Serum Interleukin-6 in Schizophrenia: Associations with Clinical and Sociodemographic Characteristics.

Background: Recently a significant part of schizophrenia studies have been focused on the role of cytokines, especially interleukin-6 (IL-6). Some authors have suggested a pathogenetic role for IL-6 in schizophrenia and concluded that therapy that centers on suppressing IL-6 activity may prove beneficial for certain categories of patients with the disorder. However, many questions about whether the changes in IL-6 levels in schizophrenia are primary, related to symptoms or caused by therapy, are concomitant metabolic disorders, are related to smoking or other secondary factors remain unanswered.

Prevalence of eating disorders in patients with bipolar disorder: a scoping review of the literature.

Background: Eating disorder (ED) and bipolar disorder (BD) exhibit certain phenomenological similarities rooted in eating behavior and emotional regulation. However, despite the growing body of research on the comorbidity of ED and BD, scientific data on the concurrent course of these disorders has remained poorly systematized.

Aim: To conduct a scoping review of published data on the prevalence of various types of ED among patients with BD types I and II in the context of the sex and clinical features of the concurrent course of these disorders.

Gender-related Characteristics of Oxidative Stress Severity and Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Schizophrenia.

The gender specificity of the clinical and psychopathological features of schizophrenia is an important factor in this disease. Gender features of neurocognitive deficit in schizophrenia and associated functional and structural disorders of the brain activity are of particular interest to researchers. There are several potential pathogenetic factors of this disease associated with gender, one of which is considered to be oxidative stress.

Determinants of Stress Levels and Behavioral Reactions in Individuals With Affective or Anxiety Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Russia.

Introduction: Individuals with affective and anxiety disorders are among those most vulnerable to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: This study aims to analyze the determinants of stress levels and protective behavioral strategies associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Russian-speaking people with affective or anxiety disorders (AADs).

Materials And Methods: In this cross-sectional online survey, the psychological distress and behavioral patterns of respondents with self-reported AAD ( = 1,375) and without disorders ( = 4,278) were evaluated during three periods of restrictive measures in Russia (March-May 2020).

Screening of Depressive Symptoms in a Russian General Population Sample: A Web-based Cross-sectional Study.

Background And Objective: Web-based screening of depressive symptoms in general non-clinical population can provide better insights into actual prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated risk factors. To study the current prevalence of depressive symptoms in Russian non-clinical population we conducted screening using an online survey based on Depression subscale of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D).

Methods: The online survey covered 2610 Russian-speaking respondents and included HADS-D, questions about sex, age and presence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) diagnoses or symptoms in respondents.

Behavioral and Emotional Reactions of the Russian Population to the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An On-Line Survey Results.

Background: The study aimed to identify the patterns of adaptive and behavioral strategies in different population groups, also to evaluate their association with the infection prevention strategies and the distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The data were obtained from the on-line survey of 1958 respondents (mean age 31±12 years) from March 30, 2020 to April 5, 2020. 578 respondents reported a history of affective disorders; 884 respondents - a history of somatic disease.

Association of antioxidant deficiency and the level of products of protein and lipid peroxidation in patients with the first episode of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is considered a multifactorial disease, where one of the pathogenetic links is oxidative stress; however, the results of studies are often contradictory, largely due to significant heterogeneity among study methods. The present study was undertaken to compare the levels of oxidative stress markers in the peripheral blood of patients with a first episode of schizophrenia (FES) and in healthy volunteers (HV). The study included 50 patients with FES and 37 HV.

The association of obesity with eating disorders risk: online survey of a large cohort of Russian-speaking individuals seeking medical weight correction assistance.

Background: Eating Disorders pose a serious health risk to individuals. Often, eating disorder symptoms are overlooked when assessing obesity risk. The current cross-sectional study was focused on the search of association between disordered eating behaviors evaluated by Eating Attitudes Test 26 (EAT-26) and obesity in a large cohort of Russian-speaking adults seeking online assistance with medical weight correction.

Stress and Stigmatization in Health-Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The health-care workers showed the highest risks of the adverse psychological reactions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the structure and severity of psychological distress and stigmatization in different categories of health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials And Methods: This study included two phases of online survey in 1800 Russian-speaking health-care workers (March 30 - April 5 and May 4 - May 10, 2020).

A genome-wide association study identifies a gene network associated with paranoid schizophrenia and antipsychotics-induced tardive dyskinesia.

In the present study we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a cohort of 505 patients with paranoid schizophrenia (SCZ), of which 95 had tardive dyskinesia (TD), and 503 healthy controls. Using data generated by the PsychENCODE Consortium (PEC) and other bioinformatic databases, we revealed a gene network, implicated in neurodevelopment and brain function, associated with both these disorders. Almost all these genes are in gene or isoform co-expression PEC network modules important for the functioning of the brain; the activity of these networks is also altered in SCZ, bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorders.

Opening up new horizons for psychiatric genetics in the Russian Federation: moving toward a national consortium.

We provide an overview of the recent achievements in psychiatric genetics research in the Russian Federation and present genotype-phenotype, population, epigenetic, cytogenetic, functional, ENIGMA, and pharmacogenetic studies, with an emphasis on genome-wide association studies. The genetic backgrounds of mental illnesses in the polyethnic and multicultural population of the Russian Federation are still understudied. Furthermore, genetic, genomic, and pharmacogenetic data from the Russian Federation are not adequately represented in the international scientific literature, are currently not available for meta-analyses and have never been compared with data from other populations.