JAMA psychiatry
-
Biography Historical Article
Helene Schjerfbeck's Self-portrait with red spot.
-
Methamphetamine is associated with psychotic phenomena, but it is not clear to what extent this relationship is due to premorbid psychosis among people who use the drug. ⋯ There was a large dose-dependent increase in the occurrence of psychotic symptoms during periods of methamphetamine use among users of the drug.
-
Converging lines of evidence implicate the glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid neurotransmitter systems in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder. Transcranial magnetic stimulation cortical excitability and inhibition paradigms have been used to assess cortical glutamatergic and γ-aminobutyric acid-mediated tone in adults with major depressive disorder, but not in children and adolescents. ⋯ These findings suggest that major depressive disorder in children and adolescents is associated with increased intracortical facilitation and excessive glutamatergic activity.
-
The National Institute of Mental Health Affective Disorders Workgroup identified the assessment of an individual's burden of illness as an important need. The Individual Burden of Illness Index for Depression (IBI-D) metric was developed to meet this need. ⋯ Remission in depressed patients, as defined by a reduction in symptom severity, does not denote normal QOL or functioning. By incorporating multidimensional patient-reported outcomes, the IBI-D provides a single measure that adequately captures the full burden of illness in depression both prior to and following treatment; therefore, it offers a more accurate metric of recovery.
-
Evidence for symptomatic convergence of schizophrenia and N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor (NMDA-R) encephalitis highlights the need for an assessment of antibody prevalence and specificity for distinct disease mechanisms in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia among glutamatergic pathophysiologic abnormalities in psychiatric disorders. ⋯ Acutely ill patients with an initial schizophrenia diagnosis show an increased prevalence of NMDA-R antibodies. The repertoire of antibody subtypes in schizophrenia and MD is different from that with NMDA-R encephalitis. The latter disorder should be considered as a differential diagnosis, particularly in young females with acute disorganized behavior or catatonia.