leadership: Ideal leader in the country of origin and the country of residence - case of Germany. Study report (part two)

The present paper is a supplement to the earlier report (Witkowski, Grotthus, 2011) from the intercultural research concerned with an ideal leader prototype from an immigrant's perspective. In the present part, the authors focus consecutively on four groups of foreigners (Poland, Eastern Europe, Latin Europe, Latin America) working in Germany. Comparison of outstanding leader prototypes in the country of origin and Germany yielded significant differences in all groups.</jats:p

Objawy odstawienia wybranych leków. Część II

Chronic diseases often require long-lasting pharmacotherapy. Administration of some medicines on a daily routine may cause troublesome adverse effects thus discouraging the patient from further treatment. An abrupt withdrawal of formerly continuous pharmacotherapy not proceeded by the professional medical consultation may endanger the patient either due to the relapse of the disease or the onset of withdrawal symptoms that, despite some opinions, are not limited only to potentially addictive medications. These symptoms may be mistaken for a clinical manifestation of a yet another medical condition of the ill leading to a vicious cycle of repeated diagnostics – additional pharmacotherapy – discontinuation of treatment due to drug intolerance – novel symptoms – repeated diagnostics etc., especially in the elderly. Unfortunately, even some medical doctors tend to forget that administration of specific drugs should not be stopped suddenly because certain withdrawal symptoms are more harmful than mild drug-induced adverse reactions. On the other hand, this is the clinician’s individual decision whether to stop or to continue the treatment in the presence of drug intolerance reported by the patient as many “practical” guidelines either do not give any recommendations or the statements are too general to be helpful in every-day practice. Therefore, the authors review the data on the causative factors and clinical implications of a sudden drug withdrawal, including mainly stricte non-addictive medicines in use for diseases of high incidence in general population. Gastric acid blockers, benzodiazepines, some antidepressants and opioid analgetics have been described in the review.</jats:p

Objawy odstawienia wybranych leków. Część I

Chronic diseases often require long-lasting pharmacotherapy. Administration of some medicines on a daily routine may cause troublesome adverse effects thus discouraging the patient from further treatment. An abrupt withdrawal of formerly continuous pharmacotherapy not proceeded by the professional medical consultation may endanger the patient either due to the relapse of the disease or the onset of withdrawal symptoms that, despite some opinions, are not limited only to potentially addictive medications. These symptoms may be mistaken for a clinical manifestation of a yet another medical condition of the ill leading to a vicious cycle of repeated diagnostics – additional pharmacotherapy – discontinuation of treatment due to drug intolerance – novel symptoms – repeated diagnostics etc., especially in the elderly. Unfortunately, even some medical doctors tend to forget that administration of specific drugs should not be stopped suddenly because certain withdrawal symptoms are more harmful than mild drug-induced adverse reactions. On the other hand, this is the clinician’s individual decision whether to stop or to continue the treatment in the presence of drug intolerance reported by the patient as many “practical” guidelines either do not give any recommendations or the statements are too general to be helpful in every-day practice. Therefore, the authors review the data on the causative factors and clinical implications of a sudden drug withdrawal, including mainly stricte non-addictive medicines in use for diseases of high incidence in general population.</jats:p

Cortical excitability dynamics during fear processing

Background: Little is known about the modulation of cortical excitability in the prefrontal cortex during fear processing in humans. Here, we aimed to transiently modulate and test the cortical excitability during fear processing using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and brain oscillations in theta and alpha frequency bands with electroencephalography (EEG). Methods: We conducted two separate experiments (no-TMS and TMS). In the no-TMS experiment, EEG recordings were performed during the instructed fear paradigm in which a visual cue (CS+) was paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (electric shock), while the other visual cue was unpaired (CS-). In the TMS experiment, in addition the TMS was applied on the right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). The participants also underwent structural MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanning and were assigned pseudo-randomly to both experiments, such that age and gender were matched. The cortical excitability was evaluated by time-frequency analysis and functional connectivity with weighted phase lag index (WPLI). We further linked the excitability patterns with markers of stress coping capability. Results: After visual cue onset, we found increased theta power in the frontal lobe and decreased alpha power in the occipital lobe during CS+ relative to CS- trials. TMS of dmPFC increased theta power in the frontal lobe and reduced alpha power in the occipital lobe during CS+. The TMS pulse increased the information flow from the sensorimotor region to the prefrontal and occipital regions in the theta and alpha bands, respectively during CS+ compared to CS-. Pre-stimulation frontal theta power (0.75–1 s) predicted the magnitude of frontal theta power changes after stimulation (1–1.25 s). Finally, the increased frontal theta power during CS+ compared to CS- was positively correlated with stress coping behavior. Conclusion: Our results show that TMS over dmPFC transiently modulated the regional cortical excitability and the fronto-occipital information flows during fear processing, while the pre-stimulation frontal theta power determined the strength of achieved effects. The frontal theta power may serve as a biomarker for fear processing and stress-coping responses in individuals and could be clinically tested in mental disorders