Quantification of selected antidepressants and antipsychotics in clinical samples using chromatographic methods combined with mass spectrometry: A review (2006-2015).

BACKGROUND: Psychiatric disorders contribute significantly to worldwide morbidity and mortality. In the case of depression and schizophrenia, effective drug therapy is available but 30-50% of patients do not respond sufficiently to the initial treatment regimen. Apart from the development of new molecules, it is desirable to optimize treatment outcomes with agents that are currently available. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a suitable and widely accepted approach for improving the efficacy and safety of these drugs. METHODS: A review of the relevant literature published between 2006 and January 2015. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: This review describes major advances and drawbacks in the field of chromatography coupled with single or tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS, LC-MS/MS and GC/MS) of selected antidepressants (agomelatine, vilazodone) and antipsychotics (iloperidone, asenapine, amisulpride, aripiprazole, melperone, zotepine, ziprasidone). The high specificity in combination with high sensitivity makes these techniques an attractive complementary method to traditional procedures used in routine practice for TDM.

Adaptação materna ao transtorno do espectro autismo: relações entre crenças, sentimentos e fatores psicossociais / Maternal adaptation to autism spectrum disorder: relationships between beliefs, feelings and psychosocial factors / Adaptación materna al trastorno del espectro autista: las relaciones entre las creencias, los sentimientos y los factores psicosociales

Crenças e sentimentos relacionados ao desenvolvimento do filho com Transtorno do Espectro Autismo (TEA) exercem importante papel na adaptação materna. Entretanto, estes fatores nem sempre são compreendidos com base nos aspectos psicossociais associados. OBJETIVO: investigar crenças e sentimentos de mães de crianças com TEA relacionando-os a fatores psicossociais, com base no metamodelo biopsicossocial de Bradford. Delineamento: estudo de casos múltiplos, transversal e exploratório. Participantes: quatro mães (idade: 38 a 45 anos) de meninos com TEA (idades: 3 anos e 5 meses a 6 anos e 9 meses). Instrumentos: Entrevista de Percepção Materna, Entrevista de Dados Demográficos e Desenvolvimento Infantil e Questionário de Saúde Geral de Goldberg (QSG). RESULTADOS: crenças maternas sobre o desenvolvimento infantil, capacidade para identificar habilidades e seu senso de autoeficácia relacionam-se a diversos fatores psicossociais, como percepção dos recursos intra e extrafamiliares, qualidade dos sistemas de saúde. Discute-se que o impacto do diagnóstico pode ser mediado pelos fatores psicossociais.

The beliefs and feelings associated with the development of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) play an important part in maternal adaptation. However, these factors are not always comprehended based on associated psychosocial aspects. OBJECTIVE: to investigate the beliefs and feelings of mothers of ASD children, associating them to various psychosocial factors based on Bradford’s biopsychosocial metamodel. Boundaries: transversal and exploratory study of multiple cases. Participants: four mothers (aged 38 to 45 years) of ASD boys (ages between 3 years and 5 months and 6 years and 9 months). Instruments: Maternal Perception of Child Interview, Demographic Data and Child Development Interview, Goldberg General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). RESULTS: mothers’ beliefs about child development, ability to indentify children’s skills and their own sense of auto-efficiency are related to many psychosocial factors: perception of intra and extra-family resources and quality of health-care systems. It is discussed that the diagnosis impact may be mediated by psychosocial factors.

Las creencias y los sentimientos relacionados con el desarrollo del niño con Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA) tienen un papel importante en la adaptación materna. Sin embargo, estos factores no son siempre entendidos en base a los aspectos psicosociales. OBJETIVO: investigar las creencias y sentimientos de las madres de niños con TEA y relacionarlos con factores psicosociales, basado en el metamodelo biopsicosocial del Bradford. Diseño: estudio múltiples casos, transversal y exploratoria. Participantes: cuatro madres (edad: 38-45 años) los niños con ASD (edades: 3 años y 5 meses a 6 años y 9 meses). Instrumentos: Entrevista Percepción Materna, Entrevista de Datos Demográficos y del Desarrollo Infantil y Cuestionario de Salud General de Goldberg (QSG). RESULTADOS: las creencias maternas sobre el desarrollo infantil, la capacidad para identificar habilidades y su sentido de autoeficacia se relacionan con varios factores psicosociales, como la percepción de los recursos intra y extrafamiliares, la calidad de los sistemas de salud. Se argumenta que el impacto del diagnóstico puede estar mediada por factores psicosociales.

Feasibility study for producing a carrot/potato matrix reference material for 11 selected pesticides at EU MRL level: material processing, homogeneity and stability assessment.

The feasibility for producing a matrix reference material for selected pesticides in a carrot/potato matrix was investigated. A commercially available baby food (carrot/potato-based mash) was spiked with 11 pesticides at the respective EU maximum residue limits (MRLs), and further processed by either freezing or freeze-drying. Batches of some 150 units were produced per material type. First, the materials were assessed for the relative amount of pesticide recovered after processing (ratio of pesticide concentration in the processed material to the initially spiked pesticide concentration). In addition, the materials' homogeneity (bottle-to-bottle variation), and the short-term (1 month) and mid-term (5 months) stability at different temperatures were assessed. For this, an in-house validated GC-EI-MS method operated in the SIM mode with a sample preparation procedure based on the QuEChERS ("quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe") principle was applied. Measurements on the frozen material provided the most promising results (smallest analyte losses during production), and also freeze-drying proved to be a suitable alternative processing technique for most of the investigated pesticides. Both the frozen and the freeze-dried material showed to be sufficiently homogeneous for the intended use, and storage at -20°C for 5 months did not reveal any detectable material degradation. The results constitute an important step towards the development of a pesticide matrix reference material.