Response to Pharmacological Treatment in Major Depression Predicted by Electroencephalographic Alpha Power - a Pilot Naturalistic Study.

Background: Pharmacological treatment of depression is currently led by the trial and error principle mainly because of lack of reliable biomarkers. Earlier findings suggest that baseline alpha power and asymmetry could differentiate between responders and non-responders to specific antidepressants.

Aim: The current study investigated quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) measures before and early in treatment as potential response predictors to various antidepressants in a naturalistic sample of depressed patients.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its serum levels in schizophrenic patients.

Introduction: Neurotrophins have an important role in regulating the development and maintenance of the peripheral and central nervous systems' function. Thus, the neurotrophin hypothesis of schizophrenia has postulated that the changes in the brain of schizophrenic patients are the result of disturbances of developing processes involving these molecules.

Aim: We analyse in the present study the changes in the serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in schizophrenic patients as possible epiphenomena of underlying alterations of the neurotrophic factor in central nervous system, reflecting its role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Dermatoglyphics--a possible biomarker in the neurodevelopmental model for the origin of mental disorders.

Introduction: Dermatoglyphic pattern formation and differentiation are complex processes which have been in the focus of research interest ever since dermatoglyphics became a science. The patterns' early differentiation and genetic uniqueness as well as the relatively simple methods used to obtain and store fingerprints make it possible to study the relationship between certain dermatoglyphic characteristics and the underlying pathological processes in a number of diseases, including mental disorders.

Aim: The present review reports published data from fundamental and clinical studies on dermatoglyphics primarily in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to lend additional support for the neurodevelopmental hypothesis in the etiology of these disorders.

Minor physical anomalies in schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder and the neurodevelopmental continuum of psychosis.

Objectives: Minor physical anomalies (MPAs) have been investigated by numerous studies in patients with schizophrenia in support of the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of the disorder, but have rarely been examined in patients with bipolar disorder or in direct comparisons between the two conditions. The main objective of the present study was to compare the prevalence of MPAs in psychiatrically healthy controls, patients with bipolar I disorder, and patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: A slightly modified version of the Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale was used to assess MPAs in psychiatrically healthy controls (n = 103), patients with bipolar I disorder (n = 61), and patients with schizophrenia (n = 128).

Biomarker profile of minor physical anomalies in schizophrenia patients.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and topographical distribution of minor physical anomalies (MPAs) in schizophrenia patients and control subjects, and the ability of the items of the Waldrop scale to predict the patient-control status.

Material And Methods: 128 schizophrenic patients (66 men, 62 women) and 103 normal controls (49 men, 54 women) were evaluated for MPAs with a modified version of the Waldrop scale.

Results: Compared with controls, schizophrenia patients showed a higher incidence of almost all studied MPAs, differences being statistically significant for 12 items: fine electric hair, abnormal hair whorls, epicanthus, adherent ear-lobes, lower edges of the ears extending backward/upward, malformed ears, asymmetrical ears, high/arched palate, furrowed tongue, smooth/rough spots on the tongue, III toe > or = II toe, big gap between I and II toe.

Comparative dermatoglyphic study of schizophrenic patients: evidence of the neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to establish the discriminating value of dermatoglyphic traits between schizophrenic patients and mentally healthy individuals.

Patients And Methods: The study included 76 schizophrenic inpatients (43 men, 33 women, mean age 31.47 years), who satisfied the DSM-IV criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia and 82 mentally healthy subjects of Bulgarian origin of mean age 39.

Computertomographic findings of structural brain anomalies in schizophrenic patients in support of the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of the disorder.

Aim: The aim of the study was to make a comparative CT examination of schizophrenic patients and find lifetime criteria for recognition of brain changes in schizophrenia.

Material And Methods: Twenty-two schizophrenic inpatients (mean age 32.86 +/- 2.

Fluctuating asymmetry in dermatoglyphic traits in schizophrenic patients.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to establish the validity of fluctuating asymmetry in dermatoglyphic traits as a sign of prenatal injury of schizophrenic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS. The subjects for this study were 76 schizophrenic inpatients (43 men, 33 women, mean age 31.

Internal consistency of Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale in schizophrenic patients.

The aim of the study is to investigate the reliability (internal consistency) of the Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale in patients with schizophrenia. The subjects were 76 schizophrenic patients (43 men, 33 women) and 82 normal controls (42 men, 40 women) of Bulgarian origin who were examined for minor physical anomalies. The correlations between the anomalies are low in schizophrenia, which indicates poor internal consistency of the scale, probably due to the heterogeneity of the anomalies in terms of location, character, and time of prenatal development.

Discriminating value of total minor physical anomaly score on the Waldrop physical anomaly scale between schizophrenia patients and normal control subjects.

Minor physical anomalies (MPAs) are slight structural aberrations that are believed to be associated with abnormal neurodevelopment. Studies of schizophrenia patients show that these patients score higher in MPAs than normal controls. The present study attempted to assess the potential value of MPAs as a classifying test in the status schizophrenia patient versus normal control.

A study of the effect of age on depressivity in Bulgarian urban population.

Aim: Depression is the most prevalent mental disorder in the population. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of age on depressivity.

Material And Methods: The study is community-based survey and includes 12,600 persons over 15 years of age.

Minor physical anomalies in schizophrenic patients and normal controls.

The aim of the study is to investigate the rate and topographical pattern of minor physical anomalies in schizophrenic patients and normal subjects and determine their value in predicting the patient-control status. Seventy-six schizophrenic inpatients (43 men, 33 women) and 82 normal control subjects (42 men, 40 women) were examined for minor physical anomalies on the Waldrop scale. Schizophrenics showed a higher rate for almost all examined anomalies, the differences reaching statistical significance for six of them: fine electric hair, epicanthus, high/steepled palate, tongue with smooth/rough spots, third toe the second, and big gap between I and II toes.

Sexual dimorphism in minor physical anomalies in schizophrenic patients and normal controls.

The aim of the current study was to investigate the gender effecton minor physical anomalies (MPA) in schizophrenic patients and normal controls. Seventy-six schizophrenic patients (43 males and 33 females) and 82 normal control subjects (42 males and 40 females) were examined for MPA using a modified version of the Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale. Men tended to be more stigmatized with MPA than women both in normal subjects and in schizophrenics (with this difference slightly expanding in schizophrenics).

Minor physical anomalies in mentally healthy subjects: Internal consistency of the Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale.

The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of minor physical anomalies in mentally healthy subjects by using the Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale and to assess the reliability (internal consistency) of the scale. The subjects were 82 mentally healthy individuals (42 men, 40 women) of Bulgarian origin who were examined for minor physical anomalies. Mentally healthy individuals show a low mean score of minor physical anomalies.