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From early on, infants show a preference for infant-directed speech (IDS) over adult-directed speech (ADS), and exposure to IDS has been correlated with language outcome measures such as vocabulary. The present multi-laboratory study explores this issue by investigating whether there is a link between early preference for IDS and later vocabulary size. Infants’ preference for IDS was tested as part of the ManyBabies 1 project, and follow-up CDI data were collected from a subsample of this dataset at 18 and 24 months. A total of 341 (18 months) and 327 (24 months) infants were tested across 21 laboratories. In neither preregistered analyses with North American and UK English, nor exploratory analyses with a larger sample did we find evidence for a relation between IDS preference and later vocabulary. We discuss implications of this finding in light of recent work suggesting that IDS preference measured in the laboratory has low test-retest reliability.
The Choice giving birth by cesarean section when it is not biologically necessary implies a greater risk to the health of the mother and child Toral et al. Eletrônica Estácio Saúde 2018; 95(1) 27-30,refers the psychological relevance to identify perinatal effects of a good medical practice at birth. In this respect Poojari et al. Early Hum Dev 2019;115 93-98, state that a cesarean section as a surgical risk, causes decrease fetal oxygenation and an impairment release of stress-related hormones in the maternal-fetal binomial that does not favor neural connections at birth
Objectives
Identify the neurodevelopmental lags in infant on children under 24 months of age born by cesarean section and vaginal delivery,
Methods
A cross-sectional descriptive correlational; Sample consisted of 100 children of a term gestation, 70 with spontaneous vaginal birth and 30 whose birth was by cesarean section, aged between one and twenty-four months; using the Abbreviated Development Scale, an instrument created and validated for the Colombian population (Cronbach’s alpha, 0.94). All parents signed the informed consent.
Results
All test scales were applied (gross and fine motor, language and social personal), the results showed that children born by cesarean section had better development in areas of fine motor and language, while children born by vaginal delivery had better development of gross motor. See (graphic 1).
Graphic 1: Areas of development according to the type of delivery.
References
Conclusions
The influence of contextual variables such as age and educational level of the mother on language and social areas was also found
Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) offer advantages for schizophrenic patients compared to oral antipsychotics: less frequent dosing, lower relapse rates, better adherence, and lower healthcare costs. LAIs include paliperidone, aripiprazole, olanzapine, risperidone, and zuclopenthixol. Paliperidone palmitate is the only antipsychotic with two formulations with an administration interval longer than one month (3-monthly and 6-monthly), which could be better for the patient and help ensure treatment continuity, especially in cases of limited access to the health care system.
Objectives
To assess the satisfaction of patients under treatment with 6-month paliperidone palmitate compared to other long-acting injectable antipsychotics with a higher frequency of administration.
Methods
We analyzed the satisfaction level of a sample of patients receiving treatment with LAIs at the Mental Health Center of El Escorial. All patients had a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders (according to DSM-5). Patients who met the inclusion criteria completed the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM), a generic questionnaire of treatment satisfaction that measures four dimensions: side effects, treatment efficacy, comfort of use, and overall satisfaction. Other clinical and socio-demographic variables were collected, as well as the type of injectable, dose, and frequency of administration.
Results
Data from approximately 30 patients will be analyzed and discussed later.
Conclusions
Less frequent administration of LAIs may result in greater patient satisfaction and be just as beneficial clinically. Treatment satisfaction is positively associated with an improvement in psychotic symptoms and seems to be related to better adherence.
Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is an underrecognized condition characterized by acute episodes of intractable nausea and vomiting, colic abdominal pain and restlessness related to chronic cannabis use. Antiemetics commonly fail to alleviate the severe nausea and vomiting. A very particular finding is the symptomatic relief with hot water. Antipsychotics (such as haloperidol), benzodiazepines and/or capsaicin cream appear to be the most efficacious in the treatment of this unique disorder. Precisely, it has been studied that transient relief of symptoms with topic capsaicin or hot water share the same pathophysiology. Nevertheless, abstinence from cannabis remains the most effective way of mitigating morbidity associated with CHS.
Objectives
The objective is to study this phenomenom in our hospital and to alert of its existence in order to avoid a suspected misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis.
Methods
We report a case series of seven patients who attended the Emergency Room (ER) of a third level hospital located in Cantabria (Spain) where a psychiatric evaluation was demanded.
Results
The reasons for consultation were agitation and/or compulsive vomit provocation and showers. They were all women, with a median age of 29 years (range 21 to 38), who all smoked cannabis and in probable high doses (seven to up to twenty joints per day, information was missing in three of the patients) and probable long duration of consumption (more than nine years up to twenty-three, information was missing in three of the patients).
One of the most striking findings is the time to diagnosis, being the median of years of more than eight (range from two to twenty-one). In all of the cases there is a hyperfrequentation to the ER for this reason (not counting other emergency centres we have in Cantabria which we don´t have access to), being the average of almost twenty-two times (thirteen up to thirty times), not diagnosing it until last visits. Another interesting fact is that Psychiatric evaluation is done approximately in a third of the visits, being the department that makes all of the diagnosis except in one case. In all of the cases there are a lot of diagnostic orientation doubts from different medical departments, being the two most common psychiatric misdiagnosis: Other Specified Anxiety Disorder and Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder. Two of the patients were hospitalized in an acute psychiatric unit for this reason, one of them nine times and the other patient, twice.
Conclusions
CHS has a very particular presentation which makes its recognition very simple. From our experience, it is an unknown entity for most of the doctors, something that needs to change in order to make a correct therapeutic management. Larger studies need to be done to make this findings more solid and for further information.
Crisis resolution teams (CRTs) are a crucial component of mental health care, providing timely support to individuals experiencing acute mental health crises. This abstract delves into the concept of crisis and seeks to identify the patients who stand to benefit from these specialized services.
Objectives
Defining crisis within the context of CRTs can be complex. It encompasses not only immediate emergencies but also broader mental health distress.
Research suggests that suitable candidates for CRT interventions are those facing acute mental health crises : This includes individuals experiencing suicidal ideation, severe agitation, or severe emotional distress.
La “Escala de Evaluación de Resolución de Crisis” (Crisis Resolution Team Assessment Tool, CRTAT) de Sonia Johnson es una herramienta diseñada para para medir la efectividad de los CRT y la duración de la intervención en crisis. Establece un límite de seis semanas como el período máximo durante el cual se debe ofrecer la atención en crisis.
Existen otras escalas de evaluación para medir la eficacia de la resolución de crisis:
1.Escala de Intensidad de Crisis (CIS): se utiliza para medir la gravedad de la crisis y la necesidad de intervención inmediata.
2.Escala de Evaluación de Crisis de Brage Hansen (BCES): se enfoca en la evaluación de crisis suicidas y evalúa la intensidad de la ideación suicida y la urgencia de la intervención.
3.Escala de Evaluación de Crisis de Eriksson (ECAS): Diseñada para evaluar la intensidad de la crisis en pacientes psiquiátricos, la ECAS se centra en la agitación, la ansiedad y la angustia emocional.
Methods
- Studies have explored the effectiveness of CRTs and the perspectives of service users. Understanding how patients perceive crisis and CRT services is crucial for tailoring interventions effectively.
Results
Conclusions
- CRTs play a vital role in mental health care, offering timely support to individuals experiencing crises. While defining crisis is complex, suitable candidates often include those in acute distress requiring immediate intervention. Understanding the perspectives of service users and the diverse nature of crisis experiences informs effective crisis resolution strategies.
Psychotic patients often require pharmacological treatment, which may prove ineffective, leading to treatment-resistant psychosis necessitating the use of clozapine. However, the emergence of side effects can result in discontinuation, potentially triggering a relapse of psychotic symptoms. One significant side effect is antipsychotic-induced weight gain which, over time, can lead to adverse metabolic events. Recent translational research is evaluating the impact of prenatal factors on the metabolic outcomes of psychotic patients, using a surrogate marker of the intrauterine milieu such as birth weight (BW).
Objectives
We aim to evaluate the changes in leptin, adiponectin, and insulin levels in patients with treatment-resistant psychosis who initiate clozapine treatment due to persistent psychotic symptoms.
Methods
Subjects older than 18 years with a diagnostic of a major mental disorder and initiating clozapine were enrolled in this 18-months longitudinal study. Neurohormones levels, including leptin, adiponeptin, and insulin were measured at baseline, 8 and 18 months during follow-up. Statistical analysis were conducted by using a fixed-effects model.
Results
A total of 23 subjects initiating clozapine were evaluated during the initial mandatory 18-week period. Neurohormones, specifically leptin and adiponectin, were measured at three time points: baseline, 8 weeks, and 18 weeks. The changes in leptin levels were significantly associated with birth BW with sex differences, being inversely correlated only in females. Adiponectin was significantly associated with BW, being inversely correlated in males. Conversely, there was no observed association between insulin levels and BW.
Conclusions
Our findings highlight the significance of prenatal factors in influencing the subsequent evolution of neurohormones in individuals initiating clozapine treatment. This suggests that subjects with lower BW tend to exhibit elevated neurohormone values, emphasizing the role of prenatal events in this context.
Analytical investigations of heat transfer during the vertical impingement of an unsubmerged axisymmetric liquid jet on a horizontal plate have been limited to the regions ahead of the jump. This limitation is due to the complex flow physics in the jump region arising from sudden changes in the flow field. This is addressed in here by extending the averaging theory (AT) introduced by Bohr et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 79, issue 6, 1997, pp. 1038–1041) which was further developed by Watanabe et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 480, 2003, pp. 233–265), to describe the heat transfer problem in circular hydraulic jumps including separation. The applicability of the resulting theory to determine the temperature field in the jump region is evaluated using the data available in the literature and also by means of fully resolved numerical solutions. Good agreement is observed for moderate Prandtl numbers. However, for sufficiently high Prandtl numbers, deviations become notable. The reasons for the deviations according to their relevance are (i) monotonically decreasing temperature profile inherent to the AT, whereas the fully resolved numerical solutions exhibit a local maximum in the temperature profile away from the plate; and (ii) inapplicability of the concept of dividing the flow field into a region affected and a region unaffected by heat transfer according to the thermal boundary layer thickness. This concept leads to the overestimation of the temperature close to the wall and to the existence of a threshold Prandtl number, for which the thermal boundary layer thickness does not meet the free surface anymore. Around this threshold Prandtl number, the temperature field shows a discontinuous behaviour.
Current live-cell imaging techniques make possible the observation of live events and the acquisition of large datasets to characterize the different parameters of the visualized events. They provide new insights into the dynamics of biological processes with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. Here we describe the implementation and application of a new tool called TrackAnalyzer, accessible from Fiji and ImageJ. Our tool allows running semi-automated single-particle tracking (SPT) and subsequent motion classification, as well as quantitative analysis of diffusion and intensity for selected tracks relying on the graphical user interface (GUI) for large sets of temporal images (X–Y–T or X–Y–C–T dimensions). TrackAnalyzer also allows 3D visualization of the results as overlays of either spots, cells or end-tracks over time, along with corresponding feature extraction and further classification according to user criteria. Our analysis workflow automates the following steps: (1) spot or cell detection and filtering, (2) construction of tracks, (3) track classification and analysis (diffusion and chemotaxis), and (4) detailed analysis and visualization of all the outputs along the pipeline. All these analyses are automated and can be run in batch mode for a set of similar acquisitions.
This article aims to explore the ethical issues arising from attempts to diversify genomic data and include individuals from underserved groups in studies exploring the relationship between genomics and health. We employed a qualitative synthesis design, combining data from three sources: 1) a rapid review of empirical articles published between 2000 and 2022 with a primary or secondary focus on diversifying genomic data, or the inclusion of underserved groups and ethical issues arising from this, 2) an expert workshop and 3) a narrative review. Using these three sources we found that ethical issues are interconnected across structural factors and research practices. Structural issues include failing to engage with the politics of knowledge production, existing inequities, and their effects on how harms and benefits of genomics are distributed. Issues related to research practices include a lack of reflexivity, exploitative dynamics and the failure to prioritise meaningful co-production. Ethical issues arise from both the structure and the practice of research, which can inhibit researcher and participant opportunities to diversify data in an ethical way. Diverse data are not ethical in and of themselves, and without being attentive to the social, historical and political contexts that shape the lives of potential participants, endeavours to diversify genomic data run the risk of worsening existing inequities. Efforts to construct more representative genomic datasets need to develop ethical approaches that are situated within wider attempts to make the enterprise of genomics more equitable.
One of the most important functions of sleep may be the promotion of brain development. The non-REM and REM sleep sequences show the succession of cerebral processing phenomena that underlie memory consolidation. The negative consequences of sleep loss on neural and behavioral plasticity has been examined. On the other hand, sleep disruption can be a crucial symptom to develop depression disorders. Recent literature suggests that maintenance insomnia may be a risk factor for dementia. It would be important to elucidate which factors may increase the risk of developing dementia and aggravating its progression.
Objectives
The aim of this scoping review is to point out the increased risk of developing dementia related to insomnia and depression.
Methods
Relevant literature was searched with PUBMED as electronic database. We used and combined the following MeSH terms: depression, insomnia, cognitive impairment and dementia. We chose sixteen recent studies from 2009 to 2021. Four of them were ruled out because the methodology and conclusions were not enough evident.
Results
We underlined an interesting research which was carried out with Chinese population in 2021. A total of 256 patients with insomnia disorder were diagnosed by neurologists, 45 of whom were diagnosed with amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and 45 participants with intact cognition were chosen as controls matched for age and education. A case-control study was conducted to compare sleep structure between aMCI and control patients with insomnia disorder. An American prospective research in 2016 founded a statistically significant association with a higher MCI/dementia risk in women with either short (≤6 hours/night) or long (≥8 hours/night) sleep duration (vs.7 hours/night). The relationships between depression, cognitive function, serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and volumetric MRI measurements in older adults were investigated. A total of 4352 individuals aged 65 years or older (mean age 72 years) participated in this Japanese study.
Conclusions
According to these researches, we emphasize the importance of detecting sleep disturbances as potential risk factors for MCI and dementia. All of them provide evidences that future studies should investigate dementia prevention among elderly individuals through the management of insomnia. At that point we have to consider personalized medicine and machine learning techniques for sleep and cognitive or mood symptoms.
Numerous studies point to the comorbidity between gambling disorder (GD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, there is a lack of research exploring how ADHD symptoms might influence psychological treatment outcomes for GD.
Objectives
Therefore, we aimed to explore differences between patients with GD with and without ADHD symptoms regarding psychopathology, personality, sociodemographic and especially treatment outcome measures.
Methods
This longitudinal study included n=170 patients with GD receiving 16 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in a specialized unit of a public hospital. Multiple self-reported instruments were used to assess GD severity, personality, ADHD and other symptoms and sociodemographic measures prior to treatment.
Results
A clinical profile characterized by greater GD severity, higher psychopathology and impulsivity, and less adaptive personality features was observed in patients with self-reported ADHD symptoms compared to those without. No significant differences in treatment response (measured by dropout and relapse rates) were reported between the two groups. However, patients with ADHD symptoms described more severe relapses (more money gambled) and GD patients who relapsed scored higher on measures of ADHD, particularly inattention.
Conclusions
Individuals with GD and ADHD may experience more severe relapses following treatment, suggesting a need for more vigilant follow-up and interventions for patients with this comorbidity.
Disclosure of Interest
C. Vintró-Alcaraz: None Declared, G. Mestre-Bach: None Declared, R. Granero: None Declared, M. Gómez-Peña: None Declared, L. Moragas: None Declared, F. Fernández-Aranda Consultant of: Novo Nordisk and editorial honoraria as EIC from Wiley, M. Potenza Consultant of: Opiant Pharmaceuticals, Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, AXA, Game Day Data, Baria-Tek and the Addiction Policy Forum; has been involved in a patent application with Yale University and Novartis; has received research support (to Yale) from Mohegan Sun Casino and Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling; and has consulted for and/or advised gambling and legal entities on issues related to impulse-control/addictive disorders, S. Jiménez-Murcia: None Declared
Paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS) can be expressed with a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric symptoms: alterations in consciousness, cognition, behaviour, mood or perception. Testicular tumours have been related to different expressions of PNS, but, to date, no relationship with bipolar disorder has been described.
On the other hand, the relationship between SARS-CoV2 infection and subsequent affective conditions has also been recently described. Between 30-40% of people affected by the infection present symptoms of depression in the following months.
Objectives
To describe a case of a 17-year-old patient with an atypical onset of bipolar disorder a few months after a SARS-CoV2 infection and a few months before a testicular germ cell tumour was detected.
Methods
Description of a clinical case, its differential diagnosis and the literature review associated.
Results
This is a 17-year-old adolescent with no previous psychiatric history, who is referred to a day centre after committing a suicide attempt. The patient presented an average premorbid functioning. Stands out, a SARS-CoV2 infection 3 months before the onset of symptoms. He presents repeated and self-limited episodes (maximum 3 weeks) of major depressive symptoms: autolytic ideation, hypothymia, asthenia, clinophilia, isolation, anhedonia, mutism, psychomotor retardation, lack of hygiene, hyporexia, hypersomnia; that alternates with periods of stability and with others of symptoms of hypomania (sudden improvement in mood, increased activity and plans), also lasting a few days. Paradoxic response to treatment with antidepressants, presenting irritability and exacerbation of suicide ideas. Good tolerance and response to treatment with low doses of aripiprazole and quetiapine. The patient was diagnosed as type II bipolar disorder with rapid cycling.
A few days after definitive diagnosis, a testicular germ cell tumour was detected, for which he had to undergo surgical intervention and chemotherapy treatment. At this point, it is suggested that the symptoms could be included in a paraneoplastic condition prior to the tumour. Months after the remission of the cancer, the patient does not present symptoms of relapse or metastasis, but mood swings persist, of lesser intensity, every few weeks. Treatment with lamotrigine was started at increasing doses, with good response and tolerance from the start.
Conclusions
The onset of mental health disorders in adolescents can be complicated by the non-specific or atypical early or prodromal symptoms. This degree of complexity increases when somatic pathologies coexist and even more if those pathologies have yet to be fully understood and studied, such as paraneoplastic syndromes or SARS-CoV2 infections. It is necessary to continue investigating the interrelationship between somatic and psychiatric conditions in order to provide more specific and rapid clinical responses.
Eating disorders (ED) are complex entities of multicausal etiology that mainly affect adolescents and young women. For this reason, EDs frequently cause medical and psychological complications that can cause potentially irreversible developmental sequelae during adolescence.
96% of Spanish youth (15-29 years old) use daily Internet. In addition, 83% use Social Networks. Internet could be a good way to spread information through social media, websites, providing material and means to achieve the body culture purpose.
As we have seen in various papers, social media can influence and trigger the development of EDs.
Objectives
The objetives of the study are to analyse the preferred social network by adolescents diagnosed with eating disorders, as well as to measure characteristic and time-use of these networks.
Methods
We decided to undergo a transversal study to analyse the use of social media. For that, we developed a survey to reflect the use of the main social networks (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube and Reddit) in adolescents diagnosed with eating disorders in Spain, who are in outpatient treatment in a specialised ED unit.
Results
The total number of adolescents interviewed was 65; of these 96.9% were females and 3.1% males. The mean age was 14.8 years.
The preferred social network was Instagram (54%), followed by TikTok (34%) and YouTube (6%).
Most of the patients interviewed (68%) admitted checking Instagram daily, and 31% reflected spending between 1-3 hours/day. None of the adolescents reported using Facebook or Reddit.
The majority of adolescents (89%) admitted having ignored friend requests while 12% reflected the importance of having a high number of followers as a way of external validation, getting more ‘likes’ and getting to know more people.
Conclusions
The obtained results reinforce the need of exploring and taking into account the use of Social Media in adolescents with ED and how it may influence their pathology. There is a need for further prospective research in this field.
Schizophrenia is a large and increasing burden for patients from early stages of the disease. Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs), like aripiprazole once-monthly 400 mg (AOM400), have demonstrated an improvement in treatment adherence compared to oral formulations, with a consequent reduction in time to remission and risk of relapse.
Objectives
This study aims to compare the hospitalisation rate in individuals with schizophrenia who started their treatment with AOM400 or atypical oral antipsychotics (OA) in a real-world setting in Spain.
Methods
This is an observational and retrospective study based on the electronic medical records of the BIG-PAC database. Adults diagnosed with schizophrenia who initiated treatment with AOM400 or atypical OA (olanzapine, risperidone, paliperidone, aripiprazole or asenapine) from 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2019 were included. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to match individuals from both cohorts. Healthcare resource use and treatment persistence (with AOM400 or OA) were also analysed after 12 months.
Results
After the PSM, 1,017 individuals with similar baseline characteristics were included in each cohort (total population: 2,024 individuals). At index date (treatment initiation) patients were 41.4 years (standard deviation, SD: 10.6), 54.6% were male and had received 1.6 (SD: 0.9) previous antipsychotic treatments. During the follow-up period, the AOM400 cohort had a 40% lower risk of hospitalisation than the OA cohort (hazard ratio, HR: 0.60 [95% confidence interval, CI: 0.49 – 0.74]). The median time to the first hospitalisation was longer in individuals with AOM400 compared to those with OA (197 compared to 174 days; p<0.004), whereas median length of hospital stay were shorter (6 and 11 days for AOM400 and OA, respectively; p<0.001). The AOM400 cohort also required fewer visits to primary care, specialized care and emergency rooms than the OA cohort (p≤0.005). After 12 months, the AOM cohort was more persistent than the OA cohort (64.9% compared to 53.7%; p<0.001).
Conclusions
AOM400 reduces the number and duration of hospitalisations and improves treatment persistence compared to atypical OA. Our results suggest that the use of AOM400 may reduce the burden of schizophrenia in Spain.
Paliperidone Palmitate 3-month formulation (PP3M) has shown a significantly longer time to relapse compared to placebo, with similar efficacy and safety to Paliperidone Palmitate 1-month (PP1M) (Carpiniello et al. Drug Des. Devel. Ther. 2016; 10 1731–1742).
Objectives
The main objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of PP3M in preventing hospital admissions and emergency room visits, in people with non-acute schizophrenia in a naturalistic psychiatric outpatient setting
Methods
Sample: 30 people with diagnosis of schizophrenia (DSM 5 criteria), who had started treatment with PP3M, after being stabilized with PP1M (the dose was not modified in the four months prior to inclusion in the study)
Quarterly basis, the following evaluations were performed during a follow-up period of 66 months:
The Clinical Global Impression-Schizophrenia scale (CGI-SCH)
Treatment adherence, concomitant medication and the number of hospitalizations and emergency visits
Efficacy values: Percentage of patients who remained free of admissions at the end of 66 months of follow-up.
Other evaluation criteria: Percentage of patients who never visited the emergency department at the end of 66 months of follow-up. Average change from baseline visit to the final evaluation as assessed by score obtained on the following scale: GSI-SCH, percentage of patients on antipsychotic monotherapy and treatment adherence rate.
Results
The mean dose of PP3M was 401. 55 mg
The percentage of patients who remained free of admissions at the end of the 66 months was 83.25% and the percentage of patients who never visited the emergency department at the end of 66 months was 79.92%
Mean variations from baseline scores at 66 months were: (-0.36 ±0-37) on the GCI-SCH.
The percentage of patients on antipsychotic monotherapy at the end of the 66 months was 76.56%
The rate of adherence was 86.58%
.
Conclusions
In our study, we found that paliperidone palmitate 3-month formulation was effective in reducing the number of admissions and visits to the emergency department, under conditions of daily clinical practice.
The risk of suicide may be elevated in the presence of personality pathology. Adults with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) may be vulnerable to depression and suicidal thoughts.
Objectives
To identify factors associated with suicide in cases of OCPD.
Methods
Psychological autopsy procedures were used to gather detailed information about adults who died by suicide and natural causes. A total of 75 deceased adults were evaluated using psychological autopsy procedures. Family members were interviewed about a recently deceased adult, using structured diagnostic interviews (SCID and SIDP-IV). Diagnostic summaries, coroner’s reports and police records were reviewed by a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a social worker, and a neuroscientist until agreement was reached about final diagnosis. The final sample included 40 adults who met criteria for OCPD (18 had died by suicide; 20 had died by natural causes). An additional 40 cases were examined in which evidence of PD was absent (19 had died by suicide; 18 had died by natural causes).
Results
The diagnosis of a Major Depressive Disorder was significantly more common in suicide completers with OCPD compared to suicide completers without OCPD (X2 = 6.74, p < .01) or cases of natural death with OCPD (X2 = 12.70, p < .001). Suicide completers with OCPD displayed many symptoms of depression, more often than suicide completers without OCPD or cases of natural death with OCPD (see Table 1). As compared to the cases of natural death, both groups of suicide completers were more likely to have previously attempted suicide prior to their final act (X2 = 8.52, p < .05).Table 1.
Comparison of four groups using psychological autopsy procedures to identify the presence of diagnostic criteria for a Major Depressive Episode at the time of death.
Adults with OCPD appear vulnerable to a Major Depressive episode, and the combination of MDD with OCPD creates a significant risk for death by suicide. It is important to appreciate the influence of personality disorder or depression and suicide risk.
When completing the medical record of a patient with bipolar disoder (BD), hardly anything is more impacting than a family history of completed suicide (FHS). In fact, FHS is a main risk factor for personal suicide attempts and death in this population. There are few modifiable protective factors against suicide in BD, such as lithium treatment and absence of substance abuse.
Objectives
We aimed to explore the relationship between a FHS and clinical characteristics in patients with BD. Given the impact that FHS has on the individual and on healthcare professionals, we hypothesized that it would modify behaviors towards a higher prevalence of the modifiable protective factors against suicide, namely more treatment with lithium and less drug addiction.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study that included all patients with BD that were followed up in a specialised unit between 1998 and 2020. Only subjects with complete information on FHS were retained for the analysis. We assessed sociodemographic and clinical data and described it with measures of frequency, central tendency and dispersion. Differences between subjects with and without FHS were calculated with χ², Fisher’s exact test and Student’s t-test as appropriate. We set the significance level at p≤0.05. All tests were two-tailed.
Results
The sample consisted of 480 subjects with a mean age of 45.9 years (standard deviation 14.4, range 18-88), of which 54.4% (n=261) were women. 69.2% (n=332) had a diagnosis of BD type I and 30.8% (n=148) of BD type II. 77 subjects (16%) had a FHS. Regarding differences between groups, those with relatives who had committed suicide did not show statistically significant differences in terms of sociodemographic variables (age, gender, civil status, employment) or key clinical features (type of BD, illness duration, psychotic features, predominant polarity, rapid cycling, number of lifetime manic and depressive episodes, comorbid personality disorder), neither did they have a higher use of lithium (55.8% vs 59.3%, p=0.572) nor lower substance use disorder (10.9% vs 15.5%, p=0.34). Predictably, people with FHS had a higher prevalence of family history of mental and affective disorders (96.1% vs 70.9%, p<0.001; 86.3% vs 56.3%, p<0.001) and of stressful life events (71.6% vs 58.9%, p=0.05). Personal lifetime suicide attempts also tended to be higher (36.4% vs 26.7%, p=0.088).
Conclusions
Contrary to our hypothesis, in our sample of subjects with BD a FHS was not associated with a higher prevalence of the modifiable protective factors against suicide. Therefore, although suicide has a major impact both in families and healthcare professionals, our results suggest it does not modify attitudes towards prevention in a real-life scenario. The main limitation of our study is its cross-sectional design, which does not allow for causal inference. In conclusion, there is room for improvement in the fight against suicide.
Robust feature selection is vital for creating reliable and interpretable machine-learning (ML) models. When designing statistical prediction models in cases where domain knowledge is limited and underlying interactions are unknown, choosing the optimal set of features is often difficult. To mitigate this issue, we introduce a multidata (M) causal feature selection approach that simultaneously processes an ensemble of time series datasets and produces a single set of causal drivers. This approach uses the causal discovery algorithms PC$ {}_1 $ or PCMCI that are implemented in the Tigramite Python package. These algorithms utilize conditional independence tests to infer parts of the causal graph. Our causal feature selection approach filters out causally spurious links before passing the remaining causal features as inputs to ML models (multiple linear regression and random forest) that predict the targets. We apply our framework to the statistical intensity prediction of Western Pacific tropical cyclones (TCs), for which it is often difficult to accurately choose drivers and their dimensionality reduction (time lags, vertical levels, and area-averaging). Using more stringent significance thresholds in the conditional independence tests helps eliminate spurious causal relationships, thus helping the ML model generalize better to unseen TC cases. M-PC$ {}_1 $ with a reduced number of features outperforms M-PCMCI, noncausal ML, and other feature selection methods (lagged correlation and random), even slightly outperforming feature selection based on explainable artificial intelligence. The optimal causal drivers obtained from our causal feature selection help improve our understanding of underlying relationships and suggest new potential drivers of TC intensification.
We investigated parasitic zoonoses caused by protozoans and helminths in urban and peri-urban rat populations (Rattus norvegicus and R. rattus) in Spanish cities. Rats were trapped and then dissected to remove adult helminths, and the contents of the large intestine were retrieved for the study of parasitic forms. The Midi Parasep® solvent free (SF) technique was used to concentrate the parasites in the intestinal contents. Some of the rats studied (n = 8) were infected by the rat lungworm, Angiostongylus cantonensis, whose first stage larvae (L1) are shed in rat faeces. After the concentration technique, L1 larvae were found in the sediment of 6 of the 8 positive rats. The two negative sediment samples were due to the presence of either only adult females or, in addition to males, only young females in the lungs of the rats. In view of our results, Midi Parasep® SF turned out to be a simple, rapid, inexpensive, and sensitive method to detect nematode larvae, such as the L1 larvae of A. cantonensis (or A. costaricensis), in natural and experimentally infected rats.
In this paper we re-describe Trichuris muris based on morphological data following isolation from two commensal rodent species, Mus musculus from Mexico and Rattus rattus from Argentina. Furthermore, we provide a molecular characterization based on mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 mitochondrial gene) and nuclear (internal transcribed spacer 2 region) markers in order to support the taxonomic identification of the studied specimens of T. muris from M. musculus. We distinguished T. muris from 29 species of Trichuris found in American rodents based on morphological and biometrical features, such as the presence of a spicular tube, length of spicule, size of proximal and distal cloacal tube and non-protrusive vulva. We suggest that spicular tube patterns can be used to classify Trichuris species in three groups. Considering that the diagnosis among the species of this genus is mainly based on morphometry, this proposal represents a relevant contribution. We provide molecular studies on two markers, making this the first contribution for T. muris in the Americas. This study makes an important contribution to the integrative taxonomy of cosmopolitan nematode species, and its correct determination from the parasitological study of commensal rodents.