José Blas Navarro

Plasma osteopontin levels in multiple sclerosis.

Osteopontin (OPN) is a pleiotropic integrin binding protein with functions in cell-mediated immunity, inflammation, tissue repair, and cell survival. Recent studies have shown that OPN may play an important role in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, we investigated the plasma levels of OPN in 221 MS patients and 36 healthy controls using an enzyme-linked immunoassay. The MS group comprised of 71 patients with primary and transitional progressive MS (PP/TP-MS), 35 patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS), and 115 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS)[46 patients during clinical remission, 26 patients during relapse, and 43 patients treated with interferon-beta (IFNbeta)]. Levels of OPN in plasma were elevated in SPMS patients compared with healthy controls, RRMS patients in remission, and PP/TP-MS patients. Patients with RRMS during relapse presented higher OPN levels than patients with RRMS during clinical remission. When MS patients were classified based on progression of neurological disability, an inverse relation between levels of OPN and disability progression was observed only in patients with relapsing MS. In RRMS patients receiving therapy with IFNbeta, OPN plasma levels were similar to RRMS patients during remission. These findings suggest that OPN is involved in both acute and chronic disease activity, thus expanding the role of OPN in MS pathogenesis suggested by previous studies. Furthermore, the different profiles of OPN levels found in acute relapses and chronic progression and its apparent lack of influence in primary progressive MS phenotypes raise interesting questions on the actual role of OPN in the pathogenesis of MS.

Exophenotypical profile of adolescents with sustained attention deficit: A 10-year follow-up study

UNLABELLED We aimed to explore prospectively the relationship between the presence of sustained attention deficit (SAD) in early adolescence and exophenotypical measures of vulnerability to schizophrenia spectrum disorders (personality and psychosocial measures) in early adulthood. Two cohorts of community adolescents were selected in 1993 according to the presence or absence of a CPT-linked SAD. In 2003, both cohorts (Index: n=42, and CONTROL n=38) were administered the O-LIFE, the SCID-II, the DOI battery and the COPE scale, among other tests. T-tests were used to compare both cohorts. Index subjects showed a higher level of negative schizotypy, avoidant, depressive and narcissistic personality traits, as well as more asocial behavior and poorer use of coping resources than CONTROL subjects did. A SAD in early adolescence may be associated with coping and social deficits, negative schizotypy, and personality traits indicative of emotional disturbance in adulthood. Our results suggest that SAD in early adolescence might be an indicator of psychopathology in adulthood and give support to dimensional models of psychopathology.

Tracing developmental trajectories of oppositional defiant behaviors in preschool children.

Objective Previous studies on developmental trajectories have used ad hoc definitions of oppositional defiant behaviors (ODB), which makes it difficult to compare results. This article defines developmental trajectories of ODB from ages 3–5 based on five different standard measurements derived from three separate instruments. Method A sample of 622 three-year-old preschoolers, followed up at ages 4, 5, and 6, was assessed with the five measures of oppositionality answered by parents and teachers. Growth-Mixture-Modeling (GMM) estimated separate developmental trajectories for each ODB measure for ages 3 to 5. Results The number of classes-trajectories obtained in each GMM depended on the ODB measure, but two clear patterns emerged: four trajectories (persistent low, decreasers, increasers/high increasers, persistent moderate/persistent high) or three trajectories (persistent low, decreasers, increasers/high increasers). Persistent high trajectories accounted for 4.4%–9.5% of the children. The trajectories emerging from the different ODB measures at ages 3 to 5 discriminated disruptive disorders, comorbidity, use of services, and impairment at age 6, and globally showed a similar pattern, summarizing longitudinal information on oppositionality in preschool children in a similar way. Conclusions Trajectories resulting from standard scales of the questionnaires have predictive validity for identifying relevant clinical outcomes, but are measure-specific. The results contribute to knowledge about the development of ODB in preschool children.

The Brief Problem Monitor-Parent Form (BPM-P), a short version of the child behavior checklist : psychometric properties in Spanish 6- to 8-year-old children

We provide the first validation data on the Spanish version of the Brief Problem Monitor-Parent form (BPM-P), a recently developed abbreviated version of the 120-item Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6 to 18 (CBCL/6–18) in young schoolchildren. Parents of a community sample of 521 children aged 6–8 answered the CBCL/6–18 yearly, and the 19 BPM-P items were examined; parents also provided different measures of psychopathology. Confirmatory factor analysis of the expected 3-factor model (attention, externalizing, and internalizing) showed adequate fit (root mean square error of approximation, RMSEA ⩽ .057), and measurement invariance across sex and age was observed. Internal consistency for the derived scores was satisfactory (&ohgr; ≥ .83). Concurrent validity with the equivalent scale scores of the original full CBCL/6–18 (r ≥ .84) and convergent validity with parents’ ratings of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores (r ≥ .52) were good. BPM-P scores at age 7 showed good predictive accuracy for discriminating the use of mental health services (OR ≥ 1.12), functional impairment (B ⩽ −1.25), and the presence of the corresponding disorders diagnosed with an independent clinical interview, both cross-sectionally at age 7 and longitudinally at age 8 (OR ≥ 1.24). The BPM-P provides reliable and valid scores as a very brief follow-up and screening tool for assessing behavioral and emotional problems in young schoolchildren.

Drug Use Among Medical Students: Gender Differences and Variations On Drug Use Across Seven Academic Courses (2008/09-2014/15)

Introduction Drug use among medical students is partially unknown. However, consumption among medical students may have a similar role if compared with the rest of population. Objectives To study drugs use among medical students comparing gender and evolution on drugs use. Aims Students enrolled in the fifth year of the medical studies at the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, from the course 2008-2009 to 2014-2015, were offered the chance to participate voluntarily in the study. Methods The students agreed to participate anonymously in a survey filled in during the beginning days of the psychiatry classes. They were asked about their drug consumption, including legal drugs (alcohol and tobacco) and illegal drugs. During the seven study years, 469 questionnaires were collected (74.1% of women) and mean age was 22.77 (20-35) yearsold. Results The students reported consuming alcohol (66.7%; 65.5% women, 70.4% men), tobacco (18.6%; 18.1% women, 20% men) and illegal drugs (15.1%; 12.4% women, 22.8% men). The female students consumed fewer illegal drugs than the men (p 0.008) as showed above. Comparing 2008/2009 and 2014/2015 courses, the consumption was: alcohol 75.5% and 65.7%, tobacco 24.5% and 13.2% and illegal drugs 22.4% and 14.7%. Conclusions Drug consumption is an important problem among medicalstudents who will becomeprescribing doctors in a few months after the survey. There is a decreased tendency to use illegal drugs. Due to the gender differences on illegal drug use a special focus must be placed on the male group.