Phantom Phone Signal: why it should be of interest for psychiatry.

Phantom Phone Signal (PPS) refers to the false perception of a mobile phone ringing, vibrating and blinking, when in fact it did not. A recent literature about PPS is growing, parallel to an increasing interest about its possible psychopathological implications. The present review aims to synthesize the current knowledge about the phenomenon, and to present a conceptual framework that integrates PPS as a putative index of psychopathology.

Emotional symptoms and their related factors in adolescents during the acute phase of Covid-19 outbreak in South Italy.

Background: Several studies have shown that during COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, emotional symptoms increased in the general population. Less is known about youths.

Methods: We surveyed a sample of Italian adolescents during the strictest quarantine period and assessed the effects of socio-demographic and psychological factors on current emotional symptoms.

Details of the Contents of Paranoid Thoughts in Help-Seeking Adolescents with Psychotic-Like Experiences and Continuity with Bullying and Victimization: A Pilot Study.

: Psychosis recognizes an interaction between biological and social environmental factors. Adversities are now recognized to be consistently associated with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). The purpose of this study was to describe the contents of paranoid symptoms and to focus on their relationship with bullying and victimization in help-seeking adolescents.

Phantom Phone Signals in youths: Prevalence, correlates and relation to psychopathology.

The term Phantom Phone Signals (PPS) refers to the perception of a mobile phone ringing, vibrating and blinking when in fact it did not. Data in youth are lacking, and controversies exist on whether PPS is related to psychopathology. In the present study, we showed data on the prevalence of PPS in a population (N = 2959) of students aged 10 to 14 years.

Differences in Metabolic Factors Between Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain and Non-pharmacological Obesity in Youths.

Background: Youth exposed to antipsychotics may experience several metabolic consequences that often limit the effectiveness of this class of drugs.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare several metabolic markers between subjects who experienced antipsychotic-induced weight gain and untreated obese patients.

Methods: Nineteen non-diabetic youth (mean age 159 months, mean body mass index z-score 1.

Conduct disorders and psychopathy in children and adolescents: aetiology, clinical presentation and treatment strategies of callous-unemotional traits.

Conduct Disorder (CD) is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by a repetitive and persistent pattern of behaviour in which the basic rights of others and major age-appropriate social norms or rules are violated. Callous Unemotional (CU) traits are a meaningful specifier in subtyping CD for more severe antisocial and aggressive behaviours in adult psychopathology; they represent the affective dimension of adult psychopathy, but they can be also detected in childhood and adolescence. The CU traits include lack of empathy, sense of guilt and shallow emotion, and their characterization in youth can improve our diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic abilities.

Different Immune Signature in Youths Experiencing Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain Compared to Untreated Obese Patients.

Objectives: To assess cytokine and chemokine levels in youth experiencing antipsychotic-induced weight gain (AIWG) compared to obese patients, hypothesizing a different "immune signature" between the two kinds of obesity.

Methods: We compared a group of youth experiencing AIWG (N 19, mean age 159 months, mean body mass index [BMI] z-score 1.81) and an age-, gender-, and BMI-matched group of untreated obese patients (N 19, mean age 147 months, mean BMI z-score 2) for a wide range of cytokines and chemokines by using a multiplex ELISA test.

Update on the safety of second generation antipsychotics in youths: a call for collaboration among paediatricians and child psychiatrists.

During the past decade, a substantial increase in the use of second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) has occurred for a number of juvenile psychiatric disorders, often as off-label prescriptions. Although they were thought to be safer than older, first generation antipsychotics, mainly due to a lower risk of neurological adverse reactions, recent studies have raised significant concerns regarding their safety regarding metabolic, endocrinological and cardiovascular side effects. Aim of this paper is to update with a narrative review, the latest findings on safety of SGAs in youths.

Psychiatric and neuropsychological issues in Marfan syndrome: A critical review of the literature.

The cooccurrence of Marfan syndrome and psychiatric disorders has been reported for many years. Furthermore, neuropsychological deficits have been shown to be associated with Marfan syndrome. The aim of the present article is to summarize findings from the sparse studies and case reports available.

Use of quetiapine in children and adolescents.

The atypical antipsychotic quetiapine has been used in different psychotic and non-psychotic disorders in children and adolescents in randomized clinical trials, open-label studies and chart reviews. Most of these studies suggest that quetiapine may be a promising agent with a potential for use in young patients. The aim of this paper is to critically review available literature on quetiapine in the treatment of children and adolescents with a variety of psychiatric disorders, including psychotic disorders, bipolar disorders (manic and depressive episodes), conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Tourette's syndrome and personality disorders.

Familial occurrence of early-onset childhood absence epilepsy.

Early onset of absence seizures (<3 years) is rare and usually associated with a poor cognitive prognosis. Familial cases have not been reported to date. We observed a family in which two out of three sibs showed early-onset absences and mild mental retardation.