[Basic symptoms and neurocognition: preliminary comparison of first-episode psychosis vs multi-episode long-term illness].

Background: Schizophrenia is preceded by basic symptoms which may persist after long time and include subjective cognitive impairment. Furthermore, it is characterised by cognitive deficits that may deteriorate with the progression of illness. To examine the relationship between neurocognition and basic symptoms along the course of schizophrenia, we compared the cognitive performance and the basic symptoms of one population with first episode psychosis (FEP) and one with a chronic, multi-episode course (MEP).

The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) task force report on antidepressant use in bipolar disorders.

Objective: The risk-benefit profile of antidepressant medications in bipolar disorder is controversial. When conclusive evidence is lacking, expert consensus can guide treatment decisions. The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) convened a task force to seek consensus recommendations on the use of antidepressants in bipolar disorders.

5-HTTLPR, anxiety and gender interaction moderates right amygdala volume in healthy subjects.

Genetic variants within the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) impact the neurobiology and risk for anxiety-related behaviours. There are also gender differences in the prevalence of anxiety-related behaviours. Although numerous studies have investigated the influence of 5-HTTLPR genotype on the neural systems involved in emotional regulation, none have investigated how these effects are modulated by gender and anxiety.

Mood disorders medications: predictors of nonadherence - review of the current literature.

Studies have shown that there are several factors that predict nonadherence among patients with mood disorders. The aim of the present review is to identify the predictors of nonadherence among these patients. A careful review of the literature was conducted investigating several potential predictors of nonadherence among patients with mood disorders.

Gastro oesophageal reflux disease (GORD)-related symptoms and its association with mood and anxiety disorders and psychological symptomology: a population-based study in women.

Background: Psychopathology seems to play a role in reflux pathogenesis and vice versa, yet few population-based studies have systematically investigated the association between gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and psychopathology. We thus aimed to investigate the relationship between GORD-related symptoms and psychological symptomatology, as well as clinically diagnosed mood and anxiety disorders in a randomly selected, population-based sample of adult women.

Methods: This study examined data collected from 1084 women aged 20-93 yr participating in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study.

Cognitive impairment and its associations with the path of illness in affective disorders: a comparison between patients with bipolar and unipolar depression in remission.

The goals of this study were to investigate differences in neurocognitive performance between groups of patients with unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar I disorder (BD-I) in a euthymic state, and to analyze associations among cognitive performance, sociodemographic and clinical variables, and global functioning. The study evaluated 25 outpatients with MDD and 25 outpatients with BD-I. Controls consisted of a sample of 29 healthy adult volunteers.

Symptom correlates of facial emotion recognition impairment in schizophrenia.

Background: The ability to facial emotion recognition (FER), a key component of socioemotional competence, is often impaired in schizophrenic disorders. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between emotion recognition performance and symptoms in a group of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Sampling And Methods: Seventy-nine patients meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder and schizoaffective disorder were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and a FER task.

Structural neuroimaging in patients with panic disorder: findings and limitations of recent studies.

Background: Panic disorder, a relatively common anxiety disorder, is often associated to agoraphobia and may be disabling. Its neurobiological underpinnings are unknown, despite the proliferation of models and hypotheses concerning it; investigating its correlates could provide the means for better understanding its pathophysiology. Recent structural neuroimaging techniques may contribute to the identification of possible brain morphological alterations that could be possibly related to the clinical expression of panic disorder.

Epilepsy and brain injury: a case report of a dramatic neuropsychiatric vicious circle.

Primary Objective: Early treatment of epilepsy is warranted to avoid possible severe consequences. This study aimed to assess the value of treatment in a patient who developed epilepsy after major brain surgery.

Design: Case description.

[Olanzapine in manic/mixed patients with or without substance abuse].

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of olanzapine in patients in their manic/mixed phase with or without comorbidity with substance abuse/dependence disorder.

Methods: In this observational, controlled, prospective study, 60 patients with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of bipolar disorder, manic/mixed episode (30 patients with and 30 patient without comorbidity with a substance abuse/dependence disorder) were treated with olanzapine, evaluated at discharge, and followed-up for 8 weeks. Efficacy of olanzapine was assessed by comparing the proportion of responders (an at least 50% drop in Young Mania Rating Scale [YMRS] score from baseline) and remitters (YMRS ≤ 12 and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HAM-D] ≤ 8) in both groups.

Efficacy of add-on deep transcranial magnetic stimulation in comorbid alcohol dependence and dysthymic disorder: three case reports.

Background: Craving for alcohol is associated with abnormal activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) has shown promise in the treatment of depression. There are few treatment options for treatment-resistant dysthymic disorder comorbid with alcohol use disorder.

Affective temperaments and hopelessness as predictors of health and social functioning in mood disorder patients: a prospective follow-up study.

Background: Affective disorders are highly disabling illnesses constituting a significant burden for the patients, their family and the society. Therefore, it would be very useful to find tools which carefully subtype these conditions and have a strong and reliable predictive power concerning the course of illness and health and social functioning. To date, the role of hopelessness and affective temperaments in the prediction of health and social functioning and the course of affective disorders has not been studied.

Children living near chipboard and wood industries are at an increased risk of hospitalization for respiratory diseases: a prospective study.

Pollutants emitted from wood processing factories may be harmful to the health of the population. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to evaluate whether proximity to wood factories was associated with the risk of hospital admissions in children living in the Viadana district (Italy), where two big chipboard industries and other smaller wood factories (sawmills, multi-strata layer manufacturing) are located. In 2006, children (3-14 years) living in the Viadana district were surveyed through a parental questionnaire (n=3854), their home/school addresses were geocoded and the distances to the wood industries were calculated.

Physical comorbidities in men with mood and anxiety disorders: a population-based study.

Background: The mind-body nexus has been a topic of growing interest. Further data are however required to understand the specific relationship between mood and anxiety disorders and individual physical health conditions, and to verify whether these psychiatric disorders are linked to overall medical burden.

Methods: This study examined data collected from 942 men, 20 to 97 years old, participating in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study.