Publications by authors named "Bertolin S"

Introduction: Obsessive compulsive disorder is associated with affected executive functioning, including memory, cognitive flexibility, and organizational strategies. As it was reported in previous studies, patients with preserved executive functions respond better to pharmacological treatment, while others need to keep trying different pharmacological strategies.

Material And Methods: In this work we used machine learning techniques to predict pharmacological response (OCD patients' symptomatology reduction) based on executive functioning and clinical variables.

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Research on anxiety faces challenges due to the wide range of symptoms, making it difficult to determine if different aspects of anxiety are linked to distinct neurobiological processes. Both alterations in functional brain connectivity (FC) and monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems are implicated as potential neural bases of anxiety. We aimed to investigate whole-brain FC involving monoaminergic nuclei and its association with anxiety dimensions in 178 non-clinical participants.

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Aims: To describe the use and the relation to outcome of different ventilation strategies in a contemporary, large, prospective registry of cardiogenic shock patients.

Methods And Results: Among 657 patients enrolled from March 2020 to November 2023, 198 (30.1%) received oxygen therapy (OT), 96 (14.

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Introduction: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective alternative to treat severe refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), although little is known on factors predicting response. The objective of this study was to explore potential sex differences in the pattern of response to DBS in OCD patients.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study in 25 patients with severe resistant OCD.

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White matter pathways, typically studied with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), have been implicated in the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, due to limited sample sizes and the predominance of single-site studies, the generalizability of OCD classification based on diffusion white matter estimates remains unclear. Here, we tested classification accuracy using the largest OCD DTI dataset to date, involving 1336 adult participants (690 OCD patients and 646 healthy controls) and 317 pediatric participants (175 OCD patients and 142 healthy controls) from 18 international sites within the ENIGMA OCD Working Group.

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Background: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling illness with a chronic course, yet data on long-term outcomes are scarce. This study aimed to examine the long-term course of OCD in patients treated with different approaches (drugs, psychotherapy, and psychosurgery) and to identify predictors of clinical outcome by machine learning.

Method: We included outpatients with OCD treated at our referral unit.

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Clear clinical guidelines for the assessment and treatment of right ventricular failure (RVF) remain an unmet need. Although high complexity patients are common in this setting, the ideal management remains uncertain, resulting in high mortality rates despite presumably optimal medical therapy. Timely treatment with Impella RP may offer benefits by supplying circulatory support during the acute RVF phase and providing the time and unloading necessary for native right heart recovery.

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Article Synopsis
  • The analysis from the Altshock-2 registry aimed to compare the clinical features and management of cardiogenic shock due to acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF-CS) versus that caused by acute myocardial infarction (AMI-CS).
  • It found that patients with ADHF-CS were younger but had worse kidney and liver function, leading to longer hospital stays and increased use of heart replacement therapies.
  • In terms of treatment, norepinephrine was more common for AMI-CS, while epinephrine was more frequently used for ADHF-CS, and overall in-hospital mortality rates were similar between the two groups.
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Background: The study of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) genomics has primarily been tackled by Genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which have encountered troubles in identifying replicable single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Endophenotypes have emerged as a promising avenue of study in trying to elucidate the genomic bases of complex traits such as OCD.

Methods: We analyzed the association of SNPs across the whole genome with the construction of visuospatial information and executive performance through four neurocognitive variables assessed by the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT) in a sample of 133 OCD probands.

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Objective: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered a first-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in pediatric and adult populations. Nevertheless, some patients show partial or null response. The identification of predictors of CBT response may improve clinical management of patients with OCD.

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Objectives: The aim of this work is to demonstrate the use of a standardized health informatics framework to generate reliable and reproducible real-world evidence from Latin America and South Asia towards characterizing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Global South.

Materials And Methods: Patient-level COVID-19 records collected in a patient self-reported notification system, hospital in-patient and out-patient records, and community diagnostic labs were harmonized to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership common data model and analyzed using a federated network analytics framework. Clinical characteristics of individuals tested for, diagnosed with or tested positive for, hospitalized with, admitted to intensive care unit with, or dying with COVID-19 were estimated.

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When axillary/subclavian arteries are not suitable because of size or anatomy, alternative access for the Impella pump 5.0/5.5 via the innominate artery allows circulatory support and eventually de-escalation from VA-ECMO to isolated left-side support.

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Background: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by the presence of executive dysfunctions. As organizational strategies may play an important role as a possible endophenotype of the disorder, we decided to investigate non-verbal memory and organizational abilities in OCD. We also investigated how organization and non-verbal memory differ between responder and non-responder patients to pharmacological treatment, to test whether cognitive functions can predict the response to pharmacological treatment.

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Background: Twenty years after the first use of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), our knowledge of the long-term effects of this therapeutic option remains very limited.

Objective: Our study aims to assess the long-term effectiveness and tolerability of DBS in OCD patients and to look for possible predictors of long-term response to this treatment.

Methods: We studied the course of 25 patients with severe refractory OCD treated with DBS over an average follow-up period of 6.

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Background: Machine learning modeling can provide valuable support in different areas of mental health, because it enables to make rapid predictions and therefore support the decision making, based on valuable data. However, few studies have applied this method to predict symptoms' worsening, based on sociodemographic, contextual, and clinical data. Thus, we applied machine learning techniques to identify predictors of symptomatologic changes in a Spanish cohort of OCD patients during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Although the etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is largely unknown, it is accepted that OCD is a complex disorder. There is a known bi-directional interaction between the gut microbiome and brain activity. Several authors have reported associations between changes in gut microbiota and neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression or autism.

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Background: Twenty years after its first use in a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the results confirm that deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a promising therapy for patients with severe and resistant forms of the disorder. Nevertheless, many unknowns remain, including the optimal anatomical targets, the best stimulation parameters, the long-term (LT) effects of the therapy, and the clinical or biological factors associated with response. This systematic review of the articles published to date on DBS for OCD assesses the short and LT efficacy of the therapy and seeks to identify predictors of response.

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Background: Although the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on emotional health are evident, little is known about its impact on patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Methods: One hundred and twenty-seven patients with OCD who attended a specialist OCD Clinic in Barcelona, Spain, were assessed by phone from April 27 to May 25, 2020, during the early phase of the pandemic, using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and a structured interview that collected clinical and sociodemographic information. Results were compared with those for 237 healthy controls from the same geographic area who completed an online survey.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on understanding the varied prognosis of COVID-19 by identifying clinical and laboratory indicators that can predict poor outcomes in hospitalized patients.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 664 COVID-19 patients in Northern Italy, discovering that factors like red cell distribution width (RDW), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NL) ratio, and platelet count are significant predictors of in-hospital mortality.
  • The results suggest that using simple blood tests could help in classifying the severity of COVID-19, ultimately guiding treatment and monitoring strategies for better patient management.
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  • The study investigated whether alpha-1 blockers, typically used for treating benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), can reduce the risk of complications from COVID-19, particularly by blocking cytokine storms.
  • Researchers compared 2.6 million alpha-1 blocker users with 0.46 million users of alternative BPH treatments from electronic health records in Spain and the U.S. between November 2019 and January 2020.
  • The results showed no significant difference in the risks of COVID-19 diagnosis, hospitalization, or need for intensive services between the two groups, highlighting the necessity for additional research on potential therapies for COVID-19.
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High doses of antidepressants, particularly clomipramine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), are the well-established treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but manic/hypomanic episodes are potential adverse events associated with this treatment. A systematic literature review was performed on manic/hypomanic episodes in non-bipolar OCD patients. Clinical, sociodemographic and antidepressant characteristics during the manic/hypomanic switch were extracted using descriptive statistics.

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  • The study aimed to assess the 30-day outcomes and mortality of patients with autoimmune diseases hospitalized due to COVID-19, comparing them to similar hospital patients with seasonal influenza.
  • Researchers analyzed data from multiple health institutions and found that most patients were older females with significant comorbidities.
  • Results indicated that COVID-19 led to more respiratory complications and higher mortality rates (up to 24.6%) compared to influenza (up to 4.3%).
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Background: Sleep disturbances have been reported in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, with heterogeneous results. The aim of our study was to assess sleep function in OCD and to investigate the relationship between sleep and the severity of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms, depressive symptoms and trait anxiety.

Methods: Sleep quality was measured in 61 OCD patients and 100 healthy controls (HCs) using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

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Article Synopsis
  • A study investigated the 30-day outcomes and mortality of patients with autoimmune diseases hospitalized due to COVID-19, highlighting increased complications compared to those admitted for seasonal influenza.
  • The research used electronic health records from various healthcare institutions across the U.S. and Spain, analyzing data from over 133,000 COVID-19 patients and similar influenza patients.
  • Results showed that COVID-19 patients with autoimmune diseases experienced higher rates of respiratory issues and significantly increased 30-day mortality rates, indicating poorer outcomes compared to those with influenza.
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