Objective: The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has positioned itself against medically controlled patient access (at this current time) to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin-assisted therapies in its Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Substances Clinical Memorandum, May 2020. The main reason given by the RANZCP for its stance is safety concerns. Methods: Every reference in the clinical memorandum (CM) was checked against the original publications used by RANZCP to justify its position. In addition, the search engines Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Therapies (MAPS) website, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) website, relevant Australian and New Zealand legislation were searched for pertinent and up-to-date- information. Results: There is no scientific or medical evidence from the last 70 years to suggest that either psilocybin or MDMA, when administered as an adjutant to therapy in a controlled clinical setting, are linked to either mental illness or negative health outcomes. On the contrary, MDMA and psilocybin have been shown to be safe, non-toxic, non-addictive, and efficacious when administered in a medically-controlled clinical environment. All associated risks are apparent in an uncontrolled setting. Conclusion: The RANZCP’s position is based on outdated, irrelevant, misinterpreted, and misinformed evidence. With the recent positive media coverage of the efficacy of these medicines when used as an adjunct to therapy, there is an intrinsic risk of self-medication or underground therapy. This means that any medical discussion must also purvey the ethical responsibilities and social duties associated with these substances.
Objective: To research the biological impact on the endocannabinoid system (ECS) from dietary sources of [Formula: see text]-caryophyllene (BCP). This will encompass pre-clinical and clinical research for BCP. The bioavailability of BCP will be explored, focusing on bioavailability improvement. This research will establish if there is justification to warrant the development of a medical food for supporting the ECS through dietetic supplementation of BCP. Methods: Research and review papers were identified through the search engines Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. Main keywords included [Formula: see text]-caryophyllene, endocannabinoid system, dietary cannabinoids, cannabinoid type-2 receptor, and bioavailability. Results: The human body is limited in the digestion of BCP from food. This is because BCP is poorly absorbed in the gut. Everyone has different underlying endocannabinoid efficiency and most people do not have the full potential of supporting their ECS through diet. Conclusion: A medical food can be developed to use BCP with a delivery system, so that the bioactive food cannabinoid is readily absorbed. This will deliver dietary support to the ECS, that otherwise would be available from food. This review provides insight into the efficacy of using BCP in medical foods as dietary support for the ECS. Supporting the ECS can assist in maintaining homeostasis, regulating immune function, pain intensity, inflammatory markers, sleep patterns, mood, appetite, and stress susceptibility.
In the State of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, the prosecution in criminal proceedings is seeking deterrence punishment for offenders manufacturing 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) from the precursor helional via the ‘Two Dogs’ method (TDM). The reason given by the prosecution is a presumption that the TDM does not use any unrestricted chemicals in the synthesis of MDA. A comprehensive literature search was conducted. The relevant law was searched to fact-check the assertion of the prosecution. It was found that the prosecution was incorrect. Intermediate precursors of the TDM are restricted in NSW. However, the starting precursor helional remains unscheduled in NSW, yet helional is scheduled in some other Australian States. The prosecution’s position may play a significant factor in the sentencing proceedings of offenders. Therefore, as a matter of urgency, the prosecution must review and update its position and its submissions, keeping with the factual position in relation to the legal provisions of precursors used in the TDM.
Several scientific papers refer to the cacao flavanol l-epicatechin (EPI) as the first and only discovered dietary source of myostatin (MTSN) inhibition. However, although pre-clinical models strongly support this, there is a lack of high-quality human studies; to examine the response association between the consumption of EPI in humans and the effect on MSTN and follistatin (FST). By systematically reviewing the literature and qualitatively meta-analyzing with statistical methods, it becomes possible to quantify a conclusion from several lower quality human studies instead of a few high-quality studies. Two investigators searched Scopus® for the relevant human studies, which were pooled and meta-analyzed. Heterogeneity in the findings was explored with various subgroup analyses. Nine published articles with 11 intervention arms met the inclusion criteria. A significant improvement of the FST: MSTN ratio was observed in participants who ingested EPI, with a Common Language Effect Size (CLES) for Cohen’s d of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.74 to 0.99). Strong evidence of an association between EPI consumption and FST induction was noted, with weaker evidence for MSTN inhibition. Respectively, 0.98 (95% CI: 0.88 to 1.00) and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.50 to 0.88). This meta-analysis provides evidence that EPI ingestion significantly improves the FST:MSTN ratio in humans by inducing FST and inhibiting MSTN. However, there was substantial variation in the results that could not be explained by the characteristics that were explored, and there were significant risk-of-bias concerns, with a large majority of the studies being small populations and not blinded. Nevertheless, considering the heterogeneity of children and the elderly and the lack of exercise intervention or alternatively high-quality exercise regime interventions. EPI consumption is the only feasible explanation for the drastic FST:MSTN ratio improvement.
Psychological and physical disabilities or impairments create barriers to aspects of healthy eating, thus nutritional needs. A Formulated Meal Replacement (FMR) can reduce those barriers and often can be seen as a necessity in optimising nutritional needs. Healthy eating is interdependent on psychological, social, and environmental factors. In recent years FMRs have become a popular nutrition method to help individuals reach their healthy eating goals. FMRs do solve several problems which may impact healthy eating, such as different social determinants of health, adherence, and permitting some unhealthy behaviours in relation to nutrition, such as more calories available for alcohol or other discretionary nutrition choices. However, FMRs do have a drawback when considering the product serving for different ages, genders, and activity levels. APOC is a nutrition-based company that has developed an FMR. APOC FMR allows easy adherence to self-administration of an appropriate serving for an individual’s age and gender at its simplest form, weight, and activity level at its more complex form. This paper provides two phases. Firstly, discussing the scientific rationale for APOC FMR’s nutrition, including addressing psychological, social, and environmental factors contributing to healthy eating. Secondly, the importance of the FMR for the case study of an individual with a disability. The APOC FMR significantly assisted the individual in healthy eating. It is important to note that the actual reasons that APOC FMR contributes to healthy eating in individuals who have a disability or impairment can be replicated to abled or only slightly limited individuals.
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