MENTALLY ILL ALSO PLAGUED BY ADDICTION, EXPERTS FIND

High Incidence. Drug Use Complicates Psychiatric Treatment, Conference Told

The mix of mental illness and drug addiction is an explosive
cocktail, Mont-real researchers said yesterday.

An estimated 33 to 50 per cent patients treated for serious
psychiatric disorders also suffer from drug and alcohol addiction
problems, Universite de Montreal researcher Stephane Potvin said at a
conference at Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital.

Research shows that the mentally ill become dependent more quickly
and they tend to abuse drugs more easily, Potvin said after presented
his findings at the three-day conference.

"Also, drug use can worsen the symptoms of mental disease," he added.

The impact of narcotics is greater particularly on people with
schizophrenic disorders, Potvin said, where drug addiction is
estimated at more than 50 per cent.

"That situation is alarming because we know that drug use could
trigger brain deterioration in these people," said Potvin, whose
study showed a shrinking of the brain's "pleasure centre" in
schizophrenic people who used drugs but not with those who did not consume.

The brain anomaly may explain why schizophrenics have a greater
sensitivity to drugs, or may be proof of the reverse, which is that
drug consumption changes brain structures, he said.

The relationship between drug abuse and schizophrenia is not clear,
Potvin said. But drug use is known to be a risk factor for those
suffering from schizophrenia.

"Not everyone who smokes a joint will become schizophrenic. Many
people smoke pot without suffering psychosis," Potvin said. "But a
schizophrenic who has one joint or even one puff, that's enough to
send them to the ER." Chronic drug abuse by adolescents contributes
to the development of mental illness, he said.

According to earlier studies on marijuana, those most at risk for
mental illness triggered or aggravated by drug use had started young
and smoked heavily, and also had vulnerable personality traits and a
close family member with schizophrenia.

Researchers are calling for integrated treatment that can effectively
deal with co-occurring disorders.

Patients are often shunted between mental health professional and
detox facilities, because neither is fully equipped to deal with
patients who have a dual diagnosis, said psychiatrist Patrick Barabe,
director of the conference science committee.

Substance abuse complicates just about every aspect of care, Barabe
said. Often these patients cannot attend community residences that
provide rehabilitation programs.

For a few severe cases, the Clinique Cormier-Lafontaine offers
integrated therapy, Barabe said.

"But much more is needed. We can't handle everyone."