Dear colleagues,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the second issue of 2020.
In our first article, Vlaicu and colleagues review the current progress in the technological advances in neuromodulation and neurostimulation treatments for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). There is currently a need for new therapies. New interventions are expanding which as an evidence-based adjunctive treatments, may prove a beneficial therapeutic tool for patients with TRD.
Liaugaudaite et al. explored the associations between cognitive function and suicidal ideation in patients with anxiety and mood disorders. Half of the patients had experienced suicidal ideation which was associated with a greater bet and risk-taking behaviours on a decision-making test. Outpatients with anxiety and mood disorders can be distinguished by impulse-control and risk-taking cognitive deficits.
Acikel and associates investigated single nucleotides polymorphisms within the leptin receptor genes in patients with suicidal ideation and depression. Having a mutant allele in the rs1171276 SNP region was associated with suicidal behaviour. The authors conclude that a leptin receptor polymorphism may be a risk factor for adolescent suicide by increasing impulsive behaviour.
Akca and colleagues assessed the association between orexin-A and cortisol levels in adolescents with anxiety disorders. Higher orexin-A levels were found in the anxiety group and was positively correlated to depression and negatively with cortisol levels. Higher orexin-A levels in adolescents with anxiety should also consider depressive symptoms.
Dutt et al. assessed the effect on cardiac autonomic tone via heart rate variability, brain-derived neurotrophic factor plasma levels in generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) patients with paroxetine-controlled release CR intervention. GAD patients had lower heart rate variability, suggesting cardiac autonomic dysfunction, and lower BDNF levels, indicator of stress, at baseline compared to controls which improved with paroxetine CR treatment.
Bilgic and colleagues explored the association between serum neurotrophin levels and suicidality in adolescents with major depressive disorder. Serum BDNF levels were higher in depressed adolescents compared to controls. No association was found between serum neurotrophin levels an severity of depression or suicidal ideation. To conclude, elevate BDNF levels may be related to MDD in adolescents while the findings do not support a role for neurotrophins in suicidal behaviour.
Obeid et al. investigated factors associated with anxiety in a sample of the Lebanese population. Analysis revealed three factors, one related to people in distress, other to their wellbeing and the third one represented people in between. Higher age was associated with higher anxiety and people in cluster two or three were associated with lower anxiety compared to cluster one. The authors conclude that these findings may aid structural models of classifications and prediction of anxiety disorders.
Goldstone and associates explored patterns of substance use among patients admitted to an emergency psychiatric unit for non-fatal suicidal behaviour. The rates of substance use was high in the admitted group with 60% prevalence of lifetime alcohol use disorder, 12% with tobacco use disorder and 44% with illicit substance use disorder. In conclusion, patients admitted to an emergency psychiatric unit for suicidal behaviour have increased needs for the treatment of alcohol use disorder compared to patients admitted for another psychiatric emergency.
Brakoulias and colleagues assessed the rates of co-occurring putative behavioural addictions in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Behavioural addictions should be better assessed for patients with OCD. The absence of diagnostic scales specifically developed for behavioural addictions and overlapping obsessive-compulsive behaviours such as compulsive information checking on the internet may explain the high rate of problematic internet use. The authors encourage better efforts to be made to assess behavioural addictions.
Asgarian et al. assessed the validity and reliability of the Persian version of brief self-control scale (BSCS) in Iranian motorcyclists. The authors found that the scale has good internal consistency and acceptable validity and reliability in self-control in the Persian language population.
Purrezaian and associates aimed to develop a new integrated psychotherapy method, psycho-art-drama (PAD), for hospitalised children with cancer and testing its effectiveness. The method was significantly effective in reducing bio-psycho-social expressions of incompatibility in the hospital in the children.
Dahdouh and colleagues evaluated colour discrimination in patients with schizophrenia and whether it is correlated with severity of symptoms. More severe colourblindness was found in schizophrenia patients and was correlated to the severity of symptoms in a subgroup of patients. Colour vision defect is common in schizophrenia and may be more severe when related to psychotic symptoms.
Magliocco et al. examined possible modifications of cognitive performance among schizophrenia patients treated with long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) of second generation antipsychotics (SGA). Patients showed significant improvement in neurocognitive function after 12 months of treatment with SGA-LAI. Switching to LAI formulation appears to produce social and cognitive improvements in patients who already benefitted from oral SGA therapy.
In a Commentary, Kumar discusses the challenges associated with non-pharmacological interventions in the management of psychotic symptoms. Factors such as the patients’ cognitive impairment and poor insight may prove challenging for the therapist in conducting these interventions. Further issues and steps that a therapist can take to deal with them is also reviewed.
Yours sincerely,
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.