The interactions between vitamin D and neurofilament light chain levels on cognitive domains in bipolar disorder.

Background: Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental disorder related to cognitive deficits. Low serum vitamin D levels are significantly associated with compromised cognition in neuropsychiatric disorders. Although patients with bipolar disorder frequently exhibit hypovitaminosis D, the association between vitamin D and cognition in bipolar disorder, and their neuroaxonal integrity, is unclear.

Psychometric Properties of Two Tasks in the Allen Cognitive Level Screen-Sixth Edition for Community-Dwelling People Living With Schizophrenia.

Importance: Empirical evidence is needed on the psychometric properties of the Allen Cognitive Level Screen-Sixth Edition (ACLS-6), an instrument that assesses cognitive functions and is commonly used for people living with schizophrenia.

Objective: To examine the convergent validity, discriminative validity, and test-retest reliability of two tasks, stitching and copying, in the ACLS-6 for community-dwelling people living with schizophrenia.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Lithium exposure and chronic inflammation with activated macrophages and monocytes associated with atherosclerosis in bipolar disorder.

Background: Atherosclerosis accounts for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This study aimed to explore the association between carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), psycho-pharmacotherapy, and inflammatory markers along with other molecules related to atherosclerosis in bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods: The euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder (BD-I) aged over 20 years were recruited to measure CIMT through ultrasound and the blood levels of lipid profiles, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 (sTNF-R1), soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, chitinase 3-like 1, endothelial adhesive proteins, and thrombin-antithrombin complex.

Niacin skin flush and membrane polyunsaturated fatty acids in schizophrenia from the acute state to partial remission: a dynamic relationship.

Despite the consistent finding of an attenuated niacin-induced flush response in schizophrenia, its long-term stability and relationship to the membrane polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels remain unknown. We conducted niacin skin tests and measured the membrane PUFAs using gas chromatography among 46 schizophrenia inpatients and 37 healthy controls at the baseline and the 2-month follow-up. Attenuated flush responses were persistently observed in schizophrenia patients in both acute and partial remission states, whereas an increased flush response was found in the controls.

Psychometric Comparisons of Three Depression Measures for Patients With Stroke.

Importance: Psychometric examinations for patients with stroke remain insufficient. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) are promising outcome measures.

Objective: To examine and compare the reliability and validity of three depression measures in a sample of patients with stroke.

FKBP51 mediates resilience to inflammation-induced anxiety through regulation of glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 expression in mouse hippocampus.

Background: Inflammation is a potential risk factor of mental disturbance. FKBP5 that encodes FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP51), a negative cochaperone of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), is a stress-inducible gene and has been linked to psychiatric disorders. Yet, the role of FKBP51 in the inflammatory stress-associated mental disturbance remained unclear.

Incidence of and risk factors for alcohol dependence in bipolar disorder: A population-based cohort and nested case-control study.

Objectives: Although alcohol dependence is highly prevalent in patients with bipolar disorder, the causal relationship is not yet well-established. This study estimated the incidence of alcohol dependence in a nationwide bipolar disorder cohort and examined risk factors for alcohol dependence.

Methods: Patients aged 15-65 years with consistent bipolar disorder who had their first psychiatric admission between 1999 and 2012 ( = 21,791) were enrolled from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan.

The relationship of antipsychotic treatment with reduced brown adipose tissue activity in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Antipsychotic drug (APD) treatment has been associated with metabolic abnormalities. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is the main site of adaptive thermogenesis and secretes various metabolism-improving factors known as batokines. We explored the association of BAT activity with APD treatment and metabolic abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia by measuring the blood levels of bone morphogenetic protein 8b (BMP8b), a batokine secreted by mature BAT.

Antidepressant Treatment and Manic Switch in Bipolar I Disorder: A Clinical and Molecular Genetic Study.

Affective switch is an important clinical issue when treating bipolar disorder. Though commonly seen in clinical practice, the benefits of prescribing antidepressants for bipolar depression are still controversial. To date, there have been few genetic studies and no genome-wide association study (GWAS), focusing on manic switch following bipolar depression.

Orexin-a elevation in antipsychotic-treated compared to drug-free patients with schizophrenia: A medication effect independent of metabolic syndrome.

Background/purpose: Orexin-A levels are reportedly increased in antipsychotic (APD)-treated patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls and have been associated with metabolic abnormalities. It is not clear whether the orexin-A elevation is related specifically to the drug (APDs) effect, which should be clarified by including a drug-free group for comparison, or related to drug-induced metabolic abnormalities.

Methods: Blood orexin-A levels and metabolic profiles were compared between 37 drug-free, 45 aripiprazole-treated, and 156 clozapine-treated patients with schizophrenia.

Characterization of clinical features and comorbidities between bipolar affective disorder with and without depressive episodes.

Backgrounds: A proportion of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) manifests with only unipolar mania (UM). This study examined relevant clinical features and psychosocial characteristics in UM compared with depressive-manic (D-M) subgroups. Moreover, comorbidity patterns of physical conditions and psychiatric disorders were evaluated between the UM and D-M groups.

Premature death and causes of death among patients with panic disorder and comorbid psychiatric disorders: A nationwide cohort study.

Objectives: Panic disorder (PD) is associated with high psychiatric and physical comorbidity, but the cause of mortality has not been well studied. This study investigated mortality rates and causes of death in an Asian cohort with PD.

Methods: We enrolled a nationwide retrospective cohort of 298,466 persons diagnosed with PD from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016.

Practice effect and test-retest reliability of the Mini-Mental State Examination-2 in people with dementia.

Background: The Mini-Mental State Examination-Second Edition (MMSE-2) consists of three visions: a brief version (MMSE-2:BV), a standard version (MMSE-2:SV), and an expanded version (MMSE-2: EV). Each version was equipped with alternate forms (blue and red). There was a lack of evidence on the practice effect and test-retest reliability of the three versions of the MMSE-2, limiting its utility in both clinical and research settings.

Error patterns of facial emotion recognition in patients with schizophrenia.

Error patterns of facial emotion recognition (FER) indicate how individuals misinterpret others' facial expressions, which helps clinicians to manage related deficits. However, previous investigations are limited and may have been biased due to methodological issues (e.g.

Prevalence and Correlates of Prescription Drug Misuse in a Nationwide Population Survey in Taiwan.

Background: Prescription drug misuse (PDM) is a critical mental health issue relating to psychiatric morbidity. This study investigated the prevalence of PDM and its associated psychopathology and psychosocial factors in the general population in Taiwan.

Methods: The survey randomly selected a representative sample >15 year-olds using the stratified proportional randomization method.