Acta Neuropsychiatrica最新文献

There is a substantial use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among both the general population and psychiatric patients, with only a minority of these users disclosing this information to their healthcare providers, including physicians and psychiatrists. This widespread use of CAM can impact positively or negatively on the clinical outcomes of psychiatric patients, and it is often done along with conventional medicines. Among CAM, phytotherapy has a major clinical relevance due to the introduction of potential adverse effects and drug interactions. Thus, the psychiatrist must learn about phytotherapy and stay up-to-date with solid scientific knowledge about phytotherapeutics/herbal medicines to ensure optimal outcomes for their patients. Furthermore, questions about herbal medicines should be routinely asked to psychiatric patients. Finally, scientifically sound research must be conducted on this subject.

Objective: Many combat veterans exhibit suicidal ideation and behaviour, but the relationships among experiences occurring during combat deployment and suicidality are still not fully understood. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that harassment during a combat deployment is associated with post-deployment suicidality and testosterone function.

Methods: Male combat veterans who made post-deployment suicide attempts and demographically matched veterans without a history of suicide attempts were enrolled in the study. Demographic and clinical parameters of study participants were assessed and recorded. Study participants were interviewed by a trained clinician using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory (DRRI) – Relationships within unit scale, the Scale for Suicidal Ideation (SSI), and the Brown–Goodwin Aggression Scale. Free testosterone levels were assessed in morning blood samples.

Results: DRRI harassment scores were higher and free testosterone levels were lower among suicide attempters in comparison with non-attempters. In the whole sample, DRRI harassment scores positively correlated with SSI scores and negatively correlated with free testosterone levels. Free testosterone levels negatively correlated with SSI scores. Aggression scale scores positively correlated with DRRI harassment scores among non-attempters but not among attempters.

Conclusion: Our observations that harassment scores are associated with suicidality and testosterone levels, and suicidality is associated with testosterone levels may indicate that there is a link between deployment harassment, testosterone function and suicidality.

Bradykinin (BK), a well-studied mediator of physiological and pathological processes in the peripheral system, has garnered less attention regarding its function in the central nervous system, particularly in behavioural regulation. This review delves into the historical progression of research focused on the behavioural effects of BK and other drugs that act via similar mechanisms to provide new insights into the pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of psychiatric disorders. Evidence from experiments with animal models indicates that BK modulates defensive reactions associated with panic symptoms and the response to acute stressors. The mechanisms are not entirely understood but point to complex interactions with other neurotransmitter systems, such as opioids, and intracellular signalling cascades. By addressing the existing research gaps in this field, we present new proposals for future research endeavours to foster a new era of investigation regarding BK's role in emotional regulation. Implications for psychiatry, chiefly for panic and depressive disorders are also discussed.

Objectives: Despite mounting evidence demonstrates circulating endothelial progenitor cells (cEPCs) quantitative changes in depression, no study has investigated cEPC functions in major depressive disorder (MDD). We investigated the role of cEPC adhesive and apoptotic functions in MDD.

Methods: We recruited 68 patients with MDD and 56 healthy controls (HCs). The depression symptoms, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms, subjective cognitive dysfunction, quality of life, and functional disability were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS), Perceived Deficits Questionnaire-Depression, 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), and Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), respectively. Working memory and executive function were assessed using a 2-back task and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Inflammatory marker (soluble interleukin-6 receptor, C-reactive protein, and tumor necrosis factor-α receptor-1), cEPC adhesive, and apoptotic levels were measured using in vitro assays.

Results: The MDD patients showed significantly lower cEPC adhesive levels than the HCs, and this difference in adhesive function remained statistically significant even after adjusting for inflammatory marker levels. The cEPC adhesion levels were in inverse correlations with commission and omission errors in 2-back task, the percent perseverative response and percent perseverative errors in WCST, and the DSSS and SDS scores, but in positive correlations with SF-12 physical and mental component scores. cEPC apoptotic levels did not differ significantly between the groups.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that cEPC adhesive function is diminished in MDD and impacts various aspects of cognitive and psychosocial functions associated with the disorder.

Objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been associated with autobiographical overgenerality (i.e. a tendency of patients to retrieve general rather than specific personal memories). AD has also been associated with hallucinations. We investigated the relationship between autobiographical overgenerality and hallucinations in AD.

Methods: We invited 28 patients with mild AD to retrieve autobiographical memories, and we also evaluated the occurrence of hallucinations in these patients.

Results: Analysis demonstrated significant correlations between hallucinations and autobiographical overgenerality in the patients.

Conclusion: AD patients who are distressed by hallucinations may demonstrate autobiographical overgenerality as a strategy to avoid retrieving distressing information that may be related with hallucinations. However, hallucinations as observed in our study can be attributed to other factors such as the general cognitive decline in AD.

Objective: Resilience has been recently considered one of the possible mechanisms for the association between morningness-eveningness and depression. Meanwhile, anxiety is closely associated with mood disorder, but its association with morningness-eveningness is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the mediating effects of resilience and anxiety on morningness-eveningness and depression as the possible mechanisms.

Methods: This study included patient group and nonpatient group. Patient group consists of 743 patients with mood disorders [Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), 233; Bipolar Disorder I (BDI), 113; Bipolar Disorder II (BDII), 397] whereas nonpatient group consists of 818 individuals without mood disorder. The Composite Scale of Morningness, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Beck Anxiety Inventory were used to evaluate morningness-eveningness, resilience, anxiety, and depression, respectively.

Results: Our model provided a good fit for the data. The association between morningness-eveningness and depression symptoms was partially serially mediated by resilience and anxiety in both the patient and nonpatient groups. The patient group exhibited significantly stronger morningness-eveningness toward resilience and anxiety than the nonpatient group. In the indirect effect of morningness-eveningness on depression, group differences exist only through each mediation of resilience and anxiety, not through serial mediation.

Conclusion: Our results expand on the mechanism underlying the association between morningness-eveningness and depression. They highlight the importance of morningness-eveningness modification to increase resilience and the need to consider anxiety jointly in this process.