Helen Valerie Curran - Selected Publications#

Google scholar H-index 80; Citations 22,250; !10 index 219, JIF: Journal Impact Factor

1. Curran HV, Freeman, TP, Mokrysz C, Lewis DA, Morgan CJA & Parsons LH. (2016) Keep off the grass? Cannabis, cognition and addiction. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 17: 293-306. DOI:10.1038/nrn.2016.28
Citations 433; JIF 31.4

A highly cited paper which brought together researchers in Europe and the U.S. to integrate human and pre-clinical science on how different cannabinoids in cannabis have differing effects on cognition, mental health and brain development.

2. Freeman, T. P., Hindocha, C., Baio, G., Shaban, N. D. C., Thomas, E. M., Astbury, D., . . Curran, H. V. (2020). Cannabidiol for the treatment of cannabis use disorder: a phase 2a, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, adaptive Bayesian trial. The Lancet Psychiatry. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30290-X
Citations 143; IF 64.3; Alt. Met. 885

Principal Investigator and Senior Author, this ground breaking RCT was the first ever to use one cannabinoid (cannabidiol; CBD) to treat severe cannabis addiction which is caused by another cannabinoid (tetrahydrocannabinol; THC). Ongoing trials in Australia are aiming to replicate the finding that 400mg CBD daily combined with psychological therapy leads to significant reductions in cannabis use.

3. Grabski M, McAndrew M, Lawn W, Marsh B, Raymen L, Stevens T, Hardy L, Warren F, Bloomfield M, Borissova A, Maschauer E, Broomby R, Price R, Coathup R, Gilhooly D, Palmer E, Gordon-Williams R, Hill R, Harris J, Mollaahmetoglu OM, Curran HV, Brander B, Lingford-Hughes A, Morgan CGA (2022) Adjunctive Ketamine With Relapse Prevention-Based Psychological Therapy in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 179(2):152-162. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21030277
Citations 51; 29 x average citations in this field; JIF 19.242.

This pioneering study is the first to show that combined treatment with only 2 doses of ketamine and active psychological therapy was better than 3 other conditions (placebo drug and placebo or active psychological therapy). Ketamine combined with psychological therapy is a promising new treatment of alcohol addiction.

4. Fischer, B., Robinson, T., Bullen, C., Curran, H.V., Jutras-Aswad, D., Medina-Mora, M. E., . . . Hall, W. (2022). Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG) for reducing health harms from non-medical cannabis use: A comprehensive evidence and recommendations update. Int J Drug Policy:99:103381. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103381.
Citations 92; JIF 3.9 These practical clinical guidelines have now also been published in several European languages.

5. Das, R. K., Gale, G., Walsh, K., Hennessy, V. E., Iskandar, G., Mordecai, L. A., . . . Curran, H.V & Kamboj, S. K. (2020). Ketamine can reduce harmful drinking by pharmacologically rewriting drinking memories. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 52: 631. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-16762-z
Citations 87; IF 16.6. The first trial to show that single doses of the NMDA receptor antagonist, ketamine, can reduce heavy alcohol use by rewriting human memories of drinking. Provides a strong theoretical basis for the positive findings of our clinical trial of ketamine to treat severe alcohol addiction (Grabski et al, 2022).

6. Lawn, W., Mokrysz, C., Lees, R., Trinci, K., Petrilli, K., Skumlien, M., . . . Curran, H. V. (2022). The CannTeen Study: Cannabis use disorder, depression, anxiety, and psychotic-like symptoms in adolescent and adult cannabis users and age-matched controls. Journal of Psychopharmacology. doi:10.1177/02698811221108956
Citations 19; JIF 4.1

Principal Investigator and Senior author, this paper reports first findings from our 5 year longitudinal ‘Cann-Teen’ project contrasting the mental health, cognitive function & wellbeing of adolescent and adults who did and did not start using cannabis before 18 years of age. Although both age groups were carefully matched for frequency of use, adolescents were > 3 times more likely than adults to be severely addicted to cannabis.

7. Grabski M, Waldron J, Freeman T, P, Mokrysz C, van Beek R, J, J, van der Pol P, Hauspie B, Dirkx N, Schrooten J, Elgán T, H, Feltman K, Benedetti E, Scalia Tomba G, Fabi F, Molinaro S, Gripenberg J, van Havere T, van Laar M, Curran H, V (2021) Drug Use Changes at the Individual Level: Results from a Longitudinal, Multisite Survey in Young Europeans Frequenting the Nightlife Scene. European Addiction Research. doi: 10.1159/000520118
Citations 6; JIF 3.9

Senior author and Principal Investigator on this study of young people in Sweden, Italy, Belgium, UK and the Netherlands who use nightlife venues and how their use of recreational drugs changes over time.

8. Carhart-Harris RL, Bolstridge M, Day C, Rucker J, Watts R, Erritzoe D, ...H V Curran, DJ Nutt (2018) Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up. Psychopharmacology 235, 399-40 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-017-4771
Citations 825; IF 3.1

This highly cited follow-up paper (to #10 below) indicated that the anti-depressant effects of psilocybin combined with psychological therapy can last to 6 months.

9. Morgan CJA & Curran HV ((2011) Ketamine use: a review. Addiction, 107, 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03576.x
Citations 755; JIF 6.1

This widely cited overview of the recreational use of ketamine covered its short- and long-term effects on physical health (e.g. ulcerative cystitis), mental health (e.g. dissociation; dependence), brain and cognitive function (e.g. transient amnesia).

10. Carhart-Harris RL, Bolsterer, M.......... Curran HV, Nutt DJ (2016) Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. The Lancet 3:619-627 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30065-7
Citations 1,395; JIF 168.9

The 2 senior authors (Nutt & Curran) were the co-investigators on the Medical Research Council grant obtained for this pioneering study, the first of psilocybin for treatment resistant depression (TRD). Providing preliminary support for the safety and efficacy of psilocybin for TRD, this paper has been highly cited.