Schizophrenia and work: aspects related to job acquisition in a follow-up study.

Objective: Work is considered one of the main forms of social organization; however, few individuals with schizophrenia find work opportunities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between schizophrenia symptoms and job acquisition.

Method: Fifty-three individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia from an outpatient treatment facility were included in an 18-month follow-up study.

Psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Addendum for PTSD (PSQI-A).

Objective: Sleep disturbances play a fundamental role in the pathophysiology posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and are not only a secondary feature. The aim of this study was to validate and assess the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Addendum for PTSD (PSQI-A-BR), a self-report instrument designed to assess the frequency of seven disruptive nocturnal behaviors, in a sample of participants with and without PTSD.

Methods: PSQI-A was translated into Brazilian Portuguese and applied to a convenience sample of 190 volunteers, with and without PTSD, who had sought treatment for the consequences of a traumatic event.

Stress during development alters anxiety-like behavior and hippocampal neurotransmission in male and female rats.

Epidemiological data indicate that early stress increases vulnerability to psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. In the present study we sought to investigate the long-term behavioral and neurochemical consequences of increased and sustained corticosterone levels induced by a 24 h bout of maternal deprivation (DEP) imposed on postnatal day 11 (DEP11). As adults, animals were exposed to the elevated plus maze for assessment of anxiety-like behavior and corticosterone response to this challenge, or decapitated for determination of monoamines and amino acid neurotransmitters content in the hippocampus by HPLC method.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of topiramate in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Background: Topiramate might be effective in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of its antikindling effect and its action in both inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters. Open-label studies and few controlled trials have suggested that this anticonvulsant may have therapeutic potential in PTSD. This 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial will compare the efficacy of topiramate with placebo and study the tolerability of topiramate in the treatment of PTSD.

[Psychoneuroendocrinology of posttraumatic stress disorder].

Objective: To review the literature on neurobiological findings related to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunctions associated with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Method: The relevant scientific findings were described according to the date of publication and the characteristics of the studies: preclinical studies, studies on early life violence as a risk factor, and clinical findings related to patients diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Results: A rich literature on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunctions and posttraumatic stress disorder was found.