Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

One hundred eighteen patients, 77 men and 23 women ranging in age from 18 to 70 years of age, admitted to an inpatient facility in Central New York were administered buspirone HCl for treatment of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Although one patient had an unwitnessed seizure, none of the subjects required discontinuance of buspirone HCl because of symptoms of dizziness, nausea, headache, nervousness, or lightheadedness, typical side effects described by the manufacturer. All but one of the individuals given buspirone HCl for alcohol detoxification completed that phase of treatment within six days in a manner which effectively controlled their withdrawal symptoms. The findings were suggestive of an important role for buspirone HCl in the detoxification of the alcohol-dependent patient using a pharmacologic agent other than traditional medications such as benzodiazepines, phenobarbital, beta blockers, magnesium sulphate, or clonidine.
J Subst Abuse Treat 1990
PMID:The role of buspirone in the management of alcohol withdrawal: a preliminary investigation. 223 26

Clonidine attenuates opiate withdrawal syndrome, via reduction in catecholamine activity in the brain, most probably at the locus ceruleus. Clonidine and locus ceruleus lesions, in animals with alcohol dependency as with the opiates, modify alcohol withdrawal. Both alcohol loading and withdrawal from steady alcohol use alter catecholamines in man and animals. Clonidine's potential to treat alcoholics in withdrawal is reviewed. Several double blind studies showed clonidine, or similar analogues, to be somewhat superior to placebo in acute alcohol withdrawal. Major improvements were in pulse, blood pressure and composite alcohol withdrawal scores. Side effects were minor and mainly included mild sedation, or postural hypotension. In the only available published study clonidine compared reasonably well to a standard sedative in alcohol withdrawal, and greatly influential in plasma catecholamine levels. Other components of alcohol withdrawal, as seizures and hallucinations-delirium tremens have not been documented to change with clonidine. The alpha-2-adrenergic agonists in alcohol treatment seemed modestly effective for treatment of some parts of alcohol withdrawal. They represent a promising, novel, but still investigational approach. Additional data, particularly comparing them to the benzodiazepines, are needed before their potential in therapeutics can be assessed.
Adv Alcohol Subst Abuse 1987
PMID:Clonidine and alcohol withdrawal. 332 72

Abuse of amphetamine and especially the stimulant look-alikes represent a serious problem in the United States. The danger of amphetamine lies in its ability to produce tolerance, psychological addiction, psychosis, hypertensive crisis, and major depression following withdrawal after long-term use. The danger of the look-alikes is of a psychosocial nature and has less to do with the physical properties of the drugs. Easy availability and a casual attitude toward these drugs may introduce children and young adults to the concept of recreational use of drugs at an early age. Look-alikes also divert the efforts of law enforcement officials whose time is better spent on efforts to control illegal distribution of controlled substances. However, look-alikes do produce severe to life-threatening effects including seizures, hypertensive crises, and psychoses. Unfortunately, there are no fast and easy solutions to the stimulant drug abuse problem. Abuse of CNS stimulants has a long history. Effective approaches must involve greater education about the dangers of these drugs and improved recognition among medical professionals of trends in CNS stimulant abuse in order to better diagnose and treat resulting problems. It is unlikely that federal controls on amphetamine production can be increased. The OTC drugs, such as PPA, caffeine, and ephedrine could be moved to prescription-only status to emphasize their potential for abuse and for producing adverse reactions, but this approach is counter to society's current trend toward self-medication.
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PMID:CNS stimulants and the look-alike drugs. 615 45

We describe the first case series (n = 6) of using chlordiazepoxide to accomplish a rapid, well-tolerated withdrawal from alprazolam. After abruptly discontinuing alprazolam, we substituted a 50-mg dose of chlordiazepoxide for each 1 mg of alprazolam (except for one elderly patient where we substituted 25 mg) and gave additional chlordiazepoxide doses (25-50 mg every 4-6 hours) as needed for the first 1-2 days of hospitalization. With this approach, the mean "substitution ratio" of chlordiazepoxide to alprazolam was 86 to 1. We then tapered chlordiazepoxide by an average of 10% each day over a 7- to 14-day period according to the symptoms manifested and tolerated by individual patients. No seizures or other serious side effects occurred. Incomplete cross-dependence, as described elsewhere in the literature, was not observed. The rapidity and familiarity of the method are advantages for inpatient units, but careful titration of dosage, diagnostic clarity, and extended follow-ups are necessary when applying this approach.
J Subst Abuse Treat
PMID:Treatment of alprazolam withdrawal with chlordiazepoxide substitution and taper. 796 2

While benzodiazepines possess many positive attributes for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal, they are not ideal drugs. The occurrence of toxic effects is not infrequent, and unless recognized promptly, toxicity may significantly impact treatment and length of stay. Use of shorter acting benzodiazepines may result in seizure activity under certain conditions of withdrawal.
J Subst Abuse Treat
PMID:Hazards associated with the use of benzodiazepines in alcohol detoxification. 824 19

The aim of this study was to examine dissociative experiences, childhood abuse and anxiety in epileptic and pseudoseizure female patients. Thirty-three patients with pseudoseizures and thirty patients with epilepsy were recruited from Cumhuriyet University Hospital Psychiatry and Neurology Units. We assessed each participant using the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale and the Childhood Abuse and Neglect Questionnaire. The female patients with pseudoseizures showed significantly higher levels of dissociative experiences and childhood trauma. Epileptic female patients showed higher levels of anxiety. The significantly higher incidence of dissociative experiences and childhood trauma in the patients with pseudoseizures makes a case for dissociation in the pathogenesis of these seizures.
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PMID:Dissociation and childhood abuse history in epileptic and pseudoseizure patients. 1554 89

Absinthe, a bitter spirit containing wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.), was banned at the beginning of the 20th century as consequence of its supposed unique adverse effects. After nearly century-long prohibition, absinthe has seen a resurgence after recent de-restriction in many European countries. This review provides information on the history of absinthe and one of its constituent, thujone. Medical and toxicological aspects experienced and discovered before the prohibition of absinthe are discussed in detail, along with their impact on the current situation. The only consistent conclusion that can be drawn from those 19th century studies about absinthism is that wormwood oil but not absinthe is a potent agent to cause seizures. Neither can it be concluded that the beverage itself was epileptogenic nor that the so-called absinthism can exactly be distinguished as a distinct syndrome from chronic alcoholism.The theory of a previous gross overestimation of the thujone content of absinthe may have been verified by a number of independent studies. Based on the current available evidence, thujone concentrations of both pre-ban and modern absinthes may not have been able to cause detrimental health effects other than those encountered in common alcoholism. Today, a questionable tendency of absinthe manufacturers can be ascertained that use the ancient theories of absinthism as a targeted marketing strategy to bring absinthe into the spheres of a legal drug-of-abuse. Misleading advertisements of aphrodisiac or psychotropic effects of absinthe try to re-establish absinthe's former reputation. In distinction from commercially manufactured absinthes with limited thujone content, a health risk to consumers is the uncontrolled trade of potentially unsafe herbal products such as absinthe essences that are readily available over the internet.
Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy 2006 May 10
PMID:Absinthism: a fictitious 19th century syndrome with present impact. 1672 51

Despite an increase in research on child abuse images and sex offender risk, we still lack specific data about the characteristics of the children found within these images. Such data would assist us with understanding the exploitation of children through abusive images and the choice of images by offenders. We accessed sexualized child images submitted to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) in the United Kingdom. In 1998, CEOP developed a database (ChildBase) of child abuse images gathered from police seizures across the United Kingdom. This database is continually updated and is operationally used to identify victims. We randomly selected 10% of the 247,950 images, submitted during 2005-2009, and sorted them into the following categories: gender, age, and ethnic group (White, Asian, Black, and Hispanic/Latino). Codes (n = 24,550) were analyzed using frequencies and cross-tabulations in relation to gender, age, and racial group. The odds of the abuse images being female versus male were about 4 to 1, and the odds of the images being of White children versus non-White children were about 10 to 1 (9.805). There was a significant gender difference in age distribution of all the children within the images. The limitations of this study are also discussed along with possible implications and recommendations for future research.
Sex Abuse 2011 Mar
PMID:Sexualized images of children on the Internet. 2134 29

Dextromethorphan (DXM) has unique toxicity that may be difficult to diagnose. We present a case of a young woman who presented to our emergency department (ED) initially diagnosed with recurrent seizures. Paramedics brought a 19-year-old woman to the ED. Witnesses noted "shaking," which the patient did not recall. The patient denied fever, antecedent trauma, or neurological complaint. She was recently administered lamotrigine for bipolar disorder. She was a former alcoholic with no history of developing withdrawal. She admitted to marijuana use but denied use of any other illicit substances. Her vital signs and physical examination were unremarkable. She had a normal brain computed tomography, electrocardiogram, and laboratory evaluation. There was no alcohol detected. Her urine drug screen was negative for opiates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, phencyclidine, and tricyclic antidepressants. She was diagnosed with new-onset seizure and discharged home. No abnormalities were seen in the brain magnetic resonance imaging scan and electroencephalogram. She was scheduled for a cardiac syncope workup, but never followed through. Two months later, she presented to the hospital again for a similar complaint. Coworkers reported witnessing sudden tonic-clonic movements and confusion. On ED presentation, the patient was tachycardic with a heart rate of 110 beats/min and had horizontal nystagmus. She was alert with a flat affect. She did not recall events but answered questions appropriately. Repeat radiographic and laboratory evaluations were normal including urine drug screen and computed tomography. Upon questioning, she admitted to abusing DXM for the past several months. A serum DXM level at this time was 988.3 ng/mL. She was admitted to the hospital for 24 hours without sequelae. All further diagnostic testing was cancelled, and she was referred to a drug rehabilitation program. Abuse of DXM is increasing in incidence. The serum level of our patient was almost 10-fold greater than the reported therapeutic level. The toxicity of DXM is unique, and abuse should be considered in all patients presenting to the ED with new-onset seizure. Dextromethorphan abuse should be considered in young adults who present with previously undiagnosed seizure activity.
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PMID:Dextromethorphan abuse masquerading as a recurrent seizure disorder. 2137 23

BACKGROUND: In response to the rising rate of treatment admissions related to illicit use of amphetamines (eg, methamphetamine), we examined the prevalence of amphetamine use among treatment-seeking, opioid-dependent adults, explored whether amphetamine users were as likely as nonamphetamine users to enroll in opioid-dependence treatment trials, and determined whether amphetamine users manifested greater levels of medical and psychiatric comorbidity than nonusers. METHODS: The sample included 1257 opioid-dependent adults screened for participation in three-multisite studies of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN001-003), which studied the effectiveness of buprenorphine for opioid detoxification under varying treatment conditions. Patients were recruited from 23 addiction treatment programs across the US. Medical and psychiatric comorbidity were examined by past-month amphetamine use (current vs former) and route of administration. Five mutually exclusive groups were examined, ie, nonusers, current amphetamine injectors, current amphetamine noninjectors, former amphetamine injectors, and former amphetamine noninjectors. RESULTS: Of the sample (n = 1257), 22.3% had a history of regular amphetamine use. Of the 280 amphetamine users, 30.3% reported injection as their primary route. Amphetamine users were more likely than nonusers to be white and use more substances. Amphetamine users were as likely as non-users to enroll in treatment trials. Bivariate analyses indicated elevated rates of psychiatric problems (depression, anxiety, hallucinations, cognitive impairment, violence, suicidal thoughts/attempts) and medical illnesses (dermatological, hepatic, cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, seizure, allergy conditions) among amphetamine users. After adjusting for demographic variables and lifetime use of other substances: current amphetamine users and former injectors showed an increased likelihood of having medical illnesses and hospitalizations; current injectors had elevated odds of suicidal thoughts or attempts; current noninjectors exhibited elevated odds of anxiety, cognitive impairment, and violent behaviors; and former noninjectors had increased odds of depression. CONCLUSION: Treatment-seeking, amphetamine-using, opioid-dependent adults manifest greater levels of medical and psychiatric morbidity than treatment-seeking, opioid-dependent adults who have not used amphetamines, indicating a greater need for intensive clinical management.
Subst Abuse Rehabil 2011 Jan 01
PMID:Co-occurring amphetamine use and associated medical and psychiatric comorbidity among opioid-dependent adults: results from the Clinical Trials Network. 2188 30


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