Journal Digest

Exposure to Alcohol Use in Films Linked to Alcohol Problems in Youth

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A study published in Pediatrics shows that alcohol use in some adolescents may be influenced by the films that they watch. Researchers from Bristol University in the United Kingdom conducted a study with more than 5,000 15-year-olds to investigate whether exposure to alcohol use in films (AUFs) is associated with early alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.

The research team found that adolescents with the highest exposure to AUFs were 1.2 times more likely to have tried alcohol and 2.4 times as likely to drink weekly compared with those least exposed to AUFs. In addition, those with the highest exposure were more than 1.7 times more likely to binge drink and twice as likely to have alcohol-related problems.

The researchers concluded that the findings “provide evidence to support the argument that a review of film-rating categories and alcohol ratings for all films may help reduce problem-related alcohol consumption in young people.”

Amyloid Plaques Cleared by Ultrasound in Mouse Model

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Researchers at the University of Queensland have demonstrated that repeated scanning ultrasound treatments can help clear the amyloid plaques commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) from the brain and restore memory in a mouse model of the disease. These intriguing findings were published in Science Translational Medicine.

The approach works by using high-energy sound waves emitted by the ultrasound to stimulate microglial cells—immune-related cells that work to clear cellular debris from the brain.

The authors applied this technique to the AD mice over the course of several weeks and observed that the ultrasound almost completely cleared amyloid plaques in about 75 percent of the mice, without damaging healthy brain tissue. Compared with untreated mice, the mice that received the scanning ultrasound treatment performed better in a range of memory-associated tasks.

The authors next plan to test the ultrasound technique in a model of AD using larger animals; if successful, it may lead to a new treatment paradigm for AD as well as other diseases involving irregular protein buildup in the brain.

Roseroot Shows Some Promise in Treating Depression

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In a pilot clinical study, roseroot extract was shown to improve mood and reduce mild to moderate depression with far fewer side effects than the antidepressant sertraline.

Roseroot (Rhodiola rosea) has been associated with mood and fatigue benefits, but this is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial comparing this plant’s effectiveness with a standard antidepressant medication.

“These results are a bit preliminary but suggest that herbal therapy may have [the] potential to help patients with depression who cannot tolerate conventional antidepressants due to side effects,” said lead author Jun Mao, M.D., an assistant professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Fifty-seven patients with depression were assigned to receive roseroot, sertraline, or placebo over 12 weeks. Both sertraline and roseroot improved depression scores, with sertraline having a slight advantage of 1.9 greater odds of improvement versus 1.4 for roseroot. However, only 30 percent of participants taking roseroot experienced an adverse event, typically nausea or sexual dysfunction, compared with 63 percent of those on sertraline.

Mao noted that larger studies are needed to fully tease out the risks and benefits of roseroot therapy. This study was published in Phytomedicine.

People With Depression Show Altered Sense of Time

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Time perception is subjective and typically dependent on mood and context; people who have depression, for example, often cite a feeling of time moving slowly. A new meta-analysis from researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, found that patients with depression do indeed have a slower perception of time compared with healthy individuals.

However, this perception does not affect the depressed person’s ability to judge time accurately when tasked. The study found that depressed patients could carry out tasks such as estimating the length of a video clip or pressing a button for a specified duration just as well as control subjects, though there were minor deficiencies in their ability to discriminate the time difference between two separate sounds.

The authors noted that not much research has been done exploring the relationship between depression and time, including the effects of medications and psychotherapy. Future studies are needed to understand the factors that differentiate time perception versus time assessment.

The study, which incorporated data from 16 different clinical studies and nearly 1,000 participants, was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Rates of ADHD Lower in Areas of High Altitude

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High altitude may serve as a protective factor against attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study in the Journal of Attention Disorders.

Researchers from the University of Utah’s Department of Psychiatry analyzed data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health report and 2010 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs report to identify and compare the prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among youth aged 4 to 17 living in the 48 adjoining states and the District Columbia.

The researchers found that states with higher than average elevations were most likely to have lower ADHD diagnosis rates; every one foot increase in average elevation above sea level was linked to decreasing diagnosis rates by 0.001 percent.

Nevada, which has an average elevation of 5,517 feet above sea level, had the lowest percentage of ADHD diagnoses at 5.6 percent, followed by Utah at 6.7 percent. ADHD diagnoses were more prevalent in states with average elevations under 1,000 feet above sea level, with North Carolina—869 feet above sea level—having the highest diagnoses rates at 15.6 percent.

The researchers speculated that the decreased rates of ADHD at higher elevations may be due to higher levels of dopamine produced as a reaction to hypobaric hypoxia—a condition caused by breathing air with less oxygen at higher elevations. Decreased dopamine levels have been associated with ADHD, so when levels of the neurotransmitter increase with elevation, the risk for getting the disorder may possibly diminish, the researchers hypothesized.

Coauthor Perry Renshaw, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., a professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah, emphasized that the current findings are not implying that people should start moving to the mountains to decrease the risk for ADHD in children. However, the research results may have potential implications for treatment. ■