Publications by authors named "Alessandra Solida-Tozzi"

Objectives This article aims to contextualize and review interventions for patients with a clinical high-risk (CHR) state for psychosis. Method This review explores the literature on the CHR state and focuses more precisely on the development of its defining criteria, the evolution of CHR patients, the main interventions studied so far, and the clinical services implemented to date. Results The CHR criteria were developed from observations on the prodrome of psychotic disorders to prevent or delay the onset of psychosis.

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Background: Prevention of violent behaviors (VB) in the early phase of psychosis (EPP) is a real challenge. Impulsivity was shown to be strongly related to VB, and different evolutions of impulsivity were noticed along treatments. One possible variable involved in the relationship between VB and the evolution of impulsivity is cannabis use (CU).

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Acute treatment of agitation in psychiatry is one of the urgent situations for which management recommendations are needed. Various existing international recommendations have been evaluated and adapted to our clinical practice and to the drugs available in Switzerland in order to propose a uniform management strategy in our hospital. This strategy includes a treatment choice algorithm with different options depending on the clinical situation and the possible route of administration.

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Background: Cardiovascular diseases and dyslipidemia represent a major health issue in psychiatry. Many psychotropic drugs can induce a rapid and substantial increase of blood lipid levels.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the potential predictive power of an early change of blood lipid levels during psychotropic treatment on long-term change and on dyslipidemia development.

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In this review article, we outline the evidence linking attachment adversity to psychosis, from the premorbid stages of the disorder to its clinical forms. To better understand the neurobiological mechanisms through which insecure attachment may contribute to psychosis, we identify at least five neurobiological pathways linking attachment to risk for developing psychosis. Besides its well documented influence on the hypothalamic-pituary-adrenal (HPA) axis, insecure attachment may also contribute to neurodevelopmental risk through the dopaminergic and oxytonergic systems, as well as bear influence on neuroinflammation and oxidative stress responses.

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Background: Psychotropic drugs can induce substantial weight gain, particularly during the first 6 months of treatment. The authors aimed to determine the potential predictive power of an early weight gain after the introduction of weight gain-inducing psychotropic drugs on long-term weight gain.

Method: Data were obtained from a 1-year longitudinal study ongoing since 2007 including 351 psychiatric (ICD-10) patients, with metabolic parameters monitored (baseline and/or 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 months) and with compliance ascertained.

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