A. Tomassini

Premorbid intelligence of inpatients with different psychiatric diagnoses does not differ.

The diagnostic specificity of poor premorbid intelligence is controversial. We explored premorbid intelligence level in psychiatric patients with personality disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorders and schizophrenic disorders. 273 consecutively admitted patients and 81 controls were included in the study and tested with the ‘Test di Intelligenza Breve’, an Italian adaptation of the National Adult Reading Test. Significant differences between the clinical samples and the control subjects were found but not among the 4 clinical groups. The observation of premorbid IQ deficits in subjects with diagnoses other than schizophrenia suggests a common vulnerability diathesis, which is most likely to have a neurodevelopmental basis.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for young people after l'aquila earthquake.

Objective: Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) emerges as the best validated therapeutic approach for children and adolescents who experienced trauma-related symptoms, particularly associated with anxiety or mood disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the CBT efficacy among young people exposed to L’Aquila earthquake, in 2009. Methods: one year after the disaster, 39 young subjects as a case group (CBT treated) and 24 as a comparison group (no CBT treated) were evaluated with the Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R), the General Health Questionnaire-12 items (GHQ-12) and the Brief Cope. CBT was conducted in 12 sessions (once per week for 3 months). After CBT intervention, both groups were evaluated again with the same psychometric instruments. Results: our results show a significantly decrease in post traumatic symptoms and psychological distress severity in CBT group. It was attributable to an improvement in each of three PTSD dimensions (intrusion, avoidance, and arousal) and in the total score of IES-R (p< 0.04). Among CBT treated group, subjects that adopted “planning/problem solving” coping strategies (p < .02) and “religiosity” (p < .045) show higher improvement in psychological distress. Conclusions: our findings show the efficacy of CBT and the influence of individual coping strategies in the improvement of posttraumatic stress symptoms and psychological distress among young people seeking help from an outpatients service for young people with psychiatric problems (the SMILE) after the catastrophic disaster in L’Aquila.

Cannabis and Psychosis: A Systematic Review of Genetic Studies

Though the basic pathophysiology of psychosis is largely unknown, there is reliable evidence that genes contribute to its aetiology. Epidemiologic studies suggested that chronic use of cannabis is a risk factor for the development of psychosis. Recent researches have focused on the identification of genetic variants that moderate the effect of cannabis on psychosis occurrence. We undertook a systematic review of primary studies that reported the direct measures of genetic risk in the association between cannabis use and psychosis considering cannabis use as an environmental factor under the gene-environment interaction model. The initial search from PubMed revealed 187 records, of which 113 were excluded on reading the abstract. Of 74 papers screened in full, 60 were reviews, 14 were included for data extraction. We report a structured summary of populations studied, study design, evaluations of cannabis use, genetic variations, outcome measures and main results. The 14 primary studies included in the survey applied the candidate gene approach, COMT being the most investigated; also CNR1, BDNF and SLC6A4 were examined; a novel candidate gene, AKT1, was identified through a multistage approach. Few candidate genes were investigated, and reliable replications were provided only for AKT1. Studies were heterogeneous in terms of experimental design and outcome measures, thus hampering an effective synthesis. We conclude that additional primary studies are warranted. An effort in harmonisation of data, coupled with the recent advances in genetic technologies, should be encouraged.