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The article presents a case study regarding the familial risk factor of binge-eating disorder (BED) in obese individuals. The study shows that BED is combined to the families independently of obesity. Its severity is prevalent in adulthood which can be attributed from the familial factors. However, interventions in treating the disorder may be employed so as to alleviate public health's burden of obesity.

Background: Affective spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a group of psychiatric and medical conditions, each known to respond to several chemical families of antidepressant medications and hence possibly linked by common heritable abnormalities. Forms of ASD include major depressive disorder (MDD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, bulimia nervosa, cataplexy, dysthymic disorder, fibromyalgia, generalized anxiety disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and social phobia. Two predictions of the ASD hypothesis were tested: that ASD, taken as a single entity, would aggregate in families and that MDD would coaggregate with other forms of ASD in families. Methods: Probands with and without MDD, together with their first-degree relatives, were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and a supplemental interview for other forms of ASD. The familial aggregation and coaggregation of disorders were analyzed using proband predictive logistic regression models, including a novel bivariate model for the presence or absence of each of 2 disorders in a relative as predicted by the presence or absence of each of 2 disorders in the associated proband. Results: In the 178 interviewed relatives of 64 probands with MDD and 152 relatives of 58 probands without MDD, the estimated odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for the familial aggregation of ASD as a whole was 2.5 (1.4-4.3; P = .001) and for the familial coaggregation of MDD with at least one other form of ASD was 1.9 (1.1-3.2; P = .02). Conclusions: Affective spectrum disorder aggregates strongly in families, and MDD displays a significant familial coaggregation with other forms of ASD, taken collectively. These results suggest that forms of ASD may share heritable pathophysiologic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, its long-term cognitive effects remain inadequately studied. Methods: We recruited individuals aged 30 to 55 years in 3 groups: (1) 63 current heavy users who had smoked cannabis at least 5000 times in their lives and who were smoking daily at study entry; (2) 45 former heavy users who had also smoked at least 5000 times but fewer than 12 times in the last 3 months; and (3) 72 control subjects who had smoked no more than 50 times in their lives. Subjects underwent a 28-day washout from cannabis use, monitored by observed urine samples. On days 0, 1, 7, and 28, we administered a neuropsychological test battery to assess general intellectual function, abstraction ability, sustained attention, verbal fluency, and ability to learn and recall new verbal and visuospatial information. Test results were analyzed by repeated-measures regression analysis, adjusting for potentially confounding variables. Results: At days 0, 1, and 7, current heavy users scored significantly below control subjects on recall of word lists, and this deficit was associated with users' urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations at study entry. By day 28, however, there were virtually no significant differences among the groups on any of the test results, and no significant associations between cumulative lifetime cannabis use and test scores. Conclusion: Some cognitive deficits appear detectable at least 7 days after heavy cannabis use but appear reversible and related to recent cannabis exposure rather than irreversible and related to cumulative lifetime use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Field studies of illicit anabolic-androgenic steroid users suggest that some develop manic or aggressive reactions to these drugs—a potential public health problem. However, controlled laboratory evaluations of these effects remain limited. Methods: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, we administered testosterone cypionate for 6 weeks in doses rising to 600 mg/wk and placebo for 6 weeks, separated by 6 weeks of no treatment, to 56 men aged 20 to 50 years. Psychiatric outcome measures included the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (a computerized provocation test of aggression), the Aggression Questionnaire of Buss and Perry, the Symptom Checklist-90-R, daily diaries of manic and depressive symptoms, and similar weekly diaries completed by a "significant other" who knew the participant well. Results: Testosterone treatment significantly increased manic scores on the YMRS (P=.002), manic scores on daily diaries (P=.003), visual analog ratings of liking the drug effect (P=.008), and aggressive responses on the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (P=.03). Drug response was highly variable: of 50 participants who received 600 mg/wk of testosterone cypionate, 42 (84%) exhibited minimal psychiatric effects (maximum YMRS score, <10), 6 (12%) became mildly hypomanic (YMRS score, 10-19), and 2 (4%) became markedly hypomanic (YMRS score, ≥20). The 8 "responders" and 42 "nonresponders" did not differ significantly on baseline demographic, psychological, laboratory, or physiological measures. Conclusions: Testosterone administration, 600 mg/wk increased ratings of manic symptoms in normal men. This effect, however, was not uniform across individuals; most showed little psychological change, whereas a few developed prominent effects. The mechanism of these variable reactions remains unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offers results of a study that tested the hypothesis that frequent marijuana use might produce residual neuropsychological effects in college students. Participants; Intervention; Main outcome measures; Results; Conclusions.

Editorial. Comments on a study by Solowij et al in this issue about the effect of long-term cannabis use. Conclusion of the study that cannabis use produces neuropsychological deficits; How other studies have not indicated long-term damage; Proposed reasons for the differences, including use individuals seeking treatment for cannabis dependence in the Solowij study.

The authors reflect on the increased prevalence of body image disorders in men and how this can lead to abuse of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS). Information is provided on research of muscle dysmorphia, a former of body image disorder defined by an obsessive preoccupation with muscular appearance. The authors go on to argue the lack of studies on the long-term health consequences of AAS abuse.

Presents a letter to the editor about the manifestations of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Presents a letter to the editor reporting on the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, published in the 'Journal of the American Medical Association'.