Mothers' and their children's emotional and behavioral symptom trajectories and subsequent maternal adjustment: Twenty-seven years of motherhood.

Background: This study aims to describe maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) trajectories in a longitudinal study extending from pregnancy to 27 years after the birth of the firstborn child. We also explored the associations of both MDS trajectories and child internalizing and externalizing problem trajectories with maternal adjustment (adaptive functioning, emotional and behavioral problems).

Methods: The population-based study was conducted in Tampere, Finland, and the sample comprised 356 first-time mothers.

Alcohol use-associated alterations in the circulating metabolite profile in the general population and in individuals with major depressive disorder.

Our aim was to evaluate whether alcohol use is associated with changes in the circulating metabolite profile similar to those present in persons with depression. If so, these findings could partially explain the link between alcohol use and depression. We applied a targeted liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method to evaluate correlates between concentrations of 86 circulating metabolites and self-reported alcohol use in a cohort of the non-depressed general population (GP) (n = 247) and a cohort of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) (n = 99).

Serum levels of carnosine may be associated with the duration of MDD episodes.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a recurrent disorder that incurs a high societal burden. However, the etiology of MDD remains unclear. The functioning of several systems associated with the etiopathogenesis of MDD, such as inflammatory and stress systems, is partially modulated by the dipeptide carnosine.

The effect of vitamin D supplementation on depressive symptoms in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Neurosteroid and immunological actions of vitamin D may regulate depression-linked physiology. Meta-analyses investigating the effect of vitamin D on depression have been inconsistent. This meta-analysis investigated the efficacy of vitamin D in reducing depressive symptoms among adults in randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCT).

Comparison of the level of allostatic load between patients with major depression and the general population.

Objective: We compared the level of allostatic load (AL) between patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and non-depressed controls using two definitions of AL: continuous AL scores (AL index) and clinically significant high AL (≥4). We examined whether MDD was associated with AL independent of basic socioeconomic (age, sex, cohabiting status and level of education) and lifestyle factors (smoking and alcohol use).

Methods: The MDD patient sample consisted of 177 psychiatric outpatients (mean age 33.

Adverse childhood experiences and alexithymia in patients with major depressive disorder.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been postulated to negatively affect the development of emotional regulation. However, little is known about specific associations between ACEs, depressive symptoms, and alexithymia or its components [i.e.

Decreased serum total cholesterol is associated with a history of childhood physical violence in depressed outpatients.

Associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and cholesterol in depressed patients are unclear. Therefore, we compared 78 adult outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) with (n = 24) or without (n = 54) experiences of physical violence in childhood. Background data were collected with questionnaires, and total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured from fasting blood samples.

Bifrontal active and sham rTMS in treatment-resistant unipolar major depression.

Background And Aim: Prevention of the recurrence of major depression and its residual symptoms requires effective treatment. Our aim was to study the effects of bifrontal active rTMS controlled by sham rTMS in treatment-resistant unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: Thirty-seven patients with treatment-resistant MDD were randomized into two groups.

Global arginine bioavailability ratio is decreased in patients with major depressive disorder.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by increased oxidative and nitrosative stress. We compared nitric oxide metabolism, i.e.

Dietary patterns are associated with the prevalence of alexithymia.

Recent evidence supports the association between healthy dietary patterns and a reduced risk of depression. The objective was: (1) to examine the associations between dietary patterns and alexithymic features; and (2) investigate whether these possible associations are explained by depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional study among the Finnish general population aged 25-65 years. The study population was a part of the population-based Kuopio Depression Study (KUDEP) conducted in central-eastern Finland (n = 1747).

Effects of Scheduled Waiting for Psychotherapy in Patients With Major Depression.

The role of nonspecific factors in the outcome of psychotherapy is poorly understood. To study the effects of pretreatment expectancy of scheduled psychotherapy, we examined the effects of an agreed waiting time on the outcome of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Thirty-three treatment-naive outpatients with major depressive disorder were randomly selected to start psychotherapy either directly (DG; n = 17) or after waiting for 6 months (WG; n = 16).

Nutritive sucking induces age-specific EEG-changes in 0-24 week-old infants.

Little is known how the brain of the newborn infant responds to the postnatal nutrition and care. No systematic studies exist in which the effects of nutritional and non-nutritional sucking on the brain activity of the infant were compared. We recorded the EEG activity of 40 infants at the ages of 0,6,12 and 24 weeks in four successive behavioral stages: while the infants were hungry and waiting for sucking, during non-nutritional and nutritional sucking, and during satiation after completed feeding.

Treatment-resistant Major Depressive Disorder with Psychotic Features is Associated with Impaired Processing Speed.

Objective: A proportion of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) show cognitive impairment that is associated with treatment nonresponse and poorer functional recovery. A broader range of cognitive dysfunction has been found to be associated with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and with the presence of psychotic symptoms. Thus far, the effects of psychotic symptoms on the neuropsychological profile of patients with treatment-resistant MDD have not been investigated.

Purine metabolism is dysregulated in patients with major depressive disorder.

Introduction: The purine cycle and altered purinergic signaling have been suggested to play a role in major depressive disorder (MDD). Nevertheless, data on this topic are scarce. Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that compared with non-depressed controls, MDD patients have distinct purine metabolite profiles.

Baseline symptom severity predicts serotonin transporter change during psychotherapy in patients with major depression.

Aims: The role of the serotonin transporter (SERT) in the pathophysiology of depression is unclear and only a few follow-up studies exist. Our aim was to measure changes in SERT availability during psychodynamic psychotherapy in patients with major depression over a follow-up time of 12 or 18 months.

Methods: The patients were studied with iodine-123 labelled 2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl) serial single-photon emission tomography imaging and clinical rating scales of symptoms.

Reduced serum adiponectin levels in alexithymia.

Objectives: Clinical studies have demonstrated that circulating cytokine profiles may differ between alexithymic and non-alexithymic subjects. We examined whether the levels of adiponectin (μg/ml) and resistin (ng/ml) are independently related to alexithymic features in a population-based sample.

Methods: In 2005, clinical data including laboratory assessments were obtained from a sub-sample (n = 308) of the Kuopio Depression Study general population study including subjects aged 25-64 years.

Self-reported sleep disturbance is associated with elevated levels of PAI-1 in individuals with a recorded history of depressive symptoms.

Background: The majority of depressed individuals report insomnia. Self-reported symptoms of insomnia, in particular, more strongly predict adverse health effects than the actual measured sleep time. The physiological alterations in individuals with insomnia are complex, as both autonomic and endocrine dysfunctions are present.

[Glucocorticoids and aetiopathogenesis of depression].

Current research interest is increasingly directed towards the role of glucocorticoid actions and inflammation. A failure in the stress system regulation appears to largely characterize depression. New research data have substantially diversified the theoretical concept of association between overactivity of HPA-axis and depression.

Serum adipokine levels in adults with a history of childhood maltreatment.

Individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment present increased rates of metabolic disturbances, but the underlying mechanisms for such phenomena are poorly understood. This study examined whether the secretion of adipokines, adipocyte-derived inflammation markers closely associated with metabolic disorders, is altered in individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment. The serum levels of inflammatory markers adiponectin and resistin were measured from 147 general population participants who had a history of adverse mental symptoms, and who also reported their experiences of childhood maltreatment.

The patient-therapist interaction and the recognition of affects during the process of psychodynamic psychotherapy for depression.

The perceptions of patients (n = 25) and their therapists about psychodynamic psychotherapy for depression were assessed during the first treatment year using 23 scales. Patients and therapists independently evaluated the impact of depression on the therapeutic experience of the patients. The estimations of the impact of depression by the patients and therapists were concordant in the majority of the subjects, reflecting mutual tuning and a working alliance.

Elevated levels of serum IL-5 are associated with an increased likelihood of major depressive disorder.

Background: Inflammatory mediators in both the peripheral circulation and central nervous system (CNS) are dysregulated in major depressive disorder (MDD). Nevertheless, relatively little is known about the role of the T-helper (Th)-2 effector cytokines interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-13 in MDD.

Methods: We examined the serum levels of these cytokines and a Th-1 comparison cytokine, interferon (IFN)-γ, in 116 individuals (MDD, n = 58; controls, n = 58).

Auditory event-related potentials in patients with psychotic illness: a 5-year follow-up.

The auditory processing is diversely impaired in patients with the first-episode psychosis. During acute phase we previously reported reduced amplitudes in attention-dependent auditory evoked electrical brain potentials but not in those of early automatic components. Here seven first-episode patients at the disease onset and 5 years later were studied and compared to control subjects.

Alexithymia and tissue inflammation.

Background: Altered immune responses are seen in depression, and recent data suggest that similar changes could also be observable in alexithymia. We examined whether the inflammatory markers high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 are independently related to alexithymia or its factors in a population-based sample.

Methods: This study formed a clinical part of the Kuopio Depression (KUDEP) general population study focusing on the mental health of a general population of adults aged 25-64 years (n = 308).