The Deception of Mood Symptom.

To consider mood as pivotal symptom in Affective Disorders, could be source of frequent diagnostic and therapeutic mistakes. The mood is in fact a variable and unspecific symptom. Mood symptom is deceptive mainly in severe Mania and in Mixed State.

Clinical and biological predictors of response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): a review.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), developed in the 30's by Bini and Cerletti, remains a key element of the therapeutic armamentarium in psychiatry, particularly for severe and life-threatening psychiatric symptoms. However, despite its well-established clinical efficacy, the prescription of ECT has declined constantly over the years due to concerns over its safety (cognitive side effects) and an increasingly negative public perception. As for other treatments in the field of psychiatry, ECT is well suited to a personalized approach that would increment its efficacy, as well as reducing the impact of side effects.

What happens to the course of bipolar disorder after electroconvulsive therapy?

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) encompasses manic and depressive episodes and an illness-free interval. Treatments used in BD patients may influence the ill phases with different actions on the illness-free interval.

Methods: We performed a naturalistic mirror-image retrospective study analyzing the number of episodes and admissions in 41 BD patients for the same period of time of 5 years before and after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Efficacy and safety of electroconvulsive therapy in the first trimester of pregnancy: a case of severe manic catatonia.

Objectives: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an appropriate, albeit often neglected, option for managing severe or life-threatening psychiatric symptoms during pregnancy. We report on the rapid effectiveness and safety of ECT during the first trimester of pregnancy in a 28-year-old woman with severe catatonia.

Methods: Catatonic symptoms were assessed using the Catatonia Rating Scale (CRS).

Effectiveness of maintenance electroconvulsive therapy in rapid-cycling bipolar disorder.

Objectives: : To evaluate the effectiveness of maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (m-ECT) in rapid-cycling (RC) bipolar disorder (BPD) patients.

Methods: : A population sample of 14 patients with BPD (type I or II) and an RC course were treated with m-ECT. Patients had not responded to previous treatments.

Secular trends in first hospitalizations for major mood disorders with comorbid substance use.

In the past half-century, the incidence of major mood disorders reportedly has risen, and onset age, diminished. Substance-use disorders (SUDs) are commonly comorbid with mood disorders and may influence their course and outcome. Since secular relationships of these disorders remain unknown, we evaluated medical records of 421 patients (233 men, 188 women) at first-lifetime admissions for major depression, mania or mixed bipolar episodes at a public hospital in Italy during 1978-2002, updated diagnoses to DSM-IV criteria, and compared selected factors between subjects with vs.