Could Schizophrenia Be Treated With Nicotine? [Health]

Smoking is bad for you blah blah we know. But you couldn't really tell that to the 80% of American schizophrenic patients who smoke. The jury is still out on why that number's so high, but could some form of treatment come out of this?

That so many schizophrenics smoke was actually established in a study published in 2006, but the figure has held up since then, even in the face of stiffer tobacco regulations and society in general backing away from it. There are a number of hypotheses that try to explain the link—personality, socioeconomic situation, etc.—but Mark Stewart for the University of Michigan Risk Science Center writes that the patients may be smoking as a means of self-medication.

Schizophrenics often have auditory hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, and disorganized thinking. These symptoms are predominantly caused by the inability of the brains of schizophrenics to differentiate, sort, and focus on the multitude of stimuli that go on around us. Think of being in a busy restaurant. Imagine that instead of being able to block out all the noises, conversations, and movements around you, every single piece of sensory information is as important as the interesting things said by the attractive person sitting across from you. The effects of cigarette smoking and nicotine help schizophrenics through increased selective attention.

This is because, it's theorized, nicotine acts on the flow of dysfunctional flow of dopamine on a schizophrenic's brain. By correcting that, they may feel some relief from their symptoms. Unfortunately, all the adverse side-effects of smoking follow, resulting in higher rates of lung and heart disease.

But the relief a cigarette may provide, at least in the short term, could outweigh the effects of the many anti-psychotic drugs they take. Is there some kind of middle ground then? Nicotine is still a highly addictive substance, but is there a way to use it in treatment? [Risk Science Blog via BoingBoing]

Image Credit: Igor Normann/Shutterstock

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Skiing on Poo Snow Is Perhaps Less Gross than You Think [Health]

Flagstaff, Arizona wants to expand it Snowbowl Ski Resort, and is working with the Forest Service to find a way to make it happen. The solution? Use reclaimed poop water to get that powder you need. Gross! Except the poop might not be the problem.

You recall that there's the problem of psychological contagion, right? It makes the gross stay gross even after it has been cleansed of whatever makes it gross. Like how purified water will stay dirty in the minds, say, whole communities when it doesn't really present a health/ickiness issue. That's what's happening here. According to Mother Jones, environmental agencies and Native American councils have been up in arms against the move, claiming it endangers the ecological and cultural integrity of the landscape there. And, admittedly, skiing on frozen poo already sounds kinda nasty.

But there's another issue at work here. Rather, it's what might be in the snow after it's been cleansed. According to an analysis conducted by Dr. Catherine Propper and her associates at Flagstaff's Rio de Flag treatment facility, treated water can contain "hormones, steroids, and household and industrial compound." None of which sounds particularly good for you.

However, there are still no known adverse effects this effluent can have on people. More study is needed in that area, but you can still expect people to get riled up about it. My guess? Maybe just let the snow alone. [Forester Press, Mother Jones]

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