Association between childhood trauma and aggression in male prisoners.

Childhood trauma and aggression were examined in 540 male prisoners. The Thus 540 male prisoners had a psychiatric interview, completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and were assessed with the Brown-Goodwin Lifetime History of Aggression (BGHA) interview. There were significant correlations between CTQ scores and BGHA scores. Also prisoners with CTQ scores above the median had significantly higher BGHA scores than prisoners with CTQ scores below the median. Significantly more of the prisoners with CTQ scores above the median had more than one conviction, and significantly more had convictions as minors, and had exhibited violent behavior in prison. However, in logistic regression analyses that included possible confounding variables, CTQ scores related only to violence in prison while BGHA scores related to violent crime, having more than one conviction, conviction as a minor, and violence in prison. The relationship between CTQ and BGHA scores suggests the possibility that childhood trauma may be one determinant of aggression in prisoners.

Association of polymorphism (Val66Met) of brain-derived neurotrophic factor with suicide attempts in depressed patients.

INTRODUCTION: Recent post-mortem studies of suicide victims have implicated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in suicide. Therefore, it was decided to examine the possible role of a gene in the regulation of BDNF activity in relation to suicidal behaviour among depressed patients. METHOD: A series of 170 depressed patients were evaluated for their history of suicide attempts and genotyped for the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism (SNP ID: rs6265). Depressed patients who had (n = 97) or had not (n = 73) attempted suicide were compared. RESULTS: Depressed patients who carried the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism variant (GA + AA) appeared to show a significantly increased risk of suicidal behaviour. The risk of a suicide attempt was also significantly higher among those reporting higher levels of childhood emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Secondary analyses suggested that depression severity was a significant risk factor only in the wild-type BDNF genotype, and that the risk of suicide attempts was more predictable within the wild-type group. CONCLUSION: These preliminary data suggest that BDNF may play a role in the suicidal behaviour of depressed patients.

Aggression, impulsivity, personality traits, and childhood trauma of prisoners with substance abuse and addiction.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of our study is then to analyze psychological and judicial features of a subgroup of inmates with substance abuse. METHODS: Prisoners with substance abuse (n = 312) were compared to prisoners without substance abuse (n = 591). Recruited inmates completed a semistructured interview for collection of sociodemographic and judicial data and a battery of psychometric tests for assessement of aggression, impulsivity, depression, personality traits, hostility, resilience, and childhood trauma. RESULTS: Substance abusers had on average multiple incarcerations (78.8%), more juvenile convictions (60.2%), more violent behaviors during detention (29.8%), and a history of one or more suicide attempts (20.8%). They also had higher scores on subscales for childhood trauma, higher scores for psychoticism and neuroticism, higher impulsivity levels, worse resilience, increased hostility, and prevalent suicidal ideation. CONCLUSION: Prisoners with substance abuse constitute a subgroup with increased judiciary and psychiatric issues, possibly due to early life history and psychological characteristics, such as high impulsivity and aggressiveness, poor resilience, and higher suicidal risk.

Childhood trauma and suicide attempts in patients with unipolar depression.

Although general population studies have reported that childhood trauma predisposes individuals to suicidal behavior, there have been few clinical studies in depressed patients. A series of 108 patients with unipolar depression were evaluated for their suicide attempt history and completed the 34-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Patients were also interviewed with the Brown-Goodwin Lifetime History of Aggression (BGLHA) scale. Out of 108 patients with depression, 47 (43.5%) had attempted suicide. Significantly more of the depressed patients who had attempted suicide were female, single, and unemployed. Patients who had attempted suicide had significantly higher total CTQ scores and higher CTQ scores for emotional abuse and emotional neglect, as well as higher BGLHA scores. Logistic regression identified being female, being unemployed, having undergone childhood emotional neglect, and high BGLHA scores as significantly associated with making a suicide attempt. Suicidal behavior in unipolar depression appears to be a multidetermined act, with sociodemographic, developmental, and personality determinants.

Dopamine transporter binding in depressed patients with anhedonia.

Central dopaminergic dysfunction has been widely proposed as a common neurobiological correlate of the psychopathological expression of anhedonia. The dopamine transporter (DAT) is a predominantly presynaptic receptor that may play a critical role in the pathophysiology of dopaminergic transmission. The aim of our study was to evaluate DAT binding in a population of depressed patients with anhedonia. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with the radiotracer DATSCAN was used to evaluate DAT binding in 11 depressed patients with anhedonia and 9 healthy comparison subjects. Compared with healthy subjects, patients showed significantly lower DAT binding. No significant correlation was found between DAT binding ratios and scores on administered psychometric tests. These findings suggest an alteration in DAT density in depressed patients with anhedonia that may be a primary susceptibility factor or a secondary phenomenon to reduced dopamine concentration in the synaptic cleft.

A case of Cotard syndrome: (123)I-IBZM SPECT imaging of striatal D(2) receptor binding.

A case of 'dèlire de nègation' that suddenly appeared in a 43-year-old male is presented. No alteration in regional cerebral blood, as measured by (99m)Tc-HMPAO-SPECT, was found, but (123)I-IBZM-SPECT analysis showed reduced striatal D(2) receptor binding that further decreased after treatment.