Prolonged childhood and adolescent loneliness (CAL) is linked to various adverse mental health outcomes, yet its impact on schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) has been understudied. While loneliness is associated with psychosis and worsens symptoms in SSD, few studies have explored the long-term effects of early loneliness on SSD risk. Understanding how CAL interacts with genetic liability to schizophrenia is essential for identification of high-risk individuals.

This study evaluated whether prolonged CAL is associated with increased SSD risk and examined the interaction between CAL and genetic liability for schizophrenia. Gender differences in these associations were also explored.

Data from the European Gene–Environment Interactions in Schizophrenia (EU-GEI) study were analysed, including 1261 individuals with SSD, 1282 unaffected siblings and 1525 healthy controls. CAL was retrospectively assessed for periods before age 12 years and age 12–16 years. Genetic risk was measured using polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia. Logistic regression models and the Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction (RERI) method were used to examine gene–environment interactions, with stratification by gender.

Prolonged CAL was associated with higher odds of SSD (odds ratio [95% CI] = 5.20 [3.85−7.01] for loneliness before age 12; odds ratio [95% CI] = 7.26 [5.63−9.38] for loneliness during adolescence). The interaction between CAL and genetic risk was strongest during adolescence (RERI [95% CI] = 23.46 [10.75−53.53]). Females showed a greater effect (odds ratio [95 %CI] = 10.04 [6.80−14.94]) than males (odds ratio [95% CI] = 5.50 [3.95−7.66]). Incorporating CAL and genetic interaction increased predictive values to 17% for SSD risk − rising to 22.5% in females − compared with 2.6 and 2.8%, respectively, for genetic risk alone.

Prolonged CAL significantly increases SSD risk, particularly in females. The inclusion of CAL alongside genetic risk substantially enhances predictive accuracy. Early identification of CAL could inform preventive strategies, especially in genetically vulnerable populations.

One of the most relevant risk factors for suicide is the presence of previous attempts. The symptomatic profile of people who reattempt suicide deserves attention. Network analysis is a promising tool to study this field.

To analyze the symptomatic network of patients who have attempted suicide recently and compare networks of people with several attempts and people with just one at baseline.

1043 adult participants from the Spanish cohort “SURVIVE” were part of this study. Participants were classified into two groups: single attempt group (n = 390) and reattempt group (n = 653). Different network analyses were carried out to study the relationships between suicidal ideation, behavior, psychiatric symptoms, diagnoses, childhood trauma, and impulsivity. A general network and one for each subgroup were estimated.

People with several suicide attempts at baseline scored significantly higher across all clinical scales. The symptomatic networks were equivalent in both groups of patients (p > .05). Although there were no overall differences between the networks, some nodes were more relevant according to group belonging.

People with a history of previous attempts have greater psychiatric symptom severity but the relationships between risk factors show the same structure when compared with the single attempt group. All risk factors deserve attention regardless of the number of attempts, but assessments can be adjusted to better monitor the occurrence of reattempts.

To compare the dosimetric characteristics and treatment delivery efficiency of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) patients previously treated with a 6 MV-FFF (flattening filter-free; radiation beam obtained by removing the flattening filter) beam versus those re-planned with a 10 MV-FFF beam using a conical collimator on the TrueBeam Novalis STx linear accelerator.

Eleven patients with TN previously treated with a 6 MV-FFF beam following the SRS protocol of 90 Gy in a single fraction were selected. Plans were recalculated using 10 MV-FFF beam, maintaining the same dose prescription and beam angle configuration used with 6 MV-FFF beam. The dose gradient, volumes receiving 20 and 10 Gy, maximum dose and dose to 10% of the brainstem were recorded for both the energies. Efficiency was assessed by the average monitor unit (MU) and time per arc. The 10 MV-FFF machine was configured in the treatment planning system (TPS) to measure the tissue phantom ratio (TPR), dose profiles and scatter factors using RAZOR, PTW-60012 diodes and EBT3 radiochromic films.

Compared to the 6 MV-FFF, the 10 MV-FFF plans exhibit average increments in dose gradient, volume of 20 Gy and volume of 10 Gy of 3.8, 17.1 and 17.8%, respectively. Average increases of 6.5 and 18.1% were obtained for maximum dose and dose to 10% of the brainstem, respectively. An average increase of 31 MU/arc was observed for the 10 MV-FFF plans, with a 40% reduction in treatment time per arc. The TPR for the 10 MV-FFF beams increased by 10%, and a penumbra width of 0.3 mm was observed. Scatter factor increments of 15, 13.5, 12.7 and 10.3% were observed for the 6 MV-FFF over the 10 MV-FFF for cones of 4, 5, 6 and 7 mm, respectively.

In TN SRS, the utilisation of 10 MV-FFF beams reduces treatment duration but results in an increased brainstem radiation dose. To mitigate this increase in brainstem dose, it is necessary to adjust the isocentre position.

Suicidal behavior constitutes a multi-cause phenomenon that may also be present in people without a mental disorder. This study aims to analyze suicidal behavior outcomes in a sample of attempters, from a symptom-based approach.

The sample comprised 673 patients (72% female; M = 40.9 years) who attended a hospital emergency department due to a suicide attempt. A wide range of clinical factors (e.g., psychopathology symptoms, psychiatric diagnoses, impulsivity, acquired capability), was administered within 15 days after the index attempt. Nine psychopathology domains were explored to identify the profile of symptoms, using latent profile analysis. The relationship between the profile membership and suicide outcome (i.e., intensity of suicidal ideation, number of suicide behaviors, and medical injury derived from index attempt) was also studied, using linear and logistic regression.

Three psychopathology profiles were identified: high-symptom profile (45.02% of participants), moderate-symptom profile (42.50%), and low-symptom profile (12.48%). High-symptom profile members were more likely to show higher risk of non-suicidal self-injury, acquired capability for suicide, and more severe suicide behavior and ideation. On the other hand, a more severe physical injury was associated with low-symptom profile membership in comparison to membership from the other profiles (OR < 0.45, p < .05).

A symptom-based approach may be useful to monitor patients and determine the risk of attempt repetition in the future and potential medical injury, and to optimize prevention and intervention strategies.

Rapid population growth in urban areas requires an effective transposition of sustainable development goals to the urban realm, for which the New Urban Agenda was adopted by most countries worldwide. The progress report of its implementation was discussed in this study to identify strengths and weaknesses in the process that assist nations in the design and application of effective actions to achieve a more sustainable urban development.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda represents a daunting challenge for countries worldwide, which found its continuation in the New Urban Agenda (NUA) geared predominantly toward urban settlements. Although the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) has been widely monitored by global and national institutions, the progress of the NUA has not been properly addressed to date. With the purpose of filling this gap, this study aims to gauge the implementation level of the NUA through the analysis of all status reports issued hitherto by countries, on the basis of the reporting template designed to this effect by the United Nations. Findings revealed the scarce attention paid to report national progress on the application of the NUA, particularly marked in the most developed economies. Reporting guidelines showed a poor coverage of the SDGs, being mostly focused on a limited number of these as well as the institutional and economic dimensions. The low level of NUA implementation and the questionable effectiveness of the reporting framework for monitoring are main conclusions. Some recommendations were lastly suggested to enhance the application process of the NUA.

Most countries worldwide show little interest in the application of the New Urban Agenda.

INDUCT (Interdisciplinary Network for Dementia Using Current Technology), and DISTINCT (Dementia Inter-sectorial strategy for training and innovation network for current technology) are two Marie Sklodowska-Curie funded International Training Networks that aimed to develop a multi-disciplinary, inter-sectorial educational research framework for Europe to improve technology and care for people with dementia, and to provide the evidence to show how technology can improve the lives of people with dementia.

In INDUCT (2016-2020) 15 Early Stage Researchers worked on projects in the areas of Technology to support everyday life; technology to promote meaningful activities; and healthcare technology. In DISTINCT (2019-2023) 15 Early Stage Researchers worked on technology to promote Social health in three domains: fulfilling ones potential and obligations in society, managing one’s own life, and participation in social and other meaningful activities.

Both networks adopted three transversal objectives: 1) To determine practical, cognitive and social factors needed to make technology more useable for people with dementia; 2) To evaluate the effectiveness of specific contemporary technology; 3) To trace facilitators and barriers for implementation of technology in dementia care.

The main recommendations resulting from all research projects are integrated in a web-based digital Best Practice Guidance on Human Interaction with Technology in Dementia which was recently updated (Dec 2022 and June 2023) and will be presented at the congress. The recommendations are meant for different target groups, i.e. people in different stages of dementia, their (in)formal carers, policy makers, designers and researchers, who can easily find the recommendations relevant to them in the Best Practice Guidance by means of a digital selection tool.

The INDUCT/DISTINCT Best Practice Guidance informs on how to improve the development, usage, impact and implementation of technology for people with dementia in various technology areas. This Best Practice Guidance is the result of intensive collaborative partnership of INDUCT and DISTINCT with academic and non-academic partners as well as the involvement of representatives of the different target groups throughout the projects.

There is a lack of standardised psychometric data in electronic health record (EHR)-based research. Proxy measures of symptom severity based on patients' clinical records may be useful surrogates in mental health EHR research.

This study aimed to validate proxy tools for the short versions of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-6), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS-6) and Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-6).

A cross-sectional, multicentre study was conducted in a sample of 116 patients with first-episode psychosis from 12 public hospitals in Spain. Concordance between PANSS-6, YMRS-6 and MADRS-6 scores and their respective proxies was evaluated based on information from EHR clinical notes, using a variety of statistical procedures, including multivariate tests to adjust for potential confounders. Bootstrapping techniques were used for internal validation, and an independent cohort from the Treatment and Early Intervention in Psychosis Program (TIPP-Lausanne, Switzerland) for external validation.

The proxy versions correlated strongly with their respective standardised scales (partial correlations ranged from 0.75 to 0.84) and had good accuracy and discriminatory power in distinguishing between patients in and not in remission (percentage of patients correctly classified ranged from 83.9 to 91.4% and bootstrapped optimism-corrected area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ranged from 0.76 to 0.89), with high interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.81). The findings remained robust in the external validation data-set.

The proxy instruments proposed for assessing psychotic and affective symptoms by reviewing EHR provide a feasible and reliable alternative to traditional structured psychometric procedures, and a promising methodology for real-world practice settings.

Polygenic risk scores for educational attainment (PRSEA), cognitive reserve (CR), and clinical symptoms are associated with functioning in first-episode psychosis (FEP). Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying their complex interaction are yet to be explored. This study assessed the mediating role of CR and clinical symptoms, both negative (NS) and positive (PS), on the interrelationship between PRSEA and functionality, one year after a FEP.

A total of 162 FEP patients underwent clinical, functional, and genetic assessments. Using genome-wide association study summary results, PRSEA were constructed for each individual. Two mediation models were performed. The parallel mediation model explored the relationship of PRSEA with functionality through CR and clinical symptoms. The serial mediation model tested a causal chain of the three mediators: CR, NS, and PS. Mediation analysis was performed using the PROCESS function V.4.1 in SPSS V.22.

A serial mediation model revealed a causal chain for PRSEA > CR > NS > Functionality (β = −0.35, 95%CI [−0.85, −0.04], p < 0.05). The model fit the data satisfactorily (CFI = 1.00; RMSEA = 0.00; SRMR = 7.2 × 10−7). Conversely, no parallel mediation was found between the three mediators, PRSEA and functionality and the model poorly fit the data (CFI = 0.30; RMSEA = 0.25; SRMR = 0.11).

Both CR and NS mediate the relationship between PRSEA and functionality at one-year follow-up, using serial mediation analysis. This may be relevant for prevention and personalized early intervention to reduce illness impact and improve functional outcomes in FEP patients.

Understanding the evolution of negative symptoms in first-episode psychosis (FEP) requires long-term longitudinal study designs that capture the progression of this condition and the associated brain changes.

To explore the factors underlying negative symptoms and their association with long-term abnormal brain trajectories.

We followed up 357 people with FEP over a 10-year period. Factor analyses were conducted to explore negative symptom dimensionality. Latent growth mixture modelling (LGMM) was used to identify the latent classes. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to investigate developmental trajectories of cortical thickness. Finally, the resulting ANOVA maps were correlated with a wide set of regional molecular profiles derived from public databases.

Three trajectories (stable, decreasing and increasing) were found in each of the three factors (expressivity, experiential and attention) identified by the factor analyses. Patients with an increasing trajectory in the expressivity factor showed cortical thinning in caudal middle frontal, pars triangularis, rostral middle frontal and superior frontal regions from the third to the tenth year after the onset of the psychotic disorder. The F-statistic map of cortical thickness expressivity differences was associated with a receptor density map derived from positron emission tomography data.

Stable and decreasing were the most common trajectories. Additionally, cortical thickness abnormalities found at relatively late stages of FEP onset could be exploited as a biomarker of poor symptom outcome in the expressivity dimension. Finally, the brain areas with less density of receptors spatially overlap areas that discriminate the trajectories of the expressivity dimension.

In modulated radiotherapy treatments with the jaw tracking technique (JTT), the collimator jaws can dynamically follow the multileaf collimator apertures and reduce radiation leakage. This reduction protects normal tissue from unwanted doses. Previous research has highlighted the importance of defining which patients will benefit most from JTT. Besides, some authors have expressed their concerns about possible increases in monitor units (MUs). Treatments of patients with peripheral targets and isocentre located in the patient’s midline are of particular interest. The current work assessed the effect of JTT on these cases.

JTT plans for thirty-two patients were compared to plans with the static jaws technique. The volumes of normal tissue receiving 5 Gy (V5), 10 Gy (V10) and 20 Gy (V20), mean dose (Dmean), target coverage parameters D95, D2% and Paddick’s conformity index (PCI) were compared. MUs were also registered for comparisons. The decrease in the jaws opening with JTT was correlated to the decrease in dose values in normal tissue.

Small decreases were observed in D95 and in D2% values, without statistical significance. A 5% average decrease in PCI values was noticed as well as significant decreases in V5, V10 and Dmean values, 9% on average. A 3% decrease in V20 was also observed. The number of MUs decreased by 2%. A significant correlation was found between the reduction of the secondary collimation opening areas and the dose delivered to normal tissue.

JTT technique improved normal tissue protection in volumetric modulated arc therapy treatments for the patients included in the present study.

The s100b inflammatory protein is involved in schizophrenia pathophysiology. We aim at studying the evolution of the s100b serum levels in acutely relapsed paranoid schizophrenia patients at three different time points (admission, discharge and 3 months after hospital discharge 3MAHD).

Twenty-three paranoid schizophrenia inpatients meeting DSM-IV criteria participated in the research. Twenty-three healthy subjects matched by age, gender and season acted as the control group. Psychopathology was measured with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Serum s100b levels were determined at 12:00 and 24:00 h with an enzyme-linked immunoassay kit.

Patients had significant higher serum s100b levels at admission and discharge (12:00 h) than the group of healthy subjects. At admission and discharge, s100b serum levels at 24 h had decreased compared to the 24:00 h s100b levels of the healthy subjects. At 3MAHD patients and healthy subjects had similar levels of serum s100b protein. Positive and negative PANSS scores decreased significantly between admission and discharge. Positive and negative PANSS scores decreased between discharge and 3MAHD, but these changes had no statistical significance.

Our study confirms that the acute inflammatory response produced in acutely relapsed patients is reversed after 3 month of hospital discharge. The variations of serum s100b concentrations when the patients suffer from an acute relapse may be a useful predictor of disease evolution.