Stimulant Medication Use,Misuse, and Abuse in an Undergraduate and Graduate Student Sample

In this study, the authors investigated the characteristics of use, misuse, and abuse of stimulant medication (primarily methylphenidate and variants) among students at a northeastern US university. Researchers sent an invitation to take an Internet survey to student e-mail addresses and passed 150 paper surveys in undergraduate classes, analyzing 1,025 (975 electronically) returned surveys. Sixteen percent of respondents reported abusing or misusing stimulant medication. Ninety-six percent of respondents who specified a medication preferred to abuse or misuse Ritalin. Men and women reported similar use patterns. Most respondents who abused or misused stimulant medication swallowed pills; 40% used intranasally. Reasons for abusing or misusing stimulant medication included improving attention, partying, reducing hyperactivity, and improving grades. Consistent with previous studies, results suggest that abuse of stimulant medication is a concern on college campuses. The results point to various reasons for and methods of abusing and misusing stimulant medication that may direct future research, prevention, and intervention.     

High in the Cold,Thin Air: Risks and Benefits

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to familiarize health professionals with the clinical manifestations of illness encountered by healthy subjects upon acute exposure to high altitude. Acute mountain sickness (AMS) consists of mild (headache, lethargy, anorexia) and severe (pulmonary and cerebral edema) forms which are probably a continuum of the adverse effects of hypoxia. The former occurs usually at more than 6000 feet, and is self-limited with rest and analgesia; the latter occurs at more than 12,000 feet, can be rapidly fatal, and must be treated with descent and/or oxygen. Acetazolamide may provide prophylaxis for mild symptoms; Lasix and morphine should not be used for severe AMS unless close monitoring is available. The etiology of AMS is not clear but may be related to one's ventilatory response or the response of the pulmonary and cerebral vasculature to hypoxia.