Clinical and pathogenic aspects of candidate genes for lithium prophylactic efficacy.

A number of candidate genes for lithium prophylactic efficacy have been proposed, some of them being also associated with a predisposition to bipolar illness. The aim of the present study was to investigate a possible association between polymorphisms of 14 common genes with the quality of prophylactic lithium response in patients with bipolar mood disorder, in relation to the putative role of these genes in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Some association with lithium prophylactic efficacy was found for the polymorphisms of 5HTT, DRD1, COMT, BDNF and FYN genes, but not for 5HT2A, 5HT2C, DRD2, DRD3, DRD4, GSK-3, NTRK2, GRIN2B and MMP-9.

Glucocorticoid receptor polymorphism is associated with lithium response in bipolar patients.

Objectives: Glucocorticoid receptor has been considered in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder as it is an important regulator of the circadian rhythm and HPA negative feedback. As glucocorticoid receptor may be possibly related to lithium action we aimed to investigate variation in the GR gene in association with response to lithium treatment in Polish population of bipolar patients.

Methods: We analyzed 115 bipolar patients treated with lithium carbonate for 5-27 years.

Bipolar mood disorder, creativity and schizotypy: an experimental study.

Aims: Our purpose was to make an experimental assessment of the elements of creativity and the features of schizotypy in patients with bipolar disorder, compared with healthy control subjects and to investigate the effect of an acute affective episode (depressed or manic) and the features of schizotypy on the measurements of creativity.

Methods: Forty patients with bipolar disorder, and 48 age- and gender-matched control subjects were studied. For the assessment of creativity the Revised Art Scale and the 'inventiveness' part of the Berlin Intelligence Structure Test (BIS) were used.

Bipolarity and inadequate response to antidepressant drugs: clinical and psychopharmacological perspective.

Objectives: The reason why depression may respond poorly to treatment with antidepressant drugs may be connected with the features of bipolarity. Evidence to this effect has accumulated in recent studies of various kinds of depression in mood disorders. Additional evidence for such a connection may be the efficacy of mood-stabilizing drugs in the augmentation of antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression.

[Bipolarity in treatment-resistance depression-preliminary results from the TRES-DEP study].

Aim: The study aimed to analyse the bipolarity features between patients with treatment-resistant depression and patients with remission of a depressive episode.

Methods: The population studied included patients aged 18-65 who had a diagnosis of first or recurrent major depressive disorder. Each psychiatrist included 5 consecutive patients, from all the patients he is treating, where the depressive episode was assessed as treatment-resistant (TR) and 5 consecutive patients with a depressive episode in remission (RE).

Functional polymorphism of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) gene and response to lithium prophylaxis in bipolar patients.

Objective: Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) has been implicated in a number of pathological conditions including cancer and heart diseases, and recently also in such neuropsychiatric disorders as schizophrenia and bipolar illness. Therefore, we investigated a possible association between functional polymorphisms of the MMP-9 gene and the response to lithium, the main mood-stabilizing drug in bipolar illness.

Methods: One hundred and nine bipolar patients treated with lithium for at least 5 years were analyzed.

Lithium in neuropsychiatry: a 2010 update.

OBJECTIVES. More than 60 years have passed since the introduction of lithium into modern psychiatry and special issues of Bipolar Disorders in 2009 and Neuropsychobiology in 2010 were devoted to this anniversary. Notwithstanding such a long tradition, a number of key articles on the neuropsychiatric aspects of lithium have appeared in recent years.

Plasma levels of leptin and orexin A in the restrictive type of anorexia nervosa.

Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the pattern of leptin and orexin A plasma levels in patients with the restrictive type of anorexia nervosa (AN-R), during the course of treatment. Thirty females with AN-R, aged 18.0 ± 1.

Bright light treatment of depressive symptoms in patients with restrictive type of anorexia nervosa.

Background: Light therapy refers to two different categories of treatment. One of them is used in common medical practice and the other in complementary medicine. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of short time (6 weeks) bright light treatment (BLT) on depressive symptoms in female patients with the restrictive type of anorexia nervosa (AN-R).

Painting "mania".

Bipolar mood disorder (manic-depressive illness) has many artistic references, especially in the painting domain, depicting moods and associated features. The title of some paintings directly refers to the psychopathological state of the disorder. There are a great number of painting masterpieces showing the depressive pole of manic-depressive illness.

Influence of atypical features on the quality of prophylactic effectiveness of long-term lithium treatment in bipolar disorders.

Objectives: There is still debate about whether the quality of long-term efficacy of lithium in patients with bipolar disorders is influenced by atypical features. Extended Cox regression models allow for the use of all follow-up data on diseases with multiple episodes. The aim of the present analysis was to apply the best suited of these models to analyze the influence of atypical features on the widely used outcome measure of time to recurrence in a large multicenter cohort of lithium responders established by the International Group for the Study of Lithium Treated Patients.

[Hypomania Check List (HCL-32)--hypomania symptoms questionnaire: description and application].

In current diagnostic classifications such as the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV), unipolar and bipolar mood disorders are mentioned, where the differentiating factor is occurrence of mania or hypomania. In DSM-IV, bipolar mood disorder type I (bipolar I), with the episodes of mania, and bipolar mood disorder type II (bipolar II) with hypomania, have been separated. Clinical and epidemiological studies performed in recent decades using more sensitive measures of the assessment of hypomania suggest a marked prevalence of bipolar disorders of not-bipolar I type, amounting to about 3-5% of population.

[Neuroimmunology of bipolar affective disorder].

Previous neuroimmunological studies focused mostly on depression, regardless of its diagnostic category. In this paper, the studies on the immunological system in patients with bipolar affective illness, including manic episode, have been presented. Research possibilities of neuroimmunology of affective disorders using molecular-genetic methods have also been shown.

Excellent lithium responders have normal cognitive functions and plasma BDNF levels.

In bipolar patients, neuropsychological and biochemical disturbances persist into the remission period. Excellent lithium responders (ELRs) comprise around one third of lithium-treated patients and have total remission of recurrences on lithium monotherapy. The objective of the study was to assess the performance on neuropsychological tests and to measure brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plasma levels in ELRs compared to patients where the effect of lithium was not optimal, and with matched healthy control subjects.

Risk factors of treatment resistance in major depression: association with bipolarity.

Background: An undiagnosed and therefore inadequately treated bipolarity may be an important cause of drug resistance in depression diagnosed as unipolar. The study aimed to detect clinical and demographic characteristics, with a special interest in bipolarity features which could be risk factors for treatment resistance in unipolar depression.

Method: One-thousand and fifty-one patients recruited from 150 outpatient psychiatric clinics and fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for major depressive episodes, single or recurrent, were studied.

[Wind phobia (ancraophobia)--as an example of simple phobia. The case report].

The subject of the paper is the presentation of simple phobias, with particular attention to those connected with natural environment, their classification according to ICD-10 and DSM-IV systems, current views on aetiology and pathogenesis of phobic fear, as well as treatment methods. Among pathogenic factors of simple phobia, genetic predisposition, harmful environmental factors in early childhood and intrapsychic conflicts have been considered. In the paper, the results of neuroimaging studies in phobic patients were also presented as well as evolutionary aspects leading to persisting predisposition to phobic traits in the population.

Efficacy of the novel antidepressant agomelatine on the circadian rest-activity cycle and depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder: a randomized, double-blind comparison with sertraline.

Objective: This study evaluates the efficacy of agomelatine, the first antidepressant to be an agonist at MT(1)/MT(2) receptors and an antagonist at 5-HT(2C) receptors, versus sertraline with regard to the amplitude of the circadian rest-activity cycle and depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Method: Outpatients with DSM-IV-TR-defined MDD received either agomelatine 25 to 50 mg (n = 154) or sertraline 50 to 100 mg (n = 159) during a 6-week, randomized, double-blind treatment period. The study was conducted from 2005 to 2006.

Attitudes of patients with schizophrenia and depression to psychiatric research: a study in seven European countries.

Background: Relatively few studies have examined how patients with schizophrenia and depression view psychiatric research and what influences their readiness to participate.

Methods: A total of 763 patients (48% schizophrenia, 52% depression) from 7 European countries were examined using a specifically designed self-report questionnaire ["Hamburg Attitudes to Psychiatric Research Questionnaire" (HAPRQ)].

Results: Most patients (98%) approved of psychiatric research, in general, at least "a little".

The utility of Mood Disorder Questionnaire for the detection of bipolar diathesis in treatment-resistant depression.

Background: Treatment-resistant depression is a heterogeneous entity. There are many variables associated with poor response to antidepressants, one of which is missed bipolarity. Therefore, the present study investigated the bipolar diathesis between patients with treatment-resistant (TR) depression and non-treatment-resistant (NTR) depression as assessed with the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ).

Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9)-A Mediating Enzyme in Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, and Neuropsychiatric Disorders.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) has been implicated in numerous somatic illnesses, including cardiovascular disorders and cancer. Recently, MMP9 has been shown to be increasingly important in several aspects of central nervous system activity. Furthermore, a pathogenic role for this enzyme has been suggested in such neuropsychiatric disorders as schizophrenia, bipolar illness, and multiple sclerosis.

Polish validation of the TEMPS-A: the profile of affective temperaments in a college student population.

Background And Aims: The TEMPS-A scale is a self-evaluation measure to assess five affective temperaments: depressive, cyclothymic, hyperthymic, irritable and anxious. The scale has already been validated in over 10 languages. In this paper, the first report on the validation of the Polish version of TEMPS-A is presented.

Correlates of cognitive impairment in first episode schizophrenia: the EUFEST study.

Background: Profile and correlates of cognitive deficits in first episode (FE) schizophrenia patients are still debated. The present study is aimed to clarify in a large sample of FE patients the extent of impairment in key cognitive domains and its relationships with demographic and clinical variables.

Method: The European First Episode Schizophrenia Trial collected demographic, clinical and neurocognitive baseline data in 498 FE patients with minimal or no prior exposure to antipsychotics.