Publications by authors named "Pasquale Caponnetto"

Article Synopsis
  • Fentanyl abuse, especially illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF), has become a significant issue, with limited research on its psychological effects, prompting a scoping review to create a comprehensive profile of vulnerable populations.
  • This review followed PRISMA guidelines and involved analyzing 17,737 reports from various databases, ultimately narrowing it down to 10 relevant studies on the psycho-social implications of IMF use.
  • Findings reveal that IMF users tend to be younger and have a low perception of risk; there's also a notable link between fentanyl use and mental health issues, highlighting the need for psychotherapy and digital tools to address the crisis.
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  • This review investigates the effectiveness of Virtual Reality (VR) in treating Eating Disorders (EDs) like anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating.
  • A systematic search of scientific articles indicates that VR therapies, including Cue Exposure and Body Swapping, show promise in addressing ED symptoms and improving body image issues.
  • The conclusion emphasizes VR's potential as a valuable tool for assessment and treatment of EDs, suggesting future research to develop guidelines for its application in this field.
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Background: Schizophrenia treatment with antipsychotics often results in side effects that impact adherence and quality of life. Managing these effects remains challenging, as it requires balancing efficacy and tolerability. The Schizophrenia Technological Evaluation of Patient Side Effects (STEP-SE) app aims to aid side effects monitoring and management through shared decision-making (SDM).

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Introduction: Body dysmorphism disorder (BDD) is a disabling mental disorder characterized by an anxious preoccupation with a perceived defect in physical appearance.

Objective: This systematic review arose with the main objective of identifying the most effective psychotherapeutic intervention in the treatment of BDD.

Methods: From February to October 2022, we conducted a systematic review aimed at identifying the psychotherapeutic intervention for BDD, the search for these concepts was on PubMed.

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Background: In the last few years, several nicotine products have become available as alternatives to smoking tobacco. While laboratory and limited clinical studies suggest that these devices are less toxic compared to classic tobacco cigarettes, very little is known about their epidemiological impact. Visiting the emergency department (ED) often represents the first or even the only contact of patients with the health care system.

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Background: Tobacco smoking exacerbates diabetes-related complications; its prevalence is notwithstanding substantial. Persons with diabetes face a number of barriers and challenges to quitting such as multiple lifestyle restrictions; tailored interventions are required for smoking cessation.

Objective: To identify research on behavioral interventions for smoking cessation in diabetes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Many smokers using e-cigarettes (ECs) still smoke regular cigarettes (CCs), and the health effects of this dual use are not well understood, as it varies by individual patterns of use and toxin exposure.
  • The study aims to investigate how substituting CCs with ECs impacts toxicant exposure by recruiting 250 smokers to reduce CCs with ECs and comparing them to 50 who continue smoking CCs for 6 months.
  • Results will be collected through biospecimen analyses and monitored usage patterns via a mobile app, with findings expected to be shared by early 2025, highlighting the health implications of dual smoking and vaping. *
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Background: There is only limited information about the health effects of regular vaping. Research on the health status of people who used to smoke faces the challenge that previous smoking may have caused unknown health effects. Only studies of people who vape but have never smoked combustible cigarettes can enable the detection of harms attributable to vaping.

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Background: Domestic violence is a widespread problem affecting individuals, families, and communities worldwide. Peritraumatic distress is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems among victims, but research on men's experiences is limited.

Objective: We analyzed data from 48 physical domestic violence victims (16 males and 32 females) to compare their levels of peritraumatic distress and negative emotions, and to examine the types of aggressors they faced.

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Background: Although the detrimental effects of conventional combustible cigarettes on oral health and dental esthetics are well known, there is limited information about the long-term impact of combustion-free nicotine alternatives (C-F NA) such as e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products.

Objective: This multicenter, prospective, 3-parallel-arm randomized controlled trial will investigate whether switching from combustible cigarettes to C-F NA will lead to measurable improvements in oral health parameters and dental esthetics over 18 months in adult smokers with limited gum disease.

Methods: Regular smokers not intending to quit and without clinical signs of periodontitis will be randomly assigned (1:4 ratio) to either standard of care with brief cessation advice (control group; arm A) or C-F NA use (intervention group; arm B).

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Background: Cancer patients may suffer from psychological disorders related to their health condition. Various medical, surgical, and interventional procedures, alongside the distinct tumor localization, have been linked to an elevated predisposition towards psychological disorders, including but not limited to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and cognitive impairments.

Objective: To systematically review the literature on neurocognitive rehabilitation of patients before and after brain cancer.

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Background: The efficacy and safety of varenicline for smoking cessation among individuals who smoke tobacco cigarettes and also use electronic cigarettes (known e-cigarettes or vapes) have not been studied. We aimed to address this knowledge gap and examine predictors for smoking abstinence.

Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-centre randomised trial in Italy, we enrolled adults who had used an e-cigarette daily for at least 12 months and who also smoked at least one tobacco cigarette per day and had a willingness to quit smoking.

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Background: Gambling Disorder (GD) is a behavioral addiction listed within the diagnostic category of substance-related and addictive disorders. Recently, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which non-invasively stimulates the brain and has neuromodulatory properties, has emerged as an innovative treatment tool for GD, thus offering a new option for the management of this complex disorder. The present review explored the efficacy of TMS as a possible non-pharmacological treatment for GD.

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The growing influence of technology in the realm of mental health presents promising prospects for patients with psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia. The objective of this study is to investigate the perceptions of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorder regarding the utilization of technology and social media. The qualitative methodology used consists of an individual structured interview and the data were subjected to thematic analysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Understanding mental pain in psychotic disorders can help improve treatment strategies and patient outcomes.
  • The study focused on 34 stable individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, examining the links between mental pain, mind wandering, and self-reflection.
  • Findings showed that mind wandering correlates positively with mental pain, while self-reflection inversely affects it, implying that reducing mind wandering and enhancing self-reflection could benefit treatment.
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Stopping smoking is crucial for public health and especially for individuals with diabetes. Combustion-free nicotine alternatives like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are increasingly being used as substitutes for conventional cigarettes, contributing to the decline in smoking prevalence. However, there is limited information about the long-term health impact of those products in patients with diabetes.

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Background: mHealth is a public health practice that exploits the use of mobile devices, including smartphone applications. We will describe an uncontrolled pre-test post-test open pilot study concerning the feasibility evaluation of a smartphone App designed to help in smoking cessation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of a smartphone app as a tool for smoking cessation.

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Background: Vaping cessation is virtually unexplored. The efficacy and safety of varenicline for vaping cessation has not been studied and rigorous research is required to advance best practice and outcomes for people who use electronic cigarettes (EC) and want to quit. The objective is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of varenicline (1 mg BID, administered for 12 weeks, with follow-up to week 24) combined with vaping cessation counseling in exclusive daily EC users intending to quit vaping.

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Background: We have investigated and analyzed the latest research on love addiction in the fields of clinical psychology, diagnosis, psychotherapy and treatment.

Methods: From 30 November 2021 to July 2022 a review was conducted aimed at identifying the current diagnostic paradigms associated with this new behavioral dependence, investigating in depth what has not yet emerged, searching for strong and weak correlations with related theoretical constructs, comorbidities, investigate which evaluation scales are currently used and outline a guiding design that allows you to move between current scientific discoveries, searching for relevant studies in the databases PubMed, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), PsycINFO, MDPI, APA, ScienceDirect, and ReserchGate.

Results: We identified a total of 102 unique articles.

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(Background) The period experienced during the COVID-19 virus and the respective social regulations associated with it caused enormous psychosocial stress. (Objective) The objective of the present work was to observe whether the lived period induced a change in delusional characterizations in subjects with schizophrenia spectrum disorder. (Methods) A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines for systematic reviews of the PRISMA GROUP.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of heated tobacco products (HTPs) and electronic cigarettes (ECs) in helping smokers who do not want to quit smoking switch from traditional cigarettes.
  • The trial lasted 12 weeks and assessed quit rates, reduction in cigarette consumption, and user satisfaction among participants, with results indicating similar rates of abstinence and reduced smoking for both products.
  • While both HTPs and ECs were found to provide a moderately pleasant user experience, the most common side effects were cough and reduced physical fitness, highlighting some health concerns associated with their use.
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The smoking addiction of patients with severe mental disorders has consequences not only for the patients but also for the people around them. This is qualitative research on family and friends of patients with Schizophrenia spectrum disorders to investigate their perception and vision of smoking, its impact on the patients' physical and mental health, and the possible attempts to combat addiction. The research also investigates the participants' views on electronic cigarettes as a means of replacing traditional cigarettes and helping the patient to quit smoking.

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