Modelling a budgetary impact analysis for funding drug-based smoking cessation therapies for patients with major depressive disorder in Spain.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is associated with high healthcare resource utilisation and cost to society. Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibit high susceptibility to nicotine dependence. Varenicline, bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy are all indicated for smoking cessation; however funding by the Spanish national health system (SNHS) is limited. We modelled a budgetary impact analysis (BIA) to estimate the impact of the SNHS funding drug-based therapies for smoking cessation in smokers with MDD. METHODS: The BIA compared the current unfunded scenario versus a funded scenario (varenicline, bupropion, nicotine replacement therapy combined with medical follow-up and counselling) using the Spanish SNHS and societal perspectives. The BIA design was a hybrid model using a decision tree algorithm (population size: smokers with MDD) and Markov chains (smoking cessation attempts) over a 5-year horizon. Smoking cessation drug efficacy was derived from clinical trials, and smoking cessation costs avoided were taken from an analysis of the Spanish National Health Survey. Results were shown as incremental cost savings. Scenarios and threshold univariate sensitivity analyses tested model robustness. RESULTS: The funded scenario resulted in an increase of 43,478 cessation attempts and 8930 fewer smokers after 5 years compared to the unfunded scenario. The cost of funding was €25.3 million and costs avoided were €26.5 million. There was a cumulative 5-year incremental cost saving of €1.2 million to Spanish society. Results were robust using alternative scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: Funding smoking cessation drugs in patients with MDD is of economic benefit to Spain and could produce net savings from the third year of implementation.

Association of neurexin 3 polymorphisms with smoking behavior.

The Neurexin 3 gene (NRXN3) has been associated with dependence on various addictive substances, as well as with the degree of smoking in schizophrenic patients and impulsivity among tobacco abusers. To further evaluate the role of NRXN3 in nicotine addiction, we analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a copy number variant (CNV) within the NRXN3 genomic region. An initial study was carried out on 157 smokers and 595 controls, all of Spanish Caucasian origin. Nicotine dependence was assessed using the Fagerström index and the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The 45 NRXN3 SNPs genotyped included all the SNPs previously associated with disease, and a previously described deletion within NRXN3. This analysis was replicated in 276 additional independent smokers and 568 controls. Case-control association analyses were performed at the allele, genotype and haplotype levels. Allelic and genotypic association tests showed that three NRXN3 SNPs were associated with a lower risk of being a smoker. The haplotype analysis showed that one block of 16 Kb, consisting of two of the significant SNPs (rs221473 and rs221497), was also associated with lower risk of being a smoker in both the discovery and the replication cohorts, reaching a higher level of significance when the whole sample was considered [odds ratio = 0.57 (0.42-0.77), permuted P = 0.0075]. By contrast, the NRXN3 CNV was not associated with smoking behavior. Taken together, our results confirm a role for NRXN3 in susceptibility to smoking behavior, and strongly implicate this gene in genetic vulnerability to addictive behaviors.

Diagnóstico del trastorno límite de la personalidad: concordancia entre el juicio clínico y la entrevista semiestructurada / Borderline personality disorder diagnosis: concordance between clinical and semiestructured interview evaluation

Fundamento y objetivo. Ningún estudio en España ha analizado la diferencia en la frecuencia del diagnóstico realizada a partir del juicio clínico y del uso de la entrevista semiestructurada en el diagnóstico del trastorno límite de la personalidad (TLP). Los objetivos del presente trabajo son: estudiarla concordancia diagnóstica del TLP en pacientes previamente diagnosticados a partir del juicio clínico mediante el uso de la entrevista clínica semiestructurada para el eje II del DSM-IV (SCID-II) y analizar si existen diferencias en la distribución de frecuencias de los trastornos psiquiátricos en función de la observación o no de concordancia diagnóstica. Material y método. En el estudio participaron 146 pacientes derivados al Programa del Trastorno Límite de Personalidad del Servicio de Psiquiatría del Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron durante su primer año de funcionamiento. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de la concordancia diagnóstica del trastorno mediante la utilización de la SCID-II por profesionales con experiencia en su uso en pacientes previamente diagnosticados a partir del juicio clínico. Resultados. No se observó concordancia diagnóstica en el 30% de los pacientes incluidos en el estudio. Los resultados muestran un elevado número de trastornos en todos los pacientes en el momento del diagnóstico. Se observa un mayor número de diagnósticos de trastornos de personalidad (Z= 3,36; p=0,01) y de trastornos de ansiedad (Z=3,04; p=0,002) en el grupo de concordancia diagnóstica que en el grupo de no concordancia diagnóstica. Conclusiones. Mediante el uso de entrevistas semiestructuradas se observa un 30% menos de diagnósticos de TLP que mediante el juicio clínico (AU)

Background and objective. No study in Spain has analyzed the difference in frequencies of the diagnoses made based on clinical evaluation and semistructured interview in borderline personality disorder diagnosis (BPD). This present study aims to analyze diagnostic concordance in BPD patients previous diagnosed based on clinical evaluations using clinical semistructured interviews for DSM-IV axis II (SCID-II), and to analyze if there are differences in the distribution of frequencies of the psychiatry disorders in the diagnostic concordance group and the non-diagnostic concordance one. Material and method. The study was carried out with 146 patients referred to the Borderline Personality Disorder Program of the Psychiatric Department at the Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron during its first year of service. A descriptive study was designed to analyze diagnostic concordance between previous BPD clinical evaluation and semistructured interview SCID-II administered by clinical experienced interviewers. Results. Diagnostic concordance was not observed in30% of the final study patients. The results indicated that all the study patients presented a great number of psychiatry disorders. There were significant differences between the diagnostic concordance group and the non-diagnostic concordance one. A higher number of personality disorder (Z=3.36; p=0.01) and anxiety disorder (Z=3.04; p=0.002) was observed in the diagnostic concordance group. Conclusions. BPD was diagnosed 30% less when using semistructured interviews than with clinical evaluations (AU)

[Borderline personality disorder diagnosis: concordance between clinical and semiestructured interview evaluation]. / Diagnóstico del trastorno límite de la personalidad: concordancia entre el juicio clínico y la entrevista semiestructurada.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: No study in Spain has analyzed the difference in frequencies of the diagnoses made based on clinical evaluation and semistructured interview in borderline personality disorder diagnosis (BPD). This present study aims to analyze diagnostic concordance in BPD patients previous diagnosed based on clinical evaluations using clinical semistructured interviews for DSM-IV axis II (SCID-II), and to analyze if there are differences in the distribution of frequencies of the psychiatry disorders in the diagnostic concordance group and the non-diagnostic concordance one. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study was carried out with 146 patients referred to the Borderline Personality Disorder Program of the Psychiatric Department at the Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron during its first year of service. A descriptive study was designed to analyze diagnostic concordance between previous BPD clinical evaluation and semistructured interview SCID-II administered by clinical experienced interviewers. RESULTS: Diagnostic concordance was not observed in 30% of the final study patients. The results indicated that all the study patients presented a great number of psychiatry disorders. There were significant differences between the diagnostic concordance group and the non-diagnostic concordance one. A higher number of personality disorder (Z=3.36; p=0.01) and anxiety disorder (Z=3.04; p=0.002) was observed in the diagnostic concordance group. CONCLUSIONS: BPD was diagnosed 30% less when using semistructured interviews than with clinical evaluations.

[The dopaminergic system and addictions]. / Sistema dopaminérgico y adicciones.

AIM: All psychoactive substances with a high abuse potential are characterized by altering the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic neurotransmission system. In this article it is proposed to review the neurobiological mechanisms that comprise the foundation of the development of addiction. DEVELOPMENT: The acute drug intake provokes an increase in extracellular dopamine which, in vulnerable individuals, could be the start of the addictive process. Chronic drug use is accompanied by a reduction in the dopaminergic function with the development of neuroadaptive changes in the mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways. In the prefrontal cortex, the changes in dopaminergic function produce an inbalance between receptors D1 and D2, which leads to a predominance of inhibitatory function. Dopaminergic innervation in the amygdala and its interaction with the nucleus accumbens plays an essential role in the conditioning of environmental stimuli, and can trigger the craving and relapse. In drug dependent patients, dopaminergic changes extend from the limbic regions to the associative and sensorimotor striatum, and affect the cortico-striatico-cortical circuits. CONCLUSION: The involvement of the dopaminergic systems is crucial in the development of addiction, from the early phases in which drug use begins as an object-directed instrumental behavior, to the consolidation of the addiction as a compulsive habit, controlled by stimulus-response mechanisms, which progressively invade all aspects of the life of an individual.

Sistema dopaminérgico y adicciones / The dopaminergic system and addictions

Objetivo. Todas las sustancias psicoactivas con alto potencial de abuso se caracterizan por alterar la función del sistema de neurotransmisión dopaminérgico mesocorticolímbico. En este artículo se propone realizar una revisión de los mecanismos neurobiológicos que están en la base del desarrollo del trastorno adictivo. Desarrollo. La ingesta aguda de drogas provoca un aumento de los niveles de dopamina extracelular que, en individuos vulnerables, puede significar el inicio del proceso adictivo. El consumo crónico se acompaña de una disminución de la función dopaminérgica con desarrollo de cambios neuroadaptativos en las vías mesolímbicas y mesocorticales. En el córtex prefrontal, los cambios en la función dopaminérgica pueden producir un desequilibrio entre los receptores D1 y D2, con un predominio de las funciones inhibitorias de esta estructura. La inervación dopaminérgica de la amígdala y su interacción con el núcleo accumbens desempeña un papel esencial en el condicionamiento de estímulos ambientales, capaces de desencadenar el deseo de consumo y la recaída. En pacientes dependientes, los cambios dopaminérgicos se extienden desde las regiones límbicas a las asociativas y sensoriomotoras del estriado, y afectan a los circuitos corticoestriatocorticales. Conclusión. La implicación del sistema dopaminérgico es crucial en el desarrollo de la adicción, desde las primeras fases en que el consumo de droga empieza como una conducta instrumental dirigida a un objetivo, hasta la consolidación de la adicción como hábito compulsivo, controlado por mecanismos estímulo- respuesta, que invade, progresivamente, todas las esferas de la vida del individuo

Aim. All psychoactive substances with a high abuse potential are characterized by altering the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic neurotransmission system. In this article it is proposed to review the neurobiological mechanisms that comprise the foundation of the development of addiction. Development. The acute drug intake provokes an increase in extracellular dopamine which, in vulnerable individuals, could be the start of the addictive process. Chronic drug use is accompanied by a reduction in the dopaminergic function with the development of neuroadaptive changes in the mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways. In the prefrontal cortex, the changes in dopaminergic function produce an inbalance between receptors D1 and D2, which leads to a predominance of inhibitatory function. Dopaminergic innervation in the amygdala and its interaction with the nucleus accumbens plays an essential role in the conditioning of environmental stimuli, and can trigger the craving and relapse. In drug dependent patients, dopaminergic changes extend from the limbic regions to the associative and sensorimotor striatum, and affect the cortico-striatico-cortical circuits. Conclusion. The involvement of the dopaminergic systems is crucial in the development of addiction, from the early phases in which drug use begins as an object-directed instrumental behavior, to the consolidation of the addiction as a compulsive habit, controlled by stimulus-response mechanisms, which progressively invade all aspects of the life of an individual

¿Qué hacer cuando el paciente es un colega? Dos años de experiencia del Programa de Atención Integral al Médico Enfermo (PAIME) / What to do when your patient is a colleague? two years of experience in the program of attending sich doctors

Este trabajo expone las razones que han motivado la creación del programa PAIMM por parte de los Colegios de Médicos de Cataluña y del Departamento de Sanidad y Seguridad Social de la Generalitat. Los problemas de los profesionales de la sanidad y sobre todo de los médicos, que padecen trastornos psíquicos y adictivos para acudir al sistema sanitario a recibir el tratamiento adecuado, son varios y diversos, pero la falta de confidencialidad es el más importante. Se describen también las características del programa y de su Unidad de Tratamiento, con los últimos datos asistenciales (AU)