Psychiatric

Genome-wide association studies have revealed >270 loci associated with schizophrenia risk, yet these genetic factors do not seem to be sufficient to fully explain the molecular determinants behind this psychiatric condition. Epigenetic marks such as post-translational histone modifications remain largely plastic during development and adulthood, allowing a dynamic impact of environmental factors, including antipsychotic medications, on access to genes and regulatory elements. However, few studies so far have profiled cell-specific genome-wide histone modifications in postmortem brain samples from schizophrenia subjects, or the effect of antipsychotic treatment on such epigenetic marks...

OBJECTIVE: To discuss current evidence on tapering antipsychotic drugs in view of changing vistas of psychosis, suggesting a provisional framework for safely tapering antipsychotic drugs to an optimal low dose, in collaboration with patients and their relatives, to promote functional recovery while preventing relapse. METHODS: Paradigm shifts during recent years regarding the nature of psychotic disorders and the role of the dopamine system are discussed, including the positive effects of dopamine blockade in acute psychosis and the limitations and drawbacks of dopamine blockade regarding negative and cognitive symptoms after remission of positive symptoms...

BACKGROUND: After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, people started to travel again. Each year, thousands of Poles travel internationally, and many travel to tropical or subtropical destinations in Asia, Africa or South America. The aim of this article was to describe the characteristics of Polish travellers based on the information from a retrospective 12-month review of the medical records of Polish patients seeking pre-travel advice at the largest diagnostic and treatment travel medicine centre in Poland in 2023...

AIMS AND METHOD: We aimed to assess whether viewing expert witness evidence regarding the mental health of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in the 2022 court case in the USA would affect viewers' attitudes towards the mental health of the two protagonists and towards mental illness in general. After viewing excerpts of the cross-examination evidence, 38 trial-naive undergraduate students completed the Prejudice towards People with a Mental Illness (PPMI) scale. RESULTS: Following viewing, participants held more stigmatising views of the protagonists than they held about mental disorders in general...

This study explored the personal perspectives of youth correctional officers within secure and open custody facilities in Ontario. A multi-methods design allowed for quantitative data collection to assess demographics and scores on a relationship scale and qualitative open-ended survey responses to explore areas of interest regarding officer work. Despite a small sample size ( N  = 26), results indicated trends in officers' views of their work and relationships with youth. Youth officers report various job duties ranging from supervision/security to cleaning and preparing meals...

HIV-infection of microglia and macrophages (MMs) induces neuronal injury and chronic release of inflammatory stimuli through direct and indirect molecular pathways. A large percentage of people with HIV-associated neurologic and psychiatric co-morbidities have high levels of circulating inflammatory molecules. Microglia, given their susceptibility to HIV infection and long-lived nature, are reservoirs for persistent infection. MMs and neurons possess the molecular machinery to detect pathogen nucleic acids and proteins to activate innate immune signals...

BACKGROUND: Migraine is the second most common prevalent disorder worldwide and is a top cause of disability with a substantial economic burden. Many preventive migraine medications have notable side effects that affect different body organs. METHOD: We systematically searched for published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) using terms for migraine/headache and preventive medications. Using eligibility criteria, two reviewers independently assessed the articles...

OBJECTIVES: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep problems are highly prevalent among the general population. Both them are associated with a variety of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety, which is highlighting an underexplored connection between them. This meta-analysis aims to explore the association between sleep problems and GERD. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science, using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and keywords, covering articles from the inception of the databases until August 2023...

Mental health disorders are among the top leading causes of disease burden worldwide and many patients have high levels of treatment resistance. Even though medications offer improvement to some patients, antidepressants are only effective in about half of those treated, and schizophrenia is treatment-refractory in about one-third of patients. One way to combat this disparity is to improve medication development and discovery for psychiatric disorders through evidence-based research. Recently, most psychiatric medications approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are for increased tolerability or extended release...

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), which was first described in 1996, is a neurologic condition characterized by a combination of clinical and neuroimaging findings. PRES may arise in the context of preeclampsia, eclampsia, renal failure, and sepsis, among other conditions. Neuropsychiatric symptoms of PRES include altered mental status, agitation, and in some cases psychosis. PRES occurring in the postpartum period is understudied, especially with regard to its psychiatric manifestations...

Psychiatric polypharmacy involves the use of two or more psychotropic medications to manage a mental and emotional condition. The prevalence of psychotropic polypharmacy has been increasing since the 1990s and has been attributed to the rise in multiple psychiatric conditions presenting in one patient. However, as the prevalence of polypharmacy increases to maximize therapeutic advantages, so does the adverse effect profile of those drugs used in combination, leading to very life-threatening effects such as agranulocytosis...

BACKGROUND: The global incidence of acute events in psychiatric patients is intensifying, and models to successfully predict acute events have attracted much attention. OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence factors of acute incident severe mental disorders (SMDs) and the application of Rstudio statistical software, and build and verify a nomogram prediction model. METHODS: SMDs were taken as research objects. The questionnaire survey method was adopted to collect data...

Family Fellowship Society for Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services is an initiative of families of persons with mental illness and with psychiatric disabilities. It has been advocating self-help movement on the part of the families who have been on the lookout for alternative care services. This venture has been technically supported by the mental health professionals at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore. It is a collaborative effort of families and professionals to address the needs that have been felt by the consumers and the professionals...

Transcranial ultrasonic neuromodulation is a rapidly burgeoning field where low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS), with exquisite spatial resolution and deep tissue penetration, is used to non-invasively activate or suppress neural activity in specific brain regions. Over the past decade, there has been a rapid increase of tFUS neuromodulation studies in healthy humans and subjects with central nervous system (CNS) disease conditions, including a recent surge of clinical investigations in patients...

BACKGROUND: Alterations in the experience of controlling oneself and one's environment are of high relevance to understanding the psychopathology of depression. This study investigated the relationship between Temporal Binding for action-event sequences, sense of agency, self-efficacy and symptom severity in Major Depressive Disorder. METHOD: We employed the Sense of Agency Scale (SoAS) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) to assess explicit Sense of Agency and self-efficacy in a group of 42 persons diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) [20 identifying as female, 19 as male; mean age 37...

PURPOSE: In clinical work, it has been found that the prevalence of hyperuricemia (HUA) is significantly higher in younger patients with psychiatric disorders, but there are few studies in this area. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence of HUA and the relationship between the HUA and age in hospitalized patients with psychiatric disorders in the real world, and to provide a theoretical basis for clinical staff to pay attention to the metabolic indicators of younger patients and for future related studies...

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Adaptive decision-making requires consideration of objective risks and rewards associated with each option, as well as subjective preference for risky/safe alternatives. Inaccurate risk/reward estimations can engender excessive risk-taking, a central trait in many psychiatric disorders. The lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) has been linked to many disorders associated with excessively risky behavior and is ideally situated to mediate risky decision-making. Here, we used single-unit electrophysiology to measure neuronal activity from lOFC of freely moving rats performing in a punishment-based risky decision-making task...

BACKGROUND: Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. Comorbid depression is prevalent among adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) and poses numerous challenges to HIV care engagement and retainment. We present a pilot trial designed to investigate feasibility, fidelity, and acceptability of an a dapted and an e nhanced F riendship B ench intervention (henceforth: AFB and EFB) in reducing depression and improving engagement in HIV care among ALWH in Malawi...

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ' ecstasy' ) is re-emerging in clinical settings as a candidate for the treatment of specific psychiatric disorders (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder) in combination with psychotherapy. MDMA is a psychoactive drug, typically regarded as an empathogen or entactogen, which leads to transporter-mediated monoamine release. Despite its therapeutic potential, MDMA can induce dose-, individual-, and context-dependent untoward effects outside safe settings. In this study, we investigated whether three new methylenedioxy bioisosteres of MDMA improve its off-target profile...