An Examination of Polygenic Score Risk Prediction in Individuals With First-Episode Psychosis.

Background: Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) have successfully summarized genome-wide effects of genetic variants in schizophrenia with significant predictive power. In a clinical sample of first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, we estimated the ability of PRSs to discriminate case-control status and to predict the development of schizophrenia as opposed to other psychoses.

Methods: The sample (445 case and 265 control subjects) was genotyped on the Illumina HumanCore Exome BeadChip with an additional 828 control subjects of African ancestry genotyped on the Illumina Multi-Ethnic Genotyping Array.

Depression: an exploratory parallel-group randomised controlled trial of Antenatal guided self help for WomeN (DAWN): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Depression is a common antenatal mental disorder and is associated with an increased risk of adverse effects on the fetus and significant morbidity for the mother; if untreated it can also continue into the post-natal period and affect mother-infant interactions. There has been little research evaluating the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of antenatal psychological interventions for antenatal depression, particularly for mild to moderate disorders. International guidelines recommend a stepped care approach starting with Guided Self Help, and the aim of this exploratory trial is to investigate Guided Self Help modified for pregnancy.

Neuroactive Steroids in First-Episode Psychosis: A Role for Progesterone?

Neuroactive steroids may play a role in the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders, but few studies examined this issue. We compared serum levels of cortisol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and progesterone between a representative sample of first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients and age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Furthermore, we analyzed the associations between neuroactive steroids levels and the severity of psychotic symptom dimensions.

Major depressive disorder.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating disease that is characterized by depressed mood, diminished interests, impaired cognitive function and vegetative symptoms, such as disturbed sleep or appetite. MDD occurs about twice as often in women than it does in men and affects one in six adults in their lifetime. The aetiology of MDD is multifactorial and its heritability is estimated to be approximately 35%.

Depression and anxiety in patients receiving interferon-alpha: The role of illness perceptions.

Development of psychiatric symptoms during interferon-alpha therapy may be influenced by psychological factors. We examined illness perceptions using the Revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire in 55 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, due to receive interferon-alpha. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess the development of symptoms.

Does Diet Matter? The Use of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) and Other Dietary Supplements in Inflammation-Associated Depression.

An increasingly pertinent issue in psychiatry in recent years is that of the limitations of conventional antidepressants, which are not effective in a large number of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Coupled with emerging hypotheses about the role of inflammation in depression, it would appear that it is time to look for alternative treatments for these symptoms.This review will examine an emerging area in psychiatry, that of dietary supplements and the diet in general to treat depressive symptoms, and inflammation in depression.

Parental monitoring and knowledge: Testing bidirectional associations with youths' antisocial behavior.

In the present study, we used separate measures of parental monitoring and parental knowledge and compared their associations with youths' antisocial behavior during preadolescence, between the ages of 10 and 12. Parental monitoring and knowledge were reported by mothers, fathers, and youths taking part in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study that follows 1,116 families with twins. Information on youths' antisocial behavior was obtained from mothers as well as teachers.

Globally Efficient Brain Organization and Treatment Response in Psychosis: A Connectomic Study of Gyrification.

Background: Converging evidence suggests that patients with first-episode psychosis who show a poor treatment response may have a higher degree of neurodevelopmental abnormalities than good Responders. Characterizing the disturbances in the relationship among brain regions (covariance) can provide more information on neurodevelopmental integrity than searching for localized changes in the brain. Graph-based connectomic approach can measure structural covariance thus providing information on the maturational processes.

Absolute Measurements of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor and Interleukin-1-β mRNA Levels Accurately Predict Treatment Response in Depressed Patients.

Background: Increased levels of inflammation have been associated with a poorer response to antidepressants in several clinical samples, but these findings have had been limited by low reproducibility of biomarker assays across laboratories, difficulty in predicting response probability on an individual basis, and unclear molecular mechanisms.

Methods: Here we measured absolute mRNA values (a reliable quantitation of number of molecules) of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor and interleukin-1β in a previously published sample from a randomized controlled trial comparing escitalopram vs nortriptyline (GENDEP) as well as in an independent, naturalistic replication sample. We then used linear discriminant analysis to calculate mRNA values cutoffs that best discriminated between responders and nonresponders after 12 weeks of antidepressants.

Inflammatory insults and mental health consequences: does timing matter when it comes to depression?

It has become widely accepted that the immune system, and specifically increased levels of inflammation, play a role in the development of depression. However, not everyone with increased inflammation develops depression, and as with all other diseases, there are risk factors that may contribute to an increased vulnerability in certain individuals. One such risk factor could be the timing of an inflammatory exposure.

HPA-axis function and grey matter volume reductions: imaging the diathesis-stress model in individuals at ultra-high risk of psychosis.

The onset of psychosis is thought to involve interactions between environmental stressors and the brain, with cortisol as a putative mediator. We examined the relationship between the cortisol stress response and brain structure in subjects at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. Waking salivary cortisol was measured in 22 individuals at UHR for psychosis and 17 healthy controls.

Effects of antipsychotics on cortisol, interleukin-6 and hippocampal perfusion in healthy volunteers.

This randomized within-subject, double blind study aimed to compare the effects of a single dose of two different antipsychotics (haloperidol and aripiprazole) on cortisol, interleukin (IL)-6 and hippocampal regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) in the same 17 healthy male individuals. Subjects received a single dose of haloperidol (3mg), aripiprazole (10mg) and placebo, in a randomized order on three study appointments. We measured salivary cortisol levels at multiple time points, IL-6 levels from plasma samples, and resting cerebral blood flow (rCBF), using a pulsed continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) sequence (1.

Transcriptomics in Interferon-α-Treated Patients Identifies Inflammation-, Neuroplasticity- and Oxidative Stress-Related Signatures as Predictors and Correlates of Depression.

Owing to the unique opportunity to assess individuals before and after they develop depression within a short timeframe, interferon-α (IFN-α) treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an ideal model to identify molecular mechanisms relevant to major depression, especially in the context of enhanced inflammation. Fifty-eight patients were assessed prospectively, at baseline and monthly over 24 weeks of IFN-α treatment. New-onset cases of depression were determined using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).

Clinical characteristics of patients assessed within an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service: results from a naturalistic cohort study (Predicting Outcome Following Psychological Therapy; PROMPT).

Background: A substantial number of patients do not benefit from first line psychological therapies for the treatment of depression and anxiety. Currently, there are no clear predictors of treatment outcomes for these patients. The PROMPT project aims to establish an infrastructure platform for the identification of factors that predict outcomes following psychological treatment for depression and anxiety.

The relationship between affective symptoms and hypertension-role of the labelling effect: the 1946 British birth cohort.

Objectives: To investigate the association between repeated measures of affective symptoms collected over 2 decades and hypertension (clinically ascertained or self-report); to test whether, among people with hypertension, affective symptoms are associated with awareness of hypertension, and to evaluate the longitudinal effects of the label of hypertension on affective symptoms.

Methods: Multivariable logistic regression, accounting for confounders and mediators, were used to test the aforementioned associations in 1683 participants from a national British cohort.

Results: Weak evidence of a cumulative impact of affective symptoms across adulthood on self-reported hypertension at age 60-64 years was observed (OR 1.

Stress Sensitivity, Aberrant Salience, and Threat Anticipation in Early Psychosis: An Experience Sampling Study.

While contemporary models of psychosis have proposed a number of putative psychological mechanisms, how these impact on individuals to increase intensity of psychotic experiences in real life, outside the research laboratory, remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether elevated stress sensitivity, experiences of aberrant novelty and salience, and enhanced anticipation of threat contribute to the development of psychotic experiences in daily life. We used the experience sampling method (ESM) to assess stress, negative affect, aberrant salience, threat anticipation, and psychotic experiences in 51 individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), 46 individuals with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) for psychosis, and 53 controls with no personal or family history of psychosis.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids levels and initial presentation of somatic symptoms induced by interferon-alpha therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C viral infection.

Objectives: Somatic symptoms are common in depressive disorder and are similar to sickness behaviors due to inflammatory activation after cytokine administration. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are natural anti-inflammatory agents and may reduce inflammation-induced behavioral changes. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of PUFAs on the development of somatic symptoms and depression in patients of hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) receiving interferon-alpha therapy (IFN-α) in a prospective manner.

Identifying the women at risk of antenatal anxiety and depression: A systematic review.

Background: Pregnancy is a time of increased vulnerability for the development of anxiety and depression. This systematic review aims to identify the main risk factors involved in the onset of antenatal anxiety and depression.

Methods: A systematic literature analysis was conducted, using PubMed, PsychINFO, and the Cochrane Library.

Effect of high-potency cannabis on corpus callosum microstructure.

Background: The use of cannabis with higher Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol content has been associated with greater risk, and earlier onset, of psychosis. However, the effect of cannabis potency on brain morphology has never been explored. Here, we investigated whether cannabis potency and pattern of use are associated with changes in corpus callosum (CC) microstructural organization, in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and individuals without psychosis, cannabis users and non-users.

Etiology of Pervasive Versus Situational Antisocial Behaviors: A Multi-Informant Longitudinal Cohort Study.

The aim of this study was to disentangle pervasive from situational antisocial behaviors using multiple informants, and to investigate their genetic and environmental etiologies in preadolescence and across time. Antisocial behaviors were assessed in 2,232 twins from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study at ages 5 and 12. Pervasive antisocial behaviors were defined as behaviors that mothers, teachers, interviewers, and twins themselves agreed on.

The HPA axis in bipolar disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To provide a quantitative and qualitative synthesis of the available evidence on the role of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis in the pathophysiology of Bipolar Disorder (BD).

Methods: Meta-analysis and meta-regression of case-control studies examining the levels of cortisol, ACTH, CRH levels. Systematic review of stress reactivity, genetic, molecular and neuroimaging studies related to HPA axis activity in BD.