Consensus Panel Recommendations for the Pharmacological Management of Breastfeeding Women with Postpartum Depression.

Introduction: Our consensus statement aims to clarify the use of antidepressants and anxiolytics during breastfeeding amidst clinical uncertainty. Despite recent studies, potential harm to breastfed newborns from these medications remains a concern, leading to abrupt discontinuation of necessary treatments or exclusive formula feeding, depriving newborns of benefits from mother's milk.

Methods: A panel of 16 experts, representing eight scientific societies with a keen interest in postpartum depression, was convened.

The Role of Lurasidone in Managing Depressive Symptoms in People with Schizophrenia: A Review.

Background: Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder characterized by positive, negative, affective, and cognitive symptoms. Affective symptoms in patients with schizophrenia have traditionally been overlooked or even neglected because they are not considered as fundamental as positive and negative symptoms in the choice of medication.

Methods: This paper aims to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of lurasidone in the treatment of depressive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Nationwide consensus on the clinical management of treatment-resistant depression in Italy: a Delphi panel.

Background: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is defined by the European Medicines Agency as a lack of clinically meaningful improvement after treatment, with at least two different antidepressants. Individual, familiar, and socio-economic burden of TRD is huge. Given the lack of clear guidelines, the large variability of TRD approaches across different countries and the availability of new medications to meet the need of effective and rapid acting therapeutic strategies, it is important to understand the consensus regarding the clinical characteristics and treatment pathways of patients with TRD in Italian routine clinical practice, particularly in view of the recent availability of esketamine nasal spray.

Consensus Panel Recommendations for the Pharmacological Management of Pregnant Women with Depressive Disorders.

Introduction: The initiative of a consensus on the topic of antidepressant and anxiolytic drug use in pregnancy is developing in an area of clinical uncertainty. Although many studies have been published in recent years, there is still a paucity of authoritative evidence-based indications useful for guiding the prescription of these drugs during pregnancy, and the data from the literature are complex and require expert judgment to draw clear conclusions.

Methods: For the elaboration of the consensus, we have involved the scientific societies of the sector, namely, the Italian Society of Toxicology, the Italian Society of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Italian Society of Psychiatry, the Italian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Italian Society of Drug Addiction and the Italian Society of Addiction Pathology.

Dynamic functional connectivity in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: A review of the evidence and associations with psychopathological features.

Alterations of functional network connectivity have been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). Recent studies also suggest that the temporal dynamics of functional connectivity (dFC) can be altered in these disorders. Here, we summarized the existing literature on dFC in SCZ and BD, and their association with psychopathological and cognitive features.

Machine learning methods to predict outcomes of pharmacological treatment in psychosis.

In recent years, machine learning (ML) has been a promising approach in the research of treatment outcome prediction in psychosis. In this study, we reviewed ML studies using different neuroimaging, neurophysiological, genetic, and clinical features to predict antipsychotic treatment outcomes in patients at different stages of schizophrenia. Literature available on PubMed until March 2022 was reviewed.

Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotic Treatment during Pregnancy: A Case Series.

Introduction: Data from the literature show that prolonged-release injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) ensure constant blood drug levels better patient compliance and offer a simpler treatment regimen for both patients and caregivers. This observational-descriptive study aims to detect the possible complications found in newborns of women with bipolar or psychotic disorders and LAI therapy during pregnancy.

Methods: This study involved women with psychotic disorders during pregnancy who contacted the Teratology Information Center of Bergamo, Italy between 2016 and 2021 to receive counseling on the possible risks of exposure to LAI therapy.

A systematic review on the potential use of machine learning to classify major depressive disorder from healthy controls using resting state fMRI measures.

Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by functional brain deficits, as documented by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies.

Aims: In recent years, some studies used machine learning (ML) approaches, based on rs-fMRI features, for classifying MDD from healthy controls (HC). In this context, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the results of these studies.

Psychological impact of COVID-19 after hospital discharge: A follow-up study on Italian recovered patients.

Background: Since COVID-19 outbreak, clinical experience on its management during the acute phase has rapidly grown, including potential effects on the psychopathological dimension. However, still few data are available regarding the impact on survivors' mental health over the long-term.

Methods: A sample of 1457 COVID-19 patients underwent a multidisciplinary follow-up protocol, approximately 3 months after hospital discharge, including a psychological evaluation.

Clinical evaluation of switching from immediate-release to prolonged-release lithium in bipolar patients, poorly tolerant to lithium immediate-release treatment: A randomized clinical trial.

Aim: The effect of switching from lithium immediate release (Li-IR) to lithium prolonged release (Li-PR) on lithium-induced tremor after 1 and 12 weeks of treatment was evaluated in a randomized, multicenter, open trial, in bipolar patients from the participating sites with a tremor severity ≥2 (Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelser [UKU] rating scale) despite optimal lithium titration.

Methods: The primary endpoint was the evaluation of tremor by means of the UKU scale after 1 week of treatment. Secondary endpoints included manic Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and depressive symptoms (Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale), a global assessment of the patient's status (Clinical Global Impression), polyuria/polydipsia (UKU item 3.

Psychological and cognitive factors implicated in pain experience in women with endometriosis.

Sixty women with a diagnosis of endometriosis (30 with low pain severity - LP; 30 with high pain severity - HP) were evaluated at study entry (T0) and after three months (T1). At T0 they were compared for different psychological dimensions to sixty-two age-paired healthy women (CG). HP group had significantly higher scores on depressive symptomatology, sexual distress, and catastrophizing than CG, and higher scores on worry traits than LP.

Effects of the Blending Ratio on the Design of Keratin/Poly(butylene succinate) Nanofibers for Drug Delivery Applications.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of proteins as biocompatible and environmentally friendly biomolecules for the design of wound healing and drug delivery systems. Keratin is a fascinating protein, obtainable from several keratinous biomasses such as wool, hair or nails, with intrinsic bioactive properties including stimulatory effects on wound repair and excellent carrier capability. In this work keratin/poly(butylene succinate) blend solutions with functional properties tunable by manipulating the polymer blending ratios were prepared by using 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol as common solvent.

Delirium in COVID-19 patients: a multicentric observational study in Italy.

Introduction: Although recent data show that SARS-CoV-2 infection seems to affect the central nervous system (CNS), little is known about the neuropsychiatric effects resulting from this condition. In addition to the well-known neurotrophism of coronaviruses, recent evidence shows also that the "cytokine storm" induced by the infection is at the basis of the neuroinflammation of the CNS. Furthermore, prolonged hospitalization, polypharmacotherapy, and isolation could be at the basis of the onset of delirium in hospitalized COVID patients.

Emergency Psychiatric Consultations During and After the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy. A Multicentre Study.

The aim was to analyse the psychiatric consultations in nine Italian hospital emergency departments, by comparing the lockdown and post-lockdown periods of 2020 with the equivalent periods of 2019. Characteristics of psychiatric consultations, patients, and drug prescriptions were analyzed. Joinpoint models were used to identify changes in the weekly trend of consultations.

Surviving COVID-19 in Bergamo province: a post-acute outpatient re-evaluation.

Bergamo province was badly hit by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. We organised a public-funded, multidisciplinary follow-up programme for COVID-19 patients discharged from the emergency department or from the inpatient wards of 'Papa Giovanni XXIII' Hospital, the largest public hospital in the area. As of 31 July, the first 767 patients had completed the first post-discharge multidisciplinary assessment.

Survey on centres and procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD in public services in Italy.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often persists into adulthood. Although its persistence and relative high prevalence, ADHD in adults is often underdiagnosed and undertreated in Italy, leading to poor clinical and functional outcomes, and higher costs of illness. The aims of the study were to identify the Italian mental health services for ADHD in adults, describe the diagnostic and treatment procedures they follow, and compare this offer with the recommendations of the German and English guidelines.

Second outbreak of Trichinella pseudospiralis in Europe: clinical patterns, epidemiological investigation and identification of the etiological agent based on the western blot patterns of the patients' serum.

Trichinellosis is a zoonotic disease due to the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat from animals infected with the larvae of nematodes belonging to the genus Trichinella. In January-February 2015, an outbreak of trichinellosis occurred in Genoa, Northern Italy. The epidemiological link was traced back to a dinner served at an agritourism farm on 31 December 2014, where a majority of the 52 guests had consumed the 'beef' steak tartare.

Which factors delay treatment in bipolar disorder? A nationwide study focussed on duration of untreated illness.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to detect factors associated with duration of untreated illness (DUI) in bipolar disorder (BD).

Method: A total of 1575 patients were selected for the purposes of the study. Correlation analyses were performed to analyse the relation between DUI and quantitative variables.

Gender-related differences in patients with bipolar disorder: a nationwide study.

Objective: The possible presence of gender-related differences in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) may have diagnostic and therapeutic implications. This multicenter study aimed to investigate gender differences in BD in the largest Italian database collected to date, on behalf of the Italian Chapter of the International Society of Bipolar Disorders.

Methods: A total of 1674 patients (males: n = 714; females: n = 960) from different psychiatric departments were compared according to gender on demographic/clinical variables.

Negative metacognitive beliefs predict sexual distress over and above pain in women with endometriosis.

The aim of the study was to assess the predictive value of dyspareunia, general chronic pain, and metacognitive beliefs to sexual distress in a sample of women with endometriosis. Ninety-six women (mean age = 34.60 ± 6.

Perfectionistic traits and importance given to parenthood are associated with infertility-related quality of life in a sample of infertile women with and without endometriosis.

Objective: To assess quality of life and psychological differences between infertile women with endometriosis and without endometriosis. To investigate predictive role of perfectionism, mindful awareness and beliefs about parenthood to quality of life in a sample of women with fertility problems.

Methods: 43 infertile women (22 with endometriosis; 21 without endometriosis) who recurred to Assisted Reproductive Treatments (ARTs) in the last 12 months took part to this cross-sectional study.