Depressive Symptoms in Expecting Fathers: Is Paternal Perinatal Depression a Valid Concept? A Systematic Review of Evidence.

BACKGROUND: Since the identification of Couvade syndrome in the late 1950s, little attention has been dedicated to the issue of depression in expecting fathers. OBJECTIVE: To quantify the extent of depression in expecting fathers and find out if they match their pregnant partners' depression. METHODS: We conducted a PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov search using paternal depression and all its variants as terms. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement to include eligible studies. RESULTS: We identified a grand total of 1443 articles, of which 204 were eligible. The total number of fathers/expecting fathers involved was 849,913. Longitudinal studies represented more than half of the included studies; more than three-quarters of the studies used the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The average occurrence of paternal depression was around 5%, which confers the entity some clinical dignity. Depression tends to occur more in expecting women and new mothers than in expecting partners or new fathers, while the co-occurrence in the same couple is quite low. LIMITATIONS: The methodological heterogeneity of the included studies prevents us from meta-analyzing the obtained data. The validity of the instruments used is another issue. CONCLUSIONS: Paternal depression is distinct from maternal depression and occurs at lower rates (about half). The very existence of a paternal depression clinical entity is beyond any doubt. Future research should address methodological heterogeneity.

Interpersonal violence: Serious sequelae for heart disease in women.

Experiencing various forms of violence in either childhood or adulthood has been associated with cardiovascular disease, both shortly after the event and during follow-up, particularly in women. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has heightened the risk of domestic violence with serious sequelae for mental and cardiovascular health in women, possibly due to several contributing factors, ranging from lockdown, stay at home regulations, job losses, anxiety, and stress. Accordingly, it remains paramount to enforce proactive preventive strategies, at both the family and individual level, maintain a high level of attention to recognize all forms of violence or abuse, and guarantee a multidisciplinary team approach for victims of interpersonal or domestic violence in order to address physical, sexual, and emotional domains and offer a personalized care.

Generalized and specific emotion impairments as potential markers of severity in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: a preliminary study using Facial Action Coding System (FACS).

BACKGROUND: The role of emotional deficits in the poor outcomes of patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has been emphasized. Generalized and specific emotional abnormalities have been reported, often related to OCD severity and functional disabilities. The objective of the present study was to assess the abilities of experiencing and displaying emotions in OCD patients in response to specific stimuli in relation with the severity of their clinical condition. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty-six individuals participated in the study: 10 OCD patients with severe symptoms, 11 with mild-moderate symptoms, and 15 healthy controls. All participants watched emotion-eliciting video clips while their facial activity was videotaped. The congruent/incongruent feeling of emotions and the facial expression in reaction to emotions were evaluated. RESULTS: The two subgroups of OCD patients presented similarly incongruent emotive feelings and facial expressions (significantly worse than healthy participants). Moreover, OCD patients with severe symptoms expressed the emotion of happiness and disgust significantly less appropriately than OCD patients with mild-moderate symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The present data support the hypothesis that impaired emotional processing may: (i) represent a potential contributor to poor outcome in OCD; (ii) constitute a warning sign for clinicians to establish a more comprehensive protocol for more severe cases; (iii) influence therapeutic strategies used to treat this disorder.

Changes in dream experience in relation with antidepressant escitalopram treatment in depressed female patients: a preliminary study.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep disturbances have long been considered as a cardinal symptom of endogenous depression and dreams in depressed patients usually differ from those of healthy people. The aim of the present study was to investigate dream subjective experiences and their modifications in relation to clinical response in a group of escitalopram-treated depressed patients. METHODS: Twenty-seven female patients meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and starting SSRI therapy were included in the study. Data about psychopathological status and dreaming subjective experiences were collected at baseline (T0), 4 weeks after the beginning of the treatment (T1) and after further 4 weeks of therapy (T2). RESULTS: At T0 dream experience was impaired and negatively toned. Concomitantly with the decrease of symptoms severity, the 8-week escitalopram treatment yielded to significant improvements in the recall of both quantity and quality of dreams; those patients whit lower clinical benefits kept on reporting impaired dream experiences. DISCUSSION: The results of the present study evidence how the changes in some specific dreaming characteristics, such as the subjective recall of dream activity, the dream recall quality, the dream emotional content and the dream complexity represent reliable markers of the effectiveness of antidepressant therapy.

25C-NBOMe: preliminary data on pharmacology, psychoactive effects, and toxicity of a new potent and dangerous hallucinogenic drug.

INTRODUCTION: The use of novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) has rapidly increased as well as their online availability. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the nature and the risks associated with 25C-NBOMe, which has recently appeared in the drug market. METHODS: A systematic analysis of the scientific literature and a qualitative assessment of online and media resources (e.g., e-newsgroups, chat-rooms, and e-newsletters) in 10 languages were carried out. RESULTS: 25C-NBOMe is sold online as legal LSD or as research chemical with different designations such as "Boom," "Pandora," "Holland film," or "N-bomb." It is a partial agonist of 5-HT2A receptors. It is usually ingested orally/sublingually and, less commonly, nasally, through injection, vaginally, rectally, and smoked. Its effects include sublingual numbing, stimulation, "body high," hallucinations, dissociation, and anxiety. 25C-NBOMe presents high risk of overdoses; acute toxicity and fatalities have been reported. CONCLUSIONS: 25C-NBOMe consumption represents an emerging phenomenon with potential harmful effects. Its use is increased by its online availability at low costs. Health and other professionals should be informed about this new trend of substance use.

The role of cerebellum in unipolar and bipolar depression: a review of the main neurobiological findings.

Evidences from studies on patients with overt cerebellar diseases as well as on healthy individuals suggest a possible role for the cerebellum in cognition, mood and behaviour. The aim of the present study is to review those neuroimaging studies examining the cerebellum in Bipolar Disorder (BD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and to illustrate a possible role of cerebellum in their pathophysiological mechanisms. Cellular and molecular findings from post mortem studies such as mitochondria abnormalities, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its high affinity receptor tyrosine kinase B, transcription factor specificity protein 4, the glial fibrillary acidic protein have also been reviewed. In total 28 studies have been included in the review; among these, 12 studies were related to structural and functional neuroimaging of cerebellum in BD, 13 studies to structural and functional neuroimaging in MDD and 4 studies to cellular and molecular issues. This wealth of evidence from contemporary studies, indicating that the cerebellum (vermis in particular) is engaged in the modulation of emotional processing, provides strong support for the clinical relevance of cerebellar-limbic connections, and is in agreement with earlier clinical and electrophysiological studies that lead to the indication of the cerebellum as an "emotional pacemaker".