Pre-school attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: 12 weeks prospective study.

INTRODUCTION: Extant literature lack studies on behavioural training or pharmacotherapy in Indian preschool children. With adverse long term outcomes, effective, safe and affordable early interventions for ADHD are a priority. Aim of this prospective study is to report on short term outcome of preschool ADHD with specific focus on safety and tolerability of medications. METHODS: Children with ADHD aged 2.5-6 years were assessed for severity and adverse events at baseline and follow-up using Conner's abbreviated rating scale and Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale. Children with Autism spectrum disorder and those with social quotient less than 50 were excluded. Statistical Analysis included descriptive statistics and Repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Of 56 children recruited, 33.93 %(N = 19) were on behavioural interventions alone, 66.07 %(N = 37) were on a combination of medication and behavioural intervention. All children received treatment according to standard care. The most prescribed drug was clonidine (44.64%), then risperidone (28.7%), methylphenidate (10.7%) and atomoxetine (10.7%). Medication choice was determined by affordability, availability and comorbidity profile. Sedation occurred in 24 % of children on clonidine. Atomoxetine was not well tolerated in 2 children. Methylphenidate was well tolerated. Irrespective of medication choice, all children showed significant improvement at 12 weeks (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Choice of interventions is largely determined by availability and affordability. There is a need for structured parent behavioural training program deliverable in low resource setting. Anti-ADHD medications should be made available under the NMHP, RBSK program and all government settings in India, to address over-prescription of antipsychotics in preschool ADHD.

Frequency and correlates of tardive dyskinesia in Indian patients with type I bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Patients with Bipolar Disorder (BD) may have higher risk of Tardive Dyskinesia (TD). Theories for TD include inflammatory or oxidative stress and altered iron metabolism. The current frequency and clinical and biochemical correlates of TD in BD needs exploration. OBJECTIVES: To assess: (1) the frequency of TD in BD; (2) clinical correlates of TD in BD; (3) oxidative stress markers, inflammatory markers and hepcidin in TD in BD. MATERIALS & METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 170 patients with BD were assessed for clinical characteristics using structured assessments. Inflammatory and oxidative markers like Interleukin-6 (IL-6), high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP), malondialdehyde (MDA), Total Antioxidant Status (TAS) and hepcidin were assessed by ELISA. RESULTS: Frequency of TD was 10.6% (95%C.I.=6.4%-16.2%). Compared to patients without TD, patients with TD were older (F=0.340;p=0.000), had more episodes of illness (U=962.5;p=0.044) higher rates of medical comorbidity (X2=6.924; p=0.009*), antipsychotic exposure (U=592.5;p=0.000), typical antipsychotic exposure (U=756.5;p=0.001) and cognitive deficits (F=1.129;p=0.001). The biomarkers levels did not differ between the groups. Hepcidin levels correlated with Abnormal involuntary Movements scale (AIMS) score (r=0.213;p=0.006). Patients treated with lithium were more likely to have TD, but also had greater exposure to antipsychotics than patients on valproate. CONCLUSION: About one-tenth of patients with BD-I have TD. The presence of TD is associated several clinical characteristics such as age, exposure to typical antipsychotics and chronicity of illness. Hepcidin was associated with greater severity of dyskinetic movements and needs further exploration.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Medically Unexplained Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Published Controlled Trials.

Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) commonly present across the board in medical specialties and are often challenging to treat. Our objective was to assess the efficacy for cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) in MUS. Electronic search of databases was carried out for published controlled trials in English language peer-reviewed journals from inception till August 2016. Effect sizes for the trials were computed using standardized mean difference, and I2 test was used to assess sample heterogeneity. Pooled mean effect sizes were derived using a random-effects model. Critical appraisal of studies was done using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool. A total of 11 trials involving 1235 subjects were included in the study. Ten trials used standard CBT techniques while one studied the efficacy of mindfulness-based CBT technique. The control arms were treatment as usual in five trials, augmented care in four and waitlisted controls in two trials. The pooled mean effect size for CBT was 0.388 (range 0.055-0.806, 95% confidence intervals 0.316-0.461). The I2 value was 0 using a random effects model indicating low heterogeneity among studies. Risk of bias was noted in many included studies. Egger plot intercept indicated potential publication bias. CBT was superior to the waiting list, treatment as usual or enhanced usual care with moderate effect sizes in the treatment of MUS. These findings are impacted by the limited number of studies in this area and questionable methodological rigor of included studies.

Converging Neurobiological Evidence In Primary Polydipsia Resembling Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Compulsive water drinking can have phenomenological and pharmacotherapeutic similarities with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Substantiating neurobiological evidence is lacking for such an association. We report a patient who was referred with a diagnosis of primary polydipsia with no signs of organic pathology in structural neuroimaging. However, positron emission tomography revealed basal ganglia hypometabolism indicating that primary polydipsia with compulsive water drinking is neurobiologically related to OCD. The diagnostic complexities displayed by primary polydipsia and the use of systematic evaluation with supporting neuroimaging evidence in reaching a reliable diagnosis are discussed. The neurobiological evidence will foster the treatment decisions for starting anti-OCD measures when clinicians encounter patients with primary polydipsia exhibiting compulsive patterns of drinking. Nevertheless, such findings need to be replicated in future studies with a larger sample size.

Psychotherapeutic Applications of Mobile Phone-based Technologies: A Systematic Review of Current Research and Trends.

There is a growing interest in using mobile phone technology to offer real-time psychological interventions and support. However, questions remain on the clinical effectiveness and feasibility of such approaches in psychiatric populations. Our aim was to systematically review the published literature on mobile phone apps and other mobile phone-based technology for psychotherapy in mental health disorders. To achieve this, electronic searches of PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were carried out in January 2016. Generated abstracts were systematically screened for eligibility to be included in the review. Studies employing psychotherapy in any form, being delivered through mobile-based technology and reporting core mental health outcomes in mental illness were included in the study. We also included trials in progress with published protocols reporting at least some outcome measures of such interventions. From a total of 1563 search results, 24 eligible articles were identified and reviewed. These included trials in anxiety disorders (8), substance use disorders (5), depression (4), bipolar disorders (3), schizophrenia and psychotic disorders (3), and attempted suicide (1). Of these, eight studies involved the use of smartphone apps and others involved personalized text messages, automated programs, or delivered empirically supported treatments. Trial lengths varied from 6 weeks to 1 year. Good overall retention rates indicated that the treatments were feasible and largely acceptable. Benefits were reported on core outcomes in mental health illness indicating efficacy of such approaches though sample sizes were small. To conclude, mobile phone-based psychotherapies are a feasible and acceptable treatment option for patients with mental disorders. However, there remains a paucity of data on their effectiveness in real-world settings, especially from low- and middle-income countries.