Implementación del programa de atención específica al trastorno psicótico incipiente (PAE-TPI) en el CSMIA de Gracia, Barcelona / No disponible

La intervención precoz en psicosis se inicia en los años 80 en Australia con la creación del primer programa de recuperación, desde entonces han sido muchos los países que han seguido a Australia. A pesar de la evidencia científica que avala la efectividad de la intervención en el primer episodio psicótico, los programas siguen siendo escasos y muy heterogéneos en un mismo territorio. En 2017 se pone en marcha la implantación de los programas de atención específica para el trastorno psicótico incipiente en Cataluña, el objetivo principal de este artículo es contextualizar la situación actual del programa PAE-TPI y realizar un análisis descriptivo de la población atendida en los dos años iniciales del programa en el distrito de Gracia en Barcelona

Early intervention in psychosis begins in the 80s in Australia, they created the first recovery program in psychosis, from that moment on several countries had also established new programs of intervention. Despite the scientific evidence about the effectiveness of first episode psychosis intervention, this kind of programs is limited and very heterogeneous in the same territory. In 2017 specific programs for the early intervention in psychosis are created in Catalonia. The main objective of this article is to resume the actual situation of PAETPI program and to perform a descriptive analysis of the two first years of implementation in Gracia neighborhood, Barcelona

Benzodiazepine Use Disorder and Cognitive Impairment in Older Patients: A Six-Month-Follow-Up Study in an Outpatient Unit in Barcelona.

OBJECTIVE: Adverse health effects including cognitive impairment have been described in older adults with benzodiazepine misuse, although the literature about this issue is scarce. The present study aimed to assess cognitive decline in older adults with benzodiazepine use disorder and changes in cognitive state at the 6-month follow-up, as well as whether patients achieved abstinence. METHOD: A 6-month follow-up longitudinal study was conducted in an outpatient drug center in Barcelona in a sample of older adults (≥65 years old) who had benzodiazepine use disorder. The sample was compared with an equivalent control group. A neuropsychological protocol was performed at baseline and after 6-month follow-up covering the most important cognitive domains. RESULTS: The final sample comprised 33 patients with an average age of 73.5 years. At baseline, patients presented impairment in several domains compared with the control group: visual immediate recall (p < .001), visual delayed recall (p < .001), copy (p < .001), working memory (p < .003), immediate verbal learning (p < .002), total words learned (p < .009), set switching (p < .001), verbal fluency (p < .007), speed processing (p < .002), solving problems (p < .006), nonverbal fluency (p < .004), and sustained attention in all three areas omissions (p < .001), variability (p < .001), and perseverance (p < .005). At 6-month follow-up, patients achieving abstinence showed improvement compared with patients in active consumption in visual delayed recall (p < .006), total words learned (p < .010), and verbal fluency (p < .013). CONCLUSIONS: Benzodiazepine misuse in older adults may produce negative effects on cognitive skills. Recovery of some of these cognitive deficits may be possible with benzodiazepine abstinence.

Sex differences in an old adult sample with substance use disorder: A 6 months follow-up study.

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a worldwide concern that has its own particularities regarding age and sex. This study aims to assess the differences between old SUD women and men regarding socio-demographics, clinical factors and outcomes. A 6-months follow-up longitudinal study was conducted in an outpatient center, on a convenience sample of 115 SUD old adults (≥65 years old, average age of 71.57). Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed. Data showed statistical significant differences between men and women related to sociodemographic variables (marital status, coexistence, criminal records and stress factors), medical and psychiatric conditions (women suffer higher rates of depression and anxiety, with worse health-related quality of life), family records (women had more presence of family psychiatric records) and SUD related parameters (men tend to use more alcohol, had an early onset, consume higher doses, report more craving and more tobacco life use while women had higher rates of prescription drugs use). At 6-month follow-up, the whole sample showed excellent rates of adherence and abstinence, without sex differences. The study points out sex differences on several sociodemographic and clinical variables, indicating their specific needs. This research could facilitate better approaches by considering a sex perspective in SUD old adults.

Alcohol use disorder and cognitive impairment in old age patients: A 6 months follow-up study in an outpatient unit in Barcelona.

There has been little research about deleterious effects, including cognitive impairment, related to hazardous long-term alcohol use in old adults. This study aims to assess cognitive decline in old patients with alcohol use disorder and changes in cognitive state at 6 months follow-up, achieving or not abstinence. A six-month follow-up study was conducted in an outpatient center in Barcelona on a sample of old adults (≥65 years old) who had hazardous alcohol use. The sample was compared with healthy volunteers adjusted for age, sex and years of education. A neuropsychological protocol was performed at baseline and after 6 months follow-up covering four cognitive domains: attention, visuospatial abilities, memory and executive functions. Several domains were significant impaired at baseline: visual immediate and delayed recall, working memory, immediate verbal learning, total words learned, set switching and sustained attention. At 6 months reassessment, alcohol abstinence was achieved in 93.5% of patients and it was detected a trend towards improvement in direct mean scores of all cognitive areas, although it was not significant. The current study points out a cognitive impairment in many areas secondary to alcohol long-term hazardous use in old adults. A trend towards cognitive improvement after recovery was detected in most patients.

Effectiveness of a psychoeducational intervention program in the reduction of caregiver burden in Alzheimer's disease patients' caregivers.

OBJECTIVES: Caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience physical and psychological stress due to the caring experience. This study evaluated the benefits of a Psychoeducational Intervention Program (PIP) on caregiver burden in southern Europe. METHODS: A multicentre, prospective, randomised study was conducted. One hundred and fifteen caregivers of patients with clinical diagnosis of AD (DSM-IV-TR criteria, mini-mental score = 10-26) and functional impairment (Lawton and Brody Scale and Katz Index) were recruited. Caregivers were randomised to receive either PIP (IG: intervention group, n = 60) or standard care (CG: control group, n = 55). PIP consisted of eight individual sessions over 4 months for teaching strategies for confronting problems of AD patient care. Caregivers' stress, quality of life and perceived health were measured using validated scales (Zarit, SF-36, GHQ-28, respectively) at baseline and after 4 and 10-months follow-up. RESULTS: Mean change in caregiver burden (Zarit baseline-Zarit final scores) was statistically significant (p = 0.0083) showing an improvement in the IG (-8.09 points) and a worsening in the CG (2.08 points). The IG showed significant improvements in all the well-being perception areas measured by the SF-36 and a significantly lower score in the GHQ-28 (p = 0.0004). 97.7% of caregivers and 88.6% of therapists considered PIP 'useful/very useful' at 4 months (the end of PIP) whereas at 10 months the estimates were 93.2% and 86.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial training of caregivers can minimise caregiver distress and help them to develop problem-solving strategies. A PIP improves quality of life and the perceived health of caregivers of patients with AD.

Mirtazapina bucodispersable: un estudio comparativo de eficacia y tolerabilidad frente a la formulación convencional / Oral desintegrating mirtazapine tablets: comparison of efficacy and tolerability versus the conventional formulation

Fundamentos: La introducción en el mercado de las formulaciones bucodispersables de algunos psicofármacos trata de justificarse por un perfil de eficacia, tolerabilidad o facilidad de uso más favorable que el de las formulaciones convencionales de absorción intestinal. Objetivo: Comprobar si existen diferencias de eficacia y tolerabilidad entre las presentaciones convencional y bucodispersable de mirtazapina, el único antidepresivo disponible en ambas formulaciones. Material y método: Mediante un sistema protocolizado de registro, se recuperó de los historiales clínicos los datos demográficos y terapéuticos y se completaron diversas variables de eficacia y tolerabilidad de 268 pacientes tratados con mirtazapina convencional (48,3%) o bucodispersable (51,7%), en 3 centros asistenciales españoles, durante un período de 2 años (2003-2005). Se hizo la comparación mediante un análisis estadístico lineal simple, basado en diferencias de medias y porcentajes de las variables computadas. Resultados: En conjunto, se aprecian mejores resultados de eficacia y tolerabilidad con la presentación bucodispersable que con la convencional. Concretamente, se producen menos abandonos del tratamiento (el 10,8 y el 35,4%), menos efectos adversos (el 25,2 y el 44,6%) y mejores respuesta y tolerabilidad terapéuticas en general. Sin embargo, y pese a observarse un discreta tendencia favorable a la formulación bucodispersable en el cambio de peso entre el inicio y el final del tratamiento, no se alcanzó una diferencia estadísticamente significativa (2,3 kg con la formulación bucodispersable y 2,4 kg con la formulación convencional). Conclusiones: Pese a las limitaciones del estudio, de tipo naturalístico y retrospectivo, es posible aceptar que la formulación bucodispersable de mirtazapina presenta una mayor efectividad terapéutica general y un perfil de uso más favorable que la formulación convencional

Introduction: Orally disintegrating tablets of some psychotropic drugs have been introduced on to the market. These formulations are justified by their efficacy and tolerability profile and their ease of use in comparison with conventional, intestinally absorbed tablets. Objective: To verify whether efficacy and tolerability differs between conventional and orally disintegrating mirtazapine tablets, the only antidepressant available in both formulations. Material and Method: A protocolized system was used to register demographic, therapeutic, efficacy and tolerability variables from the clinical histories of 268 outpatients treated with conventional mirtazapine (48.3%) or orally disintegrating tablets (51.7%) in three Spanish mental health centers over a 2-year period (2003-2005). The variables were compared using a simple linear statistical analysis based on differences in the averages and percentages of the computed variables. Results: Better overall results on efficacy and tolerability were found in the orally disintegrating tablet formulation versus the conventional formulation. Specifically, there were fewer drop-outs (10.8% vs 35.4%), fewer adverse effects (25.2% vs 44.6%), and better overall therapeutic response and treatment tolerance. Weight gain between the beginning and end of treatment was slightly lower with orally disintegrating tablets, but this tendency was not statistically significant (2.3 kg for orally disintegrating tablets vs 2.4 kg for conventional tablets). Conclusions: Despite the limitations of this naturalistic and retrospective study, the results suggest that orally disintegrating mirtazapine tablets have better overall therapeutic efficacy and a more favorable tolerability profile than the conventional mirtazapine formulation