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 12,064 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The purpose of the present study was to investigate smoking abstinence effects and the dissipation of tolerance (reactivity to nicotine) under controlled laboratory conditions. Seventeen male and female regular smokers were tested first in a session following ad libitum smoking and then in an additional five sessions over the course of 11 days during which they abstained from smoking. A metered dose of nicotine was administered via intranasal spray to ensure standard exposure, and pre- and post-dosing measures of heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol, galvanic skin response (GSR), craving, and several DSM-IV withdrawal symptoms (anxiety, irritability, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and appetite) were collected. Prior to the nicotine test dose during deprivation sessions, heart rate and systolic blood pressure evinced elements of both an 'offset abstinence pattern' (deflection in a direction opposite to that produced by smoking) and a 'transient abstinence pattern' (deflection followed by a subsequent return); for cortisol, an offset pattern was observed, whereas for GSR and craving, a transient pattern was found. With respect to loss of tolerance, heart rate reactivity was found to increase significantly after 2 days' abstinence from nicotine, and the increase was sustained in subsequent sessions. Cortisol reactivity revealed more gradual dissipation, with significant differences evident only after 9 days of abstinence. These findings extend research on nicotine abstinence effects and on the dissipation of tolerance to nicotine deprivation intervals of nearly 2 weeks and confirm prior observations of variability across different response systems.
Nicotine Tob Res 2000 May
PMID:Abstinence effects and reactivity to nicotine during 11 days of smoking deprivation. 1107 53

The present study used logistic regression techniques to examine the extent to which depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and nicotine dependence increased risk of experiencing craving and the eight DSM-IV withdrawal symptoms (depressed mood, insomnia, irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, decreased heart rate, increased appetite) during smoking abstinence, assessed retrospectively. Data were provided by a racially diverse sample of 365 male and female smokers recruited to participate in laboratory studies. Results indicate that variables known to be associated with smoking are risk factors for distinct and only somewhat overlapping patterns of symptomatology. Smokers scoring high on measures of anxiety, depression, or disordered eating were at increased risk primarily of experiencing withdrawal symptomatology pathognomonic to their particular disorder, whereas smokers scoring high on nicotine dependence appeared to be at increased risk of experiencing a syndromal pattern of withdrawal, encompassing craving and insomnia as well as cognitive/affective symptoms. Our results support the possibility that some individuals use smoking as a form of self-medication and suggest that elucidation of patterns of withdrawal symptomatology may contribute to improved specification of smoking phenotypes as well as facilitate treatment-matching.
Nicotine Tob Res 2000 Aug
PMID:Who gets what symptom? Effects of psychiatric cofactors and nicotine dependence on patterns of smoking withdrawal symptomatology. 1108 28

The present study was designed to characterize nicotine withdrawal during a 5-day period in which smokers who were not trying to quit were offered monetary incentives to abstain while residing in their usual environments. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. In two groups, monetary payment was delivered contingent on breath carbon monoxide levels (CO< or =8 ppm) indicating recent smoking abstinence, with the amount of payment differing between the two groups. The third group was a control group in which payment was delivered independent of smoking status. Participants provided CO samples three times per day (morning, afternoon- and evening) for 5 days (Monday-Friday). At each evening visit, all participants completed a nicotine withdrawal questionnaire and other questionnaires. Contingent payment significantly decreased expired-air CO and salivary cotinine levels as compared with the control group. No significant differences in abstinence were noted as a function of the amount paid. Participants in both contingent payment groups reported significantly more withdrawal symptoms than those in the noncontingent control group, including increases in anxiety and nervousness, impatience and restlessness, hunger, and desire to smoke. Such contingent payment procedures may provide an effective method for studying nicotine withdrawal in smokers that does not require the costly and inconvenient practice of housing research participants on a closed ward to prevent smoking.
Nicotine Tob Res 2003 Apr
PMID:A contingent payment model of smoking cessation: effects on abstinence and withdrawal. 1274 93

Nicotine replacement therapy relieves withdrawal symptoms, significantly improving smoking cessation rates. Oral transmucosal nicotine (OT-NIC) is a novel nicotine delivery system consisting of a lozenge (OT-NIC unit) containing 4 mg of nicotine, which is dissolved in the cheek pouch, releasing nicotine for absorption through the buccal mucosa. Theoretical advantages of OT-NIC include that it does not require special chewing methods or interfere with dental work, it provides sensory oral effect, and it can be dosed to effect. This study aimed to determine the preliminary safety and efficacy of OT-NIC for suppression of nicotine withdrawal symptoms over 8 days of smoking abstinence and to assess flavor preference, sensory characteristics, and acceptability. In an open-label, within-subjects design, 11 smokers used three different flavors of OT-NIC ad lib in response to withdrawal symptoms and craving. On days 1 and 8, withdrawal symptoms were measured with pre- and postadministration scores for each of the first three OT-NIC units used (three different flavors presented in random order). Flavor preference, desire to smoke, sensory characteristics, acceptability, and overall OT-NIC performance were rated at the end of each day. A generalized estimating equation analysis was conducted to account for the repeated-measures design. Use of OT-NIC resulted in a significant decrease in a composite withdrawal score aggregating scores from all eight symptoms (decline of.57 units in a possible range of 4, p<.01). Withdrawal scores for anxiety, craving, difficulty concentrating, impatience, and restlessness significantly decreased. Depressed mood, increased appetite, and irritability did not change. Order of flavor preference was peppermint over cinnamon over plain. Acceptability and ratings for sensory characteristics were favorable, and OT-NIC was well tolerated with no serious adverse effects. In conclusion, OT-NIC showed promise as a potential new aid for smoking cessation.
Nicotine Tob Res 2003 Apr
PMID:Efficacy of oral transmucosal nicotine lozenge for suppression of withdrawal symptoms in smoking abstinence. 1274 84

This paper addresses methodological issues in the assessment of nicotine withdrawal and craving in clinical trials of smoking cessation therapies. We define withdrawal as a syndrome of behavioral, affective, cognitive, and physiological symptoms, typically transient, emerging upon cessation or reduction of tobacco use and causing distress or impairment of behavioral function. Offset effects (effects related to removal of a direct nicotine effect) are sustained effects of cessation or reduction of tobacco use that cause distress or impairment. Withdrawal and craving are important as potential predictors of relapse, as mediators and markers of treatment effects, and as clinical phenomena in their own right. Symptoms recommended for assessment include craving, irritability, depression, restlessness, sleep disturbance, difficulty concentrating, increased appetite, and weight gain; anxiety deserves further study. We recommend reporting of data on each of these individual symptoms, and use of multiple-item assessments. Although some standardized measures of withdrawal have promising psychometric properties, no measure has yet fully established its reliability, validity, and broad applicability and, therefore, we do not currently favor universal adoption of any one measure. Assessment of objective indices of withdrawal (e.g., hormonal changes) is currently technically challenging and of unknown value. Although weekly assessment may suffice in some large trials, more intensive measurement can provide better sensitivity. Analyses of withdrawal should include baseline measures and be sensitive to potential instability in baseline. Analytic approaches should take into account potential bias when only abstinent subjects are examined. Conversely, heterogeneity should be considered when smoking subjects are included in intent-to-treat analyses. Withdrawal data from clinical trials focused on assessing abstinence rates may be biased because of progressive subject loss to dropout and relapse; different designs and approaches are needed to investigate the process and natural history of craving and withdrawal.
Nicotine Tob Res 2004 Aug
PMID:Recommendation for the assessment of tobacco craving and withdrawal in smoking cessation trials. 1570 Sep 22

Since the early 1980s, investigators have been reporting that adolescent smokers felt "dependent" on cigarettes and that adolescents trying to quit smoking experienced the same withdrawal symptoms observed in adult quitters, including restlessness, insomnia, increased appetite and weight gain, irritability or anger, depression, craving for cigarettes, and trouble concentrating. We hypothesized that most of these symptoms might be attributed to adolescence itself. To investigate this hypothesis, we examined the prevalence of these seven "adult" withdrawal symptoms in a population of adolescent former smokers and never-smokers. Participants were high school students in Houston, Texas, participating in a nested, group-randomized control group study designed to estimate the impact of a CD-ROM intervention for smoking prevention and cessation. We measured differences in symptoms frequency between never-smokers and former smokers, matched in a 2:1 ratio on sex and race/ethnicity, and differences in symptoms among former smokers as a function of time since final quit attempt and prior level of smoking. Only former heavy smokers have shown significantly higher prevalence of withdrawal symptoms compared with never-smokers. Of the seven symptoms assessed, only craving incrementally increased with the intensity of smoking. Overall the individual withdrawal symptoms did not effectively differentiate between 112 never-smokers and 34 former lighter smokers (persons who used to smoke less than "a few cigarettes on most days"). Withdrawal symptoms can reliably differentiate former heavy smokers from light smokers and never-smokers, among adolescents. Because most adolescents tend to be lighter smokers, future tobacco use and cessation studies should interpret adult withdrawal symptoms among adolescents with caution.
Nicotine Tob Res 2005 Dec
PMID:"Withdrawal symptoms" in adolescents: a comparison of former smokers and never-smokers. 1629 26

No pharmacotherapies have been shown to increase long-term (> or = 6-month) abstinence rates among smokeless tobacco (ST) users. Available evidence suggests that underdosing may occur with standard-dose nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in ST users. We investigated the effect of high-dose nicotine therapy on tobacco withdrawal symptoms among ST users in a randomized, controlled clinical pilot study. A total of 42 ST users using at least 3 cans or pouches per week were randomized to nicotine patch doses of 63, 42, or 21 mg/day or placebo for 8 weeks. Multiple daily assessments of tobacco withdrawal and nicotine toxicity were obtained with an electronic diary. During the first week of nicotine patch therapy, we observed a dose-response relationship such that higher nicotine patch doses were associated with less decreased arousal (chi2 = 6.87, p = .009), less negative affect (chi2 = 3.85, p = .05), and less restlessness (chi2 = 3.90, p = .048). During the second week, higher nicotine patch doses were associated with less decreased arousal (chi2 = 6.77, p = .009). Overall, the frequency of nicotine toxicity symptoms did not differ by dose group. Of specific symptoms, nausea was observed to be more frequent in the 63 mg/day dose group compared with placebo (p = .035). In conclusion, high-dose nicotine patch therapy resulted in a greater reduction of tobacco withdrawal symptoms among ST users using at least 3 cans per week. High-dose nicotine patch therapy is safe and well tolerated in this population of tobacco users.
Nicotine Tob Res 2007 Jan
PMID:Effect of high-dose nicotine patch therapy on tobacco withdrawal symptoms among smokeless tobacco users. 1736 35

This article updates a 1990 review of the effects of tobacco abstinence by reviewing (a) which symptoms are valid indicators of tobacco abstinence and (b) the time course of tobacco abstinence symptoms. The author searched several databases to locate more than 3,500 citations on tobacco abstinence effects between 1990 and 2004; 120 of these were used in this review. Data collection and interpretation were based solely on the author's subjective judgments. For brevity, the review does not evaluate craving, hunger, performance, and several other possible outcomes as withdrawal symptoms. Anger, anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia, and restlessness are valid withdrawal symptoms that peak within the first week and last 2-4 weeks. Constipation, cough, dizziness, increased dreaming, and mouth ulcers may be abstinence effects. Drowsiness, fatigue, and several physical symptoms are not abstinence effects. In conclusion, no major changes are suggested for DSM-IV criteria for tobacco/nicotine withdrawal, but some deletions are suggested for ICD-10 criteria. Future studies need to investigate several possible new symptoms of withdrawal and to define more clearly the time course of symptoms.
Nicotine Tob Res 2007 Mar
PMID:Effects of abstinence from tobacco: valid symptoms and time course. 1736 63

This study examined the nature of the relationship among lifetime major depression, smoking, and nicotine dependence. Subjects were 8,169 male twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. Biometrical modeling demonstrated a genetic influence on daily smoking, nicotine dependence, and major depression, and a family environmental influence on daily smoking. Genetic factors influencing nicotine dependence also strongly influenced major depression. We also compared probands with a history of major depression (n = 398) from pairs discordant for major depression, their nondepressed cotwins (n = 364), and controls (n = 1,863) on a number of secondary smoking outcomes. Major depression was associated with current daily smoking and certain nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Individuals with a familial vulnerability for major depression, even without a personal history of major depression, were more likely to smoke despite a serious illness and to report nervousness, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and depressed mood during past quit attempts. Among the 237 monozygotic pairs discordant for major depression, depressed probands were more likely to have a lifetime history of nicotine dependence than were cotwins. Findings extend Kendler and colleague's (1993) study of female twins by demonstrating in men that shared genetic factors predispose not only to major depression and daily smoking but also to major depression and nicotine dependence.
Nicotine Tob Res 2008 Jan
PMID:A twin study of smoking, nicotine dependence, and major depression in men. 1818 50

Tobacco withdrawal symptoms have been shown to play a significant role in mediating relapse to smoking in adult smokers; however, few prospective studies have examined the course of tobacco withdrawal symptoms over time and their connection to lapse in adolescent smokers. Withdrawal symptoms were assessed weekly for 4 weeks in a sample of adolescent smokers participating in a pilot cessation intervention. Adolescent smokers experienced an exacerbation in overall withdrawal symptoms, particularly of cravings and restlessness, although symptoms were generally mild. The course of symptoms was different for boys and girls: Girls generally experienced a peak and subsequent decline in symptoms early in the establishment of abstinence, whereas boys experienced a constant level of symptoms that did not decline over the 4 weeks. Finally, withdrawal symptoms experienced on quit day were not related to lapse to smoking during the course of treatment for either boys or girls. These results suggest that although withdrawal symptoms may be uncomfortable, they may not be the most salient to a lapse to smoking for adolescent smokers attempting to quit. These findings have direct implications for the design and implementation of treatment of nicotine dependence in adolescent smokers.
Nicotine Tob Res 2008 Jul
PMID:Preliminary examination of tobacco withdrawal in adolescent smokers during smoking cessation treatment. 1862 36


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