Smoking itself is incredibly harmful and researchers hope that new treatments based on nicotine could help schizophrenics give cigarettes the boot.
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OXFORD, U.K.: Nicotine enhances attention and memory in schizophrenics, says a study that supports the development of new treatments which could relieve symptoms and prevent smoking-related deaths.
A strong link between schizophrenia and smoking – with over three times as many schizophrenics smoking (70 to 90%) as the population at large – prompted scientists to investigate the link.
Researchers led by Ruth Barr, a psychiatrist at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, set out to find if the nicotine in cigarettes was helping patients to overcome their difficulties with cognitive function, such as planning and memory in social and work settings.
Debilitating symptoms
This is one of the most debilitating and untreated symptoms of schizophrenia. "We know that patients that do better in the long term are those with good cognitive function rather than improvement in any other symptom," Barr told Cosmos Online.
Prior to this study, any benefits seen with nicotine in people with schizophrenia were thought to be related to overcoming the effects of smoking withdrawal, said Barr, rather than the beneficial effects of nicotine on disease symptoms themselves.
Previously, "we would ask participants to go without a cigarette for 12 hours and then provide a single dose of nicotine and measure cognitive function," she said.
Reported last week at a British Association of Psychopharmacology meeting, in Oxford, England, this is the first study that has investigated the effects of nicotine in non-smoking patients with schizophrenia.
Clean nicotine
The participants showed improvement in brain function, including less impulsive behaviour and better levels of attention, which are both unrelated to nicotine withdrawal, said Barr.
"We don't yet know whether these effects persist or not and if those improvements have any impact on daily life, for example, remembering shopping lists or conversations," she said.
Ultimately, the aim of the research is to reduce the number of schizophrenics who smoke cigarettes.
On average, life expectancy in people with the condition is reduced by 10 years in large part due to cardiovascular disease and smoking-related cancer (see Why nicotine is bad for you, Cosmos Online).
contrast this with the recent news from broadmoor
Where the Nursing staff's right to a smoke-free "workplace" was deemed more important than the patient's right to smoke in their "own home".
The effect may be akin to the positive effect of Cannabinoids on the extra-pyramidal effects of the increasingly irrelevant anti-psychotic medications particularly those based on the Anthelmintics.
About the cannabinoids...
Akin???
No, no it's not.
Cruelty of non-smoking policies in mental health facilities
There is perhaps nothing more cruel than banning smoking in mental health facilities. All too often smoking is the only thing that many patients can control. I'd also posit that banning smoking in homes for the aged is equally horrid.
Ah, well, raising taxes on 'sin' (smoking) is an endless source of revenue, totally infringes on property rights (we all have a choice of which establishments we'll frequent and the owners, well, the owners own the places).
The news that nicotine improves brain function is hardly new. Research has revealed the benefits of smoking for years. The one thing that is missing is the fact that the physical (hand to mouth) activity involved in smoking is soothing. It's not just the nicotine. I rather imagine that if researchers compared nicotine patches v actual smoking they'd see quite a difference.
Where do you buy smokes in a care facility?
In nursing homes and mental care facilities, monies are usually received from the government for care. You would ask taxpayers to pay for patient's smoking?
Maybe with a system like in federal penitentiaries, where cigarettes are sold tax-free, I'd be more inclined to agree, but it's certainly NOT cruel to prevent someone from making themselves ill, or a further burden on a strained system.
Maybe you could donate a few cartons every week?
nice to see that you care more about the freedoms of criminals
It's nice to see that you care more about the freedoms of criminals than the ill. I guess that is just a reflection of what our society has come to. The only "burden on a strained system" is the government itself which has grown way beyond what is acceptable. If the traitors in office stopped sending our kids to unjust wars, stopped giving billions of dollars to Israel to murder women and children with, stopped bailing out banks and giant corporations with our tax dollars, healthcare would be affordable for everyone and our budget surplus would be immense.
It's not simply a coincidence that individuals pay more federal taxes than corporations, it's by design. If you weren't a fool, you'd know that federal income taxes on the fruits of your labor are not legal. If you disagree, simply show me the law that states individuals are required to pay federal taxes.