Increase in serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels during early withdrawal in severe alcohol users.

Introduction: Changes in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have been linked to the neuroadaptative consequences of chronic alcohol use and associated with disease severity and prognosis. Few studies have evaluated the influence of drug withdrawal and clinical and sociodemographic data on BDNF levels in severe alcohol users.

Objectives: Our goals were (1) to evaluate variation in BDNF levels during alcohol withdrawal and, (2) to assess the influence of putative confounding factors on BDNF levels.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in substance use disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is associated with several neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. It is not clear, however, whether BDNF levels are modified in substance use disorders (SUDs).

Methods: We conducted a systematic search of electronic databases to identify studies comparing peripheral plasma or serum BDNF levels in adults with SUDs vs.

Aggressive behavior during the first 24 hours of psychiatric admission.

Objective: To investigate the association between aggression in the first 24 hours after admission and severity of psychopathology in psychiatric inpatients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included psychiatric patients admitted to Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria, in Santa Maria, southern Brazil, from August 2012 to January 2013. At their arrival at the hospital, patients were interviewed to fill in the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) form, and any aggressive episodes in the first 24 hours after admission were recorded using the Overt Aggression Scale (OAS).