Platelet serotonin concentration and trait aggression in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: a preliminary study.

Animal and human studies suggest that aggressive behavior may be modulated by brain serotonergic system. Serotonergic (5-HT) dysfunction is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but also with increased aggression and impulsivity, hallmarks of PTSD. The aim of the study was to investigate the association of platelet 5-HT concentration and various types of aggression and impulsivity in veterans with PTSD.

No change in N-acetyl aspartate in first episode of moderate depression after antidepressant treatment: (1)H magnetic spectroscopy study of left amygdala and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Background: The role of brain metabolites as biological correlates of the intensity, symptoms, and course of major depression has not been determined. It has also been inconclusive whether the change in brain metabolites, measured with proton magnetic spectroscopy, could be correlated with the treatment outcome.

Methods: Proton magnetic spectroscopy was performed in 29 participants with a first episode of moderate depression occurring in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left amygdala at baseline and after 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment with escitalopram.

The effect of atypical antipsychotics on brain N-acetylaspartate levels in antipsychotic-naïve first-episode patients with schizophrenia: a preliminary study.

Purpose: To investigate the correlates of a clinical therapeutic response by using the parameters measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy after the administration of atypical antipsychotics.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-five antipsychotic-naïve first-episode patients with schizophrenia were monitored for 12 months. The patients were evaluated using (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Clinical Global Impression Scale of Severity, Tower of London - Drexel University, Letter-Number Span Test, Trail Making Test A, and Personal and Social Performance Scale.

Oxidative status and the severity of clinical symptoms in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Background: The aim of this study was to measure the parameters of oxidative stress in the blood of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Methods: The study included 80 male war veterans who participated actively in the Homeland war in Croatia. Volunteers were divided into two groups: 50 veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and 30 without diagnosis.

Position and role of forensic psychiatry in integrative psychiatry.

The integrative approach to psychiatry has gained more importance in recent years. Is it justified or not, does it improve theory or practice, those are only some of the questions to which we are looking for answers, but in this paper we shall underline the necessity of enrolling forensic psychiatry into integrative, modern psychiatry. The reason and the motive for that integration is the fact that nowadays the content and the activities of contemporary forensic psychiatrists are totally reduced to executing the tasks given by courts.