19 research outputs found
Short-Term Anxiolytic and Pro-Hypnotic Actvity of a Tryptic Hydrolysate of Bovine Αs1-Casein in Patients with Anxiety Spectrum Disorders
No full textWe conducted a prospective open-label study with 100 outpatients who had sought psychiatric consult in private clinical practice for anxiety/sleep in subthreshold/full blown DSM-IV Anxiety Spectrum Disorders. Clinicians, prescribed for 4 weeks a dietary supplement based on a formulation containing α-casozepine peptide 300 mg/day. The comparison of all rating scales mean scores reported at T0 versus T1 showed a statistically significant decrease (p<0.001). In Clinical Global Impression scale, the 54% of the sample was found to be much improved, 27% minimally improved and 19% showed no change. The 64% of the sample reported an anxiolytic effect, and among the 64 patients with sleep disorders, the 51.5% reported a pro-hypnotic effect. Considering patients in monotherapy with the dietary supplement, an anxiolytic effect was observed in 69.7% while a prohypnotic effect was observed in the 62.5% of the sample. No side-effects were reported during the treatment with no drop-out
Suicidality in the Perinatal Period
No full textABSTRACT
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess suicidality in a non-clinical sample during the perinatal period and to report suicidality rates in women with major and minor depressive episode (Mmd) during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Method: 1066 women recruited at the 3rd month of pregnancy and followed until the 12th month postpartum (N=500). Suicidality were assessed with the MOODS-SR and with the item 10 of the EPDS at different time-points during the perinatal period.
Results: The period prevalence of suicidality was 6.9% (95%CI: 6.0-7.8) during pregnancy and 4.3% (95%CI: 3.4-5.2) during the postpartum assessed with the MOODS-SR, and was 12.0% (95%CI: 10.8-13.2) during pregnancy and 8.6% (95%CI: 7.4-9.8) during the postpartum period assessed with the EPDS. The prevalence of suicidality in women who had a MmD during pregnancy was 26.4% and 34.1% assessed with the MOODS-SR and the EPDS respectively while it was of the 18.4% (MOODS-SR) and
30.6% (EPDS) during the postpartum period
Conclusion: Clinicians should assess suicidality in women presenting with MmD during the whole perinatal period. Furthermore, suicidality should be assessed in women with a previous history of psychiatric disorder that reported a lifetime suicidal ideation in order to prevent poor postpartum outcomes.
Significant Outcomes
• The prevalence of suicidality was two-fold higher if it was assessed with the EPDS both during pregnancy (12.0% vs. 6.9%) and during the postpartum period (8.6% vs. 4.3%) than if it was assessed with the MOODS-SR.
• Having a minor or major depressive episode during pregnancy increase the risk of reporting suicidality during the postpartum period.
• Reporting suicidality in the lifetime is associated with suicidality both during pregnancy than during the postpartum period.
Limitations
• The prevalence of suicidality may be underestimated because of women who have required it, had the possibility to receive psychological counselling and/or a drug treatment.
• Over half of the participants (53.1%) did not complete the follow-up.
• Participants were predominantly highly educated and employed
Subthreshold psychiatric psychopathology in Functional gastrointestinal disorders: Can it be the bridge between gastroenterology and psychiatry?
No full textBackground and Aims: Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGDs) are multifactorial disorders of the gut-brain interaction. This study investigated the prevalence of Axis I and spectrum disorders in patients with FGD and established the link between FGDs and psychopathological dimensions. Methods: A total of 135 consecutive patients with FGD were enrolled. The symptoms' severity was evaluated using questionnaires, while the psychiatric evaluation by clinical interviews established the presence/absence of mental (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-4th edition, Axis I Diagnosis) or spectrum disorders. Results: Of the 135 patients, 42 (32.3%) had functional dyspepsia, 52 (40.0%) had irritable bowel syndrome, 21 (16.2%) had functional bloating, and 20 (15.4%) had functional constipation. At least one psychiatric disorder was present in 46.9% of the patients, while a suprathreshold panic spectrum was present in 26.2%. Functional constipation was associated with depressive disorders (p < 0.05), while functional dyspepsia was related to the current major depressive episode (p < 0.05). Obsessive-compulsive spectrum was correlated with the presence of functional constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The high prevalence of subthreshold psychiatric symptomatology in patients with FGD, which is likely to influence the expression of gastrointestinal symptoms, suggested the usefulness of psychological evaluation in patients with FGDs
Frataxin deficiency increases cyclooxygenase 2 and prostaglandins in cell and animal models of Friedreich's ataxia
No full text© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.An inherited deficiency of the mitochondrial protein frataxin causes Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA); the mechanism by which this deficiency triggers neuro- and cardio-degeneration is unclear. Microarrays of neural tissue of animal models of the disease showed decreases in antioxidant genes, and increases in inflammatory genes. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-derived oxylipins are important mediators of inflammation. We measured oxylipin levels using tandem mass spectrometry and ELISAs in multiple cell and animal models of FRDA. Mass spectrometry revealed increases in concentrations of prostaglandins, thromboxane B2, 15-HETE and 11-HETE in cerebellar samples of knockin knockout mice. One possible explanation for the elevated oxylipins is that frataxin deficiency results in increased COX activity. While constitutive COX1 was unchanged, inducible COX2 expression was elevated over 1.35-fold (P < 0.05) in two Friedreich's mouse models and Friedreich's lymphocytes. Consistent with higher COX2 expression, its activity was also increased by 58% over controls. COX2 expression is driven by multiple transcription factors, including activator protein 1 and cAMP response element-binding protein, both of which were elevated over 1.52-fold in cerebella. Taken together, the results support the hypothesis that reduced expression of frataxin leads to elevation of COX2-mediated oxylipin synthesis stimulated by increases in transcription factors that respond to increased reactive oxygen species. These findings support a neuroinflammatory mechanism in FRDA, which has both pathomechanistic and therapeutic implications.The study was supported by NIH grants NS077777, EY012245 and AG025532 to G.A.C., and USDA-ARS Intramural Projects 5306-51530-019-00D and 1 U24 DK097154-01 to J.W.N. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by the NIH
The complex interplay between gastrointestinal and psychiatric symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome: A longitudinal assessment
No full textAims: The aims of this study were to better define the relationship between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and psychiatric disorders and to examine the efficacy of paroxetine in the treatment of IBS patients. Methods: One hundred fifty subjects with diagnosis of IBS (Roma III criteria) and relative sub-classification (constipated, diarrhea, and mixed) were assessed for psychopathological features and gastrointestinal symptoms using IBS Symptom Severity Score and were consecutively enrolled. Fifty patients assumed paroxetine for 16 weeks and were longitudinally evaluated. Results: The entire sample had a moderate/severe gastrointestinal symptomatology (IBS-SSS 285.1 ± 98.6). The IBS subtypes were diarrhea (47.3%), constipated (32%), and mixed (20.7%). Panic disorder was found in 17.4% and major depressive episode in 14.7%. More than 50% of the patients showed "psychopathological features." This group showed more severe gastrointestinal symptoms and worse quality of life than the group without any psychiatric comorbidity (44%). Psychiatric patients also showed a significant impairment of physical state, subjective feeling of well-being, and leisure activities when compared with no psychiatric patients. When the IBS-SSS > 300 group was subgrouped in psychiatric (67.2%) and no psychiatric (32.8%), we found significant differences in all clinician-administered and self-reported scales with more severe psychopathological features in psychiatric group (P < 0.01). Among the patients treated with paroxetine, 34 (68%) completed the longitudinal evaluation showing a significant improvement of both psychiatric and gastrointestinal symptoms. Conclusions: This study confirms a high presence of psychiatric comorbidities, emphasizing the need for psychiatric screening in all patients with IBS; moreover, the longitudinal evaluation of patients treated with paroxetine showed a significant improvement of both psychiatric and gastrointestinal symptoms
Mo2044 Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Serotonin Transporter 5HTTLPR Polymorphism and Psychopathological Traits: Dangerous Relations?
No full textThe involvement of serotonin in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as well as the frequent concomitance of psychological/psychiatric disorders are well known. The promoter of human SERT gene contains a polymorphism (5HTTLPR: 44-bp insertion/ deletion), which gives rise to long (L) and short (S) alleles. The S allele causes a decreased SERT expression, resulting in a reduced efficiency of serotonin reuptake. However few data are available about the possible correlations of IBS, psychological/psychiatric disorders and the 5HTTLPR polymorphism. The present study evaluates the possible association between the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms and psychopathological traits in IBS patients relating to 5HTTLPR polymorphism. 77 IBS patients (20 m, 57 f; mean age 41.2 years) were consecutively enrolled according to Rome III criteria: 40 with diarrhea predominant (DIBS), 22 constipation predominant (C-IBS) and 15 mixed (M-IBS) bowel habit. Symptom severity was estimated by IBS-SSS questionnaire. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva and the SERT gene region containing the 5HTTLPR polymorphism was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Presence of psychopathological disorders was evaluated by the means of specific questionnaires: CGI, MADRS, HAM-A. Sexual disfunction was evaluated by ASEX score. A significant correlation between IBS-SSS and the severity of psychopathological disorders evaluated by using CGI, MADRS and HAM-A scores was found (Rho Spearman 0.39, 0.47, 0.44 respectively, p,0.01). There was no significant correlation between IBSSSS and the severity of sexual dysfunction evaluated by ASEX (Rho Spearman 0.10). L/L genotype was reported in 25 (32.46 %) subjects, L/S genotype in 41 (53.24 %) subjects and S/S genotype in 11 (14.28 %) subjects. IBS-SSS and psychopathological features were not different in the L/L, L/S and S/S genotypes (Anova and Rho Spearman). A significant correlation between the severity of IBS symptoms and the severity of psychopathological impairment, depression and anxiety was found. This correlation does not seem to be influenced by 5HTTLPR polymorphism
Influência do estresse de natureza psicossocial e biológica na indução de estresse oxidativo, danos celulares e alterações comportamentais
No full textDissertação (Mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Florianópolis, 2009As alterações fisiológicas e comportamentais decorrentes dos processos que envolvem a resposta ao estresse podem promover efeitos deletérios ao organismo. O estresse está relacionado a disfunções associadas ao sistema imune, oxidativo, processos de morte e proliferação celular, déficits cognitivos e mnemônicos, além da participação em diversas patologias. O estresse de natureza psicossocial ou biológica é responsável por alterações em marcadores de estresse oxidativo e na ativação do sistema de defesa antioxidante. Dados obtidos em nosso grupo de pesquisa demonstraram correlações entre a resposta imune humoral e a atividade de enzimas antioxidantes. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influência da exposição de camundongos suíços ao estresse de natureza psicossocial e biológica na ativação da resposta imune humoral, na indução de estresse oxidativo e nos processos de apoptose e neurogênese no hipocampo e córtex frontal. O comportamento tipo-ansioso e a memória emocional também foram analisados. Os animais experimentais foram injetados com Hemácias de Carneiro (HC), com Lipopolissacarídeo extraído de Escherichia coli (LPS) ou solução veículo (PBS). Outro grupo foi exposto ao estresse de instabilidade social por quatro dias consecutivos. No quinto dia os animais foram expostos ao teste do Labirinto em Cruz elevado (LCE) por dois dias consecutivos. Amostras de soro destes animais foram obtidas para as dosagens de produção de anticorpos anti-HC e anti-LPS. O parênquima cerebral foi retirado para análise da atividade da enzima Glutationa Redutase (GR) e as possíveis alterações nos tecidos foram avaliadas por métodos imunohistoquímicos: anti-fosfo histona H3 (marcador de células em divisão) e anti-Bcl2 (proteína presente na via apoptótica) assim como o método de marcação com TUNEL (marcação de fragmentação do DNA). A exposição aos estressores psicossociais e biológicos promoveu alterações no comportamento tipo-ansiedade. No hipocampo dos animais estressados foi observada uma redução na atividade da enzima GR. No córtex frontal a atividade foi mais estável, ocorrendo uma elevação apenas no grupo injetado com HC. Através dos estudos histológicos preliminares realizados neste trabalho não se observou a presença de alterações nos processos de proliferação ou apoptose nos tecidos avaliados. Desta forma, nossos resultados demonstraram que estressores psicossociais e biológicos interferem no sistema de defesa antioxidante e no comportamento tipo-ansioso, contudo, após um período de cinco dias de estresse não se observa indícios de agressão celular no hipocampo e no córtex frontal. Entretanto, estudos adicionais precisam ser conduzidos no sentido de elucidar os mecanismos associados às relações entre a resposta ao estresse e os sistemas imune, antioxidante e as consequências celulares e comportamentais associadas
Beyond “postpartum depressions”: Specific anxiety diagnoses during pregnancy predict different outcomes
No full text
