The Role of Empathy in Health and Social Care Professionals.

The current article is an integrative and analytical literature review on the concept and meaning of empathy in health and social care professionals. Empathy, i.e.

Individualised stepwise adaptive treatment for 3-6-year-old preschool children impaired by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ESCApreschool): study protocol of an adaptive intervention study including two randomised controlled trials within the consortium ESCAlife.

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a psychosocially impairing and cost-intensive mental disorder, with first symptoms occurring in early childhood. It can usually be diagnosed reliably at preschool age. Early detection of children with ADHD symptoms and an early, age-appropriate treatment are needed in order to reduce symptoms, prevent secondary problems and enable a better school start.

Evidence-based guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia: Updated recommendations from the British Association for Psychopharmacology.

These updated guidelines from the British Association for Psychopharmacology replace the original version published in 2011. They address the scope and targets of pharmacological treatment for schizophrenia. A consensus meeting was held in 2017, involving experts in schizophrenia and its treatment.

Effect of aerobic exercise combined with cognitive remediation on cortical thickness and prediction of social adaptation in patients with schizophrenia.

Aerobic exercise is a promising intervention for patients with schizophrenia, but structural neuroplastic effects on brain regions relevant to the pathophysiology of the disease remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate longitudinal changes in cortical thickness after aerobic exercise intervention in schizophrenia patients and the relationship of these changes to clinical correlates. We investigated 21 schizophrenia patients and 23 healthy controls who performed aerobic exercise and 21 schizophrenia patients who played table soccer.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction improves the general health and stress of Chinese military recruits: A pilot study.

This paper reported the health effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) among 49 Chinese military recruits with psychological distress in a 12-week study. Participants were randomized into a MBSR and a waitlist group. Previously validated questionnaires were administered to both groups at four time points: baseline, 5, 8, and 12 weeks after participation.

Agitated depression in bipolar disorder.

Objectives: It has been suggested that agitated depression (AD) is a common, severe feature in bipolar disorder. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of AD and investigate whether presence of AD was associated with episodic and lifetime clinical features in a large well-characterized bipolar disorder sample.

Method: The prevalence of agitation, based on semi-structured interview and medical case-notes, in the most severe depressive episode was estimated in 2925 individuals with DSM-IV bipolar disorder recruited into the UK Bipolar Disorder Research Network.

Electroconvulsive stimulation differentially affects [C]MDL100,907 binding to cortical and subcortical 5HT receptors in porcine brain.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy is an effective therapy of depression. We hypothesized that the beneficial effects are mediated partly by decreased serotonin receptor availability in the cortex.

Aims: We used positron emission tomography with the serotonin 5HT receptor radioligand [C]MDL100,907 to determine serotonin receptor availability in response to electroconvulsive stimulation (ECS).

Depression and Sleep.

Impaired sleep is both a risk factor and a symptom of depression. Objective sleep is assessed using the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG). Characteristic sleep-EEG changes in patients with depression include disinhibition of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, changes of sleep continuity, and impaired non-REM sleep.

Long-term cardiovascular safety of psychostimulants in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Side effects are a concern during psychostimulant treatment. Unfortunately, many previous studies only investigated short-term effects of psychostimulants in laboratory settings which lack clinical daily routines. We examined 1042 patient records of patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were referred to a pediatric-psychiatry practice over 12 years.

Adverse drug event-related hospitalisation in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders: a state-wide retrospective cohort study.

Background: Little is known about the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of adverse drug events (ADEs) in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD).

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe and compare the demographic details of people with and without NDD hospitalised due to ADEs.

Methods: The all-inclusive New South Wales Admitted Patient Data Collection from 2001 to 2014 was employed to identify ADE-related hospitalisations in patients with NDD using the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision Australian modification codes.

A New Measure for Assessing the Intensity of Addiction Memory in Illicit Drug Users: The Addiction Memory Intensity Scale.

Disrupting the process of memory reconsolidation could be a promising treatment for addiction. However, its application may be constrained by the intensity of addiction memory. This study aimed to develop and initially validate a new measure, the Addiction Memory Intensity Scale (AMIS), for assessing the intensity of addiction memory in illicit drug users.

Cross-species models of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder: lessons from CNTNAP2, ADGRL3, and PARK2.

Animal and cellular models are essential tools for all areas of biological research including neuroscience. Model systems can also be used to investigate the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this review, we provide a summary of animal and cellular models for three genes linked to ADHD and ASD in human patients - CNTNAP2, ADGRL3, and PARK2.

Data and Lifelong Learning Protocol: Understanding Cultural Barriers and Facilitators to Using Clinical Performance Data to Support Continuing Professional Development.

Continuing professional development (CPD) can support delivery of high-quality care, but may not be optimized until we can understand cultural barriers and facilitators, especially as innovations emerge. Lifelong learning (LLL), linked with quality improvement, competence, and professionalism, is a core competency in medical education. The purpose of this study is to examine cultural factors (individual, organizational, and systemic) that influence CPD and specifically the use of clinical data to inform LLL and CPD activities.

Promoting Psychological Well-Being at Work by Reducing Stress and Improving Sleep: Mixed-Methods Analysis.

Background: Workplace programs designed to improve the health and psychological well-being of employees are becoming increasingly popular. However, there are mixed reports regarding the effectiveness of such programs and little analysis of what helps people to engage with such programs.

Objective: This evaluation of a particularly broad, team-based, digital health and well-being program uses mixed methods to identify the elements of the program that reduce work stress and promote psychological well-being, sleep quality, and productivity of employees.

Milnacipran: serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor approved for fibromyalgia may be a useful antidepressant.

Objective: Milnacipran is a serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) approved for treatment of fibromyalgia in Australia, but is used for depression in Europe and elsewhere. This paper will briefly review milnacipran and its utility in psychiatry for the treatment of depression.

Conclusion: Milnacipran is a dual reuptake inhibitor of noradrenaline and serotonin, with greater effect on noradrenaline than serotonin, in contrast to the related drugs venlafaxine, desvenlafaxine and duloxetine.

Parent-Child Cohesion, Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction, and Emotional Adaptation in Left-Behind Children in China: An Indirect Effects Model.

This study aimed to validate an indirect effects model of parent-child cohesion in emotional adaptation (i.e., loneliness and depression) via basic psychological needs satisfaction in Chinese left-behind children as well as the applicability of the model to both genders.

Ambient ozone exposure and mental health: A systematic review of epidemiological studies.

Background: An increasing number of studies have suggested adverse effects of air pollution on mental health. Given the potentially negative impacts of ozone exposure on the immune and nervous system driven from animal experiments, ozone might also affect mental health. However, no systematic synthesis of the relevant literature has been conducted yet.

How patients' characteristics influence the use of coercive measures.

Background: Coercive measures are applied in psychiatry as a last resort to control self- and hetero-aggressive behaviors in situations where all other possible strategies have failed. For ethical and clinical reasons, the number of instances of coercion should be reduced as far as possible.

Aim: The aim of the study was to identify sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients that were associated with coercion during hospital treatment.

Perspectives on Communicating Biomarker-Based Assessments of Alzheimer's Disease to Cognitively Healthy Individuals.

In clinical trials which target pathophysiological mechanisms associated with Alzheimer's disease, research participants who are recruited based on biomarker test results should be informed about their increased risk of developing Alzheimer's dementia. This paper presents the results of a qualitative focus group study of attitudes and concerns toward learning information about biomarker-based risk status among healthy research participants in the United Kingdom and Spain and people with dementia and their supporters/caregivers from countries represented in the European Working Group of People with Dementia of Alzheimer Europe. The study identified expectations related to learning risk status and preferences related to the content, quality, and follow-up of the disclosure process.