The boundary between bipolar disorder (BD) and borderline personality disorder is a controversial one. Despite the importance of the topic, few studies have directly compared these patient groups. The aim of the study was to compare the executive functioning profile of BD and BPD patients.

Executive functioning (sustained attention, problem-solving, planning, strategy formation, cognitive flexibility and working memory) was assessed in BD (n = 30) and BPD outpatients (n = 32) using a computerized assessment battery (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, CANTAB). The groups were compared to one another as well as to healthy controls.

BD patients showed deficits in strategy formation and in planning (indicated by longer execution time in the ToL task) in comparison to BPD patients and healthy controls. BPD patients showed deficits in planning (short deliberation time in the ToL task) in comparison to BD patients and in comparison to healthy controls. In comparison to healthy controls, BPD patients displayed deficits in problem-solving.

Differences in executive dysfunction between BD and BPD patients suggest that this cognitive dimension may be relevant for the clarification of the boundary between the disorders.

While the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is well established, the debate is still open in relation to bipolar depression and to a possible different effectiveness of high vs. low stimulation. The present study was aimed to assess and compare the efficacy and tolerability of different protocols of augmentative rTMS in a sample of patients with current Major Depressive Episode (MDE), poor drug response/treatment resistance and a diagnosis of MDD or bipolar disorder.

Thirty-three patients were recruited in a 4-week, blind-rater, rTMS trial and randomised to the following three groups of stimulation: (1) (n = 10) right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) 1 HZ, 110% of the motor threshold (MT), 420 stimuli/day; (2) (n = 10) right DLPFC, 1 Hz, 110% MT, 900 stimuli/day; (3) (n = 13) left DLPFC, 10 Hz, 80% MT, 750 stimuli/day.

Twenty-nine patients completed the treatment, showing a significant reduction of primary outcome measures (HAM-D, MADRS and CGI-S total scores: t = 8.1, P < 0.001; t = 8.6, P < 0.001; t = 4.6, P < 0.001 respectively). No significant differences in terms of efficacy and tolerability were found between high vs. low frequency and between unipolar and bipolar patients. Side effects were reported by 21% of the sample. One of the 4 dropouts was caused by a hypomanic switch.

Augmentative rTMS appeared to be effective and well tolerated for the acute treatment of unipolar and bipolar depression with features of poor drug response/treatment resistance, showing a comparable effectiveness profile between protocols of high and low frequency stimulation.

This study examines: (1) the prevalence of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) among Dutch and Belgian adolescents, (2) the associations between Big Five personality traits and NSSI engagement/versatility (i.e., number of NSSI methods), and (3) whether these associations are mediated by perceived stress and coping.

A total of 946 Flemish (46%) and Dutch (54%) non-institutionalized adolescents (Mean age = 15.52; SD = 1.34, 44% females) were surveyed. Measures included the NSSI subscale of the Self-Harm-Inventory, the Dutch Quick Big Five Personality questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale and the Utrecht Coping List for Adolescents. Examination of zero-order correlations was used to reveal associations, and hierarchical regression analysis was used to reveal potential mediators which were further examined within parallel mediation models by using a bootstrapping-corrected procedure.

Lifetime prevalence of NSSI was 24.31%. Neuroticism; perceived stress; and distractive, avoidant, depressive, and emotional coping were positively associated with NSSI engagement, whereas Agreeableness, Conscientiousness; and active, social, and optimistic coping were negatively associated with NSSI engagement. Observed relationships between personality traits and NSSI engagement were consistently explained by perceived stress and depressive coping. A higher versatility of NSSI was not associated with any Big Five personality trait, but was associated with higher scores on perceived stress and depressive coping and with lower scores on active and optimistic coping.

Our study suggests that a specific personality constellation is associated with NSSI engagement via high stress levels and a typical depressive reaction pattern to handle stressful life events.

This study was performed to identify the predictive factors of functional capacity assessed by the Spanish University of California Performance Skills Assessment (Sp-UPSA) and real-world functioning assessed by the Spanish Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP) in outpatients with schizophrenia.

Naturalistic, 6-month follow-up, multicentre, validation study. Here, we report data on 139 patients with schizophrenia at their baseline visit. Assessment: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S), Sp-UPSA and PSP. Statistics: Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine the relationships between variables, and multivariable stepwise linear regression analyses to identify predictive variables of Sp-UPSA and PSP total scores.

Functional capacity: scores on the PSP and PANSS-GP entered first and second at P < 0.0001 and accounted for 21% of variance (R2 = 0.208, model df = 2, F = 15.724, P < 0.0001). Real-world functioning: scores on the CGI-S (B = −5.406), PANSS-N (B = −0.657) and Sp-UPSA (B = 0.230) entered first, second and third, and accounted for 51% of variance (model df = 3, F = 37.741, P < 0.0001).

In patients with schizophrenia, functional capacity and real-world functioning are two related but different constructs. Each one predicts the other along with other factors; general psychopathology for functional capacity, and severity of the illness and negative symptoms for real-world functioning. These findings have important clinical implications: (1) both types of functioning should be assessed in patients with schizophrenia and (2) strategies for improving them should be different.

To investigate the effects of atomoxetine on emotional control in adults with ADHD.

We performed an integrated analysis using individual patient data pooled from three Eli Lilly-sponsored studies. An integrated analysis can be viewed as a meta-analysis of individual patient-level data, rather than study-level summary data.

Two populations were identified: a large sample of patients with pre-treatment baseline data (the “overall population”; n = 2846); and a subset of these patients with placebo-controlled efficacy data from baseline to 10 or 12 weeks after initiating treatment (the “placebo-controlled population”; n = 829). At baseline, in the overall population, ∼50% of ADHD patients had BRIEF-AS (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version Self-Report) Emotional control subscores between 21 and 30, compared with ∼10% of normative subjects in the BRIEF-A manual. At endpoint, in the placebo-controlled population, atomoxetine led to a small (effect size 0.19) but significant (P = 0.013) treatment effect for emotional control. The effect size was 0.32 in patients with BRIEF-AS Emotional control scores > 20 at baseline. Improvements in emotional control correlated with improvements in the core ADHD symptoms and quality-of-life.

As deficient emotional control is associated with impaired social, educational and occupational functioning over and above that explained by core ADHD symptoms alone, improvements in emotional control may be clinically relevant.

At baseline, adults with ADHD were more likely to have impaired emotional control than normative subjects. In the adult ADHD patients, atomoxetine treatment was associated with improvements in emotional control, as well as in core ADHD symptoms and quality-of-life.

To increase knowledge on the reproductive health of women who have been placed in a residential school, a child welfare facility for adolescents with severe psychosocial problems.

All women (n = 291) who lived in the Finnish residential schools on the last day of the years 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006 were included in this study and compared with matched general population controls. Register-based information on induced abortions and births was collected until the end of the year 2011.

Compared to controls, women with a residential school history had more induced abortions. A higher proportion of their births took place when they were teenagers or even minors. They were more often single, smoked significantly more during pregnancy and had a higher risk of having a preterm birth or a baby with a low birth weight.

The findings have implications for the planning of preventive and supportive interventions that aim to increase the well-being of women with a residential school history and their offspring.

Diagnosing mental illness is a central role for psychiatrists. Correct diagnosis informs both treatment and prognosis, and facilitates accurate communication. We sought to explore how psychiatrists distinguished two common psychiatric diagnoses: bipolar disorder (BD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD).

We conducted a qualitative study of psychiatrists to explore their practical experience. We then sought to validate these results by conducting a questionnaire study testing the theoretical knowledge and practical experience of a large number of UK psychiatrists. Finally we studied the assessment process in NHS psychiatric teams by analysing GP letters, assessments by psychiatrists, and assessment letters.

There was broad agreement in both the qualitative and questionnaire studies that the two diagnoses can be difficult to distinguish. The majority of psychiatrists demonstrated in survey responses a comprehensive understanding DSM-IV-TR criteria although many felt that these criteria did not necessarily assist diagnostic differentiation. This scepticism about diagnostic criteria appeared to strongly influence clinical practice in the sample of clinicians we observed. In only a minority of assessments were symptoms of mania or BPD sufficiently assessed to establish the presence or absence of each diagnosis.

Clinical diagnostic practice was not adequate to differentiate reliably BD and BPD. The absence of reliable diagnostic practice has widespread implications for patient care, service provision and the reliability of clinical case registries.

Schizophrenia patients are typically found to have low IQ both pre- and post-onset, in comparison to the general population. However, a subgroup of patients displays above average IQ pre-onset. The nature of these patients’ illness and its relationship to typical schizophrenia is not well understood. The current study sought to investigate the symptom profile of high-IQ schizophrenia patients.

We identified 29 schizophrenia patients of exceptionally high pre-morbid intelligence (mean estimated pre-morbid intelligence quotient (IQ) of 120), of whom around half also showed minimal decline (less than 10 IQ points) from their estimated pre-morbid IQ. We compared their symptom scores (SAPS, SANS, OPCRIT, MADRS, GAF, SAI-E) with a comparison group of schizophrenia patients of typical IQ using multinomial logistic regression.

The patients with very high pre-morbid IQ had significantly lower scores on negative and disorganised symptoms than typical patients (RRR = 0.019; 95% CI = 0.001, 0.675, P = 0.030), and showed better global functioning and insight (RRR = 1.082; 95% CI = 1.020, 1.148; P = 0.009). Those with a minimal post-onset IQ decline also showed higher levels of manic symptoms (RRR = 8.213; 95% CI = 1.042, 64.750, P = 0.046).

These findings provide evidence for the existence of a high-IQ variant of schizophrenia that is associated with markedly fewer negative symptoms than typical schizophrenia, and lends support to the idea of a psychosis spectrum or continuum over boundaried diagnostic categories.

To assess changes in body mass and metabolic profiles in patients with first-episode schizophrenia receiving standardised, assured treatment and to identify predictors and moderators of the effects.

We investigated the changes in body mass, fasting blood glucose and lipids in 107 largely antipsychotic naïve, first-episode schizophrenia patients who were treated according to a standard algorithm with long-acting injectable flupenthixol decanoate over 12 months.

Eighty-three (78%) participants completed the 12 months of treatment, and 104 (97%) received 100% of the prescribed injections during their participation. There were significant increases in BMI (P < .0001), waist circumference (P = 0.0006) and triglycerides (P = 0.03) and decrease in HDL (P = 0.005), while systolic (P = 0.7) and diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.8), LDL (P = 0.1), cholesterol (P = 0.3), and glucose (P = 0.9) values did not change over time. The triglyceride: HDL ratio increased by 91%. Change in BMI was only correlated with change in triglycerides (P = .008). The only significant predictor of BMI increase was non-substance abuse (P = .002).

The risks of weight gain and metabolic syndrome associated with antipsychotic treatment in first-episode schizophrenia are not restricted to second generation antipsychotics. This is a global problem, and developing communities may be particularly susceptible.

To characterize the perceptions of self, mother and family of prepubertal children and to determine if the perceptions of children with depression and their behavior towards their mothers are different from children with anxiety disorders and nonpsychiatric controls.

Children (aged 7–13 years) with major depressive disorder (n = 30), anxiety disorders (n = 37) and nonpsychiatric controls (n = 32) underwent structured psychiatric evaluations and completed questionnaires on their perceptions of themselves and their relations with their mothers and families. The child–mother dyad was observed during structured interactions.

Self-perceptions of depressed children were significantly more negative than those of children with anxiety and controls. Depression severity negatively correlated with the child's self-perception and positively correlated with perceptions of the mother as being more rejecting, controlling, less accepting and less allowing autonomy, and of the family as being less cohesive. Depression severity was also positively associated with the child's hostile attitude towards the mother during the interactions.

Our findings of greater negative perceptions of self, mother and family in depressed children compared to children with anxiety disorders and nonpsychiatric children suggest that approaches specifically addressing negative perceptions and targeting familial relationships could be especially effective for treating young children with depression.

Interactions between the pharmaceutical industry (PI) and psychiatrists have been under scrutiny recently, though there is little empirical evidence on the nature of the relationship and its intensity at psychiatry trainee level. We therefore studied the level of PI interactions and the underlying beliefs and attitudes in a large sample of European psychiatric trainees.

One thousand four hundred and forty-four psychiatric trainees in 20 European countries were assessed cross-sectionally, with a 62-item questionnaire.

The total number of PI interactions in the preceding two months varied between countries, with least interactions in The Netherlands (M (Mean) = 0.92, SD = 1.44, range = 0–12) and most in Portugal (M = 19.06, SD = 17.44, range = 0–100). Trainees were more likely to believe that PI interactions have no impact on their own prescribing behaviour than that of other physicians (M = 3.30, SD = 1.26 vs. M = 2.39, SD = 1.06 on a 5-point Likert scale: 1 “completely disagree” to 5 “completely agree”). Assigning an educational role to the pharmaceutical industry was associated with more interactions and higher gift value (IRR (incidence rate ratio) = 1.21, 95%CI = 1.12–1.30 and OR = 1.18, 95%CI = 1.02–1.37).

There are frequent interactions between European psychiatric trainees and the PI, with significant variation between countries. We identified several factors affecting this interaction, including attribution of an educational role to the PI. Creating alternative educational opportunities and specific training dedicated to PI interactions may therefore help to reduce the impact of the PI on psychiatric training.

Treatment strategies for mental disorders may vary according to illness stage. However no data currently exist to guide treatment in first episode psychotic mania. The aim of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy profile of chlorpromazine and olanzapine, as add-on to lithium, in patients with a first episode of psychotic mania, expecting better safety profile and adherence to olanzapine but similar efficacy for both treatments.

Data from 83 patients were collected in an 8-week randomised controlled trial on clinical variables, side effects, vital signs, and weight. Analyses of treatment differences over time were based on intent-to-treat principles. Kaplan-Meier estimated survival curves were used to analyse time-to-event data and mixed effects models repeated measures analysis of variance were used to determine treatment group differences over time on safety and efficacy measures.

Ethics committee approval to delay informed consent procedure until recovery from the acute episode allowed the inclusion of 83 patients highly representative of those treated in the public sector. Contrary to our hypotheses, safety profile of both medications was similar. A signal for higher rate (P=.032) and earlier occurrence (P= .043) of mania remission was observed in the olanzapine group which did not survive correction for multiple comparisons.

Olanzapine and chlorpromazine have a similar safety profile in a uniquely representative cohort of patients with first episode psychotic mania. The possibility for a greater impact of olanzapine on manic symptoms leading to earlier remission of the episode needs exploration in a large sample.

Previous studies indicate a possible association between early emotional trauma (EET) and the development of anxiety disorders (ADs) in adult life. However, no previous studies have compiled the findings of such studies and analyzed their statistical significance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to determine possible associations between EET and three ADs (panic, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety disorders).

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, PsycInfo, and Scielo with no publication date limitations. A total of 2127 studies were found, 32 studies of which were selected for the systematic review and 13 studies of which were selected for the meta-analysis.

High prevalence rates of different EETs were observed among the individuals with ADs (median: 18%–45%). The results of the meta-analysis indicated that individuals with EETs were 1.9- to 3.6-fold more likely to develop ADs compared with a control group of healthy individuals. Emotional traumas were the main risk factor for social anxiety disorder. However, no specific associations were found for the other ADs.

EET is a risk factor for ADs, underscoring the importance of preventive measures to combat the development of these disorders. Moreover, the identification of EETs among patients with ADs is essential for implementing remedial measures to minimize the impact and damage arising from this association by decreasing the risk and severity of symptoms and to improve the response rate to treatment of ADs.