Assessment of cognitive and psychiatric disturbances in people with post-COVID-19 condition: a cross-sectional observational study.

Objective: Cognitive and psychiatric symptoms have been increasingly reported after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, developing soon after infection and possibly persisting for several months. We aimed to study this syndrome and start implementing strategies for its assessment.

Methods: Consecutive patients, referred by the infectious disease specialist because of cognitive complaints after COVID-19, were neurologically evaluated.

Dopamine and Serotonin Transporter Genes Regulation in Highly Sensitive Individuals during Stressful Conditions: A Focus on Genetics and Epigenetics.

: Coping with stress is essential for mental well-being and can be critical for highly sensitive individuals, characterized by a deeper perception and processing of stimuli. So far, the molecular bases characterizing high-sensitivity traits have not been completely investigated and gene × environment interactions might play a key role in making some people more susceptible than others. : In this study, 104 young adult university students, subjects that might face overwhelming experiences more than others, were evaluated for the genetics and epigenetics of dopamine () and serotonin () transporter genes, in addition to the expression of miR-132, miR-491, miR-16, and miR-135.

Gender Differences in Gambling Disorder: Results from an Italian Multicentric Study.

Objective: Although gender-specific evidence on Gambling Disorder (GD) is still limited, some studies reported specific differences, mainly in psychopathological profiles, gambling behavior patterns, and pathogenesis. In order to further examine the role of gender in GD, we conducted a multicenter investigation in a sample of Italian outpatients.

Method: One hundred-four outpatients with a diagnosis of GD based on DSM-5 criteria were consecutively recruited at two clinics based in Milan.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Neuropsychological and Emotional-Behavioural Development in a Group of 8- and 9-Year-Old Children.

: The rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the psychological well-being of millions of people around the world, and even more so among children. Contracting SARS-CoV-2, resulting in home confinement and restrictions on daily and school activities, led to negative effects on the mental health of the paediatric population. Although children suffering from COVID-19 had milder general symptoms compared to adults, impairments in cognitive, neuropsychological, and emotional-behavioural development were noted.

COVID-19 and psychiatric disorders among young people: a cross-sectional study.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant rise in mental health issues was observed. Particularly, children and adolescents have shown a higher risk of developing mental disorders than adults. This study aimed to describe the evolving features of the requests for psychiatric emergency interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic in young people.

The progression trajectory of Bipolar Disorder: results from the application of a staging model over a ten-year observation.

Background: Trying to better define Bipolar Disorder (BD) progression, different staging models have been conceptualized, each one emphasizing different aspects of illness. In a previous article we retrospectively applied the main staging models to a sample of 100 bipolar patients at four time points over a ten-year observation. In the present study, focusing on Kupka & Hillegers's model, we aimed to assess the transition of the same sample through the different stages of illness and to explore the potential role of clinical variables on the risk of progression.

Criminal behaviors and substance use disorder in psychiatric patients.

Objective: People with mental illness are overrepresented throughout the criminal justice system. In Italy, the Judicial Psychiatric Hospitals are now on the edge of their closure in favor of small-scale therapeutic facilities (REMS). Therefore, when patients end their duty for criminal behaviors, their clinical management moves back to the outpatient psychiatric centers.

The clinical utility and relevance in clinical practice of DSM-5 specifiers for major depressive disorder: A Delphi expert consensus study.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a heterogeneous syndrome, associated with different levels of severity and impairment on the personal functioning for each patient. Classification systems in psychiatry, including ICD-11 and DSM-5, are used by clinicians in order to simplify the complexity of clinical manifestations. In particular, the DSM-5 introduced specifiers, subtypes, severity ratings, and cross-cutting symptom assessments allowing clinicians to better describe the specific clinical features of each patient.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled plus open trial of adjunctive suvorexant for treatment-resistant insomnia in patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: Sleep pattern alteration is a core feature of bipolar disorder (BD), often challenging to treat and affecting clinical outcomes. Suvorexant, a hypnotic agent that decreases wakefulness, has shown promising results in treating primary insomnia. To date, data on its use in BD are lacking.

Bipolar disorder staging and the impact it has on its management: an update.

Introduction: The longitudinal course of bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with an active process of neuroprogression, characterized by structural brain alterations and progressive functional impairment. In the last decades, a growing need of a standardized staging model for BD arose, with the aim of a more appropriate definition of stage-specific clinical manifestations and the identification of more customized therapeutic tools.

Areas Covered: The authors review the literature on clinical aspects, neurobiological correlates and treatment issues related to BD progression.

Impact of Benzodiazepines and Illness Duration on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder during COVID-19 in Italy: Exploring Symptoms' Evolutionary Benefits.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is believed to follow a waxing and waning course, often according to environmental stressors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pre-existing OCD symptoms were reported to increase and to change from checking to washing behaviors, while new-onset symptoms were predominantly of the hoarding type. In the present study, we followed the evolution of OCD symptoms, anxiety, depression, and insights of illness in forty-six OCD patients throughout the pandemic.

Emotion dysregulation links pathological eating styles and psychopathological traits in bariatric surgery candidates.

Objectives: Approximately one-third of bariatric surgery patients experience weight regain or suboptimal weight loss within five years post-surgery. Pathological eating styles and psychopathological traits (e.g.

Evaluating the 6-month formulation of paliperidone palmitate: a twice-yearly injectable treatment for schizophrenia in adults.

Introduction: Paliperidone Palmitate is the only antipsychotic that has been developed in three different intramuscular long-acting injectable (LAI) dosing regimen: monthly (PP1M), quarterly (PP3M), and from 2020 also twice-yearly (PP6M). The latter was approved for the maintenance treatment of adults with schizophrenia and clinically stabilized with PP1M or PP3M.

Areas Covered: Data from studies evaluating efficacy in the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia with PP6M are reviewed.