Dual Diagnosis in Adolescents with Problematic Use of Video Games: Beyond Substances.

The technological revolution has led to the birth of new diagnoses, such as gaming disorder. When any addiction, including this one, is associated with other mental disorders, it is considered a dual diagnosis. The objectives of this current work were to estimate the prevalence of dual diagnoses in the adolescent general population while also considering the problematic use of video games and substance addiction and assessing its psychosocial risk factors. Thus, we carried out a cross-sectional study with a sample of 397 adolescents; 16.4% presented problematic videogame use and 3% presented a dual diagnosis. Male gender increased the probability of both a dual diagnosis (OR [95% CI] = 7.119 [1.132, 44.785]; p = 0.036) and problematic video game use (OR [95% CI] = 9.85 [4.08, 23.77]; p < 0.001). Regarding personality, low conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness scores were predictors of a dual diagnosis and problematic videogame use, while emotional stability predicted a dual diagnosis (OR [95% CI] = 1.116 [1.030, 1.209]; p = 0.008). Regarding family dynamics, low affection and communication increased both the probability of a dual diagnosis (OR [95% CI] = 0.927 [0.891, 0.965]; p < 0.001) and problematic video game use (OR [95% CI] = 0.968 [0.945, 0.992]; p = 0.009). Regarding academic performance, bad school grades increased the probability of a dual diagnosis. In summary, male gender, certain personality traits, poor communication, and poor affective family dynamics should be interpreted as red flags that indicate an increased risk of a dual diagnosis in adolescents, which could require early intervention through specific detection programs.

The Efficacy of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Patients with Dual Diagnosis: Schizophrenia and Addiction.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of an animal-assisted-therapy (AAT) program in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and substance-use disorders in residential treatment in order to intervene in the remission of negative and positive symptoms and improve quality of life and adherence to treatment, favouring the clinical stabilization of patients who participate in the AAT program, within the context of a mental-illness-treatment device. This was a quasi-experimental prospective study with intersubject and intrasubject factors. The sample comprised 36 patients (21 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group) who were evaluated at three time points (in the 3rd, 6th, and 10th sessions). The program lasted 3 months and consisted of 10 sessions that were implemented once a week, with a maximum participation of 10 patients per group. The participants were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia and the Life Skills Profile-20 (LSP-20) questionnaire. We observed a decrease in the positive symptoms of psychosis (F: 27.80, p = 0.001) and an improvement in functionality (F: 26.70, p < 0.001) as the sessions progressed. On the basis of these results, we concluded that AAT seems to be valid as a coadjuvant therapy as part of the rehabilitation processes of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and addiction-spectrum disorders (dual diagnosis).

Gender Perspective in Dual Diagnosis.

Little data are available for women diagnosed with a dual diagnosis. However, dual diagnosis in women presents increased stigma, social penalties, and barriers to access to treatment than it does for men. Indeed, it increases the probability of suffering physical or sexual abuse, violent victimization, gender-based violence, unemployment, social exclusion, social-role problems, and physical and psychiatric comorbidities. Thus, a transversal sex and gender-based perspective is required to adequately study and treat dual diagnosis. For this, sex and gender factors should be included in every scientific analysis; professionals should review their own prejudices and stereotypes and train themselves specifically from a gender perspective; administrations should design and provide specific treatment resources for women; and we could all contribute to a structural social transformation that goes beyond gender mandates and norms and reduces the risk of abuse and violence inflicted on women.

Risk-taking and fairness among cocaine-dependent patients in dual diagnoses: Schizophrenia and Anti-Social Personality Disorder.

This study reports experimental results from a clinical sample of patients with a cocaine-related disorder and dual diagnosis: Schizophrenia and Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Both types of patients as well as a non-clinical group of students performed two incentivized decision-making tasks. In the first part of the experiment, they performed a lottery-choice task in order to elicit their degree of risk aversion. In the second part, they decided in two modified dictator games aimed at eliciting their aversion to advantageous and disadvantageous inequality. It is found that the Anti-Social Personality Disorder group exhibits no significant differences from the non-clinical sample in either task. However, compared with the students' sample, subjects from the group with schizophrenia show more risk aversion and exhibit more aversion towards disadvantageous inequality.

Investigation on the consumption of synthetic cannabinoids among teenagers by the analysis of herbal blends and urine samples.

The use of synthetic cannabinoids (SCs), which escape conventional detection systems, may be a good alternative to elude routine drug analysis for cannabis. The detection of these drugs in urine is unusual due to their complete and fast metabolism, therefore requiring alternative strategies. In this work, an investigation has been made on SCs consumption by minors (less than 18 years old) in juvenile offenders' centres. 667 urine samples (from 127 minors) were collected after their permits with stay at home. We also studied the SCs from 7 herbal blends available at the smartshop frequented by the minors. Both, urine and herbal blends, were analysed by liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry. The analysis of urine confirmed the absence of more than 200 SCs investigated. Thus, the focus was made on metabolites reported for those SCs identified in the herbal blends collected from the smart-shop. The major metabolites of XLR-11 and UR-144 (N-pentanoic acid and N-(5-hydroxypentyl)) were found in several urine samples. Apart from the main metabolites included in the initial searching, a thorough investigation of more metabolites for these SCs was additionally performed, including MS/MS experiments for the tentative identification of compounds detected in the urine samples. The 16 samples positive to the XLR-11 metabolites were assigned to 6 minors, only 2 of which had recognized consumption. On the basis of the results obtained, preventive and therapeutic interventions must be implemented to reduce the consumption of psychoactive substances and to improve the risk-perception of these substances by minors.

Sociodemographic, Clinical, and Therapeutic Aspects of Penitentiary Psychiatric Consultation: Toward Integration Into the General Mental Health Services.

The characteristics of mental disorders, as well as deficiencies in their treatment, must be properly defined. This was a prospective, longitudinal, observational study, in which all men referred to a penitentiary psychiatric consultation of three penitentiary centers in Spain were invited to participate. Those who consented to participation (1328) were interviewed at the baseline timepoint and at intervals for up to 3 years. The presence of mental disorders was high: 68.2% had a cluster B personality disorder, 14% had an affective and/or anxiety disorders, 13% had schizophrenia, and over 80% had a dual disorder. Polypharmacy was the norm. Moreover, the health care received in prison did not match that provided in the community in terms of quantity and quality. These results should help to facilitate the design of mental healthcare provision for prisoners, focusing on both the most frequent patient profiles and equality of care.

Sensorimotor Gating in Cocaine-Related Disorder with Comorbid Schizophrenia or Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Objective: Schizophrenia, cocaine-related disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and psychopathy share biological bases, but few studies discriminate between these disorders by means of prepulse inhibition. This work studies the phenotype of patients with cocaine-related disorders who are vulnerable to presenting a dual diagnosis of schizophrenia or antisocial personality disorder, by evaluating their prepulse inhibition, impulsivity and psychopathy personality traits. Methods: The sample (n = 38) was divided into three groups: (1) cocaine-related disorder (8 individuals diagnosed with cocaine-related disorder who did not present any other mental disorder), (2) cocaine-related disorder and schizophrenia (n = 14), and (3) cocaine-related disorder and antisocial personality disorder (n = 16). Results: The prepulse inhibition in the two groups with dual diagnosis was lower than that in the cocaine-related disorder group, F(2, 35) = 6.52, p = .004, while there was no significant differences between the two dual-diagnosis groups. Psychopathy was evaluated with the revised Hare Psychopathy Checklist and showed no correlation with the prepulse inhibition. Secondary psychopathy (impulsivity and poor behavior control), as evaluated with Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, was related to the prepulse inhibition. Two discriminating functions were obtained that allowed prediction of patient inclusion in the groups using the prepulse inhibition and the revised Hare Psychopathy Checklist with a success rate of 81.6% (cocaine-related disorder = 62.5%; cocaine-related disorder and schizophrenia = 78.6%; cocaine-related disorder and antisocial personality disorder = 93.8%). These results are discussed in regard to the neurobiological implications of prepulse inhibition in dual diagnosis. Conclusions: The results suggest that the prepulse inhibition is a promising dual-diagnosis vulnerability marker in individuals with cocaine addiction, because prepulse inhibition deficits are related both to schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder. In addition, prepulse inhibition, which is considered a good endophenotype for studies on the genetic and neurobiological basis of cocaine-related disorder and schizophrenia, could be used in the same way in studies on antisocial personality disorder.

The effectiveness of a brief motivational nursing intervention to reduce psychoactive substance consumption in entertainment-sector workers: A transversal, observation, and semi-experimental study.

Checking whether changes in the perception of the quality of life related to health, after the nursing intervention, influence these patients' motivation to change. This was a two-staged study undertaken in entertainment-sector workers in Spain: the first part was transversal and observational, and the second was semi-experimental. First part undertook in 284 entertainment-sector workers, selected by non-probabilistic sampling, while second part undertook in 50 entertainment-business workers, selected by consecutive sampling from those who consumed substances. A short group-based motivational intervention session was implemented by nursing staff, and a before and after evaluation was completed. The EuroQol-5D and Test for the Evaluation of the Quality of Life in Addicts to Psychoactive Substances (TECVASP) were used. The patients' motivation to change was evaluated through the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale. The results analysis showed that the nursing intervention reduced the participants' perceptions of their health-related quality of life (t = 4.23; P = 0.00009) and of their quality of life in addicts to psychoactive substances (t = 3.38; P = 0.00140). There was an increase in the motivation of 6 workers (12%) to seek treatment of their addiction (χ2  = 13.02; P = 0.0091). The post-test contemplation stage score was predicted (F = 6.56; P = 0.003; R = 0.46) with post-test TECVASP score and pre-post difference in TECVASP score. By reducing the patients' perception of their quality of life, this brief nursing intervention facilitated a favourable increase in the motivation for change among these workers and was effective in 12% of cases.

Demotivating outcome of asymmetrical Nucleus Accumbens disconnection for cocaine related disorder: a translational point of view. / Desmotivadora evolución de la desconexión asimétrica del Núcleo Accumbens en el trastorno por consumo de cocaína: un punto de vista traslacional.

Letter to the editor.

Carta al editor.

Desmotivadora evolución de la desconexión asimétrica del Núcleo Accumbens en el trastorno por consumo de cocaína: un punto de vista traslacional / Demotivating outcome of asymmetrical Nucleus Accumbens disconnection for cocaine related disorder: a translational point of view

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Interacciones y consecuencias del consumo combinado de alcohol y cocaína: una actualización sobre el cocaetileno1 / Interactions and consequences of the combined use of alcohol and cocaine: an update on cocaethylene

Los pacientes que solicitan tratamiento por consumo de cocaína y abuso de alcohol, presentan peculiaridades respecto de los que sólo consumen cocaína. La ingesta de alcohol como detonante del “craving” y conducta de búsqueda compulsiva de cocaína, influye en haber una mayor perdida de control del consumo, más problemas sociales, más conductas de riesgo y antisociales. Hipótesis: la presencia de un metabolito denominado Cocaetileno, resultante del consumo simultaneo de alcohol y cocaína, podría explicar, la mayor toxicidad y compulsividad de estos episodios. Metodología: Se realiza una revisión de la literatura científica sobre las consecuencias de la interacción alcohol-cocaína. Resultados: La interacción metabólica alcohol-cocaína incrementa el potencial tóxico de ambas sustancias por separado. El cocaetileno actúa como tóxico per se. Su presencia en el organismo provoca mayor riesgo potencial en los consumo simultáneos de alcohol y cocaína. Existen concentraciones de cocaetileno más significativas cuando el alcohol se administra previamente a la cocaína. Los resultados de la investigación básica muestran que, gran parte de las diferencias observadas en la acción de ambas sustancias, cuando se ingieren conjuntamente, pudieran estar debidas a modificaciones en la farmacocinética de dichas drogas y a la potencial acción del cocaetileno lo que, sumado a las respectivas acciones del alcohol y la cocaína, podría ser la base de la mayor gravedad de los cuadros clínicos observados (AU)

Patients who request treatment for cocaine use and alcohol abuse present differences from those who use cocaine only. Ingestion of alcohol as a detonator of craving and the compulsive search behaviour of cocaine leads to a greater loss of control on use, more social problems, more risk and more antisocial behaviours. Hypothesis: the presence of a metabolite known as cocaethylene, resulting from the simultaneous use of alcohol and cocaine could explain the greater toxicity and compulsivity of these episodes. Methodology: A review was made of the scientific literature on the consequences of alcohol-cocaine interaction. Results: The alcohol-cocaine metabolic interaction increases the potential toxicity of both substances taken separately. The cocaethylene acts as a toxic per se. Its presence in the organism provokes a higher potential risk in the simultaneous consumption of alcohol and cocaine. There are more significant concentrations of cocaethylene when alcohol is administered prior to the cocaine. The results of the basic research show that a large part of the differences observed in the action of both substances, when ingested simultaneously, could be a result of modifications in the pharmacokinetics of said drugs and of the potential action of the cocaethylene, which, added to the respective actions of alcohol and cocaine, could be the basis of the increased severity observed in clinical profiles (AU)