bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Religious Moral Beliefs and Depressiveness Amongst War Veterans in Bosnia and Herzegovina After war 1992-95
Authors: Hasanović M. , Pajević I. 
Published: March 2009

Aim:To determine association of religious moral beliefs and depressiveness of war veterans twelve years after Bosnia-Herzegovina war 1992-95, finished.Methods:The sample consists of 99 male war veterans aged 41.7±6.8 years, who were inpatients (n=50) in Department of Psychiatry in Tuzla with clinically presented depression and those who were observed as healthy regarding results of previous psychological testing (n=49). Groups were equalized by educational level (secondary school), behavioral characteristics, family structure, and level of exposure to war trauma. Subjects were assessed with regard to the level of belief in some basic ethical principles that arise from religious moral values. The score of religious moral belief index was used to compare two groups of subjects. For sample selection the measuring instruments were used to assess the religious, moral and social profile of subject. We applied the Bosnia-Herzegovina versions of Hopkins Symptom Checklist - 25 (HSCL-25) for measuring of depression symptoms and Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) for measuring of trauma experiences.Results:The score of the religious moral belief index was significantly negatively correlated to the score of depressiveness (Pearson's r=-0.289, P=0.004).Conclusions:A higher index of religious moral beliefs amongst war veterans was associated with lower level of depressiveness. In this way, it helps protection, development and socialization of the war veterans after surviving severe war traumatization, leading to the mental health stability.
Perinatal Depression and Use of Health Services in British Women of Pakistani Origin
Authors: Mukherjee I. , Husain M. , Khan S. , Husain N. 
Published: March 2009

Background:Perinatal depression (PND) has adverse effects on the well being of the mother-infant dyad. Women with PND often show different patterns of help seeking behaviour.Objective:We aimed to examine the association between PND and the reporting of health events and healthcare use in a cohort of British women of Pakistani origin.Method:Participants were recruited from antenatal clinics in the North West of England and followed up 6 months postnatal. Sixty-seven women diagnosed with depression using the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) were compared with 156 non depressed controls in terms of reporting of health events elicited using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS). Health events included any condition that involved attending primary or secondary care.Results:Depressed mothers were 1.5 times more likely to report a health event within the perinatal period (p=0.005) and 1.8 times more likely to report a health event (0.031) outside the perinatal period. Depressed mothers were more likely to attend secondary care services for their children (p=0.001) but there was no significant difference in terms of attendance at primary care.Conclusion:Depressed mothers were more likely to report personal health events and more likely to access secondary care rather than primary care services for health events affecting their children. This highlights the hidden costs of this condition and the need for adequate diagnosis and management of this treatable but under recognised illness.
Evaluation of Functionality in Families with Depressed Patient by Using the FFS - Poster Prezentation
Authors: Maria-Silvia T. 
Published: March 2009

Depression is a disorder of representation and regulation of mood and emotion; it affects 5% of world population, in a year. Unlike normal loss and sadness feelings, major depression is persistant and it interferes significantly with thoughts, behaviour, emotions, activity and health of the individual. If untreated, depression can lead to suicide. Using family therapy in treating psychiatric patients is a must due to the significance that a family holds in individual and society life.Objective:Assesing family functionality in families with a member diagnosed according to DSM IV TR with depressive disorder; depression intensity was assesed with HDRS.Methods:A sample of 3o families (71 members); FFS assesses the most important and consistent five functioning areas: positive affect, comunication, conflicts, worries and rituals.Results:Values obtained in each of the 40 questions of the scale can give information on variables affecting the increase or decrease in subscales values. Positive affect 35,07, communication 37, conflicts 15,11, worries 40,77, rituals 45,03. The reuslts were compared to those obtained by assessin normal families from a control group of 132 families (323 members).Conclusions:Differences were noticed. Values obtained in our study represent the standard of functioning of families with a depressed member.
Psychopathology Regularities of Formation of Different Forms of Dysthymia
Authors: Maruta N. , Zavalko Y. 
Published: March 2009

Depressive disorders are a polymorphic group that is stipulated by a different genesis of the conditions (endogenous, psychogenic, organic). Dysthymia is one of the most complicated forms of psychopathology with depressive disorders.A complex examination of 182 persons with dysthymia (60.5% were female and 39.5% were male patients from 20 to 49 years old) was performed. Clinical-psychopathological, psychometric, psycho-diagnostic investigations and statistical methods were used.A clinical-psychopathological stricture of dysthymia are ambiguous and polymorphic. This allows us to define three variants of the pathology: dysphoric, somatic-vegetative, senestho-hypochondriacal.In a dysphoric variant a leading role belongs to accentuations of character (asthenic-neurotic type - 47.6%; labile type - 38.1%; cycloid type - 14.3%), which form a low stress-resistance, an emotional tension, and a depressive type of reaction on external events. In a genesis of a somatic-vegetative variant of dysthymia a leading role belongs to psychogenic factors characterized with a chronic and combined type and registered in 91.8% of patients. A senestho-hypochondriacal variant of dysthymia is formed due to a premorbidly changed “ground” (premorbid somatic and neurological diseases were registered in 91.1% of patients).Criteria for diagnosis of dysthymia includes: etiological factors (constitutional psychogenic and biological parameters), structure of clinical-psychopathological manifestations (somatic-vegetative, sensitive, movement, and psychopathological disorders), peculiarities of personality, direction of a conflict zone (past, present, future), presence of mechanisms of a subconscious exaggeration of severity of the conditions.Treatment is performed by means of combination of pharmaco- and psychotherapy, which must be use on step-by-step basis as cessation, stabilization, and prevention.
Plasma Cortisol Levels and Physical Aggression in Depressed Patients
Authors: Mattioli B. , Camardese G. , Pizi G. , Adamo F. , Bria P. 
Published: March 2009

An analysis of the biological mechanisms underlying both aggression and major depression (MD) shows the implication of common features. There is a well known link between MD and hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Moreover, the HPA axis dysfunction has been identified as a promising predictor of suicidal behaviours in mood disorders.The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between aggressive behaviour and plasma cortisol levels during a Major Depression Episode (MDE).83 patients (M/F = 43/40; mean age 47,70±14,52) with a Mood Disorder during a MDE have been recruited at the Day Clinic of Psychiatry of the Catholic University in Rome.A blood sample for the determination of plasma cortisol levels was collected before antidepressant treatment. Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) was used to evaluate aggression traits such as Verbal Aggression (VA), Physical Aggression (PA), Anger (A), Hostility (H) and total Aggression score (AQtot). No significant correlation between plasma cortisol levels and VA, A, H or AQtot was found. A positive correlation between PA scores and plasma cortisol levels was reported (r = 0.39; p = 0.007).Physical Aggression underline a risk for subsequent inner-directed violence, including suicidal thoughts and behaviours and it is also associated to a serotoninergic system dysfunction. An abnormal interaction between the HPA mechanisms and serotonergic systems has also been suggested in suicidal behaviours.Our results confirm the importance of further research with more sensitive markers to monitor HPA axis activity (e.g. Dexamethasone/CRH test), serotonergic activity and psychopathological features in depressed patients.
Analysis of Pooled Data: Once-daily Extended Release Quetiapine Fumarate (Quetiapine XR) Monotherapy in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Authors: Montgomery S. , Weisler R. , Earley W. , Åstrom M. , Lazarus A. 
Published: March 2009

Aim:To evaluate efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine XR monotherapy in patients with MDD.Methods:Data were analysed from two 6-week, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies (D1448C00001, D1448C00002), prospectively designed to be pooled. Outpatients received quetiapine XR 150mg/day (n=315), 300mg/day (n=323), placebo (n=330). Primary outcome: change at Week 6 in MADRS total scores. Other assessments: MADRS individual item scores, HAM-A total scores, MADRS response and remission; AE reporting.Results:Quetiapine XR 150mg/day and 300mg/day reduced MADRS total scores at Week 6 (-14.7 and -14.7; p< 0.001) versus placebo (-11.1); significant reductions were also seen at Week 1 (p< 0.001).Subgroup analyses showed the therapeutic effect of quetiapine XR was neither limited to nor driven by factors such as gender, age or depression severity.Quetiapine XR demonstrated consistent improvements in MADRS items: both doses significantly improved 8/10 items at Week 6 versus placebo. At Week 6, MADRS response (≥50% decrease in total score) was 52.7% (p< 0.001), 49.5% (p< 0.001) versus 33.0%; MADRS remission (total score ≤10) was 33.7% (p< 0.01), 34.7% (p< 0.01) versus 24.2% for quetiapine XR 150mg/day and 300mg/day and placebo, respectively. Quetiapine XR 150mg/day and 300mg/day improved HAM-A total scores versus placebo at Week 1 (-4.6 [p< 0.01], -4.7 [p< 0.01], -3.6) and Week 6 (-8.1 [p< 0.001], -7.9 [p< 0.001], -6.2). Common AEs (≥10%) were dry mouth, sedation, somnolence, dizziness, headache and nausea with quetiapine XR.Conclusion:In patients with MDD, quetiapine XR monotherapy improved a broad range of depressive symptoms, with improvements seen from Week 1. Quetiapine XR was generally well tolerated.
The Correlations of Suicide Attempts in Major Depressive Disorder
Authors: Nastase S. , Ivanovici D. , Vrabie M. , Dumitrescu I.M. , Mihailescu A. 
Published: March 2009

Objective:We have pursued the association between clinical and socio-demographic characteristics and the suicide attempts at inpatients with major depressive disorder.Method:We ran an historical case control study to analyse the individual characteristics associated with suicide attempts in the depression inpatients admitted into the 9th Department of the Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Al. Obregia” between 01 January 2007 - 01 January 2008. A total of 168 subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) were included in the study. The patients were separated into two subgroups: “S” - the group with suicide attempt as reason of the present admission into hospital and the comparative group “C” - those without a suicidal attempt at the present admission (used as control group). The two groups were compared with respect to the individual characteristics, following their possible association with the suicidal attempts risk. We used the chi-square (x2) statistic for categorical variables.Results:Our findings suggest that the most robust predictors of suicide attempts in depression are the younger age of the depression onset, previous psychiatric hospitalizations, low socio-economic status, “single” marital status (widowed/divorced), with no children, heredocolateral history of suicidal attempts and the comorbidity with the problematic alcohol consumption.Conclusion:The risk factors associated with the suicidal attempts are useful for the screening, finding, prediction and prophylaxis of suicide attempts in major depression.
The Demo Trial: An Observer-blinded RCT of Strength Versus Aerobic Versus Relaxation Training for Patients with Mild to Moderate Depression
Authors: Nordentoft M. , Krogh J. 
Published: March 2009

Objective:To assess the benefit and harm of exercise training in adults with clinical depression.Method:The DEMO trial is a randomized pragmatic trial for patients with unipolar depression. Patients with unipolar depression (n=165) were allocated to supervised strength, aerobic, or relaxation training during a four-month period. The primary outcome was the Hamilton depression scale and the secondary outcome was percentage of absence from work.Result:At 4 months, the strength increased in the strength group and the maximal oxygen uptake increased in the aerobic group vs. the relaxation group. At 4 months the change in HAM-D17 was -1.3 (-3.7 to 1.2; p =.3) and 0.4 (-2.0 to 2.9; p= .3) for the strength and aerobic vs. the relaxation group. At twelve months, the differences were -0.2 (-2.7 to 2.3; p = .8) and 0.6 (-1.9 to 3.1; p = .6). At twelve months, the differences in absence from work was -12.1% (-21.1 to -3.1; p = .009) and -2.7% (-11.7 to 6.2; p = .5) for the strength and aerobic vs. the relaxation group.Conclusion:These findings do not suggest a biologically mediated effect of exercise on symptom severity in depressed patients, but support a beneficial effect of strength training on work capacity.
The Evaluation of Type d Personality, Depression and Quality of Life in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes
Authors: Prata J. , Ramos S. , Rocha-Gonçalves F. , Coelho R. 
Published: March 2009

Background:Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in western industrialized countries and account for disability and loss of productivity. Type D personality and depression are established psychosocial factors with a negative impact on prognosis following acute events.Methods:We evaluated 65 patients admitted to a coronary unit with ACS regarding type D personality (DS-14), depression (BDI-II, HADS), anxiety (HADS), clinical depression (clinical interview following DSM-IV-TR criteria) and quality of life (SF-36). SPSS 12.0 was used for statistical analysis and significance considered for p< 0.05.Results:We found that 38.5% of patients had type D personality and divided the sample into two groups. No significant differences were found regarding social and demographic factors but differences were found regarding diagnosis on admission: type D patients had more AMI with ST elevation (p< 0.05). Type D patients had significantly higher scores in depression and anxiety scales of the HADS (p< 0.01) and worse quality of life in most SF-36 subscales (p< 0.01). There was a negative and significant correlation between the HADS and all the SF-36 subscales, strongest in the mental health subscale (p< 0.01).Conclusions:Type D patients have higher indices of anxiety and depression and worse quality of life when compared with other patients, and constitute a high risk group of worse prognosis. Our results also suggest differences between groups regarding the type of acute event but these results require further confirmation.
Reward Sensitivity and Response to Treatment in Major Depression
Authors: Vrieze E. , Pizzagalli D. , Demyttenaere K. , Claes S. 
Published: March 2009

Rationale:Anhedonia, or the lack of reactivity to a pleasurable stimuli is expressed as reduced reward sensitivity in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) (1). Reward experience might discriminate between depressed patients who respons to treatment and those who do not (2).Objective:The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that patients non-responsive to treatment show reduced reward sensitivity compared to responsive patients.Method:A probabilistic computer task was used to measure reward sensitivity objectively (3). Twenty-eight medicated inpatients meeting DSM-IV criteria for MDD performed the reward task within the first week after submission and again after eight weeks. The response to treatment was assessed with the Hamilton Depression rating Scale (HDRS). Patients with scores less that ten or a fifty percent reduction on the HDRS after 8 weeks were considered responders to treatment. Sixteen healthy subjects were recruited as controls.Results:When considering reward sensitivity at baseline, the control group was significantly more sensitive to reward than the responders group and the non-responders group, who were the least reward sensitive (F = 11.88; p < 0.01). After 8 weeks, responders showed an almost similar reward dependence to controls on the task, however non-responders still preformed significantly worse compared to both responders and controls (F= 8.71; p< 0.01).Conclusion:These results support the hypothesis that impairment of reward responsiveness might influence response to treatment in patients with MDD.
Brain Imaging in Clinical Psychiatry: Why?
Authors: Davoren M. , Doherty A. , Breen E. , Sheehan J. , Kelly B.D. 
Published: March 2009

Aims:To explore clinical indications for, and results of, brain imaging in a department of general adult psychiatry.Method:We reviewed the 100 most recent episodes of brain imaging at the Department of General Adult Psychiatry, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin.Results:Patients had a mean age of 55.30 years. The most common indications for scans were cognitive impairment (33%) and other neurological concerns (e.g. seizures) (30%). Forty-seven per cent of scans were abnormal. The most common abnormalities were ischaemia (17%) and atrophy (10%). Patients with abnormal scans were older than those with normal scans (61.90 and 48.70 years, respectively; p< 0.001).Conclusion:Brain imaging contributes significantly to diagnosis in general adult psychiatry, especially for older patients.
Neurobiological Substrate of Autism Spectrum Disorder - Cerebral Blood Flow Distribution of 11C-butanol as Assessed by PET/CT
Authors: Pagani M. , Manouilenko I. , Stone-Elander S. , Odh R. , Salmaso D. , Danielsson A.-M. , Hatherly R. , Jacobsson H. , Larsson S.A. , Bejerot S. 
Published: March 2009

Background:Functional studies in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have shown localised focal hypoperfusion and abnormalities in the anatomo-functional connectivity of limbic-striatal “social” brain. However, no common regional abnormalities have been found across studies.The aim of this study was to investigate the cerebral blood flow (CBF) at rest in subjects with ASD as compared to a group of healthy controls.Methods:In this preliminary investigation six normal intelligence patients with ASD and 5 age and sex matched healthy controls (HC) were examined using PET/CT camera and, as CBF tracer, 11C-butanol, a radiopharmaceutical produced on-site. The combination of these two methodologies reduced the whole examination time to less than 10 minutes. Statistical Parametric Mapping was implemented to analyse the data.Results:As compared to HC, ASD showed a highly significant CBF increase (height threshold p=0.001, p< 0.0001 at voxel-level), bilaterally, in large portions of the cerebellum, of the visual associative cortex and of the posterior parietal lobe.Conclusions:This preliminary study was performed by the state-of-the-art neuroimaging methodologies that reduced considerably the examination time and resulted in less stress and more reliable investigations. The occipital and parietal associative cortex as well as the cerebellum showed an increased CBF in ASD, underscoring their involvement in the disease and raising methodological and diagnostic issues to be considered when exploring the neuroanatomy of ASD.
Effects of the DAT 3’UTR VNTR Genotype on Brain Function in Healthy Subjects and Patients with Schizophrenia
Authors: Prata D.P. , Mechelli A. , Fu C. , Picchioni M. , Kane F. , Kalidindi S. , Mcdonald C. , Kravariti E. , Toulopoulou T. , Saeedzadeh-Sardahaee F. , Murray R. , Collier D. , Mcguire P. 
Published: March 2009

Aims:To examine the effect of a polymorphism in the Dopamine Transporter (DAT) gene on brain activation during executive function and, for the first time:1.determine the extent to which this is altered in schizophrenia and2.use a verbal fluency paradigm.This is relevant since:1.DAT plays a key role in the regulation of dopamine, which modulates cortical activation during cognitive tasks and2.a disruption of dopamine function is a fundamental pathophysiological feature of schizophrenia.Method:Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure whole-brain responses during overt verbal fluency in 85 subjects: 44 healthy volunteers and 41 DSM-IV schizophrenia patients. Main effects of genotype and diagnostic group on activation and their interaction were estimated using an ANOVA in SPM5.Results:The 10-repeat allele of the 3'UTR VNTR was associated with greater activation than the 9-repeat allele in the left (Z=4.8; FWEp=0.005) and right (Z=4.2; FWEp=0.057) anterior insula and with decreased activation in the rostral anterior cingulate (Z=4.3 FWEp=0.04) during word generation (versus baseline). These effects were irrespective of diagnostic group but generally more marked in patients. There were also strong trends for groupxgenotype interactions in the left middle frontal gyrus and the left nucleus accumbens. Analysis was controlled for task performance, IQ, antipsychotic medication, psychopathology and demographics.Conclusion:Cortical function during executive tasks is normally modulated by variation in the DAT gene, effect which is dependent on the brain region. DAT's effect may be altered in schizophrenia patients, which may reflect altered central dopamine function.
Abnormal Emotional Responses to Pleasant and Unpleasant Visual Stimuli in First Episode Schizophrenia: f-MRI Investigation
Authors: Casacchia M. , Mazza M. , Catalucci A. , Pollice R. , Gallucci M. , Roncone R. 
Published: March 2009

Aims:Affective deficits (flat affect, a diminished expression of emotion, anhedonia, and lowered ability to experience pleasure) are very common in schizophrenia. In emotion feeling, the crucial role of the insula, rather than of the primary somatosensory cortices, strongly suggests that the neural substrate for emotions is not merely sensorial. It is more likely that the activation of the insula representation of the viscero-motor activity is responsible for feeling of disgust. A recent MRI study demonstrated specific left anterior insular volume reduction in chronic schizophrenia patients: sustainable is the suggestion that emotion of disgust or of taste may be related to the experience of pleasure, which probably is compromise in schizophrenics.We investigated fMRI brain activations in first episode schizophrenic subjects with negative symptoms and in healthy subjects elicited by pleasant and unpleasant visual stimuli.Method:Ten first-episode schizophrenic subjects with normal IQ were recruited from the psychiatric service “SMILE” of San Salvatore Hospital and 10 healthy volunteers matched for age and education were scanned during observation of pleasant and unpleasant visual stimuli. Functional images were acquired with a 1.5T MRI scanner. Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast was obtained using EPI T2* weighted images.Results:The most important result of the study was the demonstration that anterior insula was activated by the exposure to disgusting stimula in normal subjects but not in schizophrenic subjects.Conclusion:This failure of the neural systems used to support emotional attribution is consistent with pervasive problems in experiencing emotions by schizophrenics.