Assessment of short forms of recurrent atrial extra systoles by echocardiography with left atrial strain in ambulatory patients without organic cardiopathy.

Aim: To analyse the potential usefulness and clinical relevance of the assessment by echocardiography with left atrial strain, based on the myocardial atrial deformation curves with speckle-tracking velocity vector imaging (VVI), in the analysis of short-form recurrent atrial extra systoles in ambulatory patients not suffering from organic cardiopathy.

Methods: We designed a descriptive, prospective, and observational study including 270 patients between the ages of 18 and 75 assessed during an outpatient cardiology consultation attended due to palpitations over a period of two years. Using ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring, we selected cases with short forms of repetitive atrial extrasystole, isolated or recurrentatrial fibrillation and a control group formed by those patients without repetitive ectopia.

Effects of raloxifene on cognition in postmenopausal women with schizophrenia: a 24-week double-blind, randomized, parallel, placebo-controlled trial.

We assessed the utility of raloxifene (60 mg/day) as an adjuvant treatment for cognitive symptoms in postmenopausal women with schizophrenia in a 24-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Patients were recruited from the inpatient and outpatient services of Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Hospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata, and Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí. Seventy eight postmenopausal women with schizophrenia were randomized to either adjunctive raloxifene or placebo.

Mental Health Emergencies in Paediatric Services: Characteristics, Diagnostic Stability and Gender differences.

Introduction: Child and adolescent psychiatric emergencies have increased in recent years. The main objective of our study is to analyze sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of psychiatric emergencies under 18 years old that came to our hospital. Secondary objectives were to study diagnostic stability made in the emergency department and undertake a gender analysis.

Pharmacogenetic study of the effects of raloxifene on negative symptoms of postmenopausal women with schizophrenia: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Several double-blind clinical trials have reported improvement in positive, negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia with raloxifene, a selective receptor estrogen modulator. However, there are some inconsistencies in replicating findings between studies of different countries. The failure to replicate these findings may result from genetic factors that could explain some of the variability in the treatment response.

Free thyroxine levels are associated with cognitive changes in individuals with a first episode of psychosis: A prospective 1-year follow-up study.

The results of previous cross-sectional studies suggest that free thyroxine (FT4) levels are associated with cognitive abilities (particularly attention/vigilance) during the early stages of psychosis. We aimed to explore whether hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid hormones predict cognitive changes in a 1-year longitudinal study following first episodes of psychosis (FEP). We studied 36 FEP patients and a control group of 50 healthy subjects (HS).

Free thyroxine levels are associated with cognitive abilities in subjects with early psychosis.

Introduction: Subjects with a psychotic disorder show mild to moderate cognitive impairment, which is an important determinant of functional outcome. The underlying biological process of cognitive impairment in psychosis is unclear. We aimed to explore whether hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis hormones or thyroid autoimmunity modulate cognitive functioning in subjects with early psychosis.

Association of antidepressant treatment with emergency admission to medical units for patients 65 years or older.

Introduction: There is increasing evidence relating the presence of depression in seniors and the risk of hospital admission in medical departments from the Emergency Services.

Objective: To determine the impact of antidepressant treatment (ATD) as a protective factor for emergency hospitalization in older people.

Method: All patients aged 65 and over who required urgent attention for medical reasons at the Emergency Department of the Corporació Sanitària i Universitària Parc Taulí (Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain) for the period between January and October 2012 were included in the study.

Lack of confirmation of thyroid endophenotype in Bipolar Disorder Type I and their first-degree relatives.

Background: Among the biological factors associated with the development and outcomes in Bipolar Disorder Type I (BD-I), previous studies have highlighted the involvement of both thyroid function and/or auto-immunity, proposing a thyroid endophenotype. The objective of this study was to determine the presence of thyroid alterations in BD-I and their first-degree relatives (FDR).

Methodology: Unselected, cross-sectional case-control study with parallel analysis of individuals affected by BD-I (239), their FD-R (131), and 108 healthy controls.

Thyroglobulin antibodies and risk of readmission at one year in subjects with bipolar disorder.

Thyroid autoimmunity has been proposed as an endophenotype for Bipolar Disorder (BD), although its relationship with clinical outcomes remains unclear. We aimed to determine whether thyroid autoimmune status (thyroperoxidase antibodies [TPO-Abs] and thyroglobulin antibodies [TG-Abs]) in BD is associated with a greater risk for readmission at one year. We studied 77 inpatients with BD admitted for an index manic or mixed episode.

Propofol and thiopental as anesthetic agents in electroconvulsive therapy: a retrospective study in major depression.

Objective: To determine the influence of propofol and thiopental as anesthetics in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), as regards, seizure duration, electrical charge, clinical efficacy, cardiovascular profile, and presence of adverse cognitive effects.

Methods: A retrospective design including 127 patients who received bilateral ECT for the treatment of a major depressive episode.

Results: The mean seizure duration in the propofol group was significantly shorter than in the thiopental group (21.

Insight, symptomatic dimensions, and cognition in patients with acute-phase psychosis.

Aims: This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between insight and the severity of psychotic symptomatology in a sample of patients in an acute phase of psychosis, as well as to analyze the relationship between insight and the symptomatic profile of the patient. In addition, the role of general cognitive abilities in this relationship was explored.

Method: Cross-sectional observational study of 96 acute psychotic adults.

Heart rate measured in the acute aftermath of trauma can predict post-traumatic stress disorder: a prospective study in motor vehicle accident survivors.

Objective: To determine whether increased physiological arousal immediately after trauma or at emergency admission can predict post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in motor vehicle accident (MVA) survivors with physical injuries.

Methods: We included 119 MVA survivors with physical injuries. In this prospective cohort study, heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were assessed during ambulance transport (T1) and at hospital admission (T2).

[Violence against women in mental health departments: Is it relevant for mental health professionals?].

Introduction: Violence against women (VaW) directly influences their quality of life and mental health. Unfortunately, its influence may be ignored or underestimated by professionals attending these women.

Objectives: To describe a hospitalized sample of women suffering from emergent VaW who visited the mental health department for other reasons.

Combination of aripiprazole and other psychopharmacological treatments in resistant and multi-resistant patients.

Introduction: Aripiprazole is a new antipsychotic agent that has proven safe and efficacious in controlled clinical trials. However, few published data on its effectiveness and safety when used in augmentation and combination are available.

Methods: Our study aimed to determine the functional effectiveness and safety of different combinations of aripiprazole with other psychotropics in resistant patients.

Clinical and sociodemographic variables associated with the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder in road traffic accidents.

Our objective was to identify variables related to the onset of acute posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a road traffic accident. We evaluated 60 victims of a motor vehicle accident (MVA) in 2004 at 2 months postaccident. Thirty of them had developed PTSD; the other 30 had not developed PTSD.

Use of topiramate in treatment-resistant bipolar spectrum disorders.

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of topiramate as add-on, long-term therapy for treatment-resistant bipolar-spectrum disorders, 34 DSM-IV bipolar-spectrum patients, including bipolar I (n = 28), bipolar II (n = 3), bipolar not otherwise specified (n = 2), and schizoaffective disorder bipolar type (n = 1), considered to be resistant to treatment with lithium, carbamazepine, and valproate, received increasing doses of topiramate as adjunctive therapy for their manic (n = 17), depressive (n = 11), hypomanic (n = 3), or mixed (n = 3) symptoms. Outcome measures included the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) for Severity. Patients were followed up for 6 months.

[Effectiveness and safety of topiramate in treatment-resistant bipolar disorder].

Introduction: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of topiramate as add-on therapy for treatment-resistant bipolar disorder.

Methods: Twenty-one DSM-IV bipolar patients, considered resistant to treatment with lithium, carbamazepine or valproate, gave informed consent to receive increasing doses of the novel anticonvulsant topiramate as adjunctive therapy for their manic (n= 9), depressive (n= 6), hypomanic (n= 3), mixed (n= 2) or schizoaffective manic (n= 1) symptoms. The dosage of other mood stabilizer drugs remained unchanged throughout the 6-week follow-up.

[Factors associated to the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder].

Introduction: Motor vehicle accidents appear to increase the risk of severe psychiatric morbidity in survivors.

Material And Methods: We have studied retrospectively a population of 2,885 people who suffered an automobile accident in the city of Sabadell (Spain) in 1998. From these, we randomly selected a sample of fifty people who had developed PTSD, and a control group including the same amount of people.