Monday, June 24, 2013

Less than 300mg of Caffeine Daily During Pregnancy Considered Okay

For the past few years, caffeine has been considered a relatively harmful teratogen for expecting mothers. However, caffeinated beverages are often the drug of choice for many expectant mothers. It can be estimated that a healthy amount of mothers consume at least a minimum of one cup per day. However, is this a healthy amount for an embryo?

The College of Family Physicians of Canada recently did a study to test the strength of the relationship between caffeine intake and adverse effects on pregnancy. Surprisingly, their findings did not mirror what previous findings have. According to the study there was a very weak relationship between an intake of under 300 mg of caffeine (~2 cups) and adverse pregnancy, fertility, or neurodevelopmental outcomes. The study stated that as long as an expecting mother keeps intake down to less than 2 cups a day the effects should not be that detrimental to the pregnancy and the newborn.

[SOURCE]

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Caffeine reduces myocardial blood flow during exercise



In lecture we learned that caffeine, developed by plants as a natural pesticide, is the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world, with over 90% of adults in North America consuming it daily.  On average, everyone in the world consumes one caffeinated beverage per day.  The mechanism of action by which caffeine acts is an inhibition of the inhibitory neurotransmitter adenosine.  As the popularity of caffeinated beverages such as energy drinks has increased in the past decade, sudden cardiac death has been reported among teenagers and young athletes who have consumed these products.  This is especially in conjunction with exercising, and this article summarizes the contemporary understanding related to caffeine consumption and reduced exercise coronary blood flow.  It discovered that a dose of caffeine between 200 and 300 mg taken orally at rest has no acute detrimental effect on myocardial blood flow, but when exercising, patients have a significantly reduced coronary vasodilatation.  This could subsequently lead to possible complications including myocardial ischemia, spasm, and arrythmia, especially in those who do not drink caffeine regularly or are exercising at higher altitudes.  In conclusion, the article reads that it is likely that caffeine antagonizes the coronary artery vasodilator effects medicated by the inhibition of adenosine receptors.  Additional research needs to be conducted in order to further understand the underlying mechanisms of caffeine on the body, especially because this is the most widely used psychoactive drug in modern times.  It is also interesting to note that many collegiate students consume caffeine in conjunction with their protein supplements in order to have a more effective workout.  The caffeine component may now be seen as  deleterious to one's potential to gain strength without physiological damage.
Link to article:
http://ac.els-cdn.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/S0002934313001897/1-s2.0-S0002934313001897-main.pdf?_tid=c8b116d4-dc7f-11e2-a460-00000aab0f01&acdnat=1372045396_fc4690da7ceba9264b5d7f0a8b040e95
http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/science/article/pii/S0002934313001897#
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/pubmed/23764265

Illicit Use of Opioids Among Young Users


       Illegal use of pharmaceutical drugs has been identified as one of the fastest growing forms of drug abuse in the U.S., with pain relievers showing the highest prevalence rates of non-medical use among all other therapeutic classes of prescription drugs (SAMHSA, 2006). The leading motive for non medical opioid use was "to relax or relieve tension" Research I found revealed evidence of a growing epidemic of opioid misuse among teenagers. Sub groups of youths that were at particularly high risk include females, blacks, those of lower socio-economic status, and those who hold favorable attitudes toward illicit drugs, have detached parents, or have friends who use illicit drugs. Respondents own use of other illicit drugs is the strongest factor of their non medical use of prescription opioids.
      Non medical use of prescription opioids is a recurrent epidemic and valuable lessons from past epidemics of this nature can be learned if data is studied. Prevention campaigns should be more common and target groups at risk for substance abuse and focus on improving family bonds and drug resistance skills.


Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2692760/

A prospective study of neurocognitive changes 15 years after chronic inhalant abuse.




The recreational inhalation of volatile hydrocarbons, more commonly known as inhalant abuse, occurs frequently in many disadvantaged subpopulations. The inhalation of leaded patrol, containing tetraethyl lead, causes initial euphoria and sedation but can lead to lack of coordination, and coma with increased doses. Leaded patrol overdoses can cause encephalopathy; a neurological syndrome that includes tremors, ataxia, eye movement abnormality, and seizures.  A previous study showed that central nervous system disruption occurring from the inhalant abuse showed a substantial recovery after two years of abstinence.  This study, specifically, involved two remote Aboriginal communities from Arnhem Land, Australia.  The participants included 27 healthy controls, 60 ex-chronic inhalant abusers, and 17 with a history of encephalopathy. This study was the first to demonstrate that in the absence of encephalopathy, specific cognitive and neurological impairments, caused by inhalant abuse, are completely reversible after 15 years of abstinence, although serious neurological deficits may last longer or become permanent. The persistence of the deficits is completely related to the initial blood lead levels and the duration and severity of the abuse.  This study showed that at 2 years of abstinence, blood lead was reduced but remained elevated. After 15 years, the blood lead and other performance scores were all equivalent to those of the healthy control groups. For the group with a history of encephalopathy, the blood lead levels declined over the course of the 15 years, but not as drastically as the other test groups. 

Source: 
 Addiction. 2013 Jun;108(6):1107-14. doi: 10.1111/add.12124. Epub 2013 Mar 13.
A prospective study of neurocognitive changes 15 years after chronic inhalant abuse.
Cairney S, O' Connor N, Dingwall KM, Maruff P, Shafiq-Antonacci R, Currie J, Currie BJ.
Source
Menzies School of Health Research, Institute of Advanced Studies, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia; Flinders University and Northern Territory Clinical School, Darwin, NT, Australia.

Life AfterStraightedge Subculture



           It’s very easy for people with anti-drug agendas to a voice in the discussion that is both heard and respected.  Drugs do come with some nasty side effects: addiction, overdoses, health problems, and societal damage just to name a few.  This makes it easy for scientific studies and other projects to be conducted which examine why people use drugs and what mechanisms, biological and psychological, make them work.  However, little research is done into what causes vehement, even irrational, reactions against drug use and drug users. 
Why is it that some people (such as Bill O’Reilly) will dismiss all other viewpoints but abstinence from drugs with a heavy hand?  Jason Torkelson sets out to indirectly answer this question and others like it in his 2010 article “Life After Straightedge Subculture.”  In his study, Torkelson interviewed twenty former straightedgers (people who refuse to imbibe any intoxicants while using that abstinence as a social identity) to find out why they eventually “broke edge” and began using drugs and/or alcohol. 
The interviews yielded several consistent results.  First, nearly all of the research participants cited becoming straightedge as a way to rebel against what they saw as mainstream youth culture; that being intoxication.  Second, many also enjoyed the sense of discipline that came with the straightedge lifestyle.  Third, most of those interviewed also left the lifestyle after realizing that many of the factors they found unsavory about drug use, especially violence, were just as prevalent in the straightedge movement.
Torkelson’s results lead to further questions.  How might factors like a sense of discipline and a rejection of perceived “mainstream” culture affect how those with power might view drug use?  From Hamilton Wright to Richard Nixon how have the personal psyches of lawmakers influenced the drug laws now on the books?

Torkelson, Jason. “Life After (Straightedge) Subculture.” Qualitative Sociology 23.3 (2010): 257-274. Web. Springer Science+Business Media. 23 June 2013.

Electronic Cigarettes


The article I chose for this week’s blog post is one that discusses non-cigarette forms of tobacco and their effects on the lungs.  For this post, I will specifically be focusing on electronic cigarettes.  In 2007, the electronic cigarette was introduced in the United States.  They were produced and marketed to offer smokers a tobacco free alternative.  Instead of tobacco, electronic cigarettes contain cartridges of liquid nicotine.  The battery powered cigarette devices heat up the liquid nicotine and produces a vapor, much like that of a weed vaporizer.  The idea is that the user is avoiding harmful smoke produced from burning tobacco; however, there have not been enough studies done on the product for health experts and regulatory agencies to be certain it is as safe as it seems.  The biggest controversy surrounding this matter seems to be the regulation.  While there are many companies in the United States distributing electronic cigarettes, they often do not make specific safety claims about their products.  They emphasize rather, the benefits of being an alternative to tobacco.  There is a concern that manufacturers may not be adequately disclosing all of the chemical ingredients in their products.  In addition, an electronic cigarette may contain as much as or more nicotine than a regular cigarette.  Nevertheless, the FDA regulates them as nicotine delivery devices, the same way they regulate normal tobacco-containing cigarettes.  Ultimately, I believe tighter regulations must be made for electronic cigarettes.  Until proper studies for long and short term use have been made, these devices should be deemed illegal.


http://link.springer.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs12016-013-8372-0.pdf

Effects of Caffeine Consumption by Women and Men on the Outcome of In Vitro Fertilization

In Choi et al.’s  “Effects of Caffeine Consumption by Women and Men on the Outcome of In Vitro Fertilization” article, he reports on the findings of the study performed on couples undergoing assisted reproductive treatment. Previously experimental results were varied, with assumptions that there may exist several biological factors for caffeine to affect conception, some including caffeine may have changes in ovarian functions through the alteration in levels of hormones. Choi’s study was performed through survey questions about the patient’s age, alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine use, which ultimately may be proven to be biased and cause a discrepancy in the results. Choi went on to measure the patient’s consumption of coffee in category depending on the amount in mg per week in order to see any correlation between the consumption and the in vitro fertilization. Ultimately, Choi’s study found that there was no correlation in fact between the consumption of caffeine by men and women and the In Vitro fertilization results. In conclusion, Choi et al. acknowledge some of the errors and bias that may have been factors in their analysis and conclusion of the study. Some of these errors include the inaccuracies in self-reporting, the lifestyle factor of each patient, the difficulty faced in quantifying the exact amount of caffeine in caffeinated beverages, etc. While these limitations are present, there still appears to be no significant, major effect on the outcome of In Vitro fertilization.

Source: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/jcr.2011.0001