Minerva

The addition of spironolactone to treatment in patients with resistant arterial hypertension is effective and tolerated well (Hypertension 2011;57:1069-75, doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.111.169961). The ASPIRANT trial—a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial—involved 117 patients who were already taking three antihypertensives, with a systolic blood pressure remaining above 140 mm Hg or diastolic pressure greater than 90 mm Hg. Adverse events were similar in both groups.

People who start using cannabis before the age of 15 show significantly poorer performance on tasks that assessed sustained attention, impulse control, and executive functioning, compared with a control group of non-users and especially with people who started using cannabis at an older age. The findings support the suggestion that early adolescence may be especially vulnerable to the neurocognitive effects of substance use (British Journal of Psychiatry 2011;198:442-7, doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.110.077479).

Eating baked and grilled fish may lower the risk of heart failure in post-menopausal …