Do interpersonal events buffer or worsen depressive and grief related symptoms in people bereaved through suicide?

Life events can heighten emotional suffering related to the loss of a close relative or friend by suicide, while supportive social relationships may promote coping. We investigated the impact of stressful events and perceived social support on depressive and grief symptoms in 378 help-seeking Italians bereaved through suicide. While we did not observe a significant effect of interpersonal stressors, perceived social support did have a buffering role on the intensity of depressive symptoms but not of grief-related suffering. Focusing on expanding and capitalizing on clients' perceived social networks could strengthen postvention programs. Further research on the role of interpersonal factors is needed.

Are empathy profiles and perceived social support associated with depressive and grief-related symptoms in suicide survivors?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the link between empathy, perceived social support, and depressive and grieving symptoms in suicide survivors. METHODS: Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Social Support section of the Interpersonal Questionnaire were collected from 265 survivors. Relations were tested via multivariate regression models. RESULTS: Lower Perspective Taking (PT) was related with higher levels of BDI score, and higher Personal Distress (PD) was associated with higher BDI, ICG, and PGD scores. Higher levels of Social Support were related with higher BDI and ICG (but not PGD) scores. CONCLUSION: Empathic PD and PT, and perceived social support are differently associated with depression and grief-related symptoms. Empathy-focused psychotherapies and empowerment of social support may reduce symptoms in suicide survivors.

Neural stem/progenitor cells from olfactory neuroepithelium collected by nasal brushing as a cell model reflecting molecular and cellular dysfunctions in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVES: Neural stem/progenitor cells derived from olfactory neuroepithelium (hereafter olfactory neural stem/progenitor cells, ONSPCs) are emerging as a potential tool in the exploration of psychiatric disorders. The present study intended to assess whether ONSPCs could help discern individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) from non-schizophrenic (NS) subjects by exploring specific cellular and molecular features. METHODS: ONSPCs were collected from 19 in-patients diagnosed with SZ and 31 NS individuals and propagated in basal medium. Mitochondrial ATP production, expression of ß-catenin and cell proliferation, which are described to be altered in SZ, were examined in freshly isolated or newly thawed ONSPCs after a few culture passages. RESULTS: SZ-ONSPCs exhibited a lower mitochondrial ATP production and insensitivity to agents capable of positively or negatively affecting ß-catenin expression with respect to NS-ONSPCs. As to proliferation, it declined in SZ-ONSPCs as the number of culture passages increased compared to a steady level of growth shown by NS-ONSPCs. CONCLUSIONS: The ease and safety of sample collection as well as the differences observed between NS- and SZ-ONSPCs, may lay the groundwork for a new approach to obtain biological material from a large number of living individuals and gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying SZ pathophysiology.

Addressing psychological distress in people bereaved through suicide: From care to cure.

To illustrate the main characteristics of the request for and choice of support by a population accessing a dedicated service for people bereaved through suicide.The participants were divided first according to their reason for requesting support and based on their choice of intervention, which were "caring" services (improve knowledge about suicide prevention, postvention and grief support) and "curing" services (psychotherapy, chat groups, and meditation retreats).The study was based on 539 participants, chiefly middle-aged women. Most had lost kin and the time since suicide ranged from 1day to 45 years. The main reasons for contacting the service were: seeking help for symptoms (42%), connecting with other suicide survivors (19%); 15% reported not knowing what to ask for. Among the participants, 30% participated in the "curing" interventions; they were slightly older and had more grief symptoms, some above the threshold for complicated grief. These participants had more often survived a child or partner and more frequently sought contact with other survivors or were more likely to be seeking help for symptoms.The presence on the web of a project specialized in the care of suicide survivors can provide a resource bringing them closer to curing their emotional pain.

Olfactory neuroepithelium alterations and cognitive correlates in schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated alterations of olfactory neuroepithelium (ONE) as a biomarker of schizophrenia, and none its association with cognitive functioning. METHOD: Fresh ONE cells from twelve patients with schizophrenia and thirteen healthy controls were collected by nasal brushing, cultured in proper media and passed twelve times. Markers of cell proliferation (BrdU incorporation, Cyclin-D1 and p21 protein level) were quantified.Cognitive function was measured using Brief Neuropsychological Examination-2. PRIMARY OUTCOME: proliferation of ONE cells from schizophrenic patients at passage 3. Secondary outcome: association between alteration of cell proliferation and cognitive function. RESULTS: Fresh ONE cells from patients showed a faster cell proliferation than those from healthy controls at passage 3. An opposite trend was observed at passage 9, ONE cells of patients with schizophrenia showing slower cell proliferation as compared to healthy controls. In schizophrenia, overall cognitive function (Spearman's rho -0.657, p < 0.01), verbal memory - immediate recall, with interference at 10 s and 30 s (Spearman's rho from -0.676 to 0.697, all p < 0.01) were inversely associated with cell proliferation at passage 3. CONCLUSION: Fresh ONE cells collected by nasal brushing might eventually represent a tool for diagnosing schizophrenia based upon markers of cell proliferation, which can be easily implemented as single-layer culture. Cell proliferation at passage 3 can be regarded as a promising proxy of cognitive functioning in schizophrenia. Future studies should replicate these findings, and may assess whether ONE alterations are there before onset of psychosis, serving as an early sign in patients with at risk mental state.