title: Association Between Regular Cannabis Use and Ganglion Cell Dysfunction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Because cannabis use is a major public health concern and cannabis is known to act on central neurotransmission, studying the retinal ganglion cells in individuals who regularly use cannabis is of interest.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the regular use of cannabis could alter the function of retinal ganglion cells in humans.
  
  
  METHODS
  For this case-control study, individuals who regularly use cannabis, as well as healthy controls, were recruited, and data were collected from February 11 to October 28, 2014. Retinal function was used as a direct marker of brain neurotransmission abnormalities in complex mental phenomena.
  
  
  METHODS
  Amplitude and implicit time of the N95 wave on results of pattern electroretinography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-eight of the 52 participants were regular cannabis users (24 men and 4 women; median age, 22 years [95% CI, 21-24 years]), and the remaining 24 were controls (20 men and 4 women; median age, 24 years [95% CI, 23-27 years]). There was no difference between groups in terms of age (P = .13) or sex (P = .81). After adjustment for the number of years of education and alcohol use, there was a significant increase for cannabis users of the N95 implicit time on results of pattern electroretinography (median, 98.6 milliseconds [95% CI, 93.4-99.5]) compared with controls (median, 88.4 milliseconds [95% CI, 85.0-91.1]), with 8.4 milliseconds as the median of the differences (95% CI, 4.9-11.5; P < .001, Wald logistic regression). A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (area under the curve, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.73-0.95]; P < .001) revealed, for a cutoff value of 91.13 milliseconds, a sensitivity of 78.6% (95% CI, 60.5%-89.8%) and a specificity of 75.0% (95% CI, 55.1%-88.0%) for correctly classifying both cannabis users and controls in their corresponding group. The positive predictive value was 78.6% (95% CI, 60.5%-89.8%), and the negative predictive value was 75.0% (95% CI, 55.1%-88.0%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate a delay in transmission of action potentials by the ganglion cells in regular cannabis users, which could support alterations in vision. Our findings may be important from a public health perspective since they could highlight the neurotoxic effects of cannabis use on the central nervous system as a result of how it affects retinal processing.
authors.affiliation: Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie du Grand Nancy, Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy, Laxou, France2EA7298 Interactions gènes-risques environnementaux et effets sur la santé, Université de Lorraine, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, Nancy, France3Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1114, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Département de Psychiatrie, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schwitzer
authors.affiliation: Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie du Grand Nancy, Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy, Laxou, France2EA7298 Interactions gènes-risques environnementaux et effets sur la santé, Université de Lorraine, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, Nancy, France4Maison des Addictions, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Raymund
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwan
authors.affiliation: Pôle S2R, PARC, ESPRI-BIOBASE, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire Nancy, Vandoeuvre lès Nancy, Nancy, France6Université de Lorraine, Faculté de Médecine, SPI-EAO, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, Nancy, France7Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Elie Cartan de Lorraine, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7502, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Eliane
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Albuisson
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1114, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Département de Psychiatrie, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giersch
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1114, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Département de Psychiatrie, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lalanne
authors.affiliation: Service d'Ophtalmologie, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Angioi-Duprez
authors.affiliation: Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie du Grand Nancy, Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy, Laxou, France2EA7298 Interactions gènes-risques environnementaux et effets sur la santé, Université de Lorraine, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, Nancy, France4Maison des Addictions, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Laprevote
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002188:Cannabis; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D055815:Young Adult