Treatment satisfaction and effectiveness of Lurasidone on quality of life and functioning in adult patients with schizophrenia in the real-world Italian clinical practice: a prospective 3-month observational study.

Background: Although second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) have proven to be effective therapeutic options for patients with schizophrenia, there is a notable lack of evidence on patients' subjective perspectives regarding their well-being, quality of life, and satisfaction with these medications. This study aimed to evaluate the treatment satisfaction and effectiveness of lurasidone on quality of life and functioning in adult patients with schizophrenia in real-world Italian clinical practice.

Methods: This was a multicentre, national, non-interventional, single-arm, 3-month prospective study.

Major Depression in Comorbidity with Substance use Disorders: Patients' Features and Clinical-Neurobiological Rationale of Antidepressant Treatments.

The frequent co-occurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) entails significant clinical challenges. Compared to patients with MDD alone, patients with MDD and SUD often show increased anhedonia, emotional blunting, and impaired cognitive function. These symptoms lead to an inability to control cravings, more substance use, increased relapse rates, and poor adherence to the treatment.

Brexpiprazole in patients with schizophrenia with or without substance use disorder: an observational study.

Background: Partial dopamine D receptor agonists are used for psychotic symptoms in adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Recently, interest surged for partial dopamine D receptor agonists in substance use disorders (SUDs). Since it is believed that SUDs decrease the efficacy of pharmacotherapy of underlying psychiatric disorders, we tested the efficacy of the partial D agonist brexpiprazole in patients with schizophrenia who were either comorbid with a SUD (SUD group) or not comorbid (non-SUD) to assess treatment response and the effect of brexpiprazole on substance craving in SUD.

A comprehensive evaluation of adverse childhood experiences, social-emotional impairments, and neurodevelopmental disorders in cannabis-use disorder: Implications for clinical practice.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), social-emotional impairments (SEIs), and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs) are frequent in psychiatric disorders, including substance-use disorders. We aimed to determine the prevalence of ACE, SEI, or ND in individuals with cannabis-use disorder (CUD). We compared individuals with preCUD-onset ACE, SEI, or ND to those without.

The perception of pain, discriminative touch and affective touch in patients suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is often characterized by self-injurious behaviors, with one-half to two-third of these patients reporting hypalgesic or analgesic phenomena during self-harming. Research on pain perception in BPD suggested abnormal processing of nociception either within the sensory-discriminative and/or motivational-affective systems of pain. Nevertheless, it is still unclear whether pain insensitivity could be generalized to other somatosensory submodalities.

Predicting outcome with Intranasal Esketamine treatment: A machine-learning, three-month study in Treatment-Resistant Depression (ESK-LEARNING).

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) represents a severe clinical condition with high social and economic costs. Esketamine Nasal Spray (ESK-NS) has recently been approved for TRD by EMA and FDA, but data about predictors of response are still lacking. Thus, a tool that can predict the individual patients' probability of response to ESK-NS is needed.

Vulnerabilities in Mental Health due to Covid-19 Pandemic: The Response of the Italian Physicians.

COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequalities in societies. In this paper we analyse the categories that have suffered more than others from the pandemic and the restrictions on social life in terms of mental health. We rely on the Serendipity project based on a survey administered between November 2021 and February 2022 to a sample of Italian physicians (n = 1281).

Treating bipolar depression with esketamine: Safety and effectiveness data from a naturalistic multicentric study on esketamine in bipolar versus unipolar treatment-resistant depression.

Background: Bipolar depression accounts for most of the disease duration in type I and type II bipolar disorder (BD), with few treatment options, often poorly tolerated. Many individuals do not respond to first-line therapeutic options, resulting in treatment-resistant bipolar depression (B-TRD). Esketamine, the S-enantiomer of ketamine, has recently been approved for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but no data are available on its use in B-TRD.

Two-Injection Start Regimen of Long-Acting Aripiprazole in 133 Patients With Schizophrenia.

Purpose/background: Based on a population-pharmacokinetic model, the European Medicines Agency has recently approved a simplified starting strategy of aripiprazole once a month (AOM), injectable and long-acting antipsychotic, with two 400 mg injections and a single oral 20 mg dose of aripiprazole, administered on the same day, instead of 1 injection and 14 daily administrations of concurrent oral aripiprazole. However, to our knowledge, no previous study has reported the safety and tolerability of this regimen in real-world patients.

Methods/procedures: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 133 patients who received the newly approved 2-injection start regimen as part of their standard care in 10 Italian clinical centers.

Lurasidone in adolescents and adults with schizophrenia: from clinical trials to real-world clinical practice.

Introduction: Lurasidone is an atypical antipsychotic agent approved in the European Union for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults and adolescents (13-17 years). Clinical trials have shown a generally favorable balance between efficacy and tolerability.

Areas Covered: This paper provides a review and commentary regarding the use of lurasidone in adults and adolescents with schizophrenia.

Treatment persistence with aripiprazole once monthly: a 4-year follow-up.

Objectives: Treatment persistence refers to the act of continuing a treatment as prescribed and reflects the patient's or doctor's judgment about efficacy, tolerability, and acceptability. In patients with schizophrenia, antipsychotic persistence is often poor, because of issues such as lack or loss of efficacy, side effects, and poor adherence, which is often related to the degree to which patients find the medication and overall intervention to be helpful, tolerable, fair, reasonable, appropriate, and consistent with expectations of treatment. Despite the poor antipsychotic persistence that has been reported to date in patients with schizophrenia, we previously observed a relatively high (86%) 6 months persistence with aripiprazole once-monthly (AOM) in a group of patients with schizophrenia, treated in the real world Italian clinical practice.

Real-world experience of esketamine use to manage treatment-resistant depression: A multicentric study on safety and effectiveness (REAL-ESK study).

Background: Treatment-resistant Depression (TRD) represents a widespread disorder with significant direct and indirect healthcare costs. esketamine, the S-enantiomer of ketamine, has been recently approved for TRD, but real-world studies are needed to prove its efficacy in naturalistic settings.

Objectives: Evaluate the effectiveness and safety of esketamine nasal spray in a clinical sample of patients with TRD from several Italian mental health services.

Effectiveness of Vortioxetine in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder in Real-World Clinical Practice in Italy: Results from the RELIEVE Study.

Purpose: Vortioxetine has demonstrated efficacy in randomized controlled trials and is approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD); however, data are limited concerning its effectiveness when used in routine clinical care. The Real-Life Effectiveness of Vortioxetine in Depression (RELIEVE) study aimed to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of vortioxetine for the treatment of MDD in routine clinical practice in Canada, France, Italy, and the USA. This paper presents findings for the patient cohort in Italy.

Mental health in Italy after two years of COVID-19 from the perspective of 1281 Italian physicians: looking back to plan forward.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated an unprecedented global crisis that is profoundly affecting mental health and mental health care. The aim of this study was to survey a relatively large group of Italian physicians about their perceived impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of the Italian population and about their suggestions on the best strategies to address the current and future challenges.

Methods: One thousand two hundred eighty-one (1,281) physicians were surveyed between November 2021 and February 2022.

Differential Response to Three Antidepressants in Patients with Major Depressive Episode Who Suffered Covid-19-Related Trauma.

Background: The Covid 19 pandemic might have impacted response to drug treatment in major depressive episode (MDE). We compared responses to three different antidepressant drugs, i.e.

Treatment-resistant schizophrenia: Addressing white matter integrity, intracortical glutamate levels, clinical and cognitive profiles between early- and adult-onset patients.

Background: Treatment-resistance in schizophrenia is 30-40%. Its neurobiology remains unclear; to explore it, we conducted a combined spectrometry/tractography/cognitive battery and psychopathological rating study on patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), dividing the sample into early-onset (N = 21) and adult-onset TRS (N = 20). Previous studies did not differentiate between early- (onset 13-18 years) and adult-onset (>18 years at formal diagnosis of schizophrenia) TRS.

Clinical Features and Outcomes of 124 Italian Patients With Treatment Resistant Depression: A Real-World, Prospective Study.

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a debilitating condition affecting 20-30% of patients with major depressive disorders (MDD). Currently, there is no established standard of care for TRD, and wide variation in the clinical approach for disease management has been documented. Real-world data could help describe TRD clinical features, disease burden, and treatment outcome and identify a potential unmet medical need.

Identification of clinical phenotypes in schizophrenia: the role of lurasidone.

The treatment of schizophrenia includes the control of symptoms, the prevention of relapses, and amelioration of adaptive skills for patient re-integration into society. Antipsychotic drugs are the agents of choice for the treatment of schizophrenia, as they reduce the positive symptoms of psychosis. Lurasidone is a second-generation antipsychotic drug representing a novel and useful clinical tool for the management of schizophrenia.

Case Report: Treatment of Kratom Use Disorder With a Classical Tricyclic Antidepressant.

Kratom or (Korth.) is an evergreen tree of the coffee family native to South-East Asia and Australasia. It is used by locals recreationally to induce stimulant and sedative effects and medically to soothe pain and opiate withdrawal.

Aripiprazole IM depot as an option for the treatment of bipolar disorder.

: Long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic drugs are developed to reduce daily intake need and to overcome treatment non-adherence. Aripiprazole IM depot refers to two long-acting aripiprazole formulations, once monthly monohydrate (AOM) and aripiprazole lauroxil. AOM has been approved for schizophrenia since 2012 and for bipolar disorder since 2017.

A Neurodevelopment Approach for a Transitional Model of Early Onset Schizophrenia.

In the last decades, the conceptualization of schizophrenia has dramatically changed, moving from a neurodegenerative process occurring in early adult life to a neurodevelopmental disorder starting be-fore birth, showing a variety of premorbid and prodromal symptoms and, in relatively few cases, evolving in the full-blown psychotic syndrome. High rates of co-occurring different neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, predating the onset of SCZ, and neurobio-logical underpinning with significant similarities, support the notion of a pan-developmental disturbance consisting of impairments in neuromotor, receptive language, social and cognitive development. Con-sidering that many SCZ risk factors may be similar to symptoms of other neurodevelopmental psychi-atric disorders, transition processes from child & adolescent to adult systems of care should include both high risk people as well as subject with other neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders with different levels of severity.

Developmental trajectories in psychiatric disorders: does substance/alcohol use moderate the effects of affective temperaments as moderators of age at onset? A study in post-acute, hospitalized patients with psychotic or DSM-5 bipolar or major depressive disorders.

Age-at-onset (AAO) affects psychiatric disorder outcome; substance (SUDs) or alcohol use disorders (AUDs) may influence their onset. Affective temperaments may affect early AAO and drug-use proneness. To investigate whether SUD/AUD moderated temperamental effects in determining AAO of mental disorders.