Towards a definition of multiple and complex needs in children and youth: Delphi study in Flanders and international survey.

Background: Multiple and complex needs (MCN) in children and youth jeopardize their development and pose significant challenges to the different professionals they meet. However, there is no agreed-upon definition of this vulnerable population.

Objectives: To develop a definition of 'MCN in children and youth' that is meaningful for all professionals involved in care delivery for this population.

Professionals' views on the development process of a structural collaboration between child and adolescent psychiatry and child welfare: an exploration through the lens of the life cycle model.

This study, as a part of a participatory action research project, reports the development process of an innovative collaboration between child and adolescent psychiatry and child welfare, for adolescent girls with multiple and complex needs. The findings emerge from a qualitative descriptive analysis of four focus groups with 30 professionals closely involved in this project, and describe the evolution of the collaborative efforts and outcomes through time. Participants describe large investments and negative consequences of rapid organizational change in the beginning of the collaboration project, while benefits of the intensive collaboration only appeared later.

Effect of Pycnogenol® on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Methylphenidate (MPH), the first choice medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is associated with serious adverse effects like arrhythmia. Evidence on the association of ADHD with immune and oxidant-antioxidant imbalances offers potential for antioxidant and/or immunomodulatory nutritional supplements as ADHD therapy. One small randomised trial in ADHD suggests, despite various limitations, therapeutic benefit from Pycnogenol®, a herbal, polyphenol-rich extract.

Motor impairment among different psychiatric disorders: Can patterns be identified?

The aim of this study was to explore motor impairment in male adolescents suffering from psychiatric conditions. Taking into account the heterogeneity of a clinical population, motor profiles of distinctive diagnostic groups were evaluated. Whether or not motor ability discriminates between several diagnostic categories was investigated.

Motor abilities of children and adolescents with a psychiatric condition: A systematic literature review.

Aim: To summarize research regarding the motor abilities of children and adolescents who suffer from a common psychiatric condition.

Methods: In order to outline the current knowledge regarding the motor abilities of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) and depression, a comprehensive systematic literature search was carried out using PubMed, Medline and ERIC databases. The databases were searched for relevant English language articles published between January 1990 and April 2014.

Motor abilities of adolescents with a disruptive behavior disorder: The role of comorbidity with ADHD.

The aim of this study was to explore the incidence, type and severity of motor impairment in male adolescents with a disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) and evaluate the role of comorbid ADHD. The Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency, Second Edition was administered to examine a detailed motor profile and to compare the motor abilities of individuals with DBD (n = 99) to those of controls (n = 87). Additional subgroup analyses were conducted within the clinical population and encompassed (1) analyzing differences in motor profiles between individuals diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) or conduct disorder (CD) and (2) comparing the motor profiles of individuals with or without comorbid ADHD.

Research projects in the collaborative antwerp psychiatric research institute.

Introduction: In the following article CAPRI presents its current research projects.

Subjects And Method: The team leaders were asked to present and summarize the project they had been working on. The fields in which research was conducted are: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Cognitive and Psychomotor Dysfunctions in Schizophrenia, fMRI in Schizophrenia, Cognitive and Psychomotor Dysfunctions in Major Depressive Disorder, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Addiction Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry.

Serum testosterone concentration in male autistic youngsters.

Objective: Research on the biological pathophysiology of autism has found some evidence that alterations in androgenic hormones may play a role in the pathophysiology of that disorder. We studied morning concentrations of serum testosterone in a very homogenic group of postpubertal youngsters with autism and a group of normal controls.

Methods: This study examines the serum testosterone concentration on 9 consecutive time points between 08.

Associations between common arginine vasopressin 1b receptor and glucocorticoid receptor gene variants and HPA axis responses to psychosocial stress in a child psychiatric population.

On the one hand, a suitable response to daily stressors is crucial for adequate functioning in any natural environment. On the other hand, depending on the individual's genetic makeup, prolonged stress that is accompanied by an inappropriate level of responsiveness may lead to physiological and psychiatric disorders. Several psychiatric conditions have been linked with stress and alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity.

Differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning among children with ADHD predominantly inattentive and combined types.

Some evidence suggests that the HPA axis may be dysfunctional in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim of this study was to investigate whether a different pattern of HPA axis activity is found between the inattentive (I) and combined (C) subtypes of ADHD, in comparison with healthy control children. A total of 100 prepubertal subjects [52 children with ADHD combined type (ADHD-C), 23 children with ADHD predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-I), and 25 healthy control subjects] were studied.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal reactivity in prepubertal children with social phobia.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether a different pattern of HPA axis activity is found between children with social phobia (SP) and healthy control children.

Methods: A total of 50 prepubertal subjects (25 children with SP and 25 healthy control subjects) were studied. The effects of stress were studied by comparing cortisol responses to a psychosocial stressor, consisting of a public speaking task.

Glucocorticoid receptor gene-based SNP analysis in patients with recurrent major depression.

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, one of the stress-response systems, is one of the key neurobiological features of major depression (MDD). Data supporting the notion that glucocorticoid-mediated feedback inhibition is impaired in MDD come from a multitude of studies demonstrating nonsuppression of cortisol secretion following administration of the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone. We examined whether genetic variations in the glucocorticoid receptor gene (Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 3, Group C, Member 1; NR3C1) could be associated with increased susceptibility for MDD using a whole gene-based association analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

The genetics of panic disorder: state of the art.

Panic disorder (PD) is a highly prevalent, debilitating disorder. The heritability of the disease has been estimated by twin studies to be between 30 and 60%. The vulnerability for PD overlaps with an increased risk of bipolar disorder in some families.

Activation of the inflammatory response system: A new look at the etiopathogenesis of major depression.

Major depression is accompanied by various direct and indirect indicators of a moderate activation of the inflammatory response system (IRS). Increased production of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6 and interferon (IFNgamma), may play a crucial role in the immune and acute phase response in depression. Lower serum zinc and changes in the erythron are indirect indicators of IRS activation in depression.