BIPOLAR disorder is increasingly diagnosed in children and adolescents. Given that antidepressants may precipitate mania, and with increased use of antidepressants in youths, it is reasonable to ask whether antidepressant administration might play a role in inducing earlier manic episodes. We reviewed all consecutive admissions with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder to a university-affiliated chi...

The illicit use of prescription stimulants (IUPS) is a substance use behavior that remains prevalent on college campuses. As theory can guide research and practice, we provide a systematic review of the college-based IUPS epidemiological literature guided by one ecological framework, the theory of triadic influence (TTI). We aim to assess prevalence, elucidate the behavior's multietiological na...

AIM To describe the use of psycho-stimulants in the Netherlands between 1996 and 2006 in children and adolescents, and in relation to age and sex. METHODS With the pharmacy prescription database the IADB.nl, yearly prevalences of psycho-stimulants per 1000 children were calculated, as was the length of psycho-stimulant use with Kaplan-Meier method in SPSS 12.0. RESULTS Psycho-stimulant use ...

Smith and Farah (2011) presented a scholarly review of critical areas related to their intriguing title "Are Prescription Stimulants 'Smart Pills'?" We contend that they accomplished the main goal of the article, to get the facts straight about possible cognitive enhancement via the nonmedical use of stimulant drugs by individuals without a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ...

TO THE EDITOR: We thank the authors of the commentaries (see Ref. 1) on our Viewpoint (2) for further enlightening several interesting aspects concerning nitrate supplementation in the elite athlete, a topic that evidently carries great interest. Given the large number of commentaries we cannot address each of them separately. However, one of the pervading issues that deserves special attention...

Nicotine use amongst athletes is high and increasing, especially in team sports. This narrative review examines the rationale behind its use and evidence of its effect on physical performance, and considers important factors that should determine future research efforts. To date, ten studies have assessed muscular strength and power, sub- or maximal endurance and high-intensity exercise when ni...

Numerous studies conducted over the past 40 to 50 years have consistently pointed to carbohydrate as the primary macronutrient for sustaining and improving physical performance. In recent years, however, with the advent of techniques that better allow scientists to measure the metabolism of key nutrients such as proteins/ amino acids, and studies on alternative feeding regimens such as ketogeni...

The World Anti-Doping Code states that, there is an intrinsic value about sports that is the celebration of the human spirit, body and mind, and is reflected in values other than winning or being the first in any sports game. The spirit of sports includes ethics, fair play and honesty. Anti-doping practices are based on this ethical ground and supported all through the world. However, recently ...

Sporting competition in our society has become the spectacle that mobilises and brings together the greatest number of people throughout the world, with the corresponding cultural and economic influence that this implies. As a result, the desire for athletic prowess has led sportspersons to undergo intense training programs and to consume substances that improve their performance, at times havi...