The neural correlates of guilt highlight preclinical manifestations between bipolar and major depressive disorders.

Background: Over 25 % of bipolar disorder (BD) patients are misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). An urgent need exists for a biomarker to differentiate BD from MDD. Various manifestations and intensities of maladaptive guilt processing might uniquely contribute to the pathogenesis of BD compared to MDD.

Longitudinal association of social isolation and loneliness with physical function among in-patients living with schizophrenia.

Unlabelled: WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: People living with schizophrenia have reduced physical function and are more likely to experience loneliness than those without condition. Low physical function is associated with greater loneliness in people with psychosis. However, it is unclear whether social isolation and loneliness contribute to impaired physical function in this population.

The effects of electroencephalography functional connectivity during emotional recognition among patients with major depressive disorder and healthy controls.

Background: The brain of major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with altered functional connectivity (FC) compared to that of healthy individuals when processing positive and negative visual stimuli. Building upon alterations in brain connectivity, some researchers have employed electroencephalography (EEG) to study FC in MDD, aiming to enhance both diagnosis and treatment; however, the results have been inconsistent and the studies involving FC during emotional recognition are limited. This study aims to 1) investigate the effects of MDD on EEG patterns during visual emotional processing, 2) explore the therapeutic effects of antidepressant treatment on brain FC within the first week, and assess whether these effects can be predictive of treatment outcomes four weeks later, and 3) study baseline FC parameter biomarkers that can be used to predict treatment responsiveness in MDD patients.

The association of social support and hope with self-stigma and perceived recovery among people with schizophrenia: The serial mediation effect.

Background: It is essential to assist individuals with a mental illness who have achieved clinical recovery in their personal recovery. Understanding the relationship between self-stigma and social support and the effects on perceived recovery can be valuable for clinical professionals in helping patients lead meaningful lives.

Aim: To examine the serial mediating roles of social support and perceived hope in self-stigma and the effects on perceived recovery.

The quantified analysis of the correlation between medical humanities curriculums and medical students' performance.

Background: A high-quality medical humanities (MH) education program is essential to developing a successful medical practitioner and can influence clinical performance. It is also vital to improve the evaluation of MH education to restore harmonious mutual relationships in medical care. However, studies have yet to discuss the correlation between the learning quality and quantity of medical humanities curriculums (MHC) and medical students' scores of clinical curriculums and clinical performance.

Functional connectivity analysis on electroencephalography signals reveals potential biomarkers for treatment response in major depression.

Background: The treatment efficacy varies across individual patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). It lacks robust electroencephalography (EEG) markers for an antidepressant-responsive phenotype.

Method: This is an observational study enrolling 28 patients with MDD and 33 healthy controls (mean age of 40.

The Satisfaction With Care of Patients With Schizophrenia in Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Patient-Centered Care Domains.

Background: Pharmacological interventions combined with nonpharmacological treatments such as patient-centered care (PCC)-related activities are widely used to enhance outcomes in patients with schizophrenia. However, few studies have examined and identified the PCC factors essential to achieving better outcomes in patients with schizophrenia.

Purpose: This study was designed to identify the Picker-Institute-identified PCC domains associated with satisfaction and to determine which of these domains are most important in the context of schizophrenia care.

Associations and relative risks of pulmonary hypertension and lung diseases in individuals with methamphetamine use disorder.

Objective: Methamphetamine causes considerable short- and long-term adverse health effects. Our aim was to assess the effects of methamphetamine use on pulmonary hypertension and lung diseases at the population level.

Methods: This population-based retrospective study used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000 and 2018 that included 18,118 individuals with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) and 90,590 matched participants of the same age and sex without substance use disorder as the non-exposed group.

Investigating genetic variants for treatment response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in syndromal factors and side effects among patients with depression in Taiwanese Han population.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with high heterogeneity in clinical presentation. In addition, response to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) varies considerably among patients. Therefore, identifying genetic variants that may contribute to SSRI treatment responses in MDD is essential.

Dose-response analysis of aripiprazole in patients with schizophrenia in Taiwan.

Background: Aripiprazole is a third-generation antipsychotic agent with acceptable efficacy and a good safety profile. Previous studies have indicated the therapeutic serum concentration of aripiprazole to be 100 to 350 ng/ml; however, most of these studies examined a Western population. Patients with schizophrenia from Tungs' Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital in central Taiwan were recruited to analyze the dose-response relationship of aripiprazole in the Chinese population.

Long-term Outcomes of Early Use of Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia.

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) may potentially benefit patients requiring psychiatric hospitalization during the early stages of schizophrenia. However, few studies have compared the long-term effectiveness between patients who switched to LAIs and those who remained on oral antipsychotics (OAPs). Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we constructed a population-based cohort with 19,813 new OAP users with defined schizophrenia who were hospitalized from 2002 to 2005.

Trends, correlates, and disease patterns of sedative-hypnotic use among elderly persons in Taiwan.

Objective: The population-based National Health Insurance database was adopted to investigate the prevalence, correlates, and disease patterns of sedative-hypnotic use in elderly persons in Taiwan.

Methods: The National Health Research Institutes provided a database of 1,000,000 random subjects in the National Health Insurance program. We adopted this sample of subjects who were older than 65 years from 1997 to 2005 and examined the proportions of psychiatric and nonpsychiatric disorders with regard to sedative-hypnotic use.

Associations between daily steps and cognitive function among inpatients with schizophrenia.

Background: Walking is the fundamental component of taking steps and is the main form of physical activity among individuals with schizophrenia; it also offers a range of health benefits. This study aimed to examine the associations between daily steps and cognitive function and further explored how many steps were related to better cognitive function among inpatients with schizophrenia.

Methods: Inpatients with schizophrenia were recruited from long-stay psychiatric wards across two hospitals (n=199 at site 1 and n=195 at site 2).

Clinical and behavior characteristics of individuals who used ketamine.

This study aims to depict and compare clinical characteristics and risk behavior among groups of individuals using ketamine, polydrugs or smoking cigarette. A total of 185 drug-using participants and 49 smokers participated in this study. A cross-sectional interview was used to collect information on demographics, drug- and sex-related behaviors, HIV serostatus, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), behavioral dispositions.

Factors associated with personal recovery among psychiatric nursing home residents.

WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE SUBJECT?: Poor recovery will cause harm to the quality of life and well-being of residents and that the scope of influence includes the self, family and society. No study to date has investigated empowerment and the other multiple factors associated with personal recovery among psychiatric nursing home residents. WHAT DOES THE PAPER ADD TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The factors associated with personal recovery are empowerment, social support and global functioning.

Identification of Rare Mutations of Two Presynaptic Cytomatrix Genes and in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are severe mental disorders with a major component of genetic factors in their etiology. Rare mutations play a significant role in these two disorders, and they are highly heterogeneous and personalized. Identification of personalized mutations is essential for the establishment of molecular diagnosis, providing insight into pathogenesis and guiding the personalized treatment for each affected patient.

COVID-19 stigma associates with burnout among healthcare providers: Evidence from Taiwanese physicians and nurses.

Background/purpose: During pandemics like SARS-CoV-2, healthcare providers' well-being and morale are in particular at stake. Burnout may substantially hinder the well-being and morale of healthcare providers, challenging our efforts at disease containment. This study investigated the relationship between perceived COVID-19 stigma and burnout symptoms among physicians and nurses.

The association between depression and chronic lower back pain from disc degeneration and herniation of the lumbar spine.

Chronic lower back pain induced by lumbar disc degeneration or herniation exerts a great impact on patients' daily lives. Depression and anxiety often exist among patients with lower back pain. Some studies mentioned about mechanisms, such as inflammatory biomarkers, which are commonly seen in herniated intervertebral disc (HIVD) and major depressive disorder (MDD).

Neuromagnetic evidence of abnormal automatic inhibitory function in subjective memory complaint.

Subjective memory complaint (SMC), a self-perceived worsening in memory capacity concurrent with normal performance on standardized cognitive assessments, is considered a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Deficient sensory gating (SG), referring to the lack of automatic inhibition of neural responses to the second identical stimulus, has been documented in prodromal and incident AD patients. However, it remains unknown whether the cognitively normal elderly with SMC demonstrate alterations of SG function compared with those without SMC.

Increased risk of ischemic heart disease in patients with bipolar disorder: A population-based study.

Objective: This study investigated the national prevalence and incidence of ischemic heart disease and associated factors among Taiwanese patients with bipolar disorder.

Methods: We used a random sample of 766,427 subjects who were ≥18 years old from the National Health Research Institute database in 2005. Subjects with at least one primary diagnosis of bipolar disorder or ischemic heart disease were identified.