Methamphetamine tied to schizophrenia: What explains link?

Crystal meth and pipe

/ AP (file)

(CBS) Can crystal meth cause madness? Maybe so. Heavy use of methamphetamine is associated with an increased risk for schizophrenia, Canadian researchers say.

PICTURES - Meth mouth: Inside look at icky problem (15 graphic images)

The researchers uncovered the link by examining the medical records of patients admitted to California hospitals between 1990 and 2000 for drug abuse or dependency.

They looked specifically at abusers of meth, marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, and opioid painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin and compared these patients with a control group of appendicitis patients who didn't abuse drugs. Then the researchers looked at the number of patients in each group rehospitalized for schizophrenia up to 10 years later.

"We found that people hospitalized for methamphetamine dependence who did not have a diagnosis of schizophrenia or psychotic symptoms at the start of our study period had an approximately 1.5 to 3.0-fold risk of subsequently being diagnosed with schizophrenia, compared with groups of patients who used cocaine, alcohol or opioid drugs," study author Dr. Russ Callaghan, of Toronto's Centre for Addication and Mental Health, said in a written statement.

What explains the link between meth and schizophrenia? Dr. Stephen Kish, head of the center's human brain lab, said in the statement that one possibility was that repeated use of meth triggers latent schizophrenia by sensitizing the brain to dopamine. A brain chemical (neurotransmitter), dopamine is involved in motivation, pleasure, and reward - and is thought to be associated with mental illness.

The study was published online Nov. 8 in AJP in Advance, the advance edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Methamphetamine - a.k.a. speed, meth, chalk, ice, crystal, or glass - is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting powder that can be swallowed, snorted, smoked, or injected. It's one of the most commonly abuse drugs in the U.S., with 1.2 million Americans age 12 or older saying in 2009 that they had abused meth at least once in the previous year.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has more on methamphetamine.

15 Photos

Meth mouth: Inside look at icky problem (15 GRAPHIC IMAGES)

[antoniodowns29]

I have used methamphetamine and I am schizophrenic, I have seen many many many people use this drug and be completely fine, I am not saying that meth is safe, it can cause an addiction, but however if you had have mental issues in the past, meth will make them much worse. Meth dose not cause schizophrenia, it can just make our symptoms worse, sometimes it dosent, but if you use chronically it will make schizophrenia worse. It may seem to researchers that schizophrenia is caused by meth but more likely the person already had schizophrenia which led them to the drug. I can honestly say that I've been around this drug for almost a decade and I've been with many many people who have been on it and sober. Meth does not cause schizophrenia, it just makes schizophrenia worse in people who already have it.

[oldguy1234]

Warning: A lot of these types of studies are drug war propaganda. Schizophrenia has held steady at 1% of population since the 40s long before increased methamphetamine or pot use. This shows these attempts to tie these increased drug use into schizophrenic outcomes doesn't make scientific sense. No Increase = No Causation. The US military used methamphetamine extensively in Afghanistan to sustain night raids and non-stop ops. They had no problems with it or soldiers becoming suddenly schizophrenic. And finally, the dug use is most times a self-medicating attempt and was working well enough that they were never diagnosed with SZ. They got caught or over used it and THEN were diagnoses with the SZ that was there all the time. The pot or meth didn't cause the SZ. The SZ caused them to seek self-medications like pot and meth to cope with it and stay out of the hospital.

[susie henderson]

Thank you for saying what I have always felt about my son who suffered from schizophrenia for most of his life. He and his friends tried all kinds of drugs when they were teenagers and he was the only one who did not give them up entirely. Most of the time he used alcohol for self-medication but somewhere along the way a few years ago, he started using meth. I was not aware of it, only that his schizophrenia seemed to be getting worse. On September 9, 2012 he used a fatal dose and died. Any one who uses it and thinks they are not in trouble should read his autopsy report to see how it kills you. To see the report and realize the monumental but futile struggle his heart and body was going through from methamphetamine is enough to tear my own heart out of my body. The coroner ruled it accidental, which I believe it was, but knowing this does not make it any easier. Please, people if you are using it and think YOU are controlling IT, get help to stop and don't do this to yourself or your family. You are worth more than that.