Publications by authors named "Jose Angel Alcala"

Article Synopsis
  • Anxiety is a prevalent condition that can severely affect quality of life; subsyndromal anxiety (SSA) involves symptoms that don’t fully meet anxiety disorder criteria but can lead to more serious issues.
  • A narrative review suggests practical strategies for identifying and treating SSA, highlighting lifestyle changes (like exercise), psychotherapy, and some medications, such as lavender oil extract Silexan.
  • Regular follow-up and use of the GAD-7 tool are recommended to track treatment effectiveness, with an integrative approach showing the most promise in preventing severe anxiety disorders.
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One of the big challenges in treating individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) is nonadherence to medication. This is the principal factor associated with a worse prognosis or outcome of the disease. This study aimed to explore and analyze the individual perceptions that people with BD have about the positive and negative aspects when taking medication.

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Background: Management of schizophrenia is sub-optimal in many patients. Targeting negative symptoms, among the most debilitating aspects of schizophrenia, together with positive symptoms, can result in significant functional benefits and dramatically improve quality of life for patients and their carers. Cariprazine, a partial agonist of the dopamine receptors D2/D3 has demonstrated effectiveness across symptom domains in clinical trials, particularly on negative symptoms.

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Background: There is an increased risk of premature death in people with severe mental illness (SMI). Respiratory disorders and cardiovascular disease are leading causes of increased mortality rates in these patients, and tobacco consumption remains the most preventable risk factor involved. Developing new tools to motivate patients towards cessation of smoking is a high priority.

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Article Synopsis
  • Tobacco is a big problem for people with bipolar disorder (BD) because it can lead to serious health issues, but many want to quit.
  • A study helped smokers with BD by using a simple method to motivate them to consider quitting, and many showed improvement in their readiness to change.
  • Factors like how old they are, how long they’ve smoked, and their belief in their ability to quit all play important roles in whether they can stop smoking.
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