Adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) often show reduced prefrontal functional connectivity with the subcortical regions than healthy controls (HC) (Tang et al., 2018). However, relatively little is known about longitudinal effects of antidepressant (AD) treatment on resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).

This study aimed to investigate abnormal PFC RSFC in MDD adolescents compared to HC and longitudinal effects of AD on PFC RSFC.

This study included 59 adolescents with MDD and 43 HC. MDD adolescents were treated with escitalopram in an 8 week, open-label trial. The treatment outcome was assessed by Children’s Depression Rating Scale (CDRS-R) and patients showing at least a 40% improvement in CDRS-R scores from baseline to week 8 were defined as “responders”. Functional and T1 images collected before and after treatment were processed using AFNI and Freesurfer. Our seed was the lateral PFC (LPFC, BA46). T-tests and repeated measures ANCOVAs, controlling for age and IQ, were conducted to examine abnormal PFC RSFC and longitudinal effects of AD on LPFC RSFC.

Relative to HC, MDD showed increased LPFC RSFC with the posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) and superior frontal cortex (SFG) involved in attentional networks. Responders showed greater changes in LPFC RSFC with the MTG and SFG after AD treatment compared to non-responders and HC (Figure 1).

Our finding suggests that reduced LPFC RSFC with the pMTG and SFG reflecting decreased attentional network connectivity may serve as a biomarker to predict AD treatment outcome in adolescents with MDD.

No significant relationships.

The purposes of this study were to estimate the prevalence rates of subtypes of late life depression (LLD) including (vascular depression and non-vascular depression) in the baseline study, to examine the natural course of LLD and to investigate influence of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) volume on depression and neurocognitive function in the 3-year follow-up study.

WMH was rated by the modified Fazekas scale and the volume of WMH was also calculated by an automated quantification method. Patients were classified as having vascular depression if they suffered from any type of depressive disorders and had a score of 2 or more on either deep white matter hyperintensity or subcortical gray matter ratings. in the 3- year follow-up study, the participants of the in the baseline were follow-uped with the same methodology of the baseline study.

The prevalence rates of vascular major depressive disorder (MDD) and vascular non-major depressive disorder (nMDD) were 2.39% (53.6% of MDD) and 4.24% (34.0% of nMDD), respectively, in the baseline study. Among non-depressive group in the baseline study, subjects with WMH(+) had 13.5 times (OR=13.5, 95% CI=1.10-165.97) risk of developing depressive disorder in the 3-year follow-up study, as compared to those without WMH(+). Log WMH volume (OR=5.78, 95 CI=1.04-31.72) in the baseline study was an independent predictor for depressive disorder in the 3-year follow-up study

WMH is a crucial predictor for future depressive disorder, which supports the previous vascular depression hypothesis. Vascular depression is a useful construct accounting for clinical characteristics of LLD.

Brain health has garnered increasing attention as a requisite condition for healthy aging. The rapid growth in mobile health and increasing smartphone ownership among older adults has paved the way for smartphones to be utilized as effective tools for improving mental fitness.

There are few studies that have explored the efficacy of smartphone-based cognitive training. The present study examined the memory-enhancing effects of smartphone-based memory training for older adults.

We explored whether newly developed application “Smartphone-based brain Anti-aging and memory Reinforcement Training (SMART)” improved memory performance in older adults with subjective memory complaints.

A total of 53 adults (mean age: 59.3 years) were randomised into either one of two smartphone-based intervention groups (SMART vs. Fit Brains®) or a wait-list group. Participants in the intervention groups underwent 15–20 minutes of training per day, five days per week for 8 weeks. We used objective cognitive measures to evaluate changes with respect to four domains: attention, memory, working memory (WM), and executive function (inhibition, fluency, etc.). In addition, we included self-report questionnaires to assess levels of subjective memory complaints.

The performance on WM test increased significantly in the SMART group (t[17] = 6.27, P < 0.0001) but not in the control groups. Self-reports of memory contentment, however, increased in the Fit Brains® group only (t[18] = 2.12, P = 0.048).

Use of an 8-week smartphone-based memory training program may improve working memory function in older adults. However, objective improvement in performance does not necessarily lead to decreased subjective memory complaints.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Although prenatal maternal smoking is an established risk factor for offspring's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the studies of association between paternal smoking and childhood ADHD have produced inconsistent results.

The objective of the present study was to determine whether paternal smoking during early developmental period is associated with an increased risk of offspring's ADHD.

We conducted hospital-based case-control study with 107 medically diagnosed ADHD cases and 205 controls (aged 6–12 years). The diagnoses of ADHD were assessed with DSM-IV based semi-structured diagnostic interviews. Paternal smoking behavior was assessed with spouse-report questionnaire. The association between exposure to paternal smoking and ADHD were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The primary outcome of interest was an odds ratio (ORs) reflecting the risk of offspring's ADHD incidence associated with father's smoking during the index pregnancy, up to one year after birth, and current smoking status. Control variables in our regression model were age, sex, financial status, parents’ education levels, low birth weight, and premature birth.

Our final regression model revealed that paternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.03–2.76) and up to one year after birth (OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.04–2.77) were significantly related to their offspring's ADHD.

The current results suggest that exposure to paternal smoking during the fetal and newborn period is associated with increased risk of ADHD. This study warrants public health policies to reduce children's exposure to secondhand smoke and their risk of ADHD.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

This study was to evaluate the effect of an assertive community treatment (ACT) program on psychiatric symptoms, global functioning, life satisfaction, and recovery-promoting relationships among individuals with mental illness.

Thirty-two patients were part of the ACT program and 32 patients matched for age, sex, and mental illness were in a standard case-management program and served as a control group. Follow-up with patients occurred every 3 months during the 15 months after a baseline interview. Participants completed the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale, Life Satisfaction Scale, and Recovery-Promoting Relationship Scale (RPRS).

According to the BPRS, the ACT group showed a significant reduction in symptom severity, but the ACT program was not significantly more effective at reducing psychiatric symptoms from baseline to the 15-month follow-up compared to the case-management approach. The ACT group showed more significant improvement than the control group in terms of the GAF Scale. Both groups showed no significant differences in the change of life satisfaction and in the change of recovery-promoting relationships. We observed a significant increase in recovery-promoting relationships in the control group, but the group × time interactions between groups were not statistically significant.

In this study, we observed that ACT was significantly better at improving the GAF than case management. However, ACT did not demonstrate an absolute superiority over the standard case-management approach in terms of the BPRS and the measures of life satisfaction and recovery-promoting relationships. ACT, however, may have some advantages over a standard-case management approach.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

This study was conducted to examine sexual dimorphic effects of highly palatable food access during adolescence and youth on psychoemotional behaviors of rats and its underlying neural mechanism.

Male and female Sprague Dawley pups had free access to chocolate cookie rich in fat (highly palatable food) from postnatal day 28 in addition to ad libitum chow, and the control groups received chow only. The food conditions were continued though out the entire experimental period, and the neurochemical and behavioral measurements were performed during young adulthood. Corticosterone levels during 2 h of restraint stress were analyzed with radioimmunoassay, and ΔFosB and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) with western blot analysis.

Cookie access did not affect body weight gain and total caloric intake in both sexes; however, it increased retroperitoneal fat depot only in males. The time spent in open arms during elevated plus maze test was decreased and immobility during forced swim test was increased in cookie-fed males, but not in cookie-fed females. Main effect of food condition on the stress-induced corticosterone increase was observed in males, but not in females, and cookie access increased BDNF expression in the NAc only in males.

Increased BDNF expression in the NAc and fat depot, in addition to the HPA axis dysfunction, may play roles in the pathophysiology of depression- and/or anxiety-like behaviors induced by cookie access.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The international guideline for treating depression has been widely used.

The current study focused on the maintenance treatment section of the third revision of Korean Medication Algorithm for Depressive Disorder (KMAP-DD)

A 44-item questionnaire was used to obtain the consensus of experts regarding pharmacological treatment strategies for depressive disorder. Of the 144 committee members, 79 psychiatrists responded to the survey. Each treatment strategy or treatment option was evaluated with the nine-point scale.

Most clinicians answered to maintain both antidepressants (AD) and atypical antipsychotics (AAP) for psychotic depression in remission state. The duration of AD maintenance: from 19.8 weeks to 46.8 weeks for patients in remission of the first episode, from 34.8 weeks to 78.4 weeks for the second depressive episode, and long-term continuation for three or more depressive episodes. Aripiprazole was the most preferred AAP. The preferred doses of AD and AAP in maintenance treatment were about 75% and 50% of those in acute treatment The maintenance of AAP in the psychotic depression in remission was similar to the AD, although shorter and less.

The maintenance strategies of KMAP-DD 2017 were similar to those of KMAP-DD 2012. Most clinicians preferred to maintain AD for substantial duration after achieving remission. The maintenance of AAP was also preferred, but the duration was shorter than AD.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The primary aim of this non-inferiority study was to investigate the clinical effectiveness and safety of generic escitalopram (Lexacure) versus branded escitalopram (Lexapro) for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

The present study included 158 patients who were randomized (1:1) to receive a flexible dose of generic escitalopram (n = 78) or branded escitalopram (n = 80) over a 6-week single-blind treatment period. The clinical benefits in the two groups were evaluated using the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity Scale (CGI-S), and the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement Scale (CGI-I) at baseline, week 1, week 2, week 4, and week 6. The frequency of adverse events (AEs) was also assessed to determine safety at each follow-up visit.

At week 6, 28 patients (57.1%) in the generic escitalopram group and 35 patients (67.3%) in the branded escitalopram group had responded to treatment (P = 0.126), and the remission rates (MADRS score: ≤ 10) were 42.9% (n = 21) in generic escitalopram group and 53.8% (n = 28) in the branded escitalopram group (P = 0.135). The most frequently reported AEs were nausea (17.9%) in the generic escitalopram group and nausea (20.0%) in the branded escitalopram group.

The present non-inferiority study demonstrated that generic escitalopram is a safe and effective initial treatment for patients with MDD and may also be considered as an additional therapeutic option for this population.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Alcohol intoxication is often involved in the commission of criminal behaviors that are risky and involve personal confrontation. Individuals who reported having three or more drinks before driving exhibited greater impulsivity when under the influence of alcohol than did those who did not report heavy drinking before driving.

The present study utilized the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) to compare the characteristics of individuals with a single driving while intoxicated (DWI) offense with individuals who were multiple DWI offenders and to identify whether there was a typical profile for multiple offenders.

The charts of patients were examined in terms of demographic characteristics including age, sex, employment, and education; the MMPI scores of the two groups were compared using an independent t-test, and we identified the typical profile of multiple DWI offenders by using hierarchical cluster analysis with Ward's method.

Scores on the F and the depression (D) scales of the MMPI-2 were significantly higher among multiple offenders than among first offenders. The multiple offenders-I group obtained relatively high scores on the D and psychopathic deviate (Pd) scales, and the multiple offenders-II group had low scores on both the hypomania (Ma) and social introversion (Si) scales. Thus, some multiple offenders may have poorer emotional adjustment, characterized by tendencies toward psychopathic deviance, mania, and depression, as well as psychopathological characteristics associated with patients with alcohol-use disorders.

The present findings suggest that multiple offenders should be considered a high-risk group for alcohol-use disorders and recurrent drunken driving.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Limited research has been conducted to understand the relationship between heat wave warnings with public awareness and behavioral changes in the Asian population. The Hong Kong Observatory introduced the “very hot weather warning” in 2000 to alert the public of heatstroke and sunburn in Hong Kong. However, the population's behavioral responses to these weather alerts is unclear. Moreover, the relationship between perceived health risks and behavioral changes has not been examined. The goal of this study is to examine the health risk perceptions and behavioral changes following public heat wave warnings in Hong Kong.

A cross-sectional, population-based, telephone survey, using the last-birthday method was conducted within two weeks following a heat wave warning in 2009. A heat warning and a health study instrument, based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines and related literature was developed and validated. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted.

The questionnaire was completed by 1,123 individuals whose socio-demographic characteristics were comparable to 2009 Hong Kong population census data. Of respondents, 83.6% were aware of the heat wave weather warning. Multivariate logistic regression of socio-demographic factors indicated that being female, those in middle age groups, and those with higher educational attainment was significantly associated with heat wave warning awareness. Among those aware of the public warning, the majority were unconcerned about potential adverse health effects, < 40% were aware of the community heat-related preparedness plans, and < 50% changed their behavior to mitigate the potential adverse health impacts of hot weather.

This is the first study to examine climate change and health behavioral responses in an urban Chinese population. Future research direction should further investigate correlations between awareness and health protective actions, as well as the drivers for health behavioral changes that mitigate the impact of climate change.