Alexithymia is a construct which has been described in persons under the autistic spectrum. Besides Autistic Spectrum Disorders, alexithymia nowadays is highly correlated with several psychiatric disorders, among them being Eating Disorders. Several studies suggested a “cognitive-affective” division in the inner experience of patients with Anorexia Nervosa, because of their difficulty in describing, identifying and recognising their own emotions as well as others

This study aims to identify how many adolescents diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa meet the characteristics of alexithymic personality traits and in which domain of these traits they had the most struggles with.

The study lot includes 34 adolescents diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa evaluated by a self report survey: Online Alexithymia Questionnaire-G2 (OAQ-G2). The cut-off scores are: 113 and above - correlated with alexithymia, 95-112 - correlated with possible alexithymia and under 94 - insignificant clinical score. We analyzed the result of every subcategory of the questionnaire in order to determine whether there is an area affected more than others.

The sample included 34 patients, female to male ratio 31:3, evaluated in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia” Psychiatry Hospital. 29,41% had clinically semnificative scores for alexithymic traits, while 52,94% scored for possibile alexithymia according to the OAQ-G2.

In 82,35% of patients from the lot we identified alexithymic personality traits. The F1 subcategory (difficulty identifying feelings) and F5a (problematic interpersonal process) were the ones that distinguished the alexithymic group from the possible alexithymic one.

No significant relationships.

A psychotic episode might stem from various psychiatric disorders, such as Major Depressive Disorder, Mania, Autism Spectrum Disorder, it might lead to Schizophrenia, or it might be a single event.

The study aimed to assess the main comorbidities encountered in the onset of psychotic episodes in children and adolescents, who were hospitalized in a pediatric psychiatry department for at least one night. Furthermore, another objective was to establish whether a family history of mental illness or a poor socio-economic status have bigger impact on the evolution of these patients.

To analyze the objectives, it was used an observational study, based on patients with the onset of a psychotic episode and associated diagnosis according to ICD-10, evaluated in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Department of “Prof. Dr. Al. Obregia” Hospital, between 2015-2019. Patients with psychotic episodes with onset related to Major Depressive Disorder and Mania or a personal history of Schizophrenia were excluded.

The most frequent associated comorbidity was Autism Spectrum Disorder. In terms of long-term evolution, patients with comorbidities have poorer outcomes, more relapses and hospitalizations. Family history of mental illness, low socio-economic status, the age of onset were found to be prognostic factors and have an important impact on the outcome.

This study compared patients with psychotic episodes with and without comorbid conditions associated, considering the length of hospitalization period, the evolution and the number of relapses. The presence and the type of comorbidities are important factors of evolution and prognostic for these patients.

No significant relationships.

15q11.2-q13.3 region is prone to genomic rearrangements leading to both deletions and duplications. A wide spectrum of neuropsychiatric conditions, such as developmental delay/intellectual disability (DD/ID), autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, epilepsy was reported in association with genomic imbalances of this region.

In this paper we report on 9 children carrying 15q11.2-q13.3 duplications.

Seven boys and two girls, aged 15 months to 15 years, were included in the study. Genomic investigations were carried out by array-based comparative genomic hybridization (Agilent Technologies). In all patients the psychomotor development, dysmorphic features, neuroimaging and EEG anomalies were assessed. Psychologic and psychiatric evaluation was performed with specific tests.

The size of the duplications ranged from 9.65 Mb to 0.38 Mb. All patients presented speech delay. Autistic behavior and muscular hypotonia were detected in 8 out of 9 patients, DD/ID in 6. Two children presented epileptic seizures, in addition 4 other children had EEG anomalies. Facial dysmorphic features were observed in 5 patients. Neuroimaging studies showed anomalies in 4 children. The smallest region of overlap in our patient group harbors CHRNA7 gene, a candidate for the behavioral abnormalities.

15q duplications encompassing CHRNA7 gene were associated with different neuropsychiatric features in our patients. Our results further support the association of 15q duplications with neuropsychiatric phenotypes, with clinical heterogeneity and variable severity, which is yet to be explained. Acknowledgment: The research leading to these results has received funding from the EEA RO NO Grant 2014-2021, the project contract No 6/2019.

No significant relationships.

Psychiatric symptoms related with menstrual cycle vary from dysphoria to psychosis. There are only a few cases of menstrual psychosis reported, all characterized by acute onset, against a background of normality, brief duration, with full recovery and a circa-mensual periodicity.

We report a case of dissociative disorder, in a teenage girl, with atypical presentation and an unusual periodicity of symptoms and recoveries.

Presentation of a case of dissociative disorder, followed by a review of the similar cases described in the literature.

We are presenting a case of a 15 years old female, who presented in our Emergency Department for confusion, anxiety, negativism in verbal and non-verbal response, bradylalia and bradypsychia, insomnia for over 48 hours. The symptoms suddenly began two days before arrival in our clinic. From the patient’s personal history, we retain the following: menarche at 14 years old, irregular periods, hypermenorrhea. Patient was born premature, G=1200g, spastic diplegia, periventricular leukomalacia (MRI – 2018). Three similar episodes happened a year ago, with one month periodicity, with spontaneous remission after 5-6 days. Patient was treated with antipsychotics and benzodiazepines for the second and the third episode, but the treatment was stopped six month ago. The investigations results were normal, except for a high level of plasmatic cortisol. Patient fully recovered in the day the menses stopped.

We considered this case to be atypical due to the sudden debut and recovery and there are still some remaining questions. Is it hormonal related, menstrual related or is it exclusively a psychiatric condition?

No significant relationships.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts and it is marked by repetitive sensory–motor behaviours and restricted interests or activities. Now recognized to occur in up to 1% of the population, the prevalence of ASD has registered a steady increase in the past two decades. Heterogeneity of presentation is a hallmark with comorbid psychiatric and medical morbidities frequently reported. Comorbidities mask and delay the diagnosis and are the cause of inadequate therapies.

In the present paper, we studied a cohort of patients with ASD, investigating the rates and types of psychiatric and medical comorbidities.

A retrospective study of psychiatric and medical comorbidities was carried out on a sample of 120 participants that met ASD criteria according to DSM-V. The patients were examined with a detailed medical history, physical examination, as well as some additional functional, imaging, laboratory and genetic investigations. The associated conditions considered were: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, intellectual disability, gastrointestinal symptoms, ophtalmologic manifestations, infections.

Of the 120 ASD subjects referred, 25 (20.8%) received the diagnosis of epilepsy. ADHD was established in 24 cases (20%). IQ score was obtained in half of the patients, 43.3% of them presenting a severe intellectual disability (IQ<35). Respiratory disorders occured in 25% of the cases. Ophtalmological findings were observed in 9.1% of the cases. Other frequent comorbidities included motor disturbances and feeding problems.

A better understanding of comorbidities in ASD patients improves interdisciplinary collaboration, thus facilitating effective treatment programs.

No significant relationships.

For a long period ADHD was considered to be a diagnostic limited to childhood. In the 1970s, clinical evidence showed symptoms in adults diagnosed with ADHD in childhood. Evidence shows that 15-20% of the parents of children with ADHD could also qualify for this diagnostic.

The aim of this study was to see whether parents of children diagnosed with ADHD have traits significant for this pathology and how these symptoms correlate with the ones experienced by their children.

Inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms were assessed in parents of children diagnosed with ADHD and the most severe traits found were compared with those of their children.

In the study were included 93 parents of 50 children diagnosed with ADHD by a specialist in Child Psychiatry. For each child parents completed the ADHD-Rating Scale and for assessment of their symptoms, the Diagnostic Interview Voor ADHD (DIVA) was applied to parents.

34% of parents of children diagnosed with ADHD fulfill criteria for Adult ADHD. The most significant correlation was found between ADHD-RS scores for hyperactivity/impulsivity and DIVA scores for this kind of symptomatology. The little number of subjects represents a clear limitation, as this was performed as a pilot study.

Considering the high prevalence of ADHD in parents of diagnosed children and also the impact of their impairment over their children’s education, it is important to quantify this risk and rise awareness of the need for ADHD screenings in parents of children diagnosed with this pathology.

Eight hundred and forty-two parents completed our risk and associated features screening questionnaire. Out of these, 494 answered the question regarding handedness (209 had children diagnosed with ASD). This asked the parents to state how they perceived their child's handedness. An ADOS assessment has been conducted for 170 of the children whose parents were included in the study, based on clinical relevance for the case. The data were analysed using Excel and SPSS 22.0. For the comparisons, Chi2 and the Kruskal–Wallis test were used.

Children with ASD had more left-handedness (χ2(2) = 12.54, P = 0.002). There were no differences between boys and girls in terms of perceived handedness in any of the groups. There were no differences in the ADOS scores according to the perceived hand laterality (χ2(2) = 0.58, P = 0.74).

Rightward-asymmetry in regions of corpus callosum has been reported to correlate with symptoms severity in ASD. The finding of different perceived handedness in children with ASD versus children with other psychiatric pathologies is useful for designing appropriate, individualized training programs for motor therapy.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

several ethipathogenic hypotheses in ASD deal with the traits of parents. The objectives of our study were to measure the ADHD and autism spectrum disorder quotients in parents of children diagnosed with ASD comorbid with ADHD and to correlate the measurements for the tests in parents with those in their children. The specific aim was to identify whether any significant correlations exist.

Fifty-two pairs of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders and ADHD were included in this study, based on informed consent and the ethical committee's approval. The child's diagnosis was established by a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry, based on the child's clinical symptoms and on specific diagnostic scales, such as the ADOS and ADHD-rating scale. The parents completed an Autism Spectrum Quotient Scale (ASQS) and an adult ADHD scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and Excel. The correlations were verified using Spearman's non-parametric correlation test.

There was a strong correlation between the parents’ ADHD scores (r = 0.5, P < 0.001), and a reverse medium correlation between the mother's ADHD score and the child's ADOS score (r = –0.32, P = 0.02). The father's ASQS and ADHD scores correlated between each other (r = 0.31, P = 0.02). There were no correlations between the parents’ and the child's ADHD score, nor between the child's ADOS score and the parents’ ASQS scores.

Our results suggest that ADHD symptoms in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders comorbid with ADHD might be predictors for the child's prognosis.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Background Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood that often persists into adulthood and old age. Yet ADHD is currently underdiagnosed and undertreated in many European countries, leading to chronicity of symptoms and impairment, due to lack of, or ineffective treatment, and higher costs of illness.

Methods The European Network Adult ADHD and the Section for Neurodevelopmental Disorders Across the Lifespan (NDAL) of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), aim to increase awareness and knowledge of adult ADHD in and outside Europe. This Updated European Consensus Statement aims to support clinicians with research evidence and clinical experience from 63 experts of European and other countries in which ADHD in adults is recognized and treated.

Results Besides reviewing the latest research on prevalence, persistence, genetics and neurobiology of ADHD, three major questions are addressed: (1) What is the clinical picture of ADHD in adults? (2) How should ADHD be properly diagnosed in adults? (3) How should adult ADHDbe effectively treated?

Conclusions ADHD often presents as a lifelong impairing condition. The stigma surrounding ADHD, mainly due to lack of knowledge, increases the suffering of patients. Education on the lifespan perspective, diagnostic assessment, and treatment of ADHD must increase for students of general and mental health, and for psychiatry professionals. Instruments for screening and diagnosis of ADHD in adults are available, as are effective evidence-based treatments for ADHD and its negative outcomes. More research is needed on gender differences, and in older adults with ADHD.