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Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 May 11:1-25. Epub 2022 May 11.

College of Medicine, Taif University, Al-Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Long haulers have been recently reported after contracting coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In the present study, we aimed to screen for the neuropsychiatric signs detected <1 to >6 months after infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and to determine whether vaccination has an effect on them.

Methods: An online survey was conducted among participants who had been diagnosed with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Apr 25:1-24. Epub 2022 Apr 25.

Division of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Objective: Behavioural screening tools may be used to identify at-risk children in resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa. The ASEBA forms (Child Behaviour Checklist and Youth Self-Report) are frequently translated and adapted for use in sub-Saharan African populations, but little is known about their measurement properties in these contexts.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of all published journal articles that used the ASEBA forms with sub-Saharan African samples. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Apr 4:1-19. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK.

Objective: Social distancing to limit COVID-19 transmission has led to extensive lifestyle changes, including for people with dementia (PWD). The aim of this study, therefore, was to assess the impact of lockdown on the mental health of PWD and their carers.

Methods: Forty-five carers of PWD completed a telephone interview during the baseline assessment of the SOLITUDE study to gather information on life conditions and changes in symptoms of PWD during lockdown. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Mar 31:1-47. Epub 2022 Mar 31.

Pyhrn-Eisenwurzen Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Steyr, Austria.

Objective: Since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic many case reports and case series dealt with new onset psychotic disorders in patients either infected with SARS-CoV-2 or thematically linked to the pandemic, but without an infection. Our aim was to provide a comprehensive collection of these reports to illustrate the nature of these psychoses.

Methods: We conducted a literature search in Medline, EMBASE, PSYCHINFO, using search terms regarding first episode psychotic disorders in the context of corona. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Mar 28:1-24. Epub 2022 Mar 28.

Key Laboratory of Trace Elements and Endemic Diseases of National Health and Family Planning Commission, School of Public Health, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

Objectives: The role of neurological proteins in the development of bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SCZ) remains elusive now. The current study aims to explore the potential genetic correlations of plasma neurological proteins with BD and SCZ.

Methods: By using the latest genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data of BD and SCZ (including 41,917 BD cases, 11,260 SCZ cases and 396,091 controls) derived from the Psychiatric GWAS Consortium website (PGC) and a recently released GWAS of neurological proteins (including 750 individuals), we performed a linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) analysis to detect the potential genetic correlations between the two common psychiatric disorders and each of the 92 neurological proteins. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Mar 7:1-23. Epub 2022 Mar 7.

Center for Neuropsychiatric Depression Research (CNDR), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark.

Objective: S100B is a glial cell protein with bimodal function. In low concentrations, it exerts neurotrophic effects, but higher levels reflect neuronal distress. Recent research suggests that this molecule may be a biomarker of response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Feb 14:1-10. Epub 2022 Feb 14.

Department of Psychiatry, Division of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

Background: Several studies have reported that the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) influenced cognitive function in the elderly. However, the effect of COVID-19-related fear on brain atrophy has not been evaluated. In this study, we evaluated the relation between brain atrophy and the effect of COVID-19-related fear by analysing changes in brain volume over time using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Feb 11:1-18. Epub 2022 Feb 11.

Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.

Long COVID refers to the lingering symptoms which persist or appear after the acute illness. The dominant long COVID symptoms in the two years since the pandemic began (2020-2021) have been depression, anxiety, fatigue, concentration and cognitive impairments with few reports of psychosis. Whether other symptoms will appear later on is not yet known. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Feb 3:1-39. Epub 2022 Feb 3.

Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.

Behavioral animal experimentation is an inseparable part of research trying to understand the biological underpinnings of human behavior, diseases and disorders. Working with animals comes with great responsibility to achieve reliable and reproducible results of highest scientific quality. In a simple step-by-step fashion, we highlight some common issues that may occur along the path to conducting behavioral animal experimentations and posit some solutions and grounds to ensure the excellence of work done in this research area while aspiring to improve conditions for laboratory animals. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Feb 3:1-9. Epub 2022 Feb 3.

School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Objective: This study was aimed at evaluating the efficacy of glucosamine and potential mechanisms of actions in a neuropathic pain model in rats.

Methods: Glucosamine (500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg) was administered via gavage route, 1 day before the chronic constriction injury (CCI) of sciatic nerve and daily for 14 days (prophylactic regimen), or from days 5 to 14 post-injury (therapeutic regimen), as the indicators of neuropathic pain, mechanical allodynia, cold allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia were assessed on days 0, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 after ligation. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) gene expressions were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Jan 19:1-5. Epub 2022 Jan 19.

Department of Affective Disorders, Aarhus University Hospital - Psychiatry, Aarhus, Denmark.

The COVID-19 pandemic is believed to have a major negative impact on global mental health due to the viral disease itself as well as the associated lockdowns, social distancing, isolation, fear, and increased uncertainty. Individuals with preexisting mental illness are likely to be particularly vulnerable to these conditions and may develop outright 'COVID-19-related psychopathology'. Here, we trained a machine learning model on structured and natural text data from electronic health records to identify COVID-19 pandemic-related psychopathology among patients receiving care in the Psychiatric Services of the Central Denmark Region. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Jan 17:1-8. Epub 2022 Jan 17.

Department of Neuroscience, Aziz Sancar Institute of Experimental Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Objective: Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder long hypothesised to be an autoimmune disease. Complement-mediated immune mechanisms have not been investigated in detail in narcolepsy. Our aim was to establish the significance of classical pathway activation in narcolepsy. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Jan 12:1-4. Epub 2022 Jan 12.

Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Apr 27;34(2):55-68. Epub 2021 Dec 27.

Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Institute of Brain Medicine, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Many patients under treatment for mood disorders, in particular patients with bipolar mood disorders, experience episodes of mood switching from one state to another. Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain the mechanism of mood switching, spontaneously or induced by drug treatment. Animal models have also been used to test the role of psychotropic drugs in the switching of mood states. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2021 Dec 23:1-7. Epub 2021 Dec 23.

Department of Psychiatry, Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.

The Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) is a novel questionnaire to assess anhedonia of recent validation. In this work, we aim to study the equivalence between the traditional paper-and-pencil and the digital format of DARS. Sixty-nine patients filled the DARS in a paper-based and digital versions. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2021 Dec 23:1-8. Epub 2021 Dec 23.

IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Vic, Australia.

This study aimed to explore effects of adjunctive minocycline treatment on inflammatory and neurogenesis markers in major depressive disorder (MDD). Serum samples were collected from a randomised, placebo-controlled 12-week clinical trial of minocycline (200 mg/day, added to treatment as usual) for adults (n = 71) experiencing MDD to determine changes in interleukin-6 (IL-6), lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). General Estimate Equation modelling explored moderation effects of baseline markers and exploratory analyses investigated associations between markers and clinical outcomes. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Apr 20;34(2):99-105. Epub 2021 Dec 20.

Psychiatry, Bakirkoy Prof. Dr. Mazhar Osman Training and Research Hospital for Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey.

Objectives: It has been postulated that neurotrophin dysregulation leads to disorganisation in neuronal networks, which results in schizophrenia. The current study sets out to evaluate if the finding of lower brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in schizophrenia patients could be confirmed in an independent cohort and to investigate if the BDNF levels can be altered with different treatment modalities such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and/or antipsychotic pharmacotherapy (PT).

Methods: A total of 54 male patients with schizophrenia and 35 healthy controls were included in the study. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2021 Dec 20:1-10. Epub 2021 Dec 20.

Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Background: Neuroinflammation and brain structural abnormalities are found in bipolar disorder (BD). Elevated levels of cytokines and chemokines have been detected in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with BD. This study investigated the association between peripheral inflammatory markers and brain subregion volumes in BD patients. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2021 Dec 14:1-9. Epub 2021 Dec 14.

AFYCAV Research Group, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain.

A total of 80% of fibromyalgia (FM) population have reported poor sleep. In this regard, the pineal gland, involved in circadian rhythm processes as a key neuroendocrine organ which mainly synthesises and secretes melatonin, has never been studied before in this population. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the parenchyma pineal volume and its relation to sleep hours, sleep quality index and melatonin level at night. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2021 Dec 10:1-16. Epub 2021 Dec 10.

Department of Health Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate mental health and conspiracy theory beliefs concerning COVID-19 among health care professionals (HCPs).

Material And Methods: During lockdown, an online questionnaire gathered data from 507 HCPs (432 females aged 33.86 ± 8. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Apr 24;34(2):93-98. Epub 2021 Nov 24.

Research Clinic for Functional Disorders and Psychosomatics, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on general health, mental well-being, and experiences of control compared to pre-pandemic populations. Our hypotheses were that we would observe a significantly lower level of psychological well-being and general health in the 2020 sample compared to the pre-pandemic samples, and that we would observe younger age groups to be the most affected.

Method: Two representative Danish populations (2016, n = 1656) and (2017, n = 3366) were compared to a representative Danish population (2020, n = 1538) sampled during the first lockdown in May 2020. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Feb 20;34(1):37-46. Epub 2021 Oct 20.

Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Pharmacology, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.

Objective: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are the focus of interest in the management of schizophrenia. We aimed to investigate the effects of acute galangin administration, a flavonoid compound with acetylcholinesterase inhibiting activity, on schizophrenia-associated cognitive deficits in rats and schizophrenia models in mice.

Methods: Apomorphine-induced prepulse inhibition (PPI) disruption for cognitive functions, nicotinic, muscarinic, and serotonergic mechanism involvement, and brain acetylcholine levels were investigated in Wistar rats. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Apr 20;34(2):69-76. Epub 2021 Oct 20.

Department of Clinical Medicine, Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Aarhus C., Denmark.

Background: The treatment of mania in bipolar disorders needs to be more efficient, as the manic condition creates severe problems for the patient when it comes to work, finances, relationships and health. This proof-of-concept study examines to what extent casein glycomacropeptide (CGMP) may reduce the precursors of dopamine, phenylalanine and tyrosine, in plasma, and therefore be a potential new intervention to treat acute manic episodes.

Method: The study was designed as a double-blind randomised dose-response study of CGMP (with added leucine and tryptophan) in 15 healthy men, receiving 3 different doses of CGMP with an interval of at least 14 days. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Apr 20;34(2):86-92. Epub 2021 Oct 20.

Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Psychiatry Research (CPF), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Since the NAD+-dependent histone deacetylases sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) and sirtuin-2 (SIRT2) are critically involved in epigenetics, endocrinology and immunology and affect the longevity in model organisms, we investigated their expression in brains of 3-month-old and 14-15 months old rat model of depression Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) and control Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats. In view of the dysregulated NPY system in depression, we also studied NPY in young and old FSL to explore the temporal trajectory of depressive-like-ageing interaction. Sirt1, Sirt2 and Npy mRNA were determined using qRT-PCR in prefrontal cortex (PFC) from young and old FSL and FRL, and in hippocampi from young FSL and FRL. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Feb 4;34(1):30-36. Epub 2021 Oct 4.

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

Identification of a new axis of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)/angiotensin (1-7)/Mas receptor, in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), has opened a new insight regarding the role of RAS and angiotensin in higher brain functions. ACE2 catabolizes angiotensin II and produces angiotensin (1-7), an agonist of Mas receptor. Mice lacking the Mas receptor (angiotensin 1-7 receptor) exhibit anxiety-like behaviours. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Feb 15;34(1):24-29. Epub 2021 Sep 15.

Department of Physiology, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the necessary social isolation and distancing measures - that were adopted to prevent spreading the virus, including the suspension of university classes - negatively impacted the mental health of young adults. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether returning to online classes, even not presential, during the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, affected the mental health of university students.

Methods: Forty students (10 men and 30 women) (age, 22. Read More

Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022 Feb 10;34(1):15-23. Epub 2021 Sep 10.

Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Center Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb, Croatia.

Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is closely related to obesity, inflammation, and insulin resistance, all together being etiologically linked to metabolic syndrome (MetS) development. The depressive disorder has a neuroendocrinological component, co-influencing the MetS, while MetS is characterised by increased cytokine levels, which are known to cause a depressed mood. This study aimed to establish biological subtypes of the depressive disorder based on researched clinical, laboratory, and anthropometric variables. Read More