Pathways to care for people with dementia: An international multicentre study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to characterize the clinical pathways that people with dementia (PwD) in different countries follow to reach specialized dementia care. METHODS: We recruited 548 consecutive clinical attendees with a standardized diagnosis of dementia, in 19 specialized public centres for dementia care in 15 countries. The WHO "encounter form," a standardized schedule that enables data concerning basic socio-demographic, clinical, and pathways data to be gathered, was completed for each participant. RESULTS: The median time from the appearance of the first symptoms to the first contact with specialist dementia care was 56 weeks. The primary point of access to care was the general practitioners (55.8%). Psychiatrists, geriatricians, and neurologists represented the most important second point of access. In about a third of cases, PwD were prescribed psychotropic drugs (mostly antidepressants and tranquillizers). Psychosocial interventions (such as psychological counselling, psychotherapy, and practical advice) were delivered in less than 3% of situations. The analyses of the "pathways diagram" revealed that the path of PwD to receiving care is complex and diverse across countries and that there are important barriers to clinical care. CONCLUSIONS: The study of pathways followed by PwD to reach specialized care has implications for the subsequent course and the outcome of dementia. Insights into local differences in the clinical presentations and the implementation of currently available dementia care are essential to develop more tailored strategies for these patients, locally, nationally, and internationally.

Major depressive disorder in chronic heart failure patients: Does silent cerebral infarction cause major depressive disorder in this patient population?

OBJECTIVE: Depression frequently occurs in patients with heart failure as similar pathophysiological mechanisms present in both these diseases. Patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) have a high incidence of clinically asymptomatic silent cerebral infarction (SCI). This study aimed to evaluate the relation between SCI and major depressive disorder (MDD), and between MDD and clinical and biochemical parameters in DCM patients. METHODS: Patients with ischemic and non-ischemic DCM who had chronic heart failure (CHF) (39 male, 10 female, age 60±10 years) were included in the study. Mean patient ejection fraction (EF) was 34±10%. Patients had no localized neurological symptoms or stroke history. The etiology of DCM was ischemic in 40 and non-ischemic in 9 patients. Twenty-five age-matched healthy volunteers served as a control group for comparison of SCI and MDD prevalence. RESULTS: Patients had mild to severe CHF symptoms. Prevalence of SCI and MDD was significantly higher in patients with DCM than in the control group; 63% vs 8%; p<0.001, and 52% vs 20%; p<0.001 respectively. Patients with SCI had a higher prevalence of MDD than patients without SCI in DCM (61% vs 27%, p=0.02). CONCLUSION: CHF patients have an increased prevalence of SCI and MDD. Patients with SCI have a higher prevalence of MDD compared to patients without SCI in CHF.

The evaluation of suicide letters in Turkey from a cognitive perspective.

BACKGROUND: Different methods are used to understand the suicidal mind. Suicide note analysis may be most direct way to do this. AIMS: To study the content of suicide letters under forensic evaluation in terms of psychological and cognitive aspects. METHODS: A total of 51 letters were referred to The Council of Forensic Medicine from different cities of Turkey and analyzed by a research group with ten members including forensic medicine specialists and psychiatrists. The Questionnaire of Content Analysis of Suicide Letters (The Q-CAS), developed by researchers, was used to analyze the cognitive and cultural themes of suicide letters. The cognitive distortions about the self, the world, and the future as well as cultural phenomena were evaluated including sociodemographic features. RESULTS: Financial problems in males and relationship problems in females were the most frequent life events related to suicide. Hopelessness, weakness, loneliness--in decreasing order--were the most predominant cognitions and emotions. The total score of females were higher than that of males (p=.002). CONCLUSIONS: These negative cognitions should be taken into consideration when therapeutic interventions are planned on individuals with suicidal thoughts.

Correlations between alexithymia and pain severity, depression, and anxiety among patients with chronic and episodic migraine.

AIMS: Some studies have found elevated alexithymia among patients with chronic pain, but the correlations between alexithymia and the severity of pain, depression, and anxiety among migraine patients are unclear. The aims of the present study were to investigate whether individuals suffering from episodic migraine (EM) differ from those with chronic migraine (CM) in regards to depression, anxiety, and alexithymia measures and to investigate the association of alexithymia with the results of depression and anxiety test inventories and illness characteristics. METHODS: A total of 165 subjects with EM and 135 subjects with CM were studied. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) were administered to all subjects. The correlation between alexithymia and sociodemographic variables, family history of migraine and illness characteristics (pain severity, frequency of episode, duration of illness) were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with EM patients, the CM patients had significantly higher scores on measures of depression but not alexithymia and anxiety. There was a positive correlation between TAS scores and age and education in both migraine groups, but there was no correlation between TAS scores and other demographic variables. Depression and anxiety were significantly correlated with alexithymia in both migraine groups. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that CM patients are considerably more depressive than EM patients. In this study, depression and anxiety were significantly correlated with alexithymia in both migraine groups. Our results demonstrate a positive association between depression, anxiety, and alexithymia in migraine patients.

Limbic encephalitis presenting with anxiety and depression: a comprehensive neuropsychological formulation.

Limbic encephalitis (LE) is a paraneoplastic neurological disorder in which, typically, the neurological symptoms occur before the cancer is diagnosed. We report on a 52-year-old male with LE who has depressive and anxiety symptoms. Cranial MRI revealed increased hippocampal signal intensities in both temporal lobes. Extensive range of symptoms concerning emotion, personality and social functioning was assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological formulation. The neuropsychological test battery showed dysfunction of hippocampus, medial temporal lobes, limbic system and frontal diencephalic structures. The current literature about the neurological mechanisms underlying the neuropsychological findings of LE is also briefly reviewed in this report.

The schizophrenia and Toxoplasma gondii connection: infectious, immune or both?

INTRODUCTION: Recent research has suggested a possible link between toxoplasmic agents and schizophrenia. We aimed to assess this by measuring Toxoplasma gondii-associated antibodies in schizophrenia patients and controls METHODS: We used a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit to measure the level of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM antibodies in serum samples from schizophrenia patients (n=40) and from a group of non-schizophrenic control subjects (n=37) RESULTS: Among schizophrenic patients, 16 (40%) showed IgG seropositivity and two (5%) showed IgM seropositivity. Among the control group, five (13.5%) were found have IgG seropositivity and one (2.7%) showed IgM seropositivity. In our study we found that IgG T gondii antibodies were significantly higher in schizophrenia patients compared with controls CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the theory that toxoplasmic agents may have a role in the aetiology of schizophrenia.

Route learning impairment associated with encephalomalasia secondary to traumatic brain injury: a case report.

Topographical disorientation is marked by difficulty finding one's way in familiar or new environments. The present case study reports findings from a 30-year-old male with encephalomalasia of the left parahippocampal region secondary to brain trauma with subsequent difficulty in learning of new routes. His navigation in premorbidly known (familiar) surroundings was intact. Magnetic resonance images revealed left parahippocampal and bilateral occipital encephalomalasia. Neuropsychological screening showed impairment in structuring a representation of the spatial relationships among landmarks with relatively preserved ability to learn visual and verbal information of these landmarks. Decreased visual perception and inappropriate visual inputs due to cervical dystonia and right homonymous hemianopsia also appear to play a role in his disability. The current knowledge about the neuronal systems involved in visual cognition and topographical orientation also are addressed in this report.

Risperidone and liver function tests in children and adolescents: a short-term prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Revealing of unknown adverse effects of atypical antipsychotics on pediatric population may take a long period of time. The purpose of this prospective study is to document changes in the liver function tests (LFTs) associated with risperidone usage in a group of children and adolescents. METHOD: Study subjects consist of 120 youths with ages ranging from 3-17 years. For this study, patients' baseline and follow-up weight and hepatobiliary function tests including alanine aminotransferases(ALT) and aspartat aminotransferases (AST), gamma gluatamyl transerase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and serum bilirubin levels were measured before and after the treatment period of one month. RESULTS: Only one male patient's ALT levels increased up to three-fold and AST levels increased up to two-fold of the basal levels. First month mean levels of liver enzymes and billuribin of the patients were significantly higher than the baseline. Sixty-three patients (52.5%) showed an asymptomatic increase in the liver enzymes and/or billuribin levels of the first month of this study. Weight gain was observed in 58 patients (57.4%). There was no significant association between changes in weight and liver enzymes and billuribin levels. CONCLUSION: We found clinically non significant liver function test abnormalities mostly in the form of ALP elevation in 52.5% and marked liver enzymes elevation in 0.8% of risperidone-treated subjects. However use of concomitant medications and variations in age are the limitations of this study. These findings suggest that risperidone treatment in the short term may lead to liver function changes in children and adolescents.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and risk factors in parents of children with a cancer diagnosis.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents of children with cancer. Five questionnaires were administered to 104 parents, including a sociodemographic questionnaire, a traumatic events check list, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder modules, and the self-rating instrument General Health Questionnaire-12. The prevalence of PTSD was 34.6%. The statistically significant tendency to develop PTSD were found in the female gender, better educational status, death of a loved one, previous history of psychiatric disorder, having a child with poorer prognosis, and the presence of radiotherapy in child's treatment. The vulnerable parents must receive psychosocial support.

Antidepressant treatment increases quality of life in patients with chronic renal failure.

To evaluate the effect of citalopram treatment on quality of life (QoL) and depression in 141 patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), QoL was measured by means of the Short Form 36 (SF-36). Patients diagnosed with depression were treated with citalopram for eight weeks and evaluated for the effect of treatment on depressive symptoms and QoL. Thirty-four of 141 patients (24.1%) had depression and treatment with citalopram decreased Beck Depression Inventory Scores and increased the emotional role limitation and the mental health subscale scores of SF-36. This study suggests that citalopram can treat depression and improve QoL in patients with CRF.

A review of liver function tests during treatment with atypical antipsychotic drugs: a chart review study.

OBJECTIVE: Atypical antipsychotic drugs commonly cause asymptomatic increase in the liver enzymes and serum bilirubin levels. However they rarely may induce a serious hepatic toxicity. In this article we aimed to evaluate the effect of atypical antipsychotic drugs namely olanzapine, risperidone and quetiapine on the hepatic enzymes and serum bilirubin levels in psychiatric patients. METHOD: Chart reviews of 312 patient followed-up at Psychiatry Department of Zonguldak Karaelmas University Hospital were examined in detail. The patients whose baseline and follow-up liver function tests including alanine aminotransfeaminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphotase (ALP) and serum bilirubin that were measured before and within the treatment period of first and sixth months were enrolled. Forty eight males and 62 females whose ages ranging from 12 to 65 years were eligible for this study (no pregnant case was present). RESULTS: The repartition according to treatment is as follows: olanzapine (n=33), risperidone (n=29), and quetiapine (n=48). Two of the 110 patients (1.8%) presented with increased AST levels of up to 4 fold and ALT of thrice the basal level and needed to stop treatment (AST increase in one female with olanzapine 20 mg/day; ALT increase in one male with olanzapine 30 mg/day). Thirty of the 110 patients (27.2%) showed asymptomatic increases in ALT, AST, GGT and serum bilirubin levels in the first month of the study. After 6 months of the treatment, abnormalities in the liver function tests were observed in 25 patients (22.7%). CONCLUSION: These results were in accordance with previous studies that asymptomatic increase of liver enzymes are common but significant liver enzyme elevations are rare during atypical antipsychotic treatment. We suggest that obtaining baseline liver enzyme tests before atypical antipsychotic therapy and monitoring regularly specifically in patients with risk factors for liver damage during therapy.

Correction of osteoporotic fracture deformities with global sagittal imbalance.

UNLABELLED: Osteoporotic spinal deformities with global sagittal imbalance have devastating effects on patients. However, treatment is difficult and there is a high risk of perioperative medical and mechanical complications. Patients with osteoporotic spinal deformities are not ideal candidates for posterior pedicle subtraction osteotomy; the condition necessitates combined anterior-posterior for corrections of the deformity. We ascertained the complication rates and efficacy of the anterior-posterior surgery and determined the factors influencing the results. To determine complication rates we analyzed a series of patients (n = 32). To evaluate overall results, we analyzed 18 patients with more than 2-years followup. A total of 18 complications occurred in 12 of 32 patients (37.5%) with seven early complications occurring in five patients and 11 delayed complications occurring in seven patients. Three patients needed additional surgery to treat the complications. At 2 years postoperatively, 17 of 18 patients (94%) reported subjective improvement with 54% decrement of Oswestry Disability Index and 70% decrement of the visual analogue scale pain score. The factors associated with clinical improvement was restoration of total lumbopelvic lordosis, C7 plumb, and control of T4-12 thoracic kyphosis. Prevention and aggressive treatment of junctional fractures were important in achieving favorable results. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series, [patients treated one way with no comparison group of patients treated in another way]). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of the levels of evidence.

Delirium-associated disulfiram and ethanol interactions.

BACKGROUND: Disulfiram, an agent used for the treatment of alcohol dependence, can exacerbate psychiatric syndromes (including psychosis, catatonia, delirium, depression, and mania) after extended use. However, delirium has yet to be reported following the short-term use of disulfiram in the setting of alcohol use. OBJECTIVES: We report a case with a neuropsychiatric presentation and discuss the prevention and the progression of delirium associated with an interaction of disulfiram and ethanol. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 51-year-old woman who developed disorganized speech, diminished communication, a decrease in appetite, and thoughts of suicide 10 days after she began taking disulfiram (250 mg/day), to which she added 1 glass of alcoholic beverage for 2 days. Delirium developed in association with an interaction between disulfiram and alcohol. The patient met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder, alcohol dependence, and delirium. DISCUSSION: Neuropsychiatric manifestations may develop in association with co-administration of disulfiram and alcohol; timely recognition and treatment are recommended.