Psychiatry research
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Psychiatry research · May 2010
Voxel-based morphometry in eating disorders: correlation of psychopathology with grey matter volume.
Twenty-nine adult female patients with eating disorders (17 with bulimia nervosa, 12 with restrictive anorexia nervosa) were compared with 18 age-matched female healthy controls, using voxel-based morphometry. Restrictive anorexia nervosa patients showed a decrease of grey matter, particularly affecting the anterior cingulate cortex, frontal operculum, temporoparietal regions and the precuneus. By contrast, patients with bulimia nervosa did not differ from healthy controls. ⋯ The strong reduction of grey matter volume in adult patients with restrictive anorexia nervosa is in line with results of adolescent patients. Contrary to other studies, this first voxel-based morphometry report of bulimic patients did not find any structural abnormalities. The inferior parietal cortex is a critical region for sensory integration of body and spatial perception, and the correlation of "drive for thinness" with grey matter volume of this region points to a neural correlate of this core psychopathological feature of eating disorders.
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Psychiatry research · May 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialDecreased recognition of negative affect after selective serotonin reuptake inhibition is dependent on genotype.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are known to influence the information processing of emotional material in depressed patients and healthy controls. The functional polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) has been shown to interact with the effectiveness of serotonin reuptake inhibitors. It is not known whether 5-HTTLPR has an influence on emotional processing in healthy controls. ⋯ In 30 healthy controls, 15 homozygous for the long and 15 for the short allele of 5-HTTLPR, emotionally valent images were used to elicit positive or negative emotions. We found a diminished perception of sad and fearful information under SSRI which was significant in the long allele group. These findings emphasize the importance of genetic variance in emotion processing research.
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Psychiatry research · May 2010
Comorbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: Does it imply a specific subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder?
The present study examined whether the comorbidity of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) constitute a specific subtype of OCD. The study sample consisted of 146 consecutive outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD. Diagnoses were established using MINI, IPDE, YBOCS and YBOCS-SC. ⋯ There were not differences between the two sub-groups on severity of OCD symptoms and also on type of OCD onset. Our results indicate that the comorbidity of OCD with OCPD is associated with a number of specific clinical characteristics of OCD. These findings in conjunction with of current clinical, family and genetic studies provide some initial evidence that OCD comorbid with OCPD constitute a specific subtype of OCD.
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Psychiatry research · May 2010
Electroconvulsive therapy and biomarkers of neuronal injury and plasticity: Serum levels of neuron-specific enolase and S-100b protein.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered an effective and safe treatment in major depressive disorders. However, the possibility that it may induce cognitive adverse effects observed in selected patients has raised a concern that ECT may induce neuronal damage. The biomarkers of brain damage, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S-100b protein (S-100b), were measured in serum before and after ECT to determine whether this treatment induces neuronal injury or glial activation. ⋯ High levels of S-100 at 2 and 6 h correlated with the response to the treatment. These results suggest that ECT does not produce neuronal injury. The transient increase in the levels of S-100b reflecting activation of glial cells may play a part in mediating the antidepressant effects of ECT.