Dear colleagues,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the first issue of 2015.
The first article is a summary of the WFSBP guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in primary care. Ihl and the members of the WFSBP task force on dementia compiled these evidence-based guidelines, which serve as a short treatment guidance with up-to-date treatment options and recommendations for primary care.
Hernandez-Otero et al. compared the stress levels in parents of children or adolescents with or without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during the back-to-school period. As parents in the ADHD group showed higher stress levels than parents in the non- ADHD group, the authors concluded that ADHD has a significant impact on parental stress.
Yilmaz and colleagues assessed the effects of ADHD on adolescents with internet addiction (IA). Their results suggest that attention deficit and playing online games are important determinants of IA while hyperactivity did not predict IA.
Brand et al. sought to explore the associations between romantic love (RL), symptoms of depression, anxiety, hypomania, and sleep in young adults. It emerged that RL was perceived as a critical life event as experiencing RL was associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, hypomania, and poor sleep.
Akkaya-Kalayci and colleagues investigated the impact of internal migration and culture on suicide attempts in children and adolescents living in Istanbul. While the degree of cultural differences between the area of origin and the new environment could be of vital importance with regard to integration, internal migration could be considered as a serious risk factor for suicidal behavior.
Zhang et al. examined the prevalence and severity of neurological soft signs in adolescents with borderline personality (BP) traits. Owing to the higher frequency of neurological soft signs the authors concluded that adolescents with BP traits may have a nonfocal abnormality of the central nervous system.
Alpak and colleagues evaluated the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in relation to socioeconomic variables among Syrian refugees. The findings suggest that PTSD is an important mental health issue in refugee camps especially among female refugees who experienced two or more traumatic events and had a family history of psychiatric disorder.
Sandler et al. compared the occurrence of PTSD and depressive symptoms among Jewish and Arab Israeli families after exposure to missile attacks. While parents’ depression and mood regulation were found to be related to their children's PTSD and depressive response, Arab children had higher levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms than Jewish children. The authors concluded that ethnicity may be a significant factor in children's responses to war-related events.
Cakir and colleagues assessed the quality of life in PTSD patients with burn injuries who underwent physical therapy. It emerged that burn injuries and PTSD decreased the quality of life and increased the risk of chronicity of existing problems.
Eryilmaz et al. investigated the psychiatrists’ use of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in daily practice. While a vast majority of psychiatrists used TDM, its use was limited to mood stabilizers. In order to increase TDM and its use for psychotropics other than mood stabilizers, procedures need to be changed to facilitate access to services for TDM.
Mergui and colleagues sought to explore the prevalence and characteristics of cluster B personality disorder (PD) in a consultation-liaison practice. It emerged that cluster B PD was very frequent in consultation-liaison practice, especially in the emergency room. The findings suggest that evidence-based recommendations are needed in this setting to manage these patients.
Hancock and Larner provide a short report on the validity of the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD). The authors concluded that the CSDD is a useful and valid tool for diagnosing depression in patients with or without dementia.
Arbune et al. examined the correlation between neuroticism and working memory in healthy females. It emerged that neuroticism was positively associated with verbal and general memory as well as delayed recall.
Yours sincerely,
Siegfried Kasper, MD
Chief Editor