Economic evaluation of a dietary intervention for adults with major depression (the "SMILES" trial).

Background: Recently, the efficacy of dietary improvement as a therapeutic intervention for moderate to severe depression was evaluated in a randomised controlled trial. The SMILES trial demonstrated a significant improvement in Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores favouring the dietary support group compared with a control group over 12 weeks. We used data collected within the trial to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of this novel intervention.

Nutritional Deficiencies and Clinical Correlates in First-Episode Psychosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective: Diet is increasingly recognized as a potentially modifiable factor influencing the onset and outcomes of psychiatric disorders. Whereas, previous research has shown long-term schizophrenia is associated with various nutritional deficiencies, this meta-analysis aimed to determine the prevalence and extent of nutritional deficits in first-episode psychosis (FEP).

Method: A search of electronic databases conducted in July 2017 identified 28 eligible studies, examining blood levels of 6 vitamins and 10 minerals across 2612 individuals: 1221 individuals with FEP and 1391 control subjects.

N-acetylcysteine in the treatment of craving in substance use disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Objectives: Recent neurobiological evidences along with clinical observations justify the use of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as a medication for craving. The objective of our study was to assess the evidence of efficacy of NAC for craving in substance use disorders in randomized clinical trials (RCTs).

Methods: Systematic review of the RCTs literature (PROSPERO number 56698) until February, 2017, using MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and clinicaltrials.

Psychosocial therapies for the adjunctive treatment of bipolar disorder in adults: network meta-analysis.

Few trials have compared psychosocial therapies for people with bipolar affective disorder, and conventional meta-analyses provided limited comparisons between therapies.To combine evidence for the efficacy of psychosocial interventions used as adjunctive treatment of bipolar disorder in adults, using network meta-analysis (NMA).Systematic review identified studies and NMA was used to pool data on relapse to mania or depression, medication adherence, and symptom scales for mania, depression and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF).

Effects of omega-3 PUFA on immune markers in adolescent individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis - Results of the randomized controlled Vienna omega-3 study.

Alterations of immune function have been reported in ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis patients causing expectations in terms of predictive meaningfulness and benefits of anti-inflammatory agents. According to a RCT in UHR-patients supplementation of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was effective in reducing transition to psychosis risk and to improve symptomatology. Based on preclinical findings, we now investigated state marker properties of and the influence of PUFA on immune markers in a RCT (clinical trials.

Functional Implications of the IL-23/IL-17 Immune Axis in Schizophrenia.

The aetiology of schizophrenia seems to stem from complex interactions amongst environmental, genetic, metabolic, immunologic and oxidative components. Chronic low-grade inflammation has been persistently linked to schizophrenia, and this has primarily been based on the findings derived from Th1/Th2 cytokine balance. While the IL-23/IL-17 axis plays crucial role in the pathogenesis of several immune-mediated disorders, it has remained relatively unexplored in neuropsychiatric disorders.

The impact of HLA-G 3' UTR variants and sHLA-G on risk and clinical correlates of schizophrenia.

The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)/Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) is known to influence the pathogenesis of several complex human diseases resulting from gene-environmental interactions. Recently, it has emerged as one of the risk determinants of schizophrenia. The HLA-G protein (a non-classical MHC class I molecule), encoded by the HLA-G gene, is shown to play important role in embryonic development.

A review of vulnerability and risks for schizophrenia: Beyond the two hit hypothesis.

Schizophrenia risk has often been conceptualized using a model which requires two hits in order to generate the clinical phenotype-the first as an early priming in a genetically predisposed individual and the second a likely environmental insult. The aim of this paper was to review the literature and reformulate this binary risk-vulnerability model. We sourced the data for this narrative review from the electronic database PUBMED.

T helper 17 cells may drive neuroprogression in major depressive disorder: Proposal of an integrative model.

The exact pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) remains elusive. The monoamine theory, which hypothesizes that MDD emerges as a result of dysfunctional serotonergic, dopaminergic and noradrenergic pathways, has guided the therapy of this illness for several decades. More recently, the involvement of activated immune, oxidative and nitrosative stress pathways and of decreased levels of neurotrophic factors has provided emerging insights regarding the pathophysiology of MDD, leading to integrated theories emphasizing the complex interplay of these mechanisms that could lead to neuroprogression.

Peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a biomarker in bipolar disorder: a meta-analysis of 52 studies.

Background: The neurotrophic hypothesis postulates that mood disorders such as bipolar disorder (BD) are associated with a lower expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). However, its role in peripheral blood as a biomarker of disease activity and of stage for BD, transcending pathophysiology, is still disputed. In the last few years an increasing number of clinical studies assessing BDNF in serum and plasma have been published.

Effects of omega-3 PUFA on the vitamin E and glutathione antioxidant defense system in individuals at ultra-high risk of psychosis.

Background: Oxidative stress and impaired antioxidant defenses are reported in schizophrenia and are associated with disturbed neurodevelopment, brain structural alterations, glutamatergic imbalance, increased negative symptoms, and cognitive impairment. There is evidence that oxidative stress predates the onset of acute psychotic illness. Here, we investigate the effects of omega-3 PUFA on the vitamin E and glutathione antioxidant defense system (AODS).

Peripheral vascular endothelial growth factor as a novel depression biomarker: A meta-analysis.

Background: The neurotrophic hypothesis of major depressive disorder (MDD) postulates that the pathology of this illness incorporates a down-regulation of neurotrophin signaling. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the most studied neurotrophic mediator regarding the neurobiology of MDD. Nevertheless, emerging evidence has implicated the multi-competent angiogenic and neurogenic molecule - vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) - in hippocampal neurogenesis and depression pathophysiology.

Outcomes of nontransitioned cases in a sample at ultra-high risk for psychosis.

Objective: Two-thirds of individuals identified as at ultra-high risk for psychosis do not develop psychotic disorder over the medium term. The authors examined outcomes in a group of such patients.

Method: Participants were help-seeking individuals identified as being at ultra-high risk for psychosis 2-14 years previously.

Impaired Maturation of Cognitive Control in Adolescents Who Develop Major Depressive Disorder.

This study examined whether development of two forms of cognitive control (proactive and reactive) between early and midadolescence was associated with the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD) during the same period and if it prospectively predicted MDD onset between mid- and late adolescence. Adolescents (N = 165) completed 3 waves of assessments, at 12 (T1), 16 (T2), and 18 (T3) years of age. Diagnostic interviews were conducted at each time point to identify three groups of adolescents: "early MDD," those who developed MDD between early (T1) and mid- (T2) adolescence (n = 23); "late MDD," those who developed MDD between mid- (T2) and late (T3) adolescence (n = 20); and "controls," those who did not develop MDD (n = 122).

Treatment implications of predominant polarity and the polarity index: a comprehensive review.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a serious and recurring condition that affects approximately 2.4% of the global population. About half of BD sufferers have an illness course characterized by either a manic or a depressive predominance.

Large-scale brain network dynamics supporting adolescent cognitive control.

Adolescence is a time when the ability to engage cognitive control is linked to crucial life outcomes. Despite a historical focus on prefrontal cortex functioning, recent evidence suggests that differences between individuals may relate to interactions between distributed brain regions that collectively form a cognitive control network (CCN). Other research points to a spatially distinct and functionally antagonistic system--the default-mode network (DMN)--which typically deactivates during performance of control tasks.

Lovastatin for the adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia: a preliminary randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

While statins target many of the pathways to neuroprogression in schizophrenia, the safety and efficacy of statins for treating schizophrenia has never been examined. This is an 8-week randomized double blind controlled clinical trial examining the efficacy and safety of adjunctive lovastatin (20 mg/day) treatment or placebo for people with schizophrenia. The baseline characteristics of the two groups were not different.

Promoting resilience in adults with experience of intimate partner violence or child maltreatment: a narrative synthesis of evidence across settings.

Background: People who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) or child maltreatment (CM) are at risk of having lower resilience and adverse psychological outcomes. In keeping with the social and environmental factors that support resilience, there is a need to take a public health approach to its investigation and to identify existing initiatives in particular settings and populations that can guide its deliberate promotion.

Method: This narrative synthesis examines quantitative and qualitative studies of interventions with resilience-related outcomes in specified health and other settings.

Predominant polarity as a course specifier for bipolar disorder: a systematic review.

Background: Predominant polarity (PP) is a proposed course specifier for bipolar disorder, which was not incorporated in the DSM-5 as a descriptor for the nosology of bipolar disorder (BD). Here we perform a systematic review of original studies about PP.

Methods: A computerized search of MEDLINE/Pubmed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases from inception to October 6th, 2013 was performed with keywords, including 'bipolar disorder', 'polarity' and 'predominant polarity'.

Maternal parenting behaviors and adolescent depression: the mediating role of rumination.

Substantial evidence suggests that rumination is an important vulnerability factor for adolescent depression. Despite this, few studies have examined environmental risk factors that might lead to rumination and, subsequently, depression in adolescence. This study examined the hypothesis that an adverse family environment is a risk factor for rumination, such that the tendency to ruminate mediates the longitudinal association between a negative family environment and adolescent depressive symptoms.

Is diagnosis enough to guide interventions in mental health? Using case formulation in clinical practice.

While diagnosis has traditionally been viewed as an essential concept in medicine, particularly when selecting treatments, we suggest that the use of diagnosis alone may be limited, particularly within mental health. The concept of clinical case formulation advocates for collaboratively working with patients to identify idiosyncratic aspects of their presentation and select interventions on this basis. Identifying individualized contributing factors, and how these could influence the person's presentation, in addition to attending to personal strengths, may allow the clinician a deeper understanding of a patient, result in a more personalized treatment approach, and potentially provide a better clinical outcome.