Bipolar disorder is highly prevalent and consists of biphasic recurrent mood episodes of mania and depression, which translate into altered mood, sleep and activity alongside their physiological expressions.

The IdenTifying dIgital bioMarkers of illnEss activity and treatment response in BipolAr diSordEr with a novel wearable device (TIMEBASE) project aims to identify digital biomarkers of illness activity and treatment response in bipolar disorder.

We designed a longitudinal observational study including 84 individuals. Group A comprises people with acute episode of mania (n = 12), depression (n = 12 with bipolar disorder and n = 12 with major depressive disorder (MDD)) and bipolar disorder with mixed features (n = 12). Physiological data will be recorded during 48 h with a research-grade wearable (Empatica E4) across four consecutive time points (acute, response, remission and episode recovery). Group B comprises 12 people with euthymic bipolar disorder and 12 with MDD, and group C comprises 12 healthy controls who will be recorded cross-sectionally. Psychopathological symptoms, disease severity, functioning and physical activity will be assessed with standardised psychometric scales. Physiological data will include acceleration, temperature, blood volume pulse, heart rate and electrodermal activity. Machine learning models will be developed to link physiological data to illness activity and treatment response. Generalisation performance will be tested in data from unseen patients.

Recruitment is ongoing.

This project should contribute to understanding the pathophysiology of affective disorders. The potential digital biomarkers of illness activity and treatment response in bipolar disorder could be implemented in a real-world clinical setting for clinical monitoring and identification of prodromal symptoms. This would allow early intervention and prevention of affective relapses, as well as personalisation of treatment.

A significant proportion of people with clozapine-treated schizophrenia develop ‘checking’ compulsions, a phenomenon yet to be understood.

To use habit formation models developed in cognitive neuroscience to investigate the dynamic interplay between psychosis, clozapine dose and obsessive–compulsive symptoms (OCS).

Using the anonymised electronic records of a cohort of clozapine-treated patients, including longitudinal assessments of OCS and psychosis, we performed longitudinal multi-level mediation and multi-level moderation analyses to explore associations of psychosis with obsessiveness and excessive checking. Classic bivariate correlation tests were used to assess clozapine load and checking compulsions. The influence of specific genetic variants was tested in a subsample.

A total of 196 clozapine-treated individuals and 459 face-to-face assessments were included. We found significant OCS to be common (37.9%), with checking being the most prevalent symptom. In mediation models, psychosis severity mediated checking behaviour indirectly by inducing obsessions (r = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04–0.09; P < 0.001). No direct effect of psychosis on checking was identified (r = −0.28, 95% CI −0.09 to 0.03; P = 0.340). After psychosis remission (n = 65), checking compulsions correlated with both clozapine plasma levels (r = 0.35; P = 0.004) and dose (r = 0.38; P = 0.002). None of the glutamatergic and serotonergic genetic variants were found to moderate the effect of psychosis on obsession and compulsion (SLC6A4, SLC1A1 and HTR2C) survived the multiple comparisons correction.

We elucidated different phases of the complex interplay of psychosis and compulsions, which may inform clinicians’ therapeutic decisions.

In response to the Omicron surge in early 2022, the HTA Philippines evaluated the acceptability of Filipinos in using self-administered antigen tests (SAAgTs) as part of COVID-19 HTAs in the Philippines.

Scoping review from literature databases was initially conducted to identify preset codes in the use of SAAgT. Preset codes were used to establish the questions for focus group discussions (FGDs). Semi-structured questionnaires were created through Delphi technique. FGDs with four stakeholder groups (i.e., nine healthcare workers [HCWs], seven representatives of at-risk groups, six economic frontliners, and seven representatives of micro–small–medium-sized enterprises) were conducted.

Discomfort in being a target of stigma and being prescribed an “illness identity” when suspected or confirmed COVID-19-positive, along with lack of confidence to perform self-test, caused hesitancy in self-testing among participants. The need for subsidies for test kits from the government or employers was emphasized to increase its accessibility. Having a designated access point and reporting system for SAAgT was highlighted to avoid nepotism (padrino system attributed to debt of gratitude), inequitable distribution, and lapses in reporting. A participatory approach to education was perceived as crucial to reduce any misconceptions associated with the use of SAAgT.

All FGD groups expressed favorable reviews on the implementation of SAAgT because it can potentially reduce the burden of health facility-administered tests. These findings were considered by the HTA Council in the recommendation of SAAgT as part of the overarching national strategies for the diagnosis and screening of COVID-19.

Individuals with cocaine use disorder or gambling disorder demonstrate impairments in cognitive flexibility: the ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Flexibility is commonly assessed in a laboratory setting using probabilistic reversal learning, which involves reinforcement learning, the process by which feedback from the environment is used to adjust behavior.

It is poorly understood whether impairments in flexibility differ between individuals with cocaine use and gambling disorders, and how this is instantiated by the brain. We applied computational modelling methods to gain a deeper mechanistic explanation of the latent processes underlying cognitive flexibility across two disorders of compulsivity.

We present a re-analysis of probabilistic reversal data from individuals with either gambling disorder (n = 18) or cocaine use disorder (n = 20) and control participants (n = 18), using a hierarchical Bayesian approach. Furthermore, we relate behavioural findings to their underlying neural substrates through an analysis of task-based functional magnetic resonanceimaging (fMRI) data.

We observed lower ‘stimulus stickiness’ in gambling disorder, and report differences in tracking expected values in individuals with gambling disorder compared to controls, with greater activity during reward expected value tracking in the cingulate gyrus and amygdala. In cocaine use disorder, we observed lower responses to positive punishment prediction errors and greater activity following negative punishment prediction errors in the superior frontal gyrus compared to controls.

Using a computational approach, we show that individuals with gambling disorder and cocaine use disorder differed in their perseverative tendencies and in how they tracked value neurally, which has implications for psychiatric classification.

Clinical intervention in early stages of psychotic disorders is crucial for the prevention of severe symptomatology trajectories and poor outcomes. Genetic variability is studied as a promising modulator of prognosis, thus novel approaches considering the polygenic nature of these complex phenotypes are required to unravel the mechanisms underlying the early progression of the disorder.

The sample comprised of 233 first-episode psychosis (FEP) subjects with clinical and cognitive data assessed periodically for a 2-year period and 150 matched controls. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, education attainment and cognitive performance were used to assess the genetic risk of FEP and to characterize their association with premorbid, baseline and progression of clinical and cognitive status.

Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and cognitive performance PRSs were associated with an increased risk of FEP [false discovery rate (FDR) ⩽ 0.027]. In FEP patients, increased cognitive PRSs were found for FEP patients with more cognitive reserve (FDR ⩽ 0.037). PRSs reflecting a genetic liability for improved cognition were associated with a better course of symptoms, functionality and working memory (FDR ⩽ 0.039). Moreover, the PRS of depression was associated with a worse trajectory of the executive function and the general cognitive status (FDR ⩽ 0.001).

Our study provides novel evidence of the polygenic bases of psychosis and its clinical manifestation in its first stage. The consistent effect of cognitive PRSs on the early clinical progression suggests that the mechanisms underlying the psychotic episode and its severity could be partially independent.

In prospective and controlled studies followed up until adult age of patients diagnosed with ADHD in their childhood, the most frequent comorbid disorders were major depressive disorder, personality disorder (borderline and antisocial), substance use disorder and, less frequently, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

We report the case of a male patient aged 60, diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder from his adolescence. His psychopathological progress has become aggravated over the years. Nowadays, he presents an important restlessness, which has led him to social isolation and family claudication.

Our patient is admitted to the Psychiatric Day Hospital with an appropriated treatment for his OCD (sertraline and aripiprazole). After several days under observation, we used the scales ASRS-V1.1 y WURS finding results that suggested adult ADHD. Extended release methylphenidate was prescribed, with a fast improving of our patient's symptoms of restlessness, insecurity and impulsion phobia. He was discharged from the Centre for Psychosocial Rehabilitation showing a good evolution.

• – Anankastic personality disorder (F60.5);

• – Dependent personality disorder (F60.7);

• – Hyperkinetic disorders (F90).

Seventy-five percent of adults diagnosed with ADHD have comorbid disorders that should be used as severity rates, since they may cover up the ADHD symptoms or complicate the response to treatment. Adults with ADHD present high score on the scales “social maladjustment” and an often concomitant and polymorphic psychiatric pathology, object of varied diagnoses.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Hoarding disorder is described in the DSM-5 as a new clinical entity whose essential characteristic is the persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value, arguing reasons of utility, aesthetics, attachment or strong fear of losing Information.

We present the case of an 11-year-old male patient brought to the Health Mental office when his mother found in the school bag debris that he had collected from the garbage, and useless objects in a bedroom drawer. The patient recognizes the nonsense of his behaviour but is unable to get rid of these objects but he allows his mother to do it. He had lowered school performance and showed irritable, shy and solitary, difficulties to sleep and cried often without apparent reason. They also noted since six months before, strange movements with the neck and eyes.

After ruling out, underlying organic pathology, we started treatment with sertraline 50 mg, aripiprazole 2.5 mg and cognitive behavioural therapy, with complete disappearance of symptoms including the movement disorder.

Obsessive compulsive disorder 300.3 (F42); Hoarding disorder 300.3 (F42); Provisional Tic disorder 307.21 (F95.0).

Hoarding behaviour of strange objects is very unusual in Hoarding Disorder but more common in the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In this case report, we consider the possibility of both disorders.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

There is a low prevalence of eating disorders among men. In many cases, the disorder arises as a means of avoiding psychosocial maturation. Various psychiatric comorbidities such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder are frequently found in these patients.

To analyze psychiatric symptoms in relation to a case of anorexia nervosa.

Pubmed revision on clinical presentation of anorexia nervosa in male. Review of patient medical records.

A 23-years-old male with diagnosis of restricting anorexia nervosa was treated and followed since 2012. In July 2015, the patient, who was clinically stabilized for a year, had decreased gradually intake. Suddenly he showed a decreased consciousness, followed by an absence of response and mutism that motivated hospital admission. The diagnosis was dissociative stupor. A research in women with eating disorders shows a prevalence of pathological dissociation between 4.8 and 48.6%. After recovering a normal consciousness, he presented clinical features of anorexia nervosa according DSM 5 criteria. The patient remained two months until he reached his previous BMI (17) to continue an outcome treatment. Despite of several years of specific treatment for anorexia nervosa, both parents and patient still did not accept the diagnosis. Cultural constructions of eating disorders as a “women's illness” mean that men may fail to recognise their disorder.

There is a delay of diagnosis of anorexia nervosa in men. The lack of research on men's experiences and the cultural construction of anorexia nervosa as a female problem may contribute to underdiagnose eating disorders in men.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Patients with epilepsy seem particularly liable to certain major psychiatric disorders. Prevalence of schizophrenia within an epileptic population varies between 3% and 7% (1% in general population). The aetiology is possibly multifactorial (drugs and neurosurgery).

To study comorbidity between psychoses and epilepsy and management in the literature and in our patients.

To analyze factors that might influence the onset of psychoses within an epileptic population and how this potential association could influence our practice.

PubMed search was conducted with interest in psychoses of epilepsy, pharmacology, and comorbidity. Up to 10 variables related with factors influencing psychotic episodes that required hospital admission in three patients with epilepsy were studied.

Unlike published data, our patients did not have postictal psychoses. All cases had early onset temporal lobe epilepsy with no seizure activity since diagnosis (more than 20 years). No family history of either epilepsy or psychoses. Management included lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, carbamazepine, zonisamide, and levetiracetam in conventional doses. The psychosis, which comprised affective, schizophrenic, and confusional elements, lasted longer and was more troublesome than psychosis in non-epileptic patients. Response to neuroleptics was poorer than in non-epileptic patients with psychoses. Consultation with Neurology Unit resulted in end of treatment with zonisamide and levetiracetam.

Less than perfect evidence suggests the association between psychosis and epilepsy. In our patients, no postictal cases were recorded. Management showed poorer effect of neuroleptics when compared with non-epileptics, and zonisamide and levetiracetam were changed for other drugs with presumably lower association with psychoses.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.