Daily use of high-potency cannabis has been reported to carry a high risk for developing a psychotic disorder. However, the evidence is mixed on whether any pattern of cannabis use is associated with a particular symptomatology in first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients.

We analysed data from 901 FEP patients and 1235 controls recruited across six countries, as part of the European Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI) study. We used item response modelling to estimate two bifactor models, which included general and specific dimensions of psychotic symptoms in patients and psychotic experiences in controls. The associations between these dimensions and cannabis use were evaluated using linear mixed-effects models analyses.

In patients, there was a linear relationship between the positive symptom dimension and the extent of lifetime exposure to cannabis, with daily users of high-potency cannabis having the highest score (B = 0.35; 95% CI 0.14–0.56). Moreover, negative symptoms were more common among patients who never used cannabis compared with those with any pattern of use (B = −0.22; 95% CI −0.37 to −0.07). In controls, psychotic experiences were associated with current use of cannabis but not with the extent of lifetime use. Neither patients nor controls presented differences in depressive dimension related to cannabis use.

Our findings provide the first large-scale evidence that FEP patients with a history of daily use of high-potency cannabis present with more positive and less negative symptoms, compared with those who never used cannabis or used low-potency types.

In 2010, an Italian project was launched aimed at using a telecardiology device in order to perform early diagnosis of young students at risk of sudden cardiac death.

Our retrospective observational study was conducted on a population of 13,016 students, aged between 16 and 19 years, in different Italian regions. It consisted of analysis of data recorded during a telecardiology pilot study. The recorded data were electrocardiograms and data concerning lifestyle habits and family history of cardiovascular diseases. In total, 14 alterations in the electrocardiogram signal have been considered in this study. Some of these alterations are as follows: ventricular ectopic beats, atrioventricular block, Brugada-like electrocardiogram pattern, left anterior/posterior fascicular block, left/right ventricular hypertrophy, long/short QT interval, left atrial enlargement, right atrial enlargement, short PQ interval, and ventricular pre-excitation Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome. On the basis of the collected data, we implemented this retrospective observational study.

The analysed data showed that 13.60% of students had a family history for cardiovascular diseases, 22.43% reported smoking habits, 26.23% reported alcohol consumption, and 7.24% reported abuse of drugs. A total of 24% of students had at least one of the 14 electrocardiogram pathological alterations considered in our study and 32% had electrocardiogram values within the normal range.

This retrospective observational study analysed data registered during our telecardiology activity. This activity permitted to maximise data collection and minimise the costs for collecting such data. This activity of screening is being continued and in the next few years it will allow us to have a greater mass of data.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether brain oxyhaemoglobin–deoxyhaemoglobin coupling was altered by anaesthesia or intubation-induced stress.

This was a prospective observational study in the operating room. Thirteen patients (ASA I and II) undergoing spinal or peripheral nerve procedures were recruited. They were stabilized before surgery with mask ventilation of 100% oxygen. Anaesthesia was induced with 2 μg kg−1 fentanyl and 3 mg kg−1 thiopental. Laryngoscopy and intubation were performed 4 min later. After intubation, desflurane anaesthesia (FiO2=1.0) was adjusted to maintain response entropy of the electroencephalogram at 40–45 for 20 min. Prefrontal cortex oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin were determined every 2 s using frequency domain near-infrared spectroscopy. Blood pressure, heart rate and response entropy were collected every 10 s.

Awake oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin were 18.9 ± 2.3 μmol (mean ± SD) and 12.7 ± 0.8 μmol, respectively, and neither changed significantly during induction. Intubation increased oxyhaemoglobin by 37% (P < 0.05) and decreased deoxyhaemoglobin by 16% (P < 0.05), and both measures returned to baseline within 20 min of desflurane anaesthesia. Blood pressure, heart rate and electroencephalogram response entropy increased during intubation, and the increase in heart rate correlated with the increase in brain oxygen saturation (r = 0.48, P < 0.05).

Intubation-related stress increased oxyhaemoglobin related to electroencephalogram and autonomic activation. Stress-induced brain stimulation may be monitored during anaesthesia using frequency domain near-infrared spectroscopy.