Cortical surface abnormalities are different depending on the stage of schizophrenia: A cross-sectional vertexwise mega-analysis of thickness, area and gyrification.

Background: Brain magnetic resonance imaging studies have not investigated the cortical surface comprehensively in schizophrenia subjects by assessing thickness, surface area and gyrification separately during the first-episode of psychosis (FEP) or chronic schizophrenia (ChSch).

Methods: We investigated cortical surface abnormalities in 137 FEP patients and 240 ChSch subjects compared to 297 Healthy Controls (HC) contributed by five cohorts. Maps showing results of vertexwise between-group comparisons of cortical thickness, area, and gyrification were produced using T1-weighted datasets processed using FreeSurfer 5.

Alcohol use, abuse and dependence among elderly in outpatient treatment through the application of AUDIT.

Objective: To identify or use alcohol abuse and abuse in the IAMSPE elderly, through the application of AUDIT, socioeconomic characterization of the elderly, and problems associated with drinking and weight, if there is a relationship between depression and alcohol abuse.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional, exploratory, and descriptive study with a quantitative approach. One hundred elderly patients were interviewed to apply a socioeconomic form and to assess alcohol consumption from AUDIT.

Variation of plasma cortisol levels in patients with depression after treatment with bilateral electroconvulsive therapy.

Introduction: More than 60 years after the introduction of modern psychopharmacology, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) continues to be an essential therapeutic modality in the treatment of mental disorders, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. Hormones play an essential role in the development and expression of a series of behavioral changes. One aspect of the influence of hormones on behavior is their potential contribution to the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and the mechanism of action of psychotropic drugs and ECT.

Impact on quality of life, weight loss and comorbidities: a study comparing the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch and the banded Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Context: Few studies have evaluated the results of different types of bariatric surgery using the Medical Outcome Study 36 - Health Survey Short-Form (SF-36) quality of life questionnaire, the Bariatric and Reporting Outcome System (BAROS) and the reviewed Moorehead-Ardelt Quality of Life II Questionnaire (M-A QoLQ II) that is part of BAROS. The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is the most common morbid obesity surgery worldwide. However, there is evidence indicating that a biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (DS) is more effective than RYGB in weight loss terms.

Quality of life and functional capacity of elderly women with knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: To correlate functional ability and quality of life of elderly women with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Cross-sectional study composed of 40 elderly women with knee osteoarthritis. We used the following instruments: identification questionnaire, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-OLD (WHOQOL-OLD).

Quality of life and prevalence of osteoarticular pain in patients submitted to bariatric surgery.

Objective: To analyze quality of life and observe the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in patients submitted to bariatric surgery.

Methods: A prospective, observational and comparative study with 26 individuals aged 18 to 60 years, 25 women, which included two evaluations, one preoperative and the other approximately 42 months after surgery. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Human Body Diagram with Visual Analogue Scale were employed.

End of life in intensive care: family members' acceptance of orthotanasia.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess family member acceptance of orthotanasia as related to symptom management, patient preference and the influence of the medical team's communication on therapy.

Methods: This was a descriptive one-year study conducted at the adult intensive care unit of the Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual. A structured questionnaire based on the Quality of Dying and Death (QODD 22) instrument and prior informal interviews were used.

Insight and regional brain volumes in schizophrenia.

We have investigated the relationship between insight impairment and regional brain volumes (gray and white matter) in schizophrenia using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Fifty patients with schizophrenia were evaluated using the Scale for Unawareness of Mental Disorders. Magnetic resonance images were acquired, segmented and spatially normalized using optimized VBM routines.

Maintenance treatment of severe tardive dyskinesia with clozapine: 5 years' follow-up.

\Drug-induced tardive dyskinesia (TD) affects approximately 20% to 30% of schizophrenic patients. Although it is usually mild, from 1% to 8% of patients may develop severe TD. Second-generation antipsychotics have demonstrated a lower risk of inducing TD.