Both childhood adversity (CA) and first-episode psychosis (FEP) have been linked to alterations in cortical thickness (CT). The interactive effects between different types of CAs and FEP on CT remain understudied.

One-hundred sixteen individuals with FEP (mean age = 23.8 ± 6.9 years, 34% females, 80.2% non-affective FEP) and 98 healthy controls (HCs) (mean age = 24.4 ± 6.2 years, 43% females) reported the presence/absence of CA <17 years using an adapted version of the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA.Q) and the Retrospective Bullying Questionnaire (RBQ) and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Correlation analyses were used to assess associations between brain maps of CA and FEP effects. General linear models (GLMs) were performed to assess the interaction effects of CA and FEP on CT.

Eighty-three individuals with FEP and 83 HCs reported exposure to at least one CA. CT alterations in FEP were similar to those found in participants exposed to separation from parents, bullying, parental discord, household poverty, and sexual abuse (r = 0.50 to 0.25). Exposure to neglect (β = −0.24, 95% CI [−0.37 to −0.12], p = 0.016) and overall maltreatment (β = −0.13, 95% CI [−0.20 to −0.06], p = 0.043) were associated with cortical thinning in the right medial orbitofrontal region.

Cortical alterations in individuals with FEP are similar to those observed in the context of socio-environmental adversity. Neglect and maltreatment may contribute to CT reductions in FEP. Our findings provide new insights into the specific neurobiological effects of CA in early psychosis.

Mental health in the deaf community is a complex issue. Challenges in diagnosis and treatment arise from a lack of experienced interpreters and difficulties in translating Sign Language to spoken language. Deaf individuals, due to auditory limitations, are more vulnerable to abuse, increasing their risk of mental health disorders, including bipolar affective disorder (BPAD). BPAD is a prevalent, debilitating condition with varied prevalence estimates. Managing it is tough due to its lifelong, unpredictable nature. A new approach called Psychiatric Home Hospitalization Unit aims to provide acute mental health care at home as an alternative to hospitalization.

To show the management of severe bipolar disorder with comorbidity from a Psychiatric Home Hospitalization Unit

A clinical case of bipolar disorder with deafness attended at the Psychiatric Home Hospitalization Unit of our hospital is presented.

A 24-year-old deaf woman borned in Pakistan and later moving to Catalonia, she faced educational challenges but ultimately completed her studies with sign language support. Afterward, she struggled to find suitable employment, and her family had a history of bipolar disorder.

She exhibited a sudden change in behavior, characterized by irritability, paranoia, and distrust. Communication was challenging due to her speech difficulties, but assessments using sign language and observation were conducted. Her physical examination was normal, but her speech was disorganized and pressured, suggesting possible auditory hallucinations and thought disturbances. She was hospitalized and diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic features.

During her initial hospitalization, she received lithium, olanzapine, clotiapine and benzodiacepines. After discharge, she continued treatment through a home hospitalization service during almost 4 month. During follow-up she presented a course with high affective instability, rapid cycling alternating brief periods of stability with other presenting manic and mixed features with high disorganization.

Due to the rapid cycling pattern Valproic acid was considered. Valproic acid was introduced up to 700 mg/d (97.1 mcg/mL). Treatment with lithium carbonate 800 mg/d (0.91 mEq/L) was maintained. Previous antipsychotic regimen was changed to quetiapine 400mg/d, olanzapine 5mg/d. Her condition improved significantly with the adjusted treatment regimen. She was discharged to an outpatient service.

Diagnosing and treating bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) in a deaf and mute patient posed unique challenges. The rapid mood cycling pattern and complexity of her case made treatment challenging. Family information and interpreter support were vital. Cultural factors were considered, and home hospitalization was crucial in managing symptoms that lasted over four months.

None Declared

Exercise and other lifestyles are key treatment strategies to improve diabetes outcome, prevent cardiovascular risk and may also result in further results in quality if life and emotional symptoms.

To evaluate the effectiveness of an exercise intervention program for people with diabetes or cardiovascular risk.

To evaluate the influence of previous metal health and quality of life status in the results.

61 people with a type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular risk factors were recruited from health primary health centers in Ponferrada (EL Bierzo), including patients from the mental health association. After informed consent they were included in a 20 week, twice a week supervised walking training program to improve exercise and other lifestyles. A poster used for advertisement of the adtivity (“the way/walk to change diabetes”) is displayed in image 1). Baseline and after 20 weeks BMI and Waist perimeter were assessed, quality of life was evaluated with EQ-5D-5L and WHO-5 scales and the weekly steps walked were recorded previously and after the intervention with the subject usual mobile device.

Differences in the variables were compared with Paired Ts and repeated ANCOVAs measures adjusted by gender, age and initial steps.

46 subjects (75.4%) completed more than 90% of the sessions and 3 more 70-90%. The 19.7% that did not complete had worse scores in SF-12 Role Physical (t 2.261, p=0.041) and Role Emotional (t:2.048, p=0.045) and Mental Component Summary (t:2,313; p=0,036) and WHO5 Total Score (t:2.101; p=0,040) at Baseline. Main reasons for dropout (Image 2) were health related problems (50%) and adherence to exercise and motivation problems (31.25%).

Those who completed the training improve number of weekly steps (baseline: 42022,92 +- 18836,35, final: 66448.06 +-28914,58; t:5.038; p<0.001), BMI (29.45 +-4.66 to 28.25 +-4.09 kg/m2; t:5.629; p<0.001), waist (from 107,34 + 9.98 to 102,88 +9,79 cm; t:6,840; p<0.001) and the EoQ-5D-EL VAS (form 72.88 to 82.42; t:6.122; p<0.001, image 3). The increase in the steps correlated directly with the improvement in the EoQ VAS (r:0.308; p=0.033).

Image:

Image 2:

Image 3:

Exercise and lifestyle supervised intervention programs appear to be useful to improve physical health, wellbeing, emotional symptoms and quality of life in people with diabetes and cardiovascular risk.

Factors associated to higher dropout rates were previous limited quality of life scores and mental health worse status. These could be related with limited motivation and adherence to the program and may be of interest to develop specific strategies for these high-risk groups.

Studies focused on the long-term effect of the program are warranted.

None Declared

The Cordoba Naming Test (CNT) is a 30-item confrontation naming task. The administration of the CNT can be administered in multiple languages. Hardy and Wright (2018) conditionally validated a measure of perceived mental workload called the National Aeronautic Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). They found that workload ratings on the NASA-TLX increased with increased demands on a cognitive task. Researchers found interactions in a study examining language proficiency and language (i.e., in which the test was administered) on several tasks of the Golden Stroop Test. Their results revealed that unbalanced bilinguals’ best-spoken language showed significantly better results compared to balanced bilinguals’ where language use did not matter. To our knowledge, no study has examined the order effects of Spanish-English bilingual speakers’ CNT performance and perceived workloads when completed in Spanish first compared to English second and vice-versa. We predicted that persons that completed the CNT in English first would demonstrate better performances and report lower perceived workloads on the CNT compared to completing the CNT in Spanish second. In addition, we predicted that persons that completed the CNT in Spanish first would demonstrate worse performance and higher perceived workloads on the CNT compared to completing the CNT in English second.

The sample consisted of 62 Spanish-English healthy and neurologically bilingual speakers with a mean age of 19.94 (SD= 3.36). Thirty-seven participants completed the CNT in English first and then in Spanish (English-to-Spanish) and 25 participants completed the CNT in Spanish first and then in English (Spanish-to-English). The NASA-TLX was used to evaluate CNT perceived workloads. All the participants completed the NASA-TLX in English and Spanish after completing the CNT in the language given, respectfully. A series of paired-samples T-Tests were completed to evaluate groups CNT performance and perceived workload.

We found that the English-to-Spanish group performed better on the CNT in English first than completing it in Spanish second, p = .000. We also found that the English-to-Spanish group reported better performance and less mentally demanding on the CNT when it was completed in English first compared to completing it in Spanish second, p’s < .05. Regarding the Spanish-to-English group, we found participants performed worse when they completed the CNT in Spanish first compared to completing the CNT in English second, p = .000. Finally, the Spanish-to-English group reported worse performance completing the CNT in Spanish first, more temporal demanding, and more frustrating compared to completing the CNT in English second, p’s < .05.

As expected, when participants completed the CNT in English, regardless of the order, they performed better and reported lower perceived workloads compared to completing the CNT in Spanish. Our data suggests that language order effect influenced participants CNT performance possibly due to not knowing specific items in Spanish compared to in English. Future studies using larger sample sizes should evaluate language order effects on the CNT in Spanish-English balanced bilingual speakers compared to unbalanced bilingual speakers.

Since Kraepelin and Bleuler, schizotypy was understood as a mild expression of psychosis, a latent form with the same trajectory but different severity. They pointed characteristics such as being eccentric, unreasonable, supersticious or hipersensitive, interpersonal aversiveness (often related to suspiciousness and expectation of rejection), ambivalence, anhedonia,… and psychosis-like features that don’t usually lead to help-seeking.

To do a case review

We report a case of a 17 years old boy with a childhood trauma history who started psychiatric consultations a year and a half ago because his “usual” (as his mother referred) strange behaviour got worse, which was perceived by his

ENT specialist. During the appointments, the patient showed suspiciousness, odd speech, inappropriate affect, tendency to social withdrawal, obsessive ruminations with sexual content and occasional perceptual experiences (such as depersonalization, derealization and auditory hallucinations).

Psychosis and schizotypy are linked historically and phenomenologically, which is evidenced by their placement in non-affective psychosis in the ICD-10 and DSM-5, and it is known that the direct observation (by clinicians or family members) during the childhood and adolescence are key for a correct diagnosis. In fact, this construct reflects a phenotypic expression of vulnerability to schizophrenia, and during childhood or adolescence it may be understood as an early mental risk state.

In contrast to models of psychosis that mainly rely on positive features and assume a progression of them, the positive traits of schizotypy seem to be beneficial and related to a “benign or happy schizotypy” according to the articles we reviewed.

No significant relationships.

It’s well known the challenge of differential diagnosis between Obssesive compulsive disorder and autism since their symptoms (intrusive, recurrent thoughts and repetitive behaviours) often overlap.

We report a case of a 14 years old boy diagnosed of ASD who was hospitalized for the first time due to difficult management of repetitive behaviours that made him incapable of doing basic activities without help. To interrupt them led to anxiety, aggressive responses and to insistence on sameness behaviours. Only with this information and with the literature research we made, anyone could tell the problem was probably an ASD symptom. However, during his evolution it was difficult to know whether this behaviour was due to ASD or OCD: after adjusting the medication, and when he started trusting his therapists, he told us about a theory he believed so he could explain the uncomfortable ideas that crossed his mind more than often, so he used those behaviours as an anxiety-reduction technique. This new situation was the fuel to make the present review.

To report a case.

The results are included in the “conclusions” section.

Although there is an ongoing debate concerning the nature of the symptoms in ASD versus those observed in OCD, there are commonly used criteria to differentiate them according to the articles we reviewed:

No significant relationships.

In Spain, we are forced to familiarize ourselves with Arab-Muslim culture to properly treat our patients. The diagnosis becomes complicatedbecause western health professionals are not usually familiar with thisform of symptom presentation.

The objective of this work is to study the influence of Arab culture and Muslim religion on the psychopathological symptoms presented duringa psychotic episode.

We present two cases of psychosis in two brothers of Maghreb originwho were treated for the first psychotic episode in the acute psychiatricunit in a Spanish regional hospital. Then, we carried out a litle researchfrom the literatura.

The common psychopathological symptoms presented by two brothersof 26 and 27 years were: symptoms of thought, control and influence of the self. Delusional ideas of self-referential harm and persecution. Auditory and cenesthetic hallucinations. In the literature we find that patients with Islamic backgrounds whosuffer hallucinations can attribute these experiences to different beliefssuch as geniuses (jinn), black magic and the evil eye. One of the siblings was diagnosed with a psychotic episode withoutspecification, while the other brother got the schizophrenia label. Webelieve that this may be related to the fact that mental healthprofessionals generally tend to label fantastic stories as mind-blowingor delusional in nature.

1. Religious beliefs and fantastic tales of Muslim culture can be considered psychotic symptoms if healthcare professionals are notfamiliar with this culture. 2. Teamwork between mental health professionals, translators and religious counselors can improve care for Muslim patients.

Psychopathological symptoms and cognitive impairment are core features of patients with psychotic disorders. Executive dysfunctions are within the most commonly observed deficits and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is the test most extensively used for their assessment. Yet, the structure of executive deficits remains unclear, as there may be different underlying processes.

The study’s aims were to explore and compare the network structure of the WCST measures in psychosis and their unaffected siblings.

Subjects were 298 patients with a DSM 5 diagnosis of psychotic disorder and 89 of their healthy siblings. The dimensionality and network structure of the 13 WCST measures were examined by means of the Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) and centrality parameters.

The WCST network structure comprised 4 dimensions: Perseveration (PER), Inefficient sorting (IS), Failure to maintain set (FMS) and Learning (LNG). Patient and sibling groups showed a similar network structure and in both cases the network structure was reliably estimated.

Perseveration measures reflect the inability to switch sorting rules when necessary. Scores for the IS dimension can occur when the subject ineffectively tries to test different sorting hypotheses, changing at random the response. FMS reflects the subject’s strategy when he/she is able to find out the sorting rule, but is unable to keep applying that rule long enough. LNG comprised conceptual ability and learning items. The lack of significant difference between network structures is in keeping with results from exploratory and confirmatory studies demonstrating an invariant cognitive factor structure between schizophrenia patients and their unaffected siblings.

The home is the natural setting for the development of informal care. The work that nurses are required to develop in this context (the carer/the elderly dependent/the home) focuses on training and educational activities to assist these two groups, such as demonstrating care activities to help dependent seniors, instruction in self-care techniques and teaching strategies for the use of human and material resources.

This article analyzes care education interventions performed by nurses, and the factors that facilitate, or limit, health care training.

This is a qualitative, descriptive study designed to be flexible and openly analytical in its approach to the research problem and the dynamic nature of the home environment. Triangulation of the methodological techniques and study subjects was applied.

Nursing interventions related to professional attitudes, such as encouraging communication and facilitating teaching; communication interventions in health education and counseling; and technical interventions aimed at improving access to health information and support for the informal carer. Lack of will, the advanced age of the carer, emotional state and work overload are factors that undermine care instruction, which if reversed, would become learning facilitators. The lack of time and resources in the home are the major limiting factors on care teaching, according to nurses. Evidence from our study suggests that care in the home is considered a key primary health care strategy, one in which nurses play a significant role.

Kernberg's classification of personality disorders (1987) differentiates psychic organization according to the severity: neurotic, borderline and psychotic. Lenzenweger et al. (2001) used a reduced version of IPO with 57 items developed by Kernberg and Clarkin (1995).

IPO was applied in a sample of patients and a control group. We expected to find an adequate reliability and validity of the inventory. Scales adequately distinguish content borderline, neurotic and psychotic.

Participants: 288 subjects (64.9% women), 116 patients attended to private clinical practice from February 2007 to September 2009. 172 control subjects matched by sex, social class and sincerity (EPI).

Transversal design, a measure collective in the comparison group and individual in patients ones. A group of patients was selected for the retest (n = 88).

Instruments. We applied IPO, the BPRS, MCMI-II and MIPS. Diagnoses according to DSM-IV-TR.

Internal consistency (Cronbach) was adequate for the three scales: .83; .90 and .89. The testretest reliability was correct for a mean interval of 44 days (.78; .81; .78). The validity analyses differed between diagnostic groups in Axis I (p< .05), but not in the clusters of personality (p>.05). No differences in BPRS with scale of borderline, but yes with neurotic and psychotic ones. The MCMI-II was properly differentiated by the three scales of the IPO.

The IPO is an useful scale with reliability and validity. The main drawback concerns certain aspects of the borderline scale.

Stress and trauma have been reported as leading contributing factors in schizophrenia. And certainly child abuse (neglect, emotional, physical and sexual abuse among others) has a lasting negative impact, which is well established in literature.

To consider the presence of infant trauma and its relationship with psychopathology in paranoid schizophrenics.Methods. 37 patients (mean age 29±6.3; years from onset 9.20±4.7), meeting DSM IV paranoid schizophrenia criteria, undergoing treatment in a university hospital are studied. The PANSS is administered in order to rate psychopathology.

27 patients had infant trauma (55.8%). Main traumas are: sexual abuse (12.8%), child abuse (7.7%), both sexual and child abuse (5.18%), parental separation (7.7%), extra-rigid parents (2.6%), alcoholic parents (18.2%), child abuse and mother's death in childhood (2.6%). Infant trauma and psychopathology showed a significant relationship concerning Hostility (No 1.75±1.209, Yes 2.26±1.759), Unnatural Movements and Posture (No 1.55±0.945, Yes 1.16±0.545), Depression (No 1.25±0.550, Yes 1.74±1.284) and Preoccupation (No 2.75±1.410, Yes 3.26±1.996).

Infant trauma is common in paranoid schizophrenia and our findings give some evidence to a relationship with psychopathology, especially with dimensions as Hostility, Unnatural Movements and Posture, Depression and Preoccupation. Despite sample size, a high proportion (55.8%) of the patients presented infant trauma and future research is needed in order to open new avenues in this field, particularly studies concerning infant trauma and symptomatology specificity will be greatly appreciated as well as the plausible link to personality traits and personality disorders.

The introduction of the first atypical antipsychotic with a long acting formulation has open new therapeutic options for the treatment of schizophrenic patients. Our objective consists of comparing psychopathology levels and global functioning in patients with paranoid schizophrenia treated in monotherapy either with long-acting injectable risperidone (LAIR) or conventional depot antipsychotics (DA).

Patients attending at the community mental health center during the six-month recruitment period were eligible to enter the study. Scores achieved in positive and negative subscales of PANNS and EEAG scale of (Global Activity Evaluating Scale) were evaluated at baseline and 6 months later. Six patients treated with RLAI and six patients treated with DA were recruited. Data were analyzed both with the real sample (N=6 per group) and extrapoling the same results to a bigger sample size (N=24 per group).

Mean increase in scores for both PANNS positive and negative subscales were lower in patients treated with RLAI that in those treated with DA (positive subscale: 0.018±0.06 vs. 0.048±0.03, RLAI and DA, respectively, p=0.387; negative subscale: 0.232±0.076 vs. 0.3095±0.123, RLAI and DA, respectively, p=0.579). EEAG scores were higher for patients treated with RLAI than those treated with DA (1.250±0.56 vs. 0.333±0.225, p=0.144). When these results are extrapolated to a sample of 24 patients per group, differences in EEAG reach statistical significance (p=0.034).

After 6 months of treatment, patients treated with RLAI tend to show a greater improvement in their global activity than those treated with DA.

Natural polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) are low molecular weight highly protonated aliphatic molecules that physiologically modulate NMDA, AMPA/kainate glutamatergic receptors and limbic dopaminergic neurotransmission. Previous studies had demonstrated that polyamine metabolism might be disrupted in schizophrenia, what could potentially be linked to glutamatergic dysfunction. In particular, polyamine levels in blood and fibroblast cultures from patients with schizophrenia had previously been found to be higher than in healthy controls. Indeed, a significant positive correlation between blood polyamine levels and severity of illness may exist.

In order to test potential differences in blood polyamine levels between drug-free schizophrenia in-patients (n = 12), and healthy controls (n = 26, blood donors), spermidine (spd), spermine (spm), and spermidine/spermine index (spd/spm) were determined using HPLC after dansylation.

No significant differences were found between groups (t = 0,974; df = 36; P = 0,337 for spd, t = l0, 52; df = 36; P = 0,959 for Spm, and, t = 0, 662; df = 36; P = 0,512 for spd/spm).

Though we couldn’t replicate previous findings suggesting disturbances in blood polyamine levels in schizophrenia, this issue may be a promising target. Future research should take into account possible factors such as sex, nutritional state, and stress.

A growing interest in the potential role of polyamines in stress, mood disorders and suicidal behavior has recently emerged. In particular, the expression of polyamine's rate-limiting catabolic enzyme (SAT-1, Spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase-1) may be reduced in ventral prefrontal cortex and posterior cyngulate gyrus of patients who committed suicide. However, there is some controversy regarding the involvement of potential cis-acting loci controlling SAT-1 gene expression (rs6526342 or rs17286006) in suicidal behavior. Moreover, a significant association between SAT-1 rs1960264 SNP and anxiety disorders has been found in a male caucasian spanish sample.

In order to test the potential association of SAT-1 -1415T/C SNP (rs1960264) with suicidal behavior, genotype frequencies for that SNP were compared between 193 suicidal attempters (126 female and 67 male) and 650 non-suicidal patients (314 female and 336 male) from an in-patient sample.

We could not find a significant difference in the distribution of the genotypes for rs1960264 SNP between suicide attempters versus non-suicidal individuals (Linear-by-Linear association X2 = 0,203; df = 1; P = 0,652, females; Linear-by-Linear association X2 = 0,000; df = 1; P = 0,990, males). Neither could we demonstrate a relationship between rs1960264 genotype and past history of suicidal attempts (Linear-by-Linear association X2 = 2,966 ; df = 1; P = 0,085, females; Linear-by-Linear association X2 = 1,171; df = 1; P = 0,279, males).

Although we did not find a link between rs1960264 genotype and suicidal behavior, SAT-1 may be an interesting target to investigate the biology of this phenotype. Future studies should take into account other genetic polymorphisms at SAT-1, and definitively evaluate whether or not rs6526342 and rs1960264 have any functional implications.

Interest in the premorbid personality of schizophrenic patients is well established in the psychiatric literature. The relationship between personality disorders and acute phase proteins (APP) in schizophrenia is not well known.

Investigating the relationship among acute phase proteins and personality disorders in schizophrenic patients in a sample of adult schizophrenic patients under psychiatric treatment in a general hospital health setting.

37 adult paranoid schizophrenics undergoing treatment in the University Hospital of the Canary Islands with DSM-IV diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia are included. Years from onset 9.20 s.d. 6.29, age at onset 19.75 s.d. 4.73. The record of personality disorders as a secondary diagnosis in the medical chart was taking into account. A blood sample as routine standard analysis was carried out in each patient.

In 21 patients (56.7%) a personality disorder, mainly with paranoid and schizotypal traits, was registered. The percentage of each personality disorder is as follows, Schizotypal (16.2%), Paranoid (13.5%), Schizoid (2.7%), Paranoid and Schizotypal (24.3%). The results point to no significant correlation according to APP (C3, C4, alpha2-macroglobulin, alpha1-glicoprotein, ceruloplasmin) in the different diagnostic groups.

In our study there is no evidence to support a significant correlation among APP and the different personality disorders in our sample of schizophrenics in spite of a positive correlation of APP and some psychopathology dimensions that has been communicated earlier elsewhere. In order to set some possible specificity of acute phase proteins and other clinical features in schizophrenia further research is required.