Can the analysis of chromatin texture and nuclear fractal dimensions serve as effective means to distinguish non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features from other malignancies with follicular pattern in the thyroid?: a study.

OBJECTIVE: Thyroid carcinoma ranks as the 9th most prevalent global cancer, accounting for 586,202 cases and 43,636 deaths in 2020. Computerized image analysis, utilizing artificial intelligence algorithms, emerges as a potential tool for tumor evaluation. AIM: This study aims to assess and compare chromatin textural characteristics and nuclear dimensions in follicular neoplasms through gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), fractal, and morphometric analysis. METHOD: A retrospective cross-sectional study involving 115 thyroid malignancies, specifically 49 papillary thyroid carcinomas with follicular morphology, was conducted from July 2021 to July 2023. Ethical approval was obtained, and histopathological examination, along with image analysis, was performed using ImageJ software. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was observed in contrast (2.426 (1.774-3.412) vs 2.664 (1.963-3.610), p = .002), correlation (1.202 (1.071-1.298) vs 0.892 (0.833-0.946), p = .01), and ASM (0.071 (0.090-0.131) vs 0.044 (0.019-0.102), p = .036) between NIFTP and IFVPTC. However, morphometric parameters did not yield statistically significant differences among histological variants. CONCLUSION: Computerized image analysis, though promising in subtype discrimination, requires further refinement and integration with traditional diagnostic parameters. The study suggests potential applications in scenarios where conventional histopathological assessment faces limitations due to limited tissue availability. Despite limitations such as a small sample size and a retrospective design, the findings contribute to understanding thyroid carcinoma characteristics and underscore the need for comprehensive evaluations integrating various diagnostic modalities.

Parenting skills of patients with chronic schizophrenia.

AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aims to evaluate the parenting skills of patients with schizophrenia as perceived by themselves and their children and compare the same with a matched healthy control group of parents and their children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-one patients with schizophrenia and their 51 children were assessed on the Alabama Parenting Scale. A healthy control group of 51 parents and their children were also assessed for parenting. RESULTS: The mean age of parents with schizophrenia was 45.23 years. Compared to the parents in the healthy control group, patients with schizophrenia reported deficits in the domains of positive involvement, positive parenting; more often report poor monitoring/supervision, and inconsistent discipline. When the children of patients with schizophrenia and children of healthy parents were compared, children of healthy control parents reported higher positive involvement, positive parenting; and lower corporal punishment and inconsistent discipline. Except for few associations, parenting was not affected by demographic and clinical profile of the patients with schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that patients with schizophrenia have deficits in parenting and there is a need to improve the parenting skills of the patients with schizophrenia.

ECT in schizophrenia: a review of the evidence.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was initially used for the treatment of schizophrenia, but over the years with the advent of antipsychotics, its use in schizophrenia has been limited. Treatment guidelines vary in their recommendations for the use of ECT in schizophrenia. The usual indications of its use among patients with schizophrenia include treatment resistance, to augment pharmacotherapy, to manage catatonia, suicidal behaviour, severe agitation and clozapine-resistant schizophrenia. Available literature, including meta-analysis and systematic reviews, suggest that ECT is a safe and effective treatment in patients with schizophrenia. However, despite the available evidence, it is highly underutilised and is often used as one of the last resort among patients with schizophrenia. This review focuses on the indications of use of ECT in schizophrenia, studies evaluating its effectiveness, efficacy in certain special situations like first episode schizophrenia, adolescents, catatonia etc., predictors of response to ECT in schizophrenia and influence of various ECT-related parameters on efficacy/effectiveness among patients with schizophrenia. From the review, it can be concluded that ECT is not only is beneficial as an augmenting strategy in treatment-resistant schizophrenia but also can be used effectively in patients with schizophrenia in various other situations.