News
Needham Forum on Marijuana Legalization with Dr. John Kelly
The Needham Public Health Department, the Needham Interfaith Clergy Association, State Rep. Denise Garlick and the Needham Coalition for Youth Substance Abuse Prevention present “Marijuana Legalization, Why It Matters To You” on Thursday, September 22 at 7:00 PM at Needham Town Hall. The focus of the forum is to share the science and public health…MORE
Randi Schuster, Ph.D., of CAM is the winner of the 2016 Emerson Award
The 2016 Eugene L. Emerson Award is awarded in recognition of an outstanding research paper by an MGH Fellow in Psychology. This year’s recipient is Dr. Randi Melissa Schuster for her 2016 paper with co-authors Hoeppner, Evins and Gilman entitled “Inefficiencies in Learning Underlie Memory Deficits Among Early Onset Marijuana Users.” Dr. Schuster will present…MORE
Summary of the Marijuana and Cannabinoids Summit Now Available
The summit which focused on the neurological and psychiatric effects of marijuana, other cannabinoids, and the endocannabinoid system, involved contributions by CAM doctors Eden Evins, Randi Schuster and Jodi Gilman. Videos of the proceedings, which took place in March of 2016 at the National Institutes of Health, were released earlier, but a written summary which makes it…MORE
Smoking Cessation Medications Do Not Appear to Increase Risk of Neuropsychiatric Side Effects
The smoking cessation medications varenicline and bupropion do not appear to increase the incidence of serious neuropsychiatric side effects compared to placebo, according to a study published in The Lancet in April, this paper provides details of the FDA-requested study that involved over 8,000 people. Read about it in the Lancet and ScienceDaily. Laurie Zawertailo comments…MORE
Smoking Cessation Benefits Persist in Spite of Weight Gain in Patients with Mental Illness
The weight gain that can result from quitting smoking does not eliminate the reduction in cardiovascular risks associated with smoking cessation among patients with serious mental illness, at least not during the first year. A report from a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research team, published online in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry describes the results…MORE
Different Responses in the Brains of Young Marijuana Users
A study by CAM researchers published in the journal Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging finds that the brains of young adult marijuana users react differently to social exclusion than do those of non-users. Learn more in a press release from MGH and on the Science Explorer website.
Research on Pot and the Teen Brain
A new CAM study targets young marijuana smokers, focusing on how drug abstinence impacts cognitive skills of teen subjects. An article in proto, MGH’s online magazine, looks at the study and others, and talks about how changing laws are creating a more accepting environment for a substance that might have more lasting effects than most…MORE
Videos of Proceedings of the Marijuana and Cannabinoids Summit Now Available
Dr. Evins spoke and Drs. Randi Schuster and Jodi Gilman presented their latest studies at the Neuroscience Research Summit, convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The summit focused on the neurological and psychiatric effects of marijuana, other cannabinoids, and the endocannabinoid system. The goal of this summit was to ensure that evidence-based information…MORE
For individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness, quitting smoking has a net benefit
Weight gain is a prominent concern for individuals who quit smoking. While prior research has shown an overall net benefit of quitting smoking even when weight gain is considered (see here), individuals with mental illness are typically not included in this research. According to a recent study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, individuals…MORE
Center Awarded $10 Million to Help Patients with Serious Mental Illness Quit Smoking
The Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital has been awarded $10 million from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study the effectiveness of two practical approaches to improve the health of people with mental illness in the community. The project will test whether tailored education to primary care doctors alone or combined…MORE