Manjola Ujkaj

Metabolic risk factor profile associated with use of second generation antipsychotics: a cross sectional study in a community mental health centre

BackgroundSecond generation antipsychotics (SGA) have demonstrated several advantages over first generation antipsychotics (FGA) in terms of positive, negative, cognitive, and affective symptoms and a lower propensity for extrapyramidal side effects. Despite these undeniable advantages, SGA have been associated with causing and exacerbating metabolic disorders, such as obesity, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. This cross sectional study aimed to evaluate the metabolic risk factor profile associated with use of SGAs in comparison with non -treated control patients.MethodsThe study was carried out at a Community Mental Health Centre (CMHC) in Bologna. The study subjects were outpatients with serious mental disorders treated with SGA (clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine). A sample of adult men and women suffering from idiopathic hyperhydrosis, without psychiatric history or antipsychotic treatment, were randomly selected from outpatients of the Department of Neurology in Bologna as a reference group. We investigated differences among the treatment and reference groups for glycaemia, cholesterolaemia and triglyceridaemia levels.ResultsThe study sample was composed of 76 patients, 38 males and 38 females. The reference group was composed of 36 subjects, 19 females and 17 males. All patients treated with SGAs had higher mean glycaemia and triglyceridaemia and a significantly higher risk of receiving a diagnosis of hyperglycaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia than the reference group. We did not find any differences in mean glycaemia or mean triglyceridaemia levels among treatment groups. Patients with clozapine had a significantly higher mean BMI value and rate of obesity than patients treated with other SGAs.ConclusionThe rate of obesity and metabolic disorders observed in this study were higher than the prevalence in the control group and similar to that previously reported in psychiatric samples; these findings imply per se that more attention should be paid to the metabolic condition of psychiatric patients. In line with the International Consensus Conferences we recommend that monitoring of weight, fasting plasma glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels be obtained in routine clinical practice with all antipsychotics.

Safety and Efficacy of Electroconvulsive Therapy for the Treatment of Agitation and Aggression in Patients With Dementia

OBJECTIVES Noncognitive behavioral disturbances including agitation and aggression frequently accompany the cognitive symptoms of dementia accounting for much of dementias morbidity, yet treatment options are currently limited. The authors examine the safety and efficacy of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) for agitation and aggression in dementia patients. DESIGN Retrospective systematic chart review. SETTING McLean Hospitals geriatric neuropsychiatry unit. PARTICIPANTS Sixteen patients with a diagnosis of dementia treated with ECT for agitation/aggression during 2004-2007. MEASUREMENTS Clinical charts were rated on the Pittsburgh Agitation Scale as the primary outcome, the Clinical Global Impression scale and the Global Assessment of Functioning pre- and post-ECT. RESULTS 16 patients of mean age 66.6 ± 8.3 years were studied. Their average overall and pre-ECT lengths of stay were 59.7 ± 39.7 days and 23 ± 15.7 days, respectively. Patients received a mean of 9 ECT treatments, mostly bilateral. Patients showed significant reductions in their total Pittsburgh Agitation Scale scores from baseline after ECT (from 11.0 ± 5.0 to 3.9 ± 4.3 [F = 30.33, df = 1, 15, p < 0.001]). Clinical Global Impression scale decreased significantly (from 6.0 ± 0.6 pre-ECT to 2.1 ± 1.6 post-ECT [F = 112.97, df = 1, 15, p < 0.001]). Global Assessment of Functioning change was not significant (from 23.0 ± 4.9 to 26.9 ± 6.9 [F = 5.73, df = 1, 13, p = 0.32]). Only one patient, in whom ECT was discontinued following 11 bilateral treatments, showed no improvement. Eight patients showed transient postictal confusion, which typically resolved within 48 hours. Two patients showed more severe postictal confusion that required modification of treatment. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that ECT is an effective and safe treatment for agitation and aggression in dementia. Further prospective studies are warranted.

SAFETY AND UTILITY OF ACUTE ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY FOR AGITATION AND AGGRESSION IN DEMENTIA

Agitation and aggression are among the most frequent and disruptive behavioral complications of dementia that contribute to increased cost of care, hospitalization, caregiver burden, and risk of premature institutionalization. This current study examined the safety and efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as a treatment for behavioral disturbances in dementia. We hypothesized that ECT would result in reduced agitated and aggressive behaviors between baseline and discharge.

Psychopathology of first-episode psychosis in HIV-positive persons in comparison to first-episode schizophrenia: A neglected issue

Abstract This study aims to detect different psychopathological dimensions in first-episode psychoses with different underlying causes. We evaluated 22 subjects with first-episode psychosis, who differed in biological variables (HIV-positive versus HIV-negative) and who were compared by using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-Reviewer, the 18-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the Mini-Mental State Examination. HIV-positive subjects had higher mean scores on the global BPRS and on the paranoid Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale subscale compared with HIV-negative subjects. Conversely, higher prevalence of affective and anxious symptoms was found in the HIV-negative patients in comparison to HIV-positives. HIV-positives had significantly greater attention/concentration impairment than HIV-negative persons. In conclusion, taking into account psychopathological dimensions may help psychiatrists in clinical decision-making regarding the differential diagnosis of psychotic symptoms. The psychopathological pattern of first-episode psychosis in HIV-positive patients may represent an ‘elementary model’ of acute psychosis characterized by paranoid delusions in the absence of the usual affective symptoms.