Measurement of fidgeting in patients with anorexia nervosa using a novel shoe-based monitor.

Objective: To objectively assess seated non-exercise physical activity in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) relative to healthy controls (HCs) and examine the associations between this physical activity, eating disorder pathology, and levels of anxiety and depression.

Method: Eleven inpatients with AN and 10 HCs wore a shoe-based accelerometer (SmartShoe) at three time points: a) while eating lunch, b) filling out questionnaires, and c) watching television for 1h.

Results: Across all three tasks, patients with AN were significantly more active than HCs, thereby engaging in a greater degree of restless or fidgeting behavior.

Personality disorders in hypochondriasis: prevalence and comparison with two anxiety disorders.

Objective: Symptoms of hypochondriasis are sometimes attributed to personality psychopathology by health care providers. The goals of this study were to assess the prevalence of personality disorder (PD) comorbidity in hypochondriasis (HYP) and to compare the PD comorbidity profile of patients with HYP with that found among patients with other disorders characterized by intrusive thoughts and fears.

Methods: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II Disorders (SCID-I and SCID-II) were administered to 179 individuals: 62 with HYP, 46 with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and 71 with social anxiety disorder (SAD).

Necessity of hippocampal neurogenesis for the therapeutic action of antidepressants in adult nonhuman primates.

Background: Rodent studies show that neurogenesis is necessary for mediating the salutary effects of antidepressants. Nonhuman primate (NHP) studies may bridge important rodent findings to the clinical realm since NHP-depression shares significant homology with human depression and kinetics of primate neurogenesis differ from those in rodents. After demonstrating that antidepressants can stimulate neurogenesis in NHPs, our present study examines whether neurogenesis is required for antidepressant efficacy in NHPs.

Treatment With Acamprosate in Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Comorbid Alcohol Dependence.

Objective: Alcohol use disorders and schizophrenia frequently co-occur with rates higher than in the general population. There is no consensus on the best treatment for patients with these comorbid conditions. Several clinical trials have shown that acamprosate is superior to placebo in reducing drinking and is particularly effective in sustaining abstinence.

Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid lactate is increased in chronic fatigue syndrome compared with generalized anxiety disorder: an in vivo 3.0 T (1)H MRS imaging study.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a controversial diagnosis because of the lack of biomarkers for the illness and its symptom overlap with neuropsychiatric, infectious, and rheumatological disorders. We compared lateral ventricular volumes derived from tissue-segmented T(1)-weighted volumetric MRI data and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate concentrations measured by proton MRS imaging ((1)H MRSI) in 16 subjects with CFS (modified US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria) with those in 14 patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and in 15 healthy volunteers, matched group-wise for age, sex, body mass index, handedness, and IQ. Mean lateral ventricular lactate concentrations measured by (1)H MRSI in CFS were increased by 297% compared with those in GAD (P < 0.

Glutamate modulators as novel interventions for mood disorders.

Unlabelled: Recent evidence suggests that critical molecules in neurotrophic signaling cascades are long-term targets for currently available monoaminergic antidepressants. As chronic and severe mood disorders are characterized by impairments in neuronal resilience, pharmacological strategies that subserve a neuroprotective function might alter disorder pathophysiology and modify disease progression. Several promising approaches involve modulation of the glutamate neurotransmitter system, via post-synaptic receptor blockade or potentiation and presynaptic vesicular release inhibition.

Phase I and initial phase II results from a trial investigating weekly docetaxel and carboplatin given neoadjuvantly and then concurrently with concomitant boost radiotherapy for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Background: The current Phase I/II study assessed induction docetaxel/carboplatin given weekly for 4 weeks, followed by weekly docetaxel/carboplatin and concomitant boost radiotherapy (CB-XRT) for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods: Twenty patients with Stage III or IV (M0) disease of the oropharynx, supraglottic larynx, or hypopharynx were enrolled. Patients initially received docetaxel 20 mg/m2 and carboplatin area under the curve (AUC) 2 weekly x 4.