bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of attitudes toward schizophrenia in tunisian family medicine residents
Authors: Abassi B. , Fekih-Romdhane F. , Fayhaa H. , Ghrissi F. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionAssessing the attitudes of family medicine residents toward schizophrenia is of greatest concern since family physicians potentially have a key role in identifying the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia at earlier stages and in engaging young people in treatment, especially in low- and middle-income countries.ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate attitudes towards schizophrenia in a group of Tunisian family medicine residents, and to examine the link between these attitudes and help-seeking intentions in this group.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional survey. A 18-item questionnaire concerning attitudes toward schizophrenia was used.ResultsA total of 88% participants have reported favorable help-seeking intentions. In total, 48.4% of residents would oppose if one of their relatives would like to marry someone who has schizophrenia, and 37.1% of them would not like to have a neighbor with schizophrenia. Only about a half of residents agreed that “schizophrenia has the chance of recovery”, and 68.8% thought that “schizophrenia can be treated”. Pearson correlations found a significant negative relationship between age and social distance in residents (p<.001). Year of residency was significantly associated with attitudes toward schizophrenia, with more unfavorable attitudes in third-year residents (p=.042). After controlling for potentially confounding sociodemographic variables, help-seeking intentions did not contribute to the prediction of attitudes toward schizophrenia in the residents.ConclusionsImplementing anti-stigma programs in medical schools may help improve future physicians’ attitudes and prepare them to provide primary mental health care to young help-seekers with psychosis should be given priority attention.
Characteristics of psychotic disorders occurring during immigration: Comparative study
Authors: Lajmi I. , Omri S. , Bouali M. Maalej , Feki R. , Smaoui N. , Thabet J. Ben , Zouari L. , Charfi N. , Maalej M. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionMany studies showed an increased incidence of psychotic disorders (PD) among immigrants.ObjectivesStudy the characteristics of patients suffering from PD and having immigration experience (IE) by comparing them to patients without IE.MethodsA retrospective controlled study, involving 58 male patients having IE and suffering from PD (DSM 5) who were followed in the psychiatry department of Hedi Chaker University Hospital in Sfax (Tunisia), between January 2013 and December 2018.They were compared to 60 male patients suffering from PD who lack the IE. Samples were matched on age and socio-economic status. Data was collected from their medical records.ResultsThe mean age was 36 years old. The countries of destination were almost European (65.5%). The most common PD were schizophrenia (62%) and schizoaffective disorder (19%). The use of psychoactive substances (PS) was noted in 55% of cases.The average time interval between the onset of the PD and immigration was 4,7 years. The mean age of the onset of PD was 27 years old. The mean age of PD onset was earlier among patients having IE (27 year old vs 28.5 year old, p=0.24).The use of PS was significantly higher in these patients (p=0.04).ConclusionsOur study identified some of the features associated with PD that occur during an immigration experience such as the use of PS. Further studies should be conducted in collaboration with countries of destination of immigrants to clarify the relationship between immigration and PD.
Adjunctive antidepressive pharmacotherapy in schizophrenia patients
Authors: Zink M. 
Published: February 2022

Depressive symptoms during long-term course of schizophrenia constitute an important and frequent clinical problem. They may occur either as stand-alone major depressive episodes (MDEs) or as part of the schizophrenic negative syndrome. Teatment resistant schizophrenia due to affective deficits results in high subjective burden of disease and a marked subgroup of schizophrenia patients die from suicide. International treatment guidelines strongly suggest offering cognitive behavioural therapy to all patients with schizophrenia. Within pharmacological approaches evidence in favour of second generation antipsychotics exist. The application of mood stabilizers lacks evidence from clinical trials, but is often used in clinical practice. Several antidepressive agents have been administered to depressed patients with schizophrenia and were effective in alleviating both affective and negative symptoms. Treatment outcomes, however, were often limited by side effects and pharmacokinetic interactions, which constitutes the necessity of more easily tolerable pharmacological interventions. Data regarding duloxetine, bupropion, vortioxetine and agomelatine are presented in more detail and discussed within the perspective of multimodal treatment of schizophrenia.DisclosureM.Z. received scientific grants from the German Research Foundation and Servier. Speaker and travel grants were provided from Otsuka, Servier, Lundbeck, Roche, Ferrer and Trommsdorff.
Pedophilic sex offender show reduced actiation in the right dlpfc during integration of emotion and cognition – preliminary results
Authors: Szczypiński J. , Wypych M. , Michalska A. , Krasowska A. , Kopera M. , Suszek H. , Marchewka A. , Jakubczyk A. , Wojnar M. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionThe pedophilic disorder is characterized by a sexual preference for children and leads to child sexual abuse (CSA) in half of the patients. Studies showed that pedophiles with a history of CSA (CSA+) are inferior, in inhibitory control, to those without (CSA-).ObjectivesInhibitory control may be influenced by negative affectivity, which was shown to be a state factor facilitating sexual abuse. Nevertheless, it is not known if distress influence CSA+ and CSA- equally.MethodsWe recruited three groups of participants: healthy controls (HC) CSA+ and CSA- who performed an emotional Go-NoGo block task. The task was design specifically to correspond to a situation in which an indivisual is opposed by a negative life event. In each trial, participants were presented with photographs, either of neutral or negative valence, which did not require reaction. After the photographs, a circle (Go stimuli) or a square (NoGo stimuli) was presented.ResultsWe found that HC and CSA- had slower reaction time in negative compared to neutral condition (regardless of the block type), while CSA+ did not. Consequently, HC and CSA- showed increased activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in negative compared to the neutral condition, what was not observed in CSA+.ConclusionsDLPFC is crucial for cognitive control, however, the activity of this region is modulated by emotional valence. Reduced engagement of dlPFC in CSA+ in negative condition (irrespectively of the task instructions), suggest that negative emotions in CSA+ disrupt also other aspects of cognitive control, rather than inhibition specifically.
The (ANTI)psychotic paradox: Lewy body dementia
Authors: Galvañ J. , Angélico I. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionLewy Bodie Dementia (LBD) is the second more common progressive dementia caused by the deposition of proteins at the neocortical level, producing motor and psychotic symptoms (parkinsonism and visual hallucinations) which typically get worse with antipsychotics.ObjectivesFind the best antipsychotic treatment in a real patient with LBD balancing control of motor and psychotic symptoms.MethodsA clinical trial about a real case based on an updated bibliographical review. Received a 70 years old man with more than ten years LBD diagnosis, treated with clozapine (25mg / 12h). According to his wife (principal keeper), it stills a paranoid speech with fluctuant delusional ideas conditioned by visual hallucinations, predominantly in the evening, with no amelioration in four years clozapine treatment, adding a progressive parkinsonism impairment despite neurological drugs (carbidopa:levodopa). Doing a bibliographical review, we found a 2019 article (with 3 Systematic review/Metanalysis and 3 Clinical Practice Guidance, including in NICE), where point olanzapine 5mg well effective but worse tolerated and light up quetiapine as choice that should be considered (no doses specified).ResultsOne month later of therapeutic trial following the review in our clinical case, changing clozapine for quetiapine (50mg / 12h), we found an improvement of motor control and a reduction of psychotic manifestation that allows a less disruptive behavior in our patient, also objectified by his principal keeper.ConclusionsWhile bibliography doesn’t point a specific dose drug guide for antipsychotic treatment in LBD, in our clinical trial we detected a better control of symptoms using low dose quetiapine, nevertheless more studies are needed.
Psilocybin in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: What do we know so far?
Authors: Descalço N. , Medeiros A.B. , Santos C. Fernandes , Borges G. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionPsilocybin is a naturally occurring plant alkaloid in mushrooms and a prodrug of psilocin. It is a serotonin receptor (5-HT2A) agonist and known psychedelic, with similar hallucinatory properties to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). It has been identified as a safe and effective option in treatment-resistant depression. Literature focus mainly on its use on depressive but its interest in other psychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has grown.ObjectivesTo review the clinical evidence for the use of hallucinogens such as psilocybin in OCD.MethodsNon-systematic review of literature found on PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and Google Scholar, using the keywords “obsessive-compulsive disorder”, “psilocybin” and “hallucinogens”. Articles may include clinical trials, case report or case series. Articles found were admitted according to their relevance for the topic in review; only articles in English were included. Ongoing research trials on this topic were checked on ClinicalTrials.gov.ResultsSo far, only one open-label non-randomized study directly assessed the effects of psilocybin on OCD patients that found acute reductions of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Case reports of patients improving with off-label use of psilocybin are reported. There are two ongoing phase I research trials, aiming to explore the effect of the substance on symptomatology, hypothesizing that psilocybin will normalize cerebral connectivity and thus correlate with clinical improvement.ConclusionsMore research to establish the usefulness of psilocybin in OCD patients is needed; the collected data is encouraging are there may be a role for its use on this disorder.
Cognitive decline and psychotropic drugs use in elderly people with mental disorders
Authors: De Oliveira K. Cestari , De Oliveira Bastos P. Haidamus 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionThe growth in the number of aged people in the population is considered a worldwide phenomenon, with direct consequences in health systems. The literature indicates an increase in the diagnosis of mental disorders and the use of psychotropic drugs for that population, as well as frequent complaints regarding to cognition.ObjectivesTo analyze the possible relationship between cognitive decline and use of psychiatric drugs in elderly with mental disorders, assisted by psychiatric outpatient clinics, city of Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.MethodsQuantitative, exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional research, with 59 participants.Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected through semi-structured clinical interviews and medical records. To screen for cognitive decline, the Mini Mental State Examination was used.ResultsMajority of females, with a mean age of 66.75 ± 0.63 years, married, up to 8 years of completed studies and living with family members. The prevalence of depressive disorders was higher (52.54%), with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant use in 67.8%. Most were using 2 or more psychotropics the most prevalent combination being benzodiazepines and antidepressants. 52.5% of the elderly reported cognitive complaints and 45.8% presented Mini Mental scores, suggesting cognitive decline. It was associated with depressive disorders and the consumption of 2 or more psychotropics.ConclusionsAlthough there is evidence that psychotropic drugs represent effective strategies for the treatment of mental disorders, the use for this group of elderly should be carefully analyzed, due to the predisposition or worsening of cognitive decline, with impairment to the quality of life of this population.
Delirium at the elderly patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome
Authors: Kuzminov V. , Linskiy I. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionThe psychoses in patients with dependence of alcohol are in many cases polyethiologic, this is especially common in the elderly due to accumulation of various somato-neurological pathologies.Objectives88 men, with alcohol withdrawal syndrome accompanied by delirium; the average age - 70,4 ± 3,9 years, duration of alcohol abuse - 27,4 ± 6,5 years.Methodsclinical, psychopathological and statisticalResultsThe psychoses in patients with dependence of alcohol are in many cases polyethiologic, this is especially common in elderly due to accumulation of various somato-neurological pathologies. One of such factors is alcohol dependence syndrome and alcohol withdrawal. ICD-10 allows sharing out delirium with mixed etiology F05.8; this category can include patients when there is a severe alcohol withdrawal condition and somato-neurological pathology that can be an independent factor in the delirious syndrome. 88 elderly patients with were examined in state of alcohol withdrawal. All patients had delirious syndrome. Patients were divided into 2 groups: 1st – patients with a condition of alcohol withdrawal with delirium; 2nd - patients with a delirium of mixed etiology (the factor of the presence of dyscirculatory encephalopathy, was considered a competing factor in the onset of delirium). Some differential-diagnostic signs of the studied disorders were established. In the case of prolongation of psychosis, the clinical picture was similar in both groups, which was explained by exacerbation of the existing somatic pathology.ConclusionsEstimation of the leading factor in the emergency of acute psychosis in patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome is of great practical importance for selection of therapeutic tactics.
Dementia and suicide: What relationship to establish and what risks to consider?
Authors: Andrade F. , Guedes R. , Santos C. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionGiven the marked population aging in the world, the incidence of dementia has significantly increased, becoming a growing health care problem. Suicide is a considerable health issue throughout the life span, being prevalent in older adults, and in many countries the highest suicide rates are found in the elderly. Thus far, the relationship between dementia and suicide remains poorly understood and inconsistent.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to do a non-systematic review of the current literature regarding the association between suicide risk and dementia.MethodsWe conducted a research using the Medline database, through the Pubmed search engine, using the following key-words: “dementia”, “suicide” and “risk factors”.ResultsOverall, the risk of suicide in people with dementia appears to be the same as that of age-matched general population. However, studies point to the existence of a number of factors that can increase this risk, such as: early age of dementia diagnosis, recent diagnosis, disease awareness and depression, hopelessness, male gender, failure to respond to anti-dementia medication, history of inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations, concurrent medical comorbidities.ConclusionsStudies have reported mixed results as to whether dementia itself is an independent risk factor for suicide. Despite these findings, understanding the risk factors for suicide among people with dementia is crucial and suicide prevention efforts should be carried out in this population.
The impact of life hardiness, attachment style and personality profile on ptsd vulnerability manifestation in breast cancer patients undergone successful surgical treatment
Authors: Vasileva A. , Lukoshkina E. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionPTSD manifestation is determined by facing extreme life threatening experience going beyond our stress coping skills. The diagnosis of the serious illness like cancer or SARS-2 COVID 19 can be considered as one of the PTSD risk factors. In our clinical practice we have to distinguish the patients groups vulnerable to comorbid PTSD as well as define the psychological factors like good life hardiness, adaptive internal illness image or specific personality profile that can help to cope with disease stress and should be strengthen with psychosocial interventions.ObjectivesAfter screening with PTSD Trauma Screening Questionnaire and an expert clinical interview aimed to verify the PTSD diagnosis according to ICD-10 criteria 97 breast cancer patients were enrolled in the study, 46 with comorbid PTSD, 51 well coped with stressMethodsSemi-structured interview, Hardiness Survey questionnaire,Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) Adult Attachment questionnaire,Impact of Event Scale-R – IES-R, the questionnaire of the internal disease model, Ego-structure test by G. Ammon(ISTA),.ResultsThe correlation analysis revealed negative correlation between PTSD diagnosis and hardiness, especially its Involvement, Control, Risk acceptance sub-scales and with the Traumatic event impact score. Deficient-destructive ISTA personality profile had a positive correlation with PTSD and traumatic Impact scores, the strongest correlation were with deficient aggression(r=0,698, p=0.01), destructive anxiety (r=0,674, p=0,01), and deficient internal and external demarcation (r=0,678, p=0,01). The adaptive internal illness image types had a negative correlation with PTSDConclusionsHardiness, maladaptive illness images types and destructive-deficient personality dimension should be the main targets for psychotherapy in comorbid PTSD treatment and preventionKeywordlife hardiness ptsd breast cancer internal image of the illness construct anxiety social support
Breast cancer: The level of stress correlated with the type of surgery and the instructive level of patients
Authors: Dana T. Catalina , Giurgi-Oncu C. , Daciana G. , Cristina O. , Ica S. , Rivis I. , Adriana N. , Bianca D. , Bredicean A. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionBreast cancer is a severe pathology that once detected completely changes the patient’s perception of life.ObjectivesEvaluating the relationship that is established between the level of stress, the type of surgery applied and, the instructive level of women.MethodsWe selected 67 patients which were divided into 2 groups: group I(31) women who benefited from immediate reconstruction and group II(36) subjects who benefited from a late reconstruction. We split each group into two subgroups: women with secondary education and women with higher education. A socio-demographic questionnaire and the DASS-21 scale were applied.ResultsComparing the two groups we noticed that stress level was more present in group I(38,7%) than in group II(25%). The differences were not statistically significant(p>0,05). In the subgroup of women with higher education in group I, high levels of stress were observed at 23,08% and, in the subgroup of patients with secondary education, 50% had high levels of stress. The differences were not statistically significant (p>0,05). We also analyzed the two subgroups of group II and we identified increased levels of stress in 20% of patients with higher education compared to those with secondary education where 26,93% had high levels of stress. Also, the differences were not statistically significant(p>0,05). A statistically significant difference(p<0,05) was found when we compared the level of stress between women with secondary education of group I and those of group II.ConclusionsThe study revealed that stress levels tend to be higher in women with immediate breast reconstruction and secondary education.
Cancer-related cognitive impairment in cancer: Examining portuguese cancer survivors’ acceptability and expectations regarding cognitive telerehabilitation interventions
Authors: Oliveira A.F. , Torres A. , Pereira A. , Santos I.M. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionCancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is one of the most frequent and worrying side effects experienced by non-central nervous system (CNS) cancer survivors, generally related to cancer treatments. Considering its detrimental impact on quality of life, including work-related outcomes, it is necessary to identify effective intervention options. Cognitive rehabilitation is considered the first-line intervention to address CRCI, being effective at improving cognitive functioning. Internet-based interventions are emerging as important means of intervention in the field of cognitive rehabilitation (known as cognitive telerehabilitation), considering the potential to overcome accessibility issues and being cost-effective.ObjectivesTo assess the acceptability and expectations regarding such interventions, considering the scarce literature.MethodsA nationwide online survey was disseminated to Portuguese non-CNS cancer survivors, aged 18-65 years, who had finished active treatments, with no metastases/history of neurological or psychiatric disease/alcohol or drug abuse. Preexisting knowledge about CRCI, expectations for support to cognitive difficulties, Internet use for health and support purposes, and intervention needs and preferences in the context of cognitive telerehabilitation were examined; sociodemographic and clinical variables (e.g., age, education, employment status, cancer treatments), as well as cognitive complaints (Portuguese version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive, FACT-Cog), were also assessed.ResultsFindings from this study are important to help health professionals and researchers understand and identify cancer survivors’ needs regarding cognitive telerehabilitation interventions.ConclusionsThis information could be used as a support and guide for the development and delivery of these interventions for non-CNS cancer survivors.