Tranel Daniel, McNutt Ashton, Bechara Antoine
Department of Neurology, Division of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Cogn Behav Neurol. 2012 Mar;25(1):16-24. doi: 10.1097/WNN.0b013e3182492a9c.
There are concerns that varenicline (Chantix/Champix), a prescription medication used to treat smoking addiction, might cause serious neuropsychiatric side effects, such as depression, self-injurious behavior, and suicide. However, the cause of depression and related symptoms in persons who quit smoking after taking varenicline remains uncertain, because smoking cessation itself can cause such symptoms.
We studied 70 patients with brain lesions: 32 had stopped smoking after suffering their lesion (Quitters) and 38 had kept smoking (Non-Quitters).
There was no indication of increased depression in the Quitters compared with the Non-Quitters. The 2 groups, which were statistically indistinguishable on demographic and neuropsychological variables, showed the same rates and levels of severity of depression and related symptoms. Moreover, in a subgroup of 16 Quitters who had stopped smoking immediately after their neurological injury in the context of losing their craving to smoke, rates of depression-related symptoms were no higher than in the other Quitters and the Non-Quitters.
Smoking cessation did not lead to elevated levels of depression in patients with brain lesions, suggesting that psychiatric complications (particularly depression) observed after varenicline use are caused by the medication rather than the smoking cessation itself.
人们担心用于治疗烟瘾的处方药伐尼克兰（畅沛/CHANTIX）可能会引起严重的神经精神副作用，如抑郁、自伤行为和自杀。然而，服用伐尼克兰后戒烟者出现抑郁及相关症状的原因仍不明确，因为戒烟本身就可能导致这些症状。
我们研究了70例脑损伤患者：32例在脑损伤后戒烟（戒烟者），38例继续吸烟（非戒烟者）。
与非戒烟者相比，未发现戒烟者的抑郁情况增加。这两组在人口统计学和神经心理学变量上无统计学差异，抑郁及相关症状的发生率和严重程度相同。此外，在16例因神经损伤后立即戒烟且失去吸烟欲望的戒烟者亚组中，抑郁相关症状的发生率并不高于其他戒烟者和非戒烟者。
脑损伤患者戒烟并未导致抑郁水平升高，这表明服用伐尼克兰后观察到的精神并发症（尤其是抑郁）是由药物引起的，而非戒烟本身。
