Tonic immobility triggered by COVID-19-related trauma is associated with long-term PTSD symptoms.

During the COVID-19 pandemic healthcare workers were repeatedly exposed to traumatic experiences. Facing life-threatening events and repeated exposure to traumatic duty-related situations may cause posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While tonic immobility has been considered a key vulnerability factor for PTSD, little is known about this relationship in the long term.

Machine learning applied to fMRI patterns of brain activation in response to mutilation pictures predicts PTSD symptoms.

Background: The present study aimed to apply multivariate pattern recognition methods to predict posttraumatic stress symptoms from whole-brain activation patterns during two contexts where the aversiveness of unpleasant pictures was manipulated by the presence or absence of safety cues.

Methods: Trauma-exposed participants were presented with neutral and mutilation pictures during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) collection. Before the presentation of pictures, a text informed the subjects that the pictures were fictitious ("safe context") or real-life scenes ("real context").

The top-100 cited articles on post-traumatic stress disorder: a historical bibliometric analysis.

This is a bibliometric analysis of the most-cited articles on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the objective of identifying citation patterns for researchers, journals, centers, periods, topics, and nations. A search was conducted in Thomson Reuters' WoS Core Collection employing the expression TI = (posttraumatic stress disorder OR post-traumatic stress disorder OR PTSD). The 100 most-cited articles were downloaded, and the relevant data were extracted and analyzed.

Tonic immobility is associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms in healthcare professionals exposed to COVID-19-related trauma.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed healthcare workers (HCW) to traumatic situations that might lead to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An important vulnerability factor for PTSD is the peritraumatic tonic immobility (TI) reaction, an involuntary and reflexive defensive response evoked by an intense and inescapable threat. TI is largely understudied in humans and has not been investigated during trauma related to COVID-19.

To BDZ or not to BDZ? That is the question! Is there reliable scientific evidence for or against using benzodiazepines in the aftermath of potentially traumatic events for the prevention of PTSD? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Most international guidelines suggest that benzodiazepines (BDZs) may be inefficient or iatrogenic in the aftermath of a potentially traumatic event (PTE). The goal of this study was to assess the strength of the evidence on whether the use of BDZs in the aftermath of a PTE negatively affects the incidence and severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Methods: We systematically scrutinized the ISI Web of Knowledge, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and PTSDpubs electronic databases in addition to citation searching.

The growth and development of research on personality disorders: A bibliometric study.

This study objective was to investigate publication trends on personality disorders (PD) and to identify patterns of historical development. Publication rates were determined using the Results by Year Timeline feature of PubMed. Time series autoregressive integrated moving average models were used to analyse the publication rates for PDs in quinquennial periods beginning in 1980 and ending in 2019 and to predict the number of publications in the 2024-2029 period.

Vulnerability and Protective Factors for PTSD and Depression Symptoms Among Healthcare Workers During COVID-19: A Machine Learning Approach.

Healthcare workers are at high risk for developing mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is an urgent need to identify vulnerability and protective factors related to the severity of psychiatric symptoms among healthcare workers to implement targeted prevention and intervention programs to reduce the mental health burden worldwide during COVID-19. The present study aimed to apply a machine learning approach to predict depression and PTSD symptoms based on psychometric questions that assessed: (1) the level of stress due to being isolated from one's family; (2) professional recognition before and during the pandemic; and (3) altruistic acceptance of risk during the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers.

Post-traumatic stress disorder as a predictor for incident hypertension: a 3-year retrospective cohort study.

Background: The goal of the present study was to investigate the association between PTSD and the onset of hypertension in previously normotensive individuals in a population living in the stressful environment of the urban slums while controlling for risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: Participants were 320 normotensive individuals who lived in slums and were attending a family doctor program. Measurements included a questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics, clinical status and life habits, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian Version, and the Beck Depression Inventory.

The invisible scars of emotional abuse: a common and highly harmful form of childhood maltreatment.

Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is unfortunately widespread globally and has been linked with an increased risk of a variety of psychiatric disorders in adults, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These associations are well established in the literature for some maltreatment forms, such as sexual and physical abuse. However, the effects of emotional maltreatment are much less explored, even though this type figures among the most common forms of childhood maltreatment.

PTSD Predicts Smoking Cessation Failure in a Trauma-Exposed Population.

The objective of the study was to investigate whether a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; full or partial) or specific PTSD symptom clusters predicted failure in quitting smoking in a trauma-exposed population. Participants were 310 smokers who attempted quitting smoking, either successfully (quitters,  = 213) or not (relapsers,  = 97), who lived in slums and were attending a family doctor program. Measurements included a general questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics, clinical status and life habits, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian Version.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the International Trauma Questionnaire for use in Brazilian Portuguese.

Background: The most recent editions of diagnostic manuals have proposed important modifications in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) criteria. The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) is the gold-standard measurement for assessing PTSD and complex PTSD in accordance with the model of the 11th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).

Objective: The aim of this study was to adapt the ITQ for the Brazilian context.

Pre-traumatic vs post-traumatic OCD in PTSD patients: Are differences in comorbidity rates and functional health status related to childhood abuse?

Objective: The goal of this study was to compare the clinical and functional status and the trauma-related characteristics of PTSD patients with comorbid OCD whose onset predated the index traumatic event (pre-traumatic OCD) with those of PTSD patient whose comorbid OCD only emerged after the exposure to the traumatic event (post-traumatic OCD).

Methods: Sixty-three individuals with PTSD and comorbid OCD were evaluated with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV AXIS I Disorders and completed the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian Version, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Trauma History Questionnaire and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey.

Results: A history of childhood abuse was significantly more frequent among PTSD patients with pre-traumatic OCD (45.

Early scars are forever: Childhood abuse in patients with adult-onset PTSD is associated with increased prevalence and severity of psychiatric comorbidity.

Childhood abuse and PTSD are independently associated with severe psychiatric comorbidity. We hypothesized that among patients with adult-onset PTSD, a history of child abuse was associated with increased prevalence and severity of comorbid mental disorders. Participants were 109 adult treatment-seeking patients, 23.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist 5 (PCL-5) and Life Events Checklist 5 (LEC-5) for the Brazilian context.

Objective:: To describe the process of cross-cultural adaptation of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist 5 (PCL-5) and the Life Events Checklist 5 (LEC-5) for the Brazilian sociolinguistic context.

Method:: The adaptation process sought to establish conceptual, semantic, and operational equivalence between the original items of the questionnaire and their translated versions, following standardized protocols. Initially, two researchers translated the original version of the scale into Brazilian Portuguese.

A forensic-psychiatric study of sexual offenders in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Sexual violence is defined as any sexual act forced upon a person who did not give his or her consent. Our objective is to investigate the socio-demographic features, clinical correlates, criminal behaviour characteristics, and the level of penal responsibility of sexual offenders who were referred to forensic psychiatric assessment in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study.

The impact of posttraumatic symptoms and comorbid mental disorders on the health-related quality of life in treatment-seeking PTSD patients.

Background: There is a dearth of literature dealing with the impact of the severity of posttraumatic symptoms and of comorbid mental disorders on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of victims of civilian violence with a primary diagnosis of PTSD.

Objectives: To investigate the influence of the severity of posttraumatic symptoms and of presence of comorbid mental disorders on the HRQOL of treatment-seeking outpatients with PTSD.

Methods: A sample of 65 PTSD patients was recruited in a specialized outpatient clinic.

Does D-cycloserine enhance exposure therapy for anxiety disorders in humans? A meta-analysis.

The treatment of anxiety is on the edge of a new era of combinations of pharmacologic and psychosocial interventions. A new wave of translational research has focused on the use of pharmacological agents as psychotherapy adjuvants using neurobiological insights into the mechanism of the action of certain psychological treatments such as exposure therapy. Recently, d-cycloserine (DCS) an antibiotic used to treat tuberculosis has been applied to enhance exposure-based treatment for anxiety and has proved to be a promising, but as yet unproven intervention.

Comorbid depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking PTSD outpatients affect multiple domains of quality of life.

Purpose: No study has examined the impact of the comorbid Axis I conditions on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with a primary diagnosis of PTSD. Our goal was to investigate the influence of comorbid disorders on the QoL of treatment-seeking outpatients with PTSD.

Methods: The diagnoses of PTSD and of the comorbid disorders were established using the SCID-I.

Aquagenic pruritus induced by clomipramine.

Objective: Aquagenic pruritus is the development of severe, prickling-like skin discomfort without observable skin lesions that is evoked by contact with water at any temperature.

Method: This is a case report of a man presenting with aquagenic pruritus after starting clomipramine treatment for anxiety and depression.

Results: The patient's aquagenic pruritus resolved after discontinuing the clomipramine but reemerged when treatment was restarted.

Exploratory factor analysis of the Brazilian version of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist: civilian version (PCL-C).

Objective: To evaluate the factor structure of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-civilian version (PCL-C), in order to complement its validation process in Brazil.

Method: An exploratory factor analysis with promax rotation was conducted in 175 ambulance workers of the Emergence Rescue Group (GSE from Portuguese) of the Rio de Janeiro fire brigade and 343 military police officers (MP) (150 from an elite unit of the state of Goiás). RESULTS The results revealed a two-factor solution: re-experience/avoidance, numbing/hyperarousal.

Confirmatory factor analysis of posttraumatic stress symptoms in Brazilian primary care patients: an examination of seven alternative models.

The DSM-IV-TR postulates that PTSD symptoms are organized into 3 clusters. This assumption has been challenged by growing number of factor analytical studies, which tend to favor 4-factor, first-order models. Our objective was to investigate whether the clusters of PTSD symptoms identified in North American and European studies could be replicated in a Brazilian sample composed of 805 primary care patients living in hillside slums.

Rescuers at risk: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis of the worldwide current prevalence and correlates of PTSD in rescue workers.

Purpose: We sought to estimate the pooled current prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among rescue workers and to determine the variables implicated in the heterogeneity observed among the prevalences of individual studies.

Methods: A systematic review covering studies reporting on the PTSD prevalence in rescue teams was conducted following four sequential steps: (1) research in specialized online databases, (2) review of abstracts and selection of studies, (3) review of reference list, and (4) contact with authors and experts. Prevalence data from all studies were pooled using random effects model.

[Antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, antiadrenergics and other drugs: what to do when posttraumatic stress disorder does not respond to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors?].

Objectives: In this narrative review, we aimed to describe different pharmacological strategies for the treatment of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder who display different levels of intolerance, resistance, refractoriness, or who are unable to take to antidepressants, especially serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Method: We searched the ISI web of science and the PubMed for original studies focusing in the treatment of PTSD in different clinical scenarios.

Results: Preliminary evidence pointed towards the efficacy of drugs such as risperidone, olanzapine, lamotrigine and prazosin as strategies to be employed in the above mentioned clinical scenarios.