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Addict Behav 2021 Feb 8;118:106866. Epub 2021 Feb 8.

Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

There is evidence suggesting that ghrelin and peptide YY (PYY) modulate stress responses and the rewarding effects of drugs, although no research has examined the impact of exposure to early life stress on these hormones in smokers nor during smoking cessation. This study examined the relationships between early life adversity (ELA) and circulating ghrelin and PYY during ad libitum smoking and early withdrawal in tobacco smokers (N = 98) who were interested in cessation. We also included a comparison group of nonsmokers (N = 36). Read More

Drug Alcohol Depend 2021 Feb 16;221:108640. Epub 2021 Feb 16.

Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA. Electronic address:

Background: The interpeduncular nucleus (>1840) (IPN) has been shown to modulate the behavioral effects of nicotine withdrawal in male rodents. To date, the contribution of this brain structure to sex differences in withdrawal is largely unexplored.

Methods: This study compared neuronal activation, as reported by observable Fos expression in the IPN of nicotine-dependent female and male rats experiencing withdrawal. Read More

Drug Alcohol Depend 2021 Feb 15;221:108610. Epub 2021 Feb 15.

Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA; Oxley College of Health Sciences, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA.

Background: Substance use disorders (SUD) with comorbid depression and anxiety are linked to poor treatment outcome and relapse. Although some depressed individuals exhibit elevated blood-based inflammation (interleukin-6 [IL-6] and C reactive protein [CRP]), few studies have examined whether the presence of SUD exacerbates inflammation.

Methods: Treatment-seeking individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorders, and/or SUD (N = 160; 80 % with MDD) recruited into the Tulsa 1000 study provided blood samples, participated in clinical interviews, and completed a questionnaire battery querying symptoms of current psychopathology and emotional processing. Read More

Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2021 Feb 25. Epub 2021 Feb 25.

Department of Psychology.

It has been suggested that nighttime nicotine withdrawal may help to explain why tobacco cigarette smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to experience clinically significant insomnia. There is also reason to believe that intolerance for withdrawal symptoms could play a role in withdrawal-related sleep disturbance. However, we are not aware of any previous research that examined whether smokers who endorse greater intolerance for smoking abstinence also report greater difficulty initiating and/or maintaining sleep. Read More

BMJ Open 2021 Feb 22;11(2):e044222. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Objectives: Despite the aggressive marketing of electronic nicotine device systems (ENDS) as smoking cessation tools, the evidence of their effectiveness is mixed. We conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials to determine the effect of ENDS on cigarette smoking cessation, as compared with other types of nicotine replacement therapies (NRT).

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Read More