Journal of psychiatric research
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Many features of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be linked to exaggerated and dysregulated emotional responses. Central to the neurocircuitry regulating emotion are functional interactions between the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Findings from human and animal studies suggest that disruption of this circuit predicts individual differences in emotion regulation. ⋯ Participants with PTSD showed decreased functional connectivity between the right amygdala and left vmPFC (p(corr) < .05). The findings are consistent with previous findings showing PTSD is associated with an exaggerated response of amygdala-mediated emotional arousal systems. This is the first study to show that the amygdala response may be accompanied by disruption of an amygdala-vmPFC functional circuit that is hypothesized to be involved in prefrontal cortical regulation of amygdala responsivity.
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Serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) has been shown to play an important role in the pathophysiology of mood disorders including poststroke depression (PSD). SLC6A4 expression is influenced by DNA methylation status and the SLC6A4 linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism. This study aimed to investigate whether SLC6A4 methylation status was associated with depression ascertained at two weeks and one year after stroke taking into account the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism. ⋯ Higher SLC6A4 promoter methylation status was independently associated with PSD both at 2 weeks and more prominently at 1 year after stroke, and was significantly associated with the worsening of depressive symptoms over one year. These findings were significant only in the presence of the 5-HTTLPR s/s genotype. SLC6A4 methylation profile was supported as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for PSD; associations with SLC6A4 methylation status may represent a target for drug development.
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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) are frequently comorbid. Previous studies suggested that the comorbidity of CD and ODD in ADHD may increase the risk of a further development of mood disorder, but most studies had a small sample size. Using a population-based prospective study design, a large sample composed of 1277 adolescents with ADHD-alone, 46 with ADHD + ODD, 87 with ADHD + CD, and 5640 age/gender-matched controls were enrolled in 2003. ⋯ Adolescents with ADHD + CD, those with ADHD + ODD, and those with ADHD-alone had a higher likelihood of developing unipolar depressive disorder (hazard ratio [HR]: 44.34, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 23.95-71.36; HR: 18.76, 95%CI: 7.87-44.71; HR: 13.01, 95%CI: 8.99-18.82) and bipolar disorder (HR: 14.39, 95%CI: 4.00-51.80; HR: 8.32, 95%CI: 1.06-65.32; HR: 5.24, 95%CI: 2.44-11.24) than the controls. Adolescents with ADHD had elevated risks of unipolar depression and bipolar disorder in their later life, and especially, those with ADHD and comorbidity of CD or ODD exhibited the highest risk. Further study would be required to evaluate whether prompt intervention for ADHD and disruptive behavior problems would decrease the risk of developing mood disorder.
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Delirium's characteristic fluctuation in symptom severity complicates the assessment of test-retest reliability of scales using classical analyses, but application of modelling to longitudinal data offers a new approach. We evaluated test-retest reliability of the delirium rating scale (DRS) and delirium rating scale-revised-98 (DRS-R98), two widely used instruments with high validity and inter-rater reliability. Two existing longitudinal datasets for each scale included DSM-IV criteria for delirium diagnosis and repeated measurements using the DRS or DRS-R98. ⋯ Individual RT measures for DRS-R98 and DRS across visits within studies showed more range than overall values. Our models found high overall reliability for both scales. Multiple factors impact a scale's reliability values including sample size, repeated measurements, patient population, etc in addition to rater variability.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Lurasidone for the treatment of acutely psychotic patients with schizophrenia: a 6-week, randomized, placebo-controlled study.
Despite the availability of established antipsychotic agents for the treatment of schizophrenia, continued unmet needs exist for effective medications with lower adverse-effect burden. The present study evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of treatment with the atypical antipsychotic lurasidone for patients with an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia. Patients were randomized to 6 weeks of double-blind treatment with lurasidone 40 mg/day, 80 mg/day, or 120 mg/day, or placebo. ⋯ Akathisia was the most commonly reported adverse event with lurasidone (17.6%, versus 3.1% with placebo). In this study, in which a large placebo response was observed, lurasidone 80 mg/day, but not 40 mg/day or 120 mg/day, was statistically superior to placebo in treating acute exacerbation of chronic schizophrenia. All lurasidone doses were generally well tolerated.