Codeine Precipitating Serotonin Syndrome in a Patient in Therapy with Antidepressant and Triptan.

The serotonin syndrome is a serioius medical condition due due to an intensive stimulation of setonin receptors. It is a rare, but severe, consequence of interaction between serotomimetic agents. This is a report of a 70-year-old woman steadily in therapy with venlafaxine and rizatriptan for migraine and major depressive syndrome.

Data of the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ) administered to a sample of immigrants in Genoa (Italy).

This article reports the data of the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ) administered to a sample of 143 immigrants accessing an outpatient clinic or the general practitioners offices in Genoa (Italy) compared with 186 Italian patients. For further details and for the interpretation of the data, the reader is referred to the original publication "Somatic perception, cultural differences and immigration: results from administration of the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ) to a sample of immigrants" by Bragazzi et al. (2014) [1].

Attitudes of Mental Health Workers Towards Early Interventions in Psychiatry: A National Survey.

Early intervention (EI) is an effective strategy to improve outcomes of psychiatric disorders, but there is little evidence on mental health professionals' opinions on this approach. Hence, during conferences on this topic, we surveyed participants on the benefits, aims, and barriers to implementation of EI. Participants reported that the most important outcomes of EI were decreasing the risk of long-term social consequences, of severe psychopathological conditions, and chronicization.

Duration of untreated depression influences clinical outcomes and disability.

Background: The duration of untreated depression (DUD) might have a substantial impact on the clinical outcomes; however, there are important knowledge gaps including the effects on disability and potential differences between first-episode and recurrent episodes of depression.

Methods: We recruited 121 outpatients with first episode and recurrent major depression, and conducted prospective clinical assessments over six months. Clinical outcomes included response to antidepressant therapy, remission and changes in disability.

Somatic perception, cultural differences and immigration: results from administration of the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ) to a sample of immigrants.

The number of immigrants in Italy has doubled every 10 years from 1972 and Genoa hosts two large communities of immigrants from South America and Africa. We investigated differences in the somatic perception between immigrants and Italians and between South Americans and Africans living in the city of Genoa. During a 7 month period, an anonymous questionnaire asking for sociodemographic information and the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ) were administered to all immigrants accessing an outpatient clinic or the general practitioners offices.

Duration of untreated illness and outcomes in unipolar depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: To systematically review evidence of the effects of the duration of untreated depression on the clinical outcomes of patients suffering from Unipolar Major Depression.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence of duration of untreated depression and the effect it has on clinical outcomes in Unipolar Major Depression. Data used to this purpose were obtained from a literature search of the MEDLINE, Psychoinfo and Embase databases.

Unmet needs and research challenges for late-life mood disorders.

Mood disorders are common and often under-recognised in older people whereby, together with the general ageing of the population, they are becoming a significant and growing public health problem worldwide. However, the need to address the problem of late life mood disorders in a real-world setting is met with a surprising lack of strong evidence in this field. Randomised clinical trials which focus on elderly mood disorders are not very common and the majority of them focus on pharmacological treatment of major depression.

Process of implementation and development of early psychosis clinical services in Italy: a survey.

Aim: To carry out an in-depth survey into the method of providing early intervention in schizophrenia in Italy and to evaluate the process of development of early psychosis clinical services following the pilot programme 'Programma 2000' and the publishing of Italian National Guidelines.

Methods: Topic-specific national and international clinical and research programmes, alongside national guidelines, were taken into consideration in order to create an ad hoc questionnaire. A telephone survey using this questionnaire was carried out.

The diagnostic challenge of frontotemporal dementia in psychiatric patients: a case report.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is often misdiagnosed early in the clinical course and may be confused with primary psychiatric disorders. This is especially true when patients have a psychiatric history. In this report, we describe a case that illustrates the diagnostic challenge of FTD in a patient with a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Combined venlafaxine and olanzapine prescription in women with psychotic major depression: a case series.

Patients with psychotic major depression suffer prolonged duration and greater severity of illness, including an increased likelihood of recurrent episodes and resistance to conventional pharmacotherapies. They do not respond to placebo and respond poorly to antidepressant or antipsychotic monotherapy. On the other hand, as has been demonstrated, they do respond well to antidepressant and antipsychotic combination therapies.