The Role of Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Patients with Non- alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic disease with extensive multi- organ involvement, whose extra-hepatic manifestations include diabetes mellitus type 2, cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), chronic kidney disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Our hypothesis was that there was a strong psychological component in NAFLD and OSA suffering patients and that psychotherapy would be helpful in the treatment of the mentioned diseases. METHODS: Of 144 initially selected patients (with NAFLD, obesity and OSA), 32 patients agreed to undergo psychotherapy, and 31 therapy-naive NAFLD and OSA patients agreed to participate as controls. RESULTS: Psychological evaluation revealed that self-esteem rose significantly after one-year psychotherapy (p=0.005). Body mass index (BMI) was significantly lower after psychotherapy, followed by the changes in laboratory results. Binomial logistic regression revealed that the reduction of BMI in high probability led to self-esteem improvement (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Psychotherapy was an efficient supporting method in the treatment of patients with NAFLD, obesity and OSA. It raised self-esteem and stimulated the motivation for further treatment of obesity, as one of the important factors for NAFLD and OSA. Still, it is advisable to use psychotherapy in combination with other clinical methods of treatment.

Reliability of the bicaudate parameter in the revealing of the enlarged lateral Ventricles in schizophrenia patients.

INTRODUCTION: In schizophrenia patients the lateral ventricle enlargement has mostly been reported in relationship with smaller cortical and/or subcortical brain volumes; and it has been observed that ventricular system growth may be a consequence of the smaller caudate nucleus volume. Bicaudate parameters have been used in the Alzheimer dementia and Huntington's chorea diagnosing in order to evaluate brain changes and the enlargement of the lateral ventricles. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study has been carried out on 140 patients out of which 70 patients (30 men and 40 women) who met the ICD 10 criteria for schizophrenia and 70 healthy controls (30 men and 40 women) matched on sex and age with the studied group. All of them underwent direct caudatometry and volume computation based on MRI scans. RESULTS: Except for the bicorporal line, for all the parameters were obtained the statistically highly significant differences between the examined and control groups. Significant correlation was established for the majority of bicaudate parameters and volumes of the caudate nuclei and lateral ventricles. DISCUSSION: Enlargement of the lateral ventricles is one of the most frequent MRI finding in schizophrenia patients. Ventricles are enlarging gradually and frontal horns are more affected than other parts. The increased volumes of the caudate nuclei signalized that ventricular enlargement is not the consequence of the caudate atrophy. CONCLUSION: Bicaudate parameters are reliable parameters for the quick orientation in order to assess the enlarged ventricles in schizophrenia patients.

Psychiatric comorbidity in the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, commonly known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), draw attention from specialists of various disorders, including gastroenterology, psychiatry, and radiology. The involvement of a cortical influence in the brain-gut axis as well as the interaction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the peripheral nervous system provide an initial explanation of the psychological symptoms associated with IBD. The involvement of structures the limbic system, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, the prefrontal cortex, and the amygdala, paves the way for the discovery of the mechanisms underlying depression depression, anxiety, alexithymia, personality traits, and other psychological impairments following the onset of IBD. Psychiatric therapy in IBD patients is almost as important as the gastroenterological approach and consists of pharmacological treatment and psychotherapy. Neither of the available psychiatric treatment methods is considered the golden standard because both methods have side effects, and psychotropic medication can provoke the worsening of IBD symptoms. Thus, both approaches must be applied with awareness of the possibility of side effects. We suggest that psychiatrists and gastroenterologists work together to reach a consensus on IBD therapy to ensure success and to reduce side effects and relapse to the lowest possible rates.

Anxiety, personality traits and quality of life in functional dyspepsia-suffering patients.

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial stressors either acute or more sustained frequently precede the onset and exacerbation of the symptoms of the functional dyspepsia (FD). Depressive mood and quality of life have been already reported for interference in functional dyspepsia suffering patients. METHODS: The examination were performed on 60 FD patients (30 females and 30 males), aged 20-79 years, 60 peptic ulcer subjects and 60 healthy volunteers in which we have investigate levels of anxiety and depression, personality traits and quality of life. RESULT: According to the Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Rating Scales, the population with FD had the average score which classified them into the group of patients with the moderate depression (20.57 ± 4.45). Personality traits estimation based on data obtained by the Eysenck personality questionnaire revealed higher neuroticism scores in the group with functional dyspepsia. Both parameters, level of the neuroticism and anxiety level, expressed highly significant level of mutual concordance. Patients with functional dyspepsia reported a greater adverse impact of symptoms of emotional distress and food and drink problems. CONCLUSION: Results are indicating that the depression and anxiety level is the highest in patients with functional dyspepsia and that anxiety level corroborates with the neuroticism level from the Eysenck scale. Psychological disturbances are influencing the quality of life mostly in patients with dyspepsia in the form of emotional distress and the problem with the food and beverage intake.

Laboratory parameters and nutritional status in patients with functional dyspepsia.

BACKGROUND: To investigate differences in laboratory markers, nutritional status parameters and eating patterns among newly diagnosed patients with functional dyspepsia. METHOD: The investigation was performed on 180 newly diagnosed patients with functional dyspepsia, aged 20-79, which were referred to the gastroenterology unit of the Clinical and Hospital Center "Bezanijska Kosa" from April to October 2009. Rome II criteria were used for further classification. RESULTS: ANOVA Bonferroni post hoc correction outlined that concentrations of serum magnesium and calcium were significantly lower in subjects with ulcer-like dyspepsia, while vitamin B12, glucose and immunoglobulin G level was significantly higher in group with dismotility-like dyspepsia. Statistical analysis revealed that the numbers of meal taken per day were significantly different. There was a statistical trend to skipping meals and to eat fast in patients with ulcer-like and dismotility-like functional dyspepsia when compared with non-specific dyspeptic subjects. CONCLUSION: Patients with ulcer-like functional dyspepsia suffered from epigastric pain and burning and from heartburn, while persons with dismotility-like dyspepsia were complaining about postprandial fullness, bloating and early satiety. They skipped meals more frequently and avoided intake of certain supplies which, together with eating habits, provoked or emphasized the annoying symptoms.

Comparison of two nutritional assessment methods in gastroenterology patients.

AIM: To investigate and compare efficacy and differences in the nutritional status evaluation of gastroenterology patients by application of two methods: subjective global assessment (SGA) and nutritional risk index (NRI). METHODS: The investigation was performed on 299 hospitalized patients, aged 18-84 years (average life span 55.57 +/- 12.84), with different gastrointestinal pathology, admitted to the Department of Gastroenterohepatology, Clinical and Hospital Center "Bezanijska Kosa" during a period of 180 d. All the patients, after being informed in detail about the study and signing a written consent, underwent nutritional status analysis, which included two different nutritional indices: SGA and NRI, anthropometric parameters, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and biochemical markers, within 24 h of admission. RESULTS: In our sample of 299 hospitalized patients, global malnutrition prevalence upon admission varied from 45.7% as assessed by the SGA to 63.9% by NRI. Two applied methods required different parameters for an adequate approach: glucose level (5.68 +/- 1.06 mmol/L vs 4.83 +/- 1.14 mmol/L, F = 10.63, P = 0.001); body mass index (26.03 +/- 4.53 kg/m(2) vs 18.17 +/- 1.52 kg/m(2), F = 58.36, P < 0.001); total body water (42.62 +/- 7.98 kg vs 36.22 +/- 9.32 kg, F = 7.95, P = 0.005); basal metabolic rate (1625.14 +/- 304.91 kcal vs 1344.62 +/- 219.08 kcal, F = 9.06, P = 0.003) were very important for SGA, and lymphocyte count was relevant for NRI: 25.56% +/- 8.94% vs 21.77% +/- 10.08%, F = 11.55, P = 0.001. The number of malnourished patients rose with the length of hospital stay according to both nutritional indices. The discriminative function analysis (DFA) delineated the following parameters as important for prediction of nutritional status according to SGA assessment: concentration of albumins, level of proteins, SGA score and body weight. The DFA extracted MAMC, glucose level and NRI scores were variables of importance for the prediction of whether admitted patients would be classified as well or malnourished. CONCLUSION: SGA showed higher sensitivity to predictor factors. Assessment of nutritional status requires a multidimensional approach, which includes different clinical indices and various nutritional parameters.

Depression and anxiety levels in therapy-naive patients with inflammatory bowel disease and cancer of the colon.

AIM: To assess whether depression and anxiety are more expressed in patients with the first episode of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than in individuals with newly discovered cancer of the colon (CCa). METHODS: A total of 32 patients with IBD including 13 males and 19 females, aged 27 to 74, and 30 patients with CCa including 20 males and 10 females, aged 39-78, underwent a structured interview, which comprised Hamilton's Depression Rating Inventory, Hamilton's Anxiety Rating Inventory and Paykel's Stressful Events Rating Scale. RESULTS: Patients of the IBD group expressed both depression and anxiety. Depressive mood, sense of guilt, psychomotor retardation and somatic anxiety were also more pronounced in IBD patients. The discriminant function analysis revealed the total depressive score was of high importance for the classification of a newly diagnosed patient into one of the groups. CONCLUSION: Newly diagnosed patients with IBD have higher levels of depression and anxiety. Moreover, a psychiatrist in the treatment team is advisable from the beginning.