[Minor neurological and physical anomalies in patients with first-episode psychosis]. / Anomalies neurologiques et physiques mineures chez des patients présentant un premier épisode psychotique.

INTRODUCTION: Over the last several decades, there has been an increasing number of neuroanatomical, neuroimaging, neurophysiological, and neuropsychological studies in search of structural, functional, and cognitive correlates of brain insult(s) that could ultimately lead to unravelling the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. A direct, easily administered, and inexpensive way of investigating brain dysfunction in schizophrenia is the study of neurological soft signs and minor physical anomalies, two putative indices of developmental abnormality. The study of these neurodevelopmental markers in the first-episode psychosis allows the detection of the neurodevelopmental abnormalities at the onset of psychosis. AIMS OF THE STUDY: The objectives of our study were to determinate the prevalence, the scores, and the nature of neurological soft signs (NSS) and minor physical anomalies (MPA) in patients with first-episode psychosis and to explore the correlations between these neurodevelopmental markers and the demographic, clinical and therapeutic features. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was carried-out on 61 patients (mean age: 28.9±9.4years; 86.9% were males), hospitalized for first-episode psychosis (DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, and psychotic disorder not otherwise specified). The evaluation procedure consisted of a retrospective assessment of the premorbid functioning by the Premorbid Functioning Scale (PAS) and the following clinical scales: Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), the NSS scale of Krebs et al. (23 items exploring motor coordination, motor integrative function, sensory integration, involuntary movements or posture, quality of lateralization) and the MPA scale of Gourion et al. (41 items, exploring anomalies of face, eyes, ears, mouth, hands and feet). RESULTS: The prevalence of NSS was 83.6% (cut-off point=9.5), with a mean total score of 15.3±6.7. The highest score was for the motor coordination. The prevalence of MPA was 62.7% (cut-off point=5), with a mean total score of 5.8±3.2. The most common MPA were the fine hair (50.8%), adherent earlobes (49.2%) and clinodactyly (31.1%). Correlations were found between the NSS total score and the Poor Premorbid Functioning (r=0.32, P=0.04), the PANSS total score (r=0.36, P=0.005), and the negative (r=0.45, P<0.001) and disorganization sub-scores (r=0.41, P=0.001), the CGI-severity of (r=0.30, P=0.02), the impairment functioning in the GAF (r=-0.26, P=0.04) and with extrapyramidal symptoms (r=0.52, P<0.001). However, no correlation was found between the NSS total scores, age, gender, the PANSS positive sub-score, the daily dosage of antipsychotics, the CGI-improvement score and the MPA total score. There was no correlation between MPA total score and demographic, clinical and therapeutic features of patients. Moreover, there was no correlation between the NSS or MPA scores and the short-term evolution (6months to 1year) towards schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: These results confirm the data in the literature relating high NSS and MPA scores in patients with a first-episode psychosis. The NSS appear to characterize severe psychotic disorders with more negative and disorganization symptoms and poor social functioning and may be a prognostic indicator.

[Affective temperaments in the bipolar and unipolar disorders: distinctive profiles and relationship with clinical features]. / Tempéraments affectifs dans les troubles bipolaires et unipolaires : comparaison des profils tempéramentaux et relation avec les caractéristiques cliniques.

INTRODUCTION: Recent research postulated that temperaments represent the subclinical foundations of affective disorders, and an early clue for a recurrent, prebipolar disorder. Akiskal et al. operationalized five types of temperaments: depressive, hyperthymic, irritable, cyclothymic and anxious. The aims of this study were to compare the affective temperaments scores in patients with bipolar I, II and recurrent depression disorders and to explore the relation between temperaments scores and clinical features of those affective disorders. METHODS: This was a comparative cross-sectional study, concerning three groups: patients with bipolar I disorder (BIP I) (n=31, 20 men and 11 women, mean age=42.0+/-10.1 years), patients with bipolar II disorder (BIP II) (n=18, 11 men and seven women, mean age=40.7+/-10.8 years) and patients with recurrent depressive disorder (RDD) (n=66, 28 men and 38 women, mean age=45.0+/-9.3 years). All patients were in remission of a major depressive episode. The affective temperaments were assessed by the Akiskal and Mallya Affective Temperament questionnaires. RESULTS: Hyperthymic temperament mean scores were higher in BIP I (10.8+/-5.4) and BIP II (10.3+/-5.5) groups compared to RDD group (5.5+/-4.0) (p<10(-3)). Depressive temperament mean score was significantly higher in RDD group (10.5+/-4.3), compared to BIP I (7.3+/-4.6) and BIP II (5.4+/-2.9) groups (p<10(-3)). Cyclothymic temperament mean score was higher in BIP II group (4.7+/-5.8) compared to BIP I (3.3+/-3.9) and RDD (2.5+/-3.9) groups, but this difference was not significant (p=0.08). No difference was found between the three groups concerning irritable temperament scores. Negative correlation was found between hyperthymic and depressive temperament scores in BIP I (r=-0.81, p<0.001) and RDD (r=-0.73, p<0.001) groups, but not in BIP II group. Concerning the clinical correlates with affective temperament scores, negative correlation was found between hyperthymic temperament score and number of depressive episodes in BIP II group (r=-0.53, p=0.02). Hyperthymic temperament score was associated with psychotic features in the last depressive episode in BIP I (p=0.01) and BIP II (p=0.008) groups and seasonal features in BIP II group (p=0.02). Moreover, cyclothymic temperament score was associated with psychotic (p=0.009) and seasonal features (p=0.03) in BIP II group. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the small sample sizes for our study groups, we can conclude that hyperthymic and cyclothymic temperaments characterized bipolar disorders and are correlated with other markers of bipolarity such as psychotic and seasonal features. Thus, temperament assessment might become a useful tool to predict bipolarity in association with those markers.

[Bipolarity correlated factors in major depression: about 155 Tunisian inpatients]. / Facteurs corrélés à la bipolarité dans les dépressions majeures: étude d'une population hospitalière tunisienne.

The distinction between the depressive troubles according to their inclusion in bipolar disorders or in recurrent depressive disorders offers an evident practical interest. In fact, the curative and mainly the preventive treatment of these troubles are different. So it is necessary to identify the predictive factors of bipolar development in case of inaugural depressive episode. In 1983, Akiskal was the first who identified those factors: pharmacological hypomania, puerperal depression, onset at early age (<25 years), presence of psychotic characteristics, hypersomnia and psychomotor inhibition. Through this study, the authors try to compare the epidemiological, clinical and evolution characteristics of major depression in bipolar disorders to recurrent depressive disorders in order to indicate the correlated factors with bipolarity. It is a retrospective and comparative study based on about 155 inpatients for major depressive episode during the period between January 1994 and December 1998. These patients were divided into two groups according the DSM IV criteria: bipolar group (96 patients) and recurrent depressive group (59 patients). Both groups were compared according to socio-demographic data, life events in childhood, personal and family history, clinical and evolution characteristics of the index depressive episode. The predictive factors proposed by Akiskal were systematically examined. It was found out that the following factors were correlated with bipolarity: high rate of separation and divorce (17.7% versus 5.1%; p=0.02), family history of psychiatric disorders (56.3% versus 35.6%; p=0.012) especially bipolar ones (29.2% versus 3.4%; p=0,00008), onset at early age (mean age of onset: 24.8 8.2 years versus 34.1 12.6 years; p=0.000004), number of affective episode significantly more frequent (mean 3.6 versus 2.5; p=0.03), sudden onset of depressive episode (44.8% versus 15.9%; p=0.0003) and presence of psychotic characteristics (69.8% versus 16.7%; p=0.0001) catatonic characteristics (37.3% versus 20.3%; p=0.03), hypersomnia (51% versus 20.3%; p=0.03) and psychomotor inhibition (83.3% versus 42.4%; p=0.00007). Negatively correlated factors of bipolar depression were: somatic comorbidity such as diabetes, hypertension and rhumatismal diseases (12.5% versus 28.8%; p=0.012) and association with dysthymic disorders (2.2% versus 12.1%; p=0.029). No correlation was found between bipolarity and life events in childhood, seasonal character, alcoholic dependence and suicide attempt. Concerning the validity of predictive factors of bipolarity proposed by Akiskal, we found: history of bipolar disorders (Sensibility: 29.2%, specificity: 96.6%, Positive Predictive Value (PPV): 93%), hypersomnia (Sensibility: 51%, specificity: 80%, PPV: 80%), onset before the age of 25 years (Sensibility: 62.5%, specificity: 70%, PPV: 77%), psychomotor inhibition (Sensibility: 83.3%, specificity 58%, PPV: 76%), and psychotic characteristics (Sensibility: 69.8%, specificity: 62.7%, PPV: 75%). In spite of methodological differences, our results tallied with the other studies. We focus on the importance of the bipolar family history criterion, which has the highest PPV, and the limits of psychotic characteristics criterion which has the lowest PPV. This may be explained by the frequency of these characteristics of affective disorders in our cultural context. The association of the hypersomnia and psychomotor inhibition in one criterion in order to increase their diagnostic power. Our study helps us to identify the factors that would predict the bipolar evolution of a depressive episode allowing the use of specific treatment and ensuring the improvement of prognostic.