Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Psychiatr Res 2019 Feb 8;111:169-185. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Brain Research Center, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address:

Compared to the general population, individuals diagnosed with Schizophrenia (SCZ) experience a higher frequency and an earlier onset of chronic medical disorders, resulting in a reduction in life expectancy by an average of 15-25 years. Recently, it has been hypothesized that SCZ is a syndrome of accelerated aging. Childhood adversity was also associated with the pathogenesis and course of SCZ. Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany; Center of Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The plant arctic root (Rhodiola rosea, L.) is growing in northern regions of Europe, Asia and North America. Extracts of R. Read More

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2018 Dec 28. Epub 2018 Dec 28.

Department of Psychiatry (AB, NG, SP, TJ), Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY. Electronic address:

Objective: Hoarding behavior is not limited to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) alone. With the objective of highlighting the association between hoarding behavior and common psychiatric disorders, we explored its occurrence in psychiatric inpatients and co-occurrence with Axis I diagnoses.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we enrolled adult psychiatric inpatients by simple random sampling at an urban, community-based, academic medical center. Read More

Schizophr Res 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States. Electronic address:

Recent decades have seen growing empirical research in wisdom as a complex, trait-based psychological characteristic. Wisdom has been shown to possess individual and societal benefits through associations with health and well-being, but it has not yet been evaluated in people with schizophrenia (PwS). In the current study, we administered a widely used, validated 3-dimensional wisdom scale that includes three interrelated dimensions: cognitive, reflective, and affective. Read More

Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv University, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is common, emerges early in life and tends to run a chronic, impairing course. Despite the availability of effective treatments, the duration of untreated illness (DUI) is high (up to around 10 years in adults) and is associated with considerable suffering for the individual and their families. This consensus statement represents the views of an international group of expert clinicians, including child and adult psychiatrists, psychologists and neuroscientists, working both in high and low and middle income countries, as well as those with the experience of living with OCD. Read More

Mol Psychiatry 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK.

The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the association between cannabis use and acute or long-lasting psychosis are not completely understood. While some evidence suggests altered striatal dopamine may underlie the association, direct evidence that cannabis use affects either acute or chronic striatal dopamine is inconclusive. In contrast, pre-clinical research suggests that cannabis may affect dopamine via modulation of glutamate signaling. Read More

Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2019 Feb 12. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Barcelona Bipolar Disorders Program, Hospital Clinic, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, 170 Villarroel st., Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain. Electronic address:

Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics (LAIs) are used to overcome non-compliance in psychoses, mainly schizophrenia spectrum disorders. We aimed to summarize available evidence of studies comparing the efficacy of LAIs to placebo or oral medications for Bipolar Disorder (BD) and/or Schizoaffective Disorder (SAD). We searched six databases from inception to 28-March-2018, using the strategy: long-acting antipsychotics AND (bipolar disorder OR schizoaffective disorder OR mania OR manic OR bipolar depression). Read More

Eur Psychiatry 2019 Feb 12;58:27-37. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

GGZ Drenthe Mental Health Institute, Department of Psychotic Disorders, Assen, the Netherlands; Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.

Objective: Cognitive representations of an illness have an important impact on psychological outcomes. The current systematic review explored 1) the characteristics of illness representations held by parents of children and adults with serious mental illness (SMI), and 2) the associations of these representations with both parents' and patients' psychological outcomes.

Method: PSYINFO and PUBMED were screened for eligible studies published between January 2000 and August 2018. Read More

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2018 Nov 2. Epub 2018 Nov 2.

University of Pittsburgh, PA.

Objective: To compare the prevalence and risk factors associated with Psychotic-Like-Experiences (PLE) in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (BP) and offspring of community control parents.

Method: Delusional and hallucinatory subclinical psychotic experiences were evaluated at intake and longitudinally in a cohort study of 390 offspring of BP parents and 247 offspring of control parents aged 6-18 years old. The sample was followed up every 2. Read More

Front Psychiatry 2018 31;9:753. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Psychiatric Division, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.

Schizophrenia is considered a syndrome comprised by several disease phenotypes, covering a range of underlying pathologies. One of these disease mechanisms seems to involve immune dysregulation and neuroinflammation. While the current dopamine receptor-blocking antipsychotic drugs decrease psychotic symptoms and prevent relapse in the majority of patients with schizophrenia, there is a huge need to explore new treatment options that target other pathophysiological pathways. Read More

Front Hum Neurosci 2019 31;13:15. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.

The discovery of psychoanalysis and of psychotropic medications represent two radical events in understanding and treatment of mental suffering. The growth of both disciplines together with the awareness of the impracticality of curing mental suffering only through pharmacological molecules-the collapse of the "Great Illusion"-and the experience of psychoanalysts using psychotropic medications along with depth psychotherapeutic treatment, have led to integrated therapies which are arguably more effective than either modality alone. The authors review studies on the role of pharmacotherapy with psychoanalysis, and the role of the analyst as the prescriber. Read More

Lancet Psychiatry 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Oxford Autoimmune Neurology Group, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK. Electronic address:

Background: Early immunotherapy administration improves outcomes in patients with N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-antibody encephalitis. As most patients with NMDAR-antibody encephalitis present to psychiatrists, the psychopathology of NMDAR-antibody encephalitis needs to be clearly defined to encourage accurate clinical identification and prompt treatment.

Methods: For this systematic review, we searched PubMed for all studies published in English between Jan 1, 2005, and Oct 7, 2017, to identify individually reported adult patients (≥18 years) who satisfied consensus criteria for definite NMDAR-antibody encephalitis. Read More

J Affect Disord 2019 Feb 6;249:82-89. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Division of Mood Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 600 South Wan Ping Road, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, 600 South Wan Ping Road, Shanghai, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, 600 South Wan Ping Road, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:

Background: This study aimed to explore subtypes of treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Methods: Latent class analysis (LCA) was performed on clinical and demographic data collected from 375 patients with TRD. Clinical variables were compared across subtypes. Read More

BJPsych Open 2019 Jan;5(1):e4

Consultant Neuropsychiatrist and Director, Neuropsychiatry Unit,Royal Melbourne Hospital; andMelbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre,Melbourne Health and University of Melbourne,Australia.

SummaryThere is currently debate about when a clinician should consider neuroimaging for patients with a known psychiatric illness. We consider this topic and propose a set of 'red flags' to use to aid decision-making.Declaration of interestNone. Read More

Neural Regen Res 2019 Jun;14(6):1004-1012

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.

When watching someone performs an action, mirror neurons are activated in a way that is very similar to the activation that occurs when actually performing that action. Previous single-sample case studies indicate that hand-action observation training may lead to activation and remodeling of mirror neuron systems, which include important language centers, and may improve language function in aphasia patients. In this randomized-block-design experiment, we recruited 24 aphasia patients from, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, China. Read More

Front Psychiatry 2018 25;9:758. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, Singapore.

To determine the 2-year clinical and functional outcomes of an Asian cohort at ultra-high risk (UHR) of psychosis. This was a longitudinal study with a follow-up period of 2 years on 255 help-seeking adolescents and young adults at UHR of psychosis managed by a multi-disciplinary mental health team in Singapore. Clients received case management, psychosocial, and pharmacological treatment as appropriate. Read More

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 2019 Feb 12. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.

Psychosis is linked to aberrant salience or to viewing neutral stimuli as self-relevant, suggesting a possible impairment in self-relevance processing. Psychosis is also associated with increased dopamine in the dorsal striatum, especially the anterior caudate (Kegeles et al., 2010). Read More

Acta Med Port 2019 Feb 1;32(1):70-77. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Serviço de Psiquiatria. Hospital de Santa Maria. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte. Lisboa. Departamento de Psiquiatria. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.

Schizophrenia is a disabling and severe mental illness that affects all social classes and racial and ethnic groups, spreading across every part of the world. It's more frequent in males and it usually manifests itself in late adolescence or early adulthood and its early detection by all clinicians is important so that there is a proper referral to specialized psychiatric care. This article intends to update the knowledge regarding the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of schizophrenia, with an emphasis on the warning signs for a timely referral to psychiatric evaluation. Read More

Schizophr Bull 2019 Feb 9. Epub 2019 Feb 9.

Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.

The associations among normal personality and many mental disorders are well established, but it remains unclear whether and how symptoms of schizophrenia and schizotypal traits align with the personality taxonomy. This study examined the joint factor structure of normal personality, schizotypy, and schizophrenia symptoms in people with psychotic disorders (n = 288) and never-psychotic adults (n = 257) in the Suffolk County Mental Health Project. First, we evaluated the structure of schizotypal (positive schizotypy, negative schizotypy, and mistrust) and normal traits. Read More

Clin Psychol Psychother 2019 Feb 12. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Valencia, España.

The Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ) was created to evaluate the caregiver's experience of burden and the consequences of providing care to people with psychotic disorders. To date, the IEQ has not been validated with caregivers of people diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The main objective of the study was to confirm the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the Spanish version of the IEQ in 151 caregivers of people with BPD, with an average age of 54. Read More

Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019 Feb 12. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Department of Psychiatry, Boston University/Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.

Objective: This study examined the effect of adjunctive telmisartan on body metabolism in clozapine- or olanzapine-treated patients with schizophrenia.

Method: Each subject had been on stable dose of olanzapine or clozapine for at least 1 month. In a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, subjects received either telmisartan (80 mg once per day) or placebo. Read More

Psychiatr Genet 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

The Fred A. Litwin Family Centre in Genetic Medicine, University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital.

The sodium voltage-gated channel α subunit 2 (SCN2A) gene encodes a subunit of sodium voltage-gated channels expressed primarily in the central nervous system that are responsible for action potential initiation and propagation in excitable cells. SCN2A mutations underlie a spectrum of distinct phenotypes, including seizure disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and rarer instances of episodic ataxia and schizophrenia. We report on a 38-year-old patient with adult-onset psychotic symptoms on a background of infantile-onset seizures, autistic features and episodic ataxia. Read More

Biol Psychiatry 2019 Jan 4. Epub 2019 Jan 4.

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee.

Background: Across networks, connectivity within the frontoparietal network (FPN) and cingulo-opercular network (CON) exhibits reductions earliest during healthy aging, contributing to cognitive impairment. Individuals with psychotic disorders demonstrate evidence of accelerated aging across multiple biological systems. By leveraging a large sample of patients with psychosis from early to chronic illness stages, this study sought to determine whether the CON and FPN exhibit evidence of accelerated aging in psychotic disorders, confirm associations between network efficiency and cognition, and determine whether reduced network efficiency is observed in early-stage psychosis. Read More

Dev Psychopathol 2019 Feb 11:1-9. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Psychology,University of Georgia,Athens, GA,USA.

Emotion regulation dysfunction is characteristic of psychotic disorders, but little is known about how the use of specific types of emotion regulation strategies differs across phases of psychotic illness. This information is vital for understanding factors contributing to psychosis vulnerability states and developing targeted treatments. Three studies were conducted to examine emotion regulation across phases of psychosis, which included (a) adolescent community members with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs; n = 262) and adolescents without PLEs (n = 1,226); (b) adolescents who met clinical high-risk criteria for a prodromal syndrome (n = 29) and healthy controls (n = 29); and (c) outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SZ; n = 61) and healthy controls (n = 67). Read More

Behav Brain Res 2019 Feb 7. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address:

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene variants have been reported to be implicated in the pathogenesis of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia, especially in negative symptoms. These symptoms including apathy, blunted affect, social withdrawal and motor retardation. Neuroimaging studies suggested that negative symptoms appear to be associated with impaired activities of the prefrontal cortex in particular the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Read More

Brain Stimul 2019 Jan 24. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

Department of Psychiatry, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague, Czechia.

We demonstrate the feasibility of lowering the seizure threshold using a combined approach of electroconvulsive therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation. High-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation of the supplementary motor area shortly before each electroconvulsive treatment session resulted in a reduction of the seizure threshold by half in a male patient with a severe psychotic depressive episode of bipolar affective disorder. Read More

Schizophr Res 2019 Feb 7. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Division of Psychiatry, UCL, London, United Kingdom.

Objective: The determinants of increased psychosis risk among immigrants remain unclear. Given ethnic density may be protective, we investigated whether the presence of immediate family, or "family networks", at time of immigration was associated with risk of non-affective psychosis.

Methods: We followed a cohort of migrants (n = 838,717) to Sweden, born 1968-1997, from their 14 birthday, or earliest immigration thereafter, until diagnosis of non-affective psychosis (ICD-9/ICD-10), emigration, death, or 2011. Read More

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2019 Feb 16;58(2):167-179. Epub 2018 Oct 16.

Warneford Hospital and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, University of Oxford, UK.

Objective: Network meta-analyses (NMAs) are gaining traction as the preferred method for evidence synthesis of intervention studies. This review aimed to summarize the basics of NMAs and conduct a meta-review of available NMAs on the treatment of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders by appraising their quality.

Method: PubMed (Medline), PsycInfo, Embase, Ovid Medline, and Web of Knowledge were systematically searched (last update January 9, 2018). Read More

J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 2019 Feb 8. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Dr. Danzer is a licensed psychologist at Florida State Hospital, Tallahassee, FL. Dr. Wheeler is a former Director of the Forensic Evaluation Department at Central State Hospital and currently in private practice at Bay Forensic Psychology, Petersburg, VA. Dr. Alexander is a Clinical Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Denver Forensic Institute of Research, Service, and Training, University of Denver, Denver, CO. Dr. Wasser is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.

The optimization of trial competency restoration is a topic of growing interest and controversy in the fields of forensics, psychology, criminal law, and public policy. Research has established that adult defendants who have severe psychotic disorders and cognitive impairments are more likely than defendants without these conditions to be found incompetent to stand trial and are less likely to be restored to competency thereafter. Research has also identified some of the benefits of attempting restoration in hospitals, jails, or outpatient settings for defendants with different diagnoses or levels of cognitive functioning. Read More

Psychiatry Res 2019 Jan 27;273:603-612. Epub 2019 Jan 27.

Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, 2900 Boulevard Edouard Montpetit, Montréal, QC, Canada, QC H3T 1J4; Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) - 1000, rue St-Denis, Montréal, QC, Canada, H2X 0C1; Centre de recherche du CHUM, 900, rue St-Denis, Montréal, QC, Canada, H2X 0A9. Electronic address:

In Canada, about 6,000 youth are homeless every night, many of whom suffer from addiction and psychotic disorders. To facilitate the exit out of homelessness, access to care and to improve psychosis and addiction outcomes, a new intensive outreach intervention team (EQIIP SOL) was created in Montreal (2012). It offers intensive outreach services dedicated to homeless youth suffering from first episode psychosis and addiction (HYFEPA) in addition to an early psychosis intervention service (EIS) in collaboration with the Addiction Psychiatry Unit. Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2019 Feb 4;92:283-289. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Pisa, Italy. Electronic address:

Background And Objective: Frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) is often associated with psychiatric features, although the factors predisposing to the concurrence of these conditions have yet to be determined, especially in younger children. We aimed at defining possible clinical and electroencephalography (EEG) features that may enhance the psychiatric risk in pediatric FLE.

Method: We performed a structured psychiatric assessment of 59 children with FLE, using both categorical and dimensional approaches, correlated psychopathology with epilepsy data, and cognitive development. Read More

J Pers Disord 2019 Feb 7:1-15. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute and School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Australia.

Pathological narcissism is characterized by impaired interpersonal functioning, but few studies have examined the impact of the disorder on those living in a close relationship. Participants (N = 683; comprising romantic partners [77.8%], mothers [8. Read More

Cien Saude Colet 2019 Feb;24(2):659-668

Fundação Hospitalar do Estado de Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte MG Brasil.

The scope of this article is to analyze the evolution of the profile of psychiatric admissions via the Unified Health System in psychiatric hospitals of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 2001 and 2013. Data were obtained from the Information Technology Department of the Unified Health System. The analyses of trends were conducted by regression procedures, in which the independent variable was the year, and the dependent variables were the patients (sex, age, diagnosis) and admission characteristics (city, hospital administrative status, length of internment). Read More

Health Soc Care Community 2019 Feb 5. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and North Western Mental Health, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

Increasing numbers of people living with psychosis are providing care for others, although the associated benefits and impacts are poorly understood. This innovative quantitative study investigated this life role using a population-based framework aiming to compare the mental health and functioning of those providing care to and/or receiving care from others. Care-giving provided by people with psychosis was examined using data from the second Australian prevalence survey of psychosis. Read More

Basic Clin Neurosci 2018 Nov-Dec;9(6):429-438. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

Introduction: Genetic and environmental factors are involved in the incidence of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Many reports confirm that several common genes are connected with these two psychotic disorders. Several neurotransmitters may be involved in the molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Read More

Schizophr Res 2019 Feb 1. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Peking University Sixth Hospital, Beijing, China; Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China; NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China; The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China. Electronic address:

Background: The MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB) has been widely used to evaluate cognitive deficits in schizophrenia (SCZ), however, no study has formally examined the validity of the MCCB in Chinese SCZ. This study compared Chinese SCZ patients with healthy Chinese controls on the MCCB and some additional neurocognitive tests to determine if the Chinese MCCB is an optimal battery to assess the cognitive deficits in Chinese SCZ patients.

Method: The study enrolled and examined 230 patients met DSM-IV criteria for SCZ and 656 healthy controls matched for gender, age and education. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019 Feb 3;16(3). Epub 2019 Feb 3.

Association for the Application of Neuroscientific Knowledge to Social Aims (AU-CNS), Pietrasanta, 55045 Lucca, Italy.

Mental Disorders and Heroin Use Disorder (HUD) often co-occur and constitute correlated risk factors that the authors believe are best considered from a unitary perspective. In this article we review and discuss data collected by the V.P. Read More

Schizophr Bull 2019 Feb;45(Supplement_1):S78-S87

Department of Neuroscience and Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands.

Psychotic experiences are prevalent across a wide variety of psychiatric, neurological, and medical conditions. Yet current assessments are often designed for one disorder, or are limited in their examination of phenomenological features; this has hindered transdiagnostic research. This article describes an examination of the validity and reliability of the English version of a new assessment, the Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences (QPE). Read More

Schizophr Bull 2019 Feb;45(Supplement_1):S5-S23

University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, University Center for Psychiatry, Rob Giel Research center, Groningen, the Netherlands.

Hallucinations in children and adolescents are now known to occur on a continuum from healthy to psychopathology-related phenomena. Although hallucinations in young populations are mostly transient, they can cause substantial distress. Despite hallucinations being widely investigated, research so far has had limited implications for clinical practice. Read More

Schizophr Res 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

The Mind Research Network/Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, 2001 Redondo S Dr., Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, MSC09 5030, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA; Department of Neurology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, MSC10 5620, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Patients with psychotic spectrum disorders share overlapping clinical/biological features, making it often difficult to separate them into a discrete nosology (i.e., Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM]). Read More

Schizophr Res 2019 Jan 31. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Cognitive Neuroscience Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Background: Social amotivation is a core element of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. However, it is still largely unknown which neural substrates underpin social amotivation in people with schizophrenia, though deficiencies in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system have been proposed.

Methods: We examined the association between social amotivation and substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area-seeded intrinsic connectivity in 84 people with schizophrenia using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Read More

Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

CÚRAM, Centre for Research in Medical Devices, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address:

Therapeutic conveyance into the brain is a cardinal requirement for treatment of diverse central nervous system (CNS) disorders and associated pathophysiology. Effectual shielding of the brain by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) sieves out major proportion of therapeutics with the exception of small lipophilic molecules. Various nano-delivery systems (NDS) provide an effective solution around this obstacle owing to their small size and targeting properties. Read More

Schizophr Res 2019 Jan 29. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin Middle Road, Changsha, Hunan, China.

Antidepressants are frequently prescribed in first episode schizophrenia (FES) patients for negative symptoms or for subsyndromal depressive symptoms, but therapeutic benefit has not been established, despite evidence of efficacy in later-stage schizophrenia. We conducted a 52 week, placebo-controlled add-on trial of citalopram in patients with FES who did not meet criteria for major depression to determine whether maintenance therapy with citalopram would improve outcomes by preventing or improving negative and depressive symptoms. Primary outcomes were negative symptoms measured by the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms and depressive symptoms measured by the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia; both were analyzed by an intent-to-treat, mixed effects, area-under-the-curve analysis to assess the cumulative effects of symptom improvement and symptom prevention over a one-year period. Read More

Front Aging Neurosci 2018 17;10:439. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Department of Medicine, Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.

We aimed to assess the association between in volumetric measures of hippocampal sub-regions - in healthy older controls (HC), subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD- with circulating levels of IL-4. From AddNeuroMed Project 113 HC, 101 stable MCI (sMCI), 22 converter MCI (cMCI) and 119 AD were included. Hippocampal subfield volumes were analyzed using Freesurfer 6. Read More

Maturitas 2019 Mar 5;121:13-21. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. Electronic address:

The recreational use of methamphetamine (METH, or ice) is a global burden. It pervades and plagues contemporary society; it has been estimated that there are up to 35 million users worldwide. METH is a highly addictive psychotropic compound which acts on the central nervous system, and chronic use can induce psychotic behavior. Read More

Biochem Pharmacol 2019 Jan 28;163:1-8. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Spine Disease Research Institute, Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China; Key Laboratory (Theory and Therapy of Muscles and Bones) of Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address:

Depression is highly prevalent in patients suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases. Dysregulated neuroinflammation and concomitant activated microglia play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of depression. Paricalcitol (Pari), a vitamin D2 analogue, has been demonstrated to exert anti-inflammative effects on renal and cardiovascular diseases. Read More

J Psychopharmacol 2019 Jan 31:269881118822173. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

1 Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla-Instituto Investigación Sanitaria Valdecilla (IDIVAL), Santander, Spain.

Background:: Cannabis smoking is highly prevalent among patients with psychotic disorders. Its use has been found to be related to clinical characteristics and the prognosis of the disorder. Recent evidence indicates a protective effect of cannabis on weight gain and related metabolic alterations. Read More