Group versus individual cognitive-behavioral treatment for obesity: results after 36 months.

Objective: This study is aimed at the comparison between an individual and a group cognitive-behavioral program for the treatment of obesity.

Design: Parallel series, prospective, 3-year study. A group program of 10 weekly sessions focused on lifestyle modification was compared with a similar, individual 10-session program.

Association of NTRK3 and its interaction with NGF suggest an altered cross-regulation of the neurotrophin signaling pathway in eating disorders.

Eating disorders (EDs) are complex psychiatric diseases that include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and have higher than 50% heritability. Previous studies have found association of BDNF and NTRK2 to ED, while animal models suggest that other neurotrophin genes might also be involved in eating behavior. We have performed a family-based association study with 151 TagSNPs covering 10 neurotrophin signaling genes: NGFB, BDNF, NTRK1, NGFR/p75, NTF4/5, NTRK2, NTF3, NTRK3, CNTF and CNTFR in 371 ED trios of Spanish, French and German origin.

Association between psychiatric symptoms and erectile dysfunction.

Introduction: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is often associated with a wide array of psychiatric symptoms, although few studies systematically address their specific association with ED determinants.

Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between ED (as assessed by SIEDY Structured Interview, a 13-item tool which identifies and quantifies the contribution of organic, relational, and intrapsychic domains of ED) and different psychopathological symptoms (as assessed by the Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire, a self-reported test for the screening of mental disorders in a nonpsychiatric setting).

Methods: A consecutive series of 1,388 (mean age 51 +/- 13 years) male patients with ED was studied.

Epidemiology of life events: life events and psychiatric disorders in the Sesto Fiorentino study.

Background: Although life events have been consistently reported as precipitating factors for most psychiatric disorders, there is no comprehensive investigation of the relationship between severe life events and psychiatric disorders in the general population.

Methods: This is a community-based study of psychiatric disorders among a cohort representative of adults in an Italian town. A total of 2,363 subjects out of 2,500 selected to be representative of the population living in Sesto Fiorentino, central Italy, were interviewed by their own general practitioner using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview.

Effect of hyperprolactinemia in male patients consulting for sexual dysfunction.

Introduction: The physiological role of prolactin (PRL) in male sexual function has not been completely clarified.

Aim: The aim of this study is the assessment of clinical features and of conditions associated with hyperprolactinemia in male patients consulting for sexual dysfunction.

Methods: A consecutive series of 2,146 (mean age 52.

A case of hyponatremia caused by central hypocortisolism.

Background: A 43-year-old woman was referred to the Psychiatric Unit of the University of Florence Hospital, 1 year after the development of a clinical picture characterized by nausea, hyporexia, muscle weakness, insomnia, weight loss, amenorrhea and severe depression. These clinical manifestations had started 2 months after delivery of her first child. Initial laboratory investigations revealed hypoglycemia and hyponatremia.

Clinical epidemiology of eating disorders: results from the Sesto Fiorentino study.

Background: It is speculated that clinical samples do not fully reflect the characteristics of eating disorders (EDs) as they are in the general population, especially in their lowest range of severity. The present article reports the prevalence of EDs in a community sample aged >14 years, their clinical and psychopathological features, and their course and outcome on naturalistic grounds.

Methods: The Sesto Fiorentino Study is a three-phase community-based survey where 2,355 out of 2,500 people representative of the population aged >14 years living in Sesto Fiorentino were evaluated by their own general practitioner using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview plus six additional questions.

Gender role, eating disorder symptoms, and body image concern in ballet dancers.

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the relationships between gender role, eating behavior, and body image in nonprofessional female ballet dancers.

Methods: One hundred ten female ballet dancers and 59 controls were administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), and the Beck Depression Inventory.

Results: Ballet dancers scored higher than controls in most of the items evaluating body image and eating behaviors; a high number of ballet dancers with undifferentiated gender role were also observed.

Assessment of the relational factor in male patients consulting for sexual dysfunction: the concept of couple sexual dysfunction.

In a consecutive series of 1140 male subjects reporting a stable couple relationship and different degrees of sexual dysfunction, we evaluated the impact of relational factors, as assessed by the Structured Interview on Erectile Dysfunction (SIEDY) Scale 2 (exploring, as reported by the patient, menopausal symptoms, partner's medical illness interfering with sexual activity, and reduced partner desire and climax). We found that the SIEDY Scale 2 is significantly and independently associated with erectile dysfunction (ED), delayed ejaculation, hypoactive sexual desire, and decreased frequency of intercourse. SIEDY Scale 2 scores are associated with an advanced age of the partner and a long couple relationship, independently from patient's age.

Increased nitric oxide production in eating disorders.

Animal studies showed that nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic-GMP (cGMP) pathway is involved in the modulation of eating behavior. To address its role in eating disorders (ED), plasma nitrite and cGMP levels were studied in 50 ED patients (25 with Anorexia Nervosa, AN; 25 with Bulimia Nervosa, BN) and 20 sex- and age-matched controls (C). Nitrites (nmol/mg protein, mean+/-S.

Psycho-biological correlates of free-floating anxiety symptoms in male patients with sexual dysfunctions.

Anxiety has a relevant impact on everyday life, including sexual life, and therefore is considered the final common pathway by which social, psychological, and biological stressors negatively affect sexual functioning. The aim of this study is to define the psycho-biological correlates of free-floating anxiety in a large sample of patients complaining of erectile dysfunction (ED)-based sexual problems. We studied a consecutive series of 882 ED patients using SIEDY, a 13-item structured interview, composed of 3 scales that identify and quantify organic, relational, and intrapsychic domains.

Aggressiveness, anger and eating disorders: a review.

Anger and aggressive behaviours, especially those self-directed, are frequent in subjects suffering from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. They increase the complexity of the clinical features, change the prognosis and cause a more difficult management of these disorders. In order to elucidate the complex relationships between eating disorders, anger and aggressiveness, the history of traumatic experiences, the prevalence of dissociative, obsessive, impulsive and compulsive symptoms, as well as the role of severe personality disorders in subjects suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and self-injurious behaviours are considered.

The impotent couple: low desire.

Hypoactive sexual desire (HSD) is the deficiency of sexual fantasies and desire that should be considered as a disorder if it causes distress to the couple. In the general population, it is the most widespread sexuality-related problem. It is generally accepted that testosterone and prolactin regulate sexual desire.

Association of hypogonadism and type II diabetes in men attending an outpatient erectile dysfunction clinic.

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) were more often hypogonadal than normal fasting glucose subjects. The aim of this investigation is the assessment of characteristics and psychobiological correlates of DM associated with hypogonadism (DMAH). The Structured Interview SIEDY was used along with several biochemical, psychological and instrumental investigations in a series of more than 1200 patients with erectile dysfunction (ED); 16% of whom with type II DM.

Eating disorders in patients with type 1 diabetes: a meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis of controlled studies on prevalence of eating disorders in Type 1 diabetes was performed in order to assess differences between diabetic and non-diabetic female subjects. All controlled studies using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Third Edition Revised (DSM Ill-R) or the DSM Fourth Edition (DSM IV) criteria for interview-based diagnosis were included in the analysis. The total sample was composed of 748 and 1587 female subjects with and without diabetes, respectively.

Psychobiological correlates of smoking in patients with erectile dysfunction.

Although it is clear that cigarette abuse is closely linked to sexual dysfunction, it is still unclear which are the psychobiological correlates of smoking among individuals with sexual dysfunction. The aim of the present study is the assessment of the organic, psychogenic and relational correlates of erectile dysfunction (ED) in outpatients with different smoking habits. We studied the psychobiological correlates of smoking behaviour in a consecutive series of 1150 male patients, seeking medical care for ED.

Eosinophils, specific hyperreactivity and occurrence of late phase reaction in allergic rhinitis.

Background: Eosinophil infiltration may be considered characteristic of nasal allergic inflammation. However, a mild inflammatory infiltrate may be present in asymptomatic subjects exposed to specific allergen.

Objective: We investigated the relationship between inflammation, specific hyperreactivity and clinical late phase reactions in allergic subjects using the ASNC model.

Nasal eosinophils correlate with FEV1 in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis associated to asthma.

Background: Eosinophil inflammation is present in nasal and bronchial mucosa and a clear link between upper and lower airways exists. Our aim was to evaluate whether nasal inflammation correlates with lung function in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis associated with asthma.

Methods: Eighty perennial allergic rhinitics with mild asthma, aged from 18 to 46 years, were enrolled.

Association of BDNF with restricting anorexia nervosa and minimum body mass index: a family-based association study of eight European populations.

Eating disorders (ED), such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), are complex psychiatric disorders where different genetic and environmental factors are involved. Several lines of evidence support that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an essential role in eating behaviour and that alterations on this neurotrophic system participates in the susceptibility to both AN and BN. Accordingly, intraventricular administration of BDNF in rats determines food starvation and body weight loss, while BDNF or its specific receptor NTRK2 knockout mice develop obesity and hyperphagia.

The Eating Disorder Examination as a retrospective interview.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the Eating Disorder Examination 12.0D (EDE) when administered retrospectively.

Methods: Twenty-five female patients suffering from an eating disorder [(10 with anorexia nervosa (AN), 10 with bulimia nervosa (BN), 5 with eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS)] were investigated using the EDE at the time of the first referral to our outpatient ward (T1).

Cetirizine reduces cytokines and inflammatory cells in children with perennial allergic rhinitis.

Cetirizine has been demonstrated able of reducing nasal inflammatory infiltration in children with allergic rhinitis and cytokine production in in vitro studies. The aim of this double-blind, placebo-controlled, and randomized study was to evaluate cytokine pattern and inflammatory cells in children with perennial allergic rhinitis, before and after treatment with cetirizine or placebo. Twenty children with perennial allergic rhinitis were evaluated, 13 males and 7 females (mean age 13.

Psychopathology after rape.

Objective: This study evaluated the psychopathological consequences of a single rape occurring in adult women.

Method: The psychiatric symptoms reported by 40 women who were victims of rape during the previous 9 months as decided by a court of law were compared with the symptoms of 32 women who underwent severe, nonsexual, life-threatening events (car accidents, physical attacks, or robberies). None of the raped women had experienced previous sexual abuse during childhood or adolescence.

Psychopathological traits and 5-HT2A receptor promoter polymorphism (-1438 G/A) in patients suffering from Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.

Various studies have evaluated the possible role of the -1438G/A polymorphism within the 5-HT2A receptor gene in the susceptibility to Eating Disorders (EDs). One hundred and forty-eight ED patients (EDp) and 89 control subjects were interviewed by means of the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) and analyzed for distribution of the -1438G/A polymorphism. Patients with the AA genotype suffering from Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa showed higher Weight and Shape Concern (P = 0.