Palaniappan Marimuthu

Prevalence and psychosocial factors of aggression among youth

Background: Youth indulgence themselves in various aggressive behaviors leading to significant psychosocial dysfunctions. The present study assesses the prevalence of aggression among youth and to assess the risk factors of aggression among youth. Materials and Methods: Anger Data sheet, Resilience Scale and Buss-Perry Aggression Scale, were administered on 5476 participants using survey design. Data was collected from different communities (college, residential, apartments and workplace) of Bangalore, Jammu, Indore, Kerala, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Delhi. 47% were female and 53% were male. The mean age of the sample was 20.2 years. Comparative analysis was carried out by Pearson correlation coefficient and Chi-square was also carried out. Results: About 17.7% of the youth has high mean aggression score on Buss-Perry Aggression Scale. Males have high mean score on aggression than females. Males experienced more verbal aggression, physical aggression and anger than females. Younger age group (16-19 years) experienced more aggression than older age group (20-26 years). The risk factors of the youth aggressions were identified as physical abuse in childhood, substance abuse such as alcohol and tobacco, negative peer influence, family violence, academic disturbance, psychological problems attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, suspicious, loneliness, mood disturbance, negative childhood experience and TV and media. Conclusion: The study document, the presence of correlates of risk factors of aggression among youth and implies usages of management strategies to help them to handle aggression.

Clinical validity of NIMHANS neuropsychological battery for elderly: A preliminary report

Background: Neuropsychological assessment plays a crucial role in the assessment of cognitive decline in older age. In India, there is a dearth of culturally appropriate standardized measure to assess cognitive functions in early dementia. The aim of the study was to examine clinical validity of NIMHANS Neuropsychological Battery for Elderly (NNB-E) in identifying early dementia. Objectives: To examine validity (discriminant and concurrent) of NIMHANS Neuropsychological Battery for Elderly (NNB-E). Results: Participants with AD showed significantly poorer performance on every test including memory and non-memory domains. However, tests of episodic and semantic memory were particularly sensitive in discriminating between normal and AD groups. Further scores on various subtests in the NNB-E were positively associated with scores on HMSE and negatively associated with Clinical Dementia Rating and Everyday Abilities Scale for India (EASI) scores. Conclusions: NNB-E was able to differentiate normal controls from AD patients, and it can therefore be an ecologically valid tool for Indian older adults.

Stress and coping behaviors among smokers

Positive association has been seen between stress and smoking behavior. This relationship has not been explored in relation to ones coping behavior and desire to quit smoking. The present study examined stress, coping and readiness to change among smokers. 50 smokers were selected using a cross sectional design. Assessment Proforma, Fagerstrom test for Nicotine Dependency, General Health Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, Coping Checklist and Readiness to Change Questionnaire were administered on them. Stress was related to smoking behavior as well as initiation and maintenance of smoking. Individuals in the early adulthood stage were using maladaptive coping strategies. Perceived stress was higher among the middle age group. Stress and maladaptive coping behaviors were found to be associated with initiation and maintenance of smoking. It has implications for psychosocial interventions in tobacco cessation.

Neuropsychological markers of mild cognitive impairment: A clinic based study from urban India.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. Persons with MCI are at higher risk to develop dementia. Identifying MCI from normal aging has become a priority area of research. Neuropsychological assessment could help to identify these high risk individuals. Objective: To examine clinical utility and diagnostic accuracy of neuropsychological measures in identifying MCI. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 42 participants (22 patients with MCI and 20 normal controls [NC]) between the age of 60 and 80 years. All participants were screened for dementia and later a detailed neuropsychological assessment was carried out. Results: Persons with MCI performed significantly poorer than NC on word list (immediate and delayed recall), story recall test, stick construction delayed recall, fluency and Go/No-Go test. Measures of episodic memory especially word list delayed recall had the highest discriminating power compared with measures of semantic memory and executive functioning. Conclusion: Word list learning with delayed recall component is a possible candidate for detecting MCI from normal aging.

On somatic symptoms measurement: the scale for assessment of somatic symptoms revisited.

Background: Scale for assessment of somatic symptoms (SASS) has been widely used for assessing somatic complaints since many years. With impending changes in the classificatory system on somatoform disorders, we re- assessed the test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability of SASS. Materials and Methods: SASS was administered twice with a gap of 24 h on 20 subjects for test retest reliability. Two clinicians assessed inter-rater reliability on 20 subjects. Kendall tau B and Cronbachs alpha were calculated from the data. Results: All of the items except burning sensation, weakness of mind and trembling had strong correlation with values >±0.40 on both test retest and inter-rater reliability; burning sensation and trembling were not reported by any subject. On inter-rater reliability the items constipation, diarrhea, lack of libido weren’t scored by any subjects. Cronbachs alpha for test retest was 0.982 and 0.840 indicating good internal consistency. Conclusion: Majority of the symptoms in SASS had high correlation in both test retest reliability as well as inter-rater reliability, however few items needs revision.

Age, education and gender effects on neuropsychological functions in healthy Indian older adults

It is essential to use culturally appropriate, sensitive and specific tests that reflect true cognitive performance. However, several factors including age, education and gender can influence neuropsychological test performance. Objective To examine the effects of age, education and gender on neuropsychological function in older adults using measures of global cognitive screening, attention, working memory, executive functions, memory, construction, language and parietal focal signs. Methods This is a cross sectional normative study of 180 community-dwelling normal older adults. All participants were screened with the Hindi Mental Status Examination (HMSE), Everyday Activities Scale for India (EASI), Edinburgh handedness inventory (EDI) and MINI Screen, and followed by a detailed neuropsychological assessment. Results Stepwise regression analysis revealed that education was associated with better performance on all the neuropsychological tests. Females performed significantly better on measures of memory. Further, most of the illiterate subjects, including low educated participants, refused to cooperate on measures of executive functioning. Conclusion Education was found to be the strongest determinant of neuropsychological test performance followed by age and gender. Our study demonstrates that Indian healthy normal older adults with low education perform poorly on measures of planning and working memory. Traditional measures of planning and working memory should be avoided or used cautiously in the presence of low education. There is an urgent need to develop tasks for measuring executive functions, especially in low educated Indian older adults.

Addiction severity and comorbidity among women with alcohol use disorders: A hospital-based study from India

AIM To examine the addiction severity, comorbid psychiatric disorder and their temporal relationship among women seeking treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs). MATERIALS AND METHODS The sample comprised of 35 women with AUDs, with or without psychiatric disorders, recruited from the outpatient and inpatient settings of a tertiary-care hospital. Their mean age was 38.51 years (S.D=7.42). Patients were assessed using Clinical Data Sheet (CDS), Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality disorders (SCIDII), Addiction Severity Index (ASI)-Alcohol subscale and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). RESULTS Findings of the study indicated that on average patients initiated alcohol use in their early twenties and developed dependence by the age of 29.66 years (S.D=7.60). The average duration of alcohol dependence was less than a decade before seeking treatment. The mean composite score on ASI was 0.71 (S.D=0.18) and on FTND was 5.16 (S.D=2.59), indicating a high level of alcohol and moderate level of nicotine dependence respectively. On MINI, 57.14% of the patients met the criteria for co-occurring Axis I psychiatric disorders such as major depression disorder and dysthymia. In the majority of the cases, comorbid Axis I disorders were secondary to AUDs. On SCID-II, 17% met the criteria for borderline personality disorder. CONCLUSION Examining and understanding the substance use and clinical profile of patients with AUDs are crucial for planning intensity, settings and focus of treatment for women with AUDs.

Insights into the crystal structure of BRD2-BD2 - phenanthridinone complex and theoretical studies on phenanthridinone analogs.

Bromodomain and extra-terminal family proteins recognize the acetylated histone code on chromatin and participate in downstream processes like DNA replication, modification, and repair. As part of epigenetic approaches, BRD2 and BRD4 were identified as putative targets, for the management of chronic diseases. We have recently reported the discovery of a new scaffold of the phenanthridinone-based inhibitor (L10) of the second bromodomain of BRD2 (BRD2-BD2). Here, we present the crystal structure of the BRD2-BD2, refined to 1.4 Å resolution, in complex with β-mercaptoethanol (a component of the protein buffer). The β-mercaptoethanol covalently links to C425 of BD2 in the acetyl-lysine binding pocket, to form a modified cysteine mercaptoethanol (CME). The CME modification significantly hinders the entry of ligands into the BD2 binding pocket, suggesting that β-mercaptoethanol should be removed during protein production process. Next, to confirm whether phenanthridionone scaffold is a new inhibitor family of BRD2-BD2, we have determined the crystal structure of BD2 in complex with 6(5H)-Phenanthridinone (a core moiety of L10), refined to 1.28 Å resolution. It confirmed that the phenanthridinone molecule, unambiguously, binds to BD2. Moreover, we performed molecular docking and molecular dynamic studies on selected phenanthridinone analogs. The predicted L10 analogs are stable with essential hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions with BD2 during molecular dynamic simulations. We propose that the predicted phenanthridinone analogs may be potential molecules for inhibiting the BD2 function of acetylated histone recognition.

Awareness and beliefs about alcohol use among women in India

ABSTRACT Understanding the beliefs and attitudes of the people in community towards drinking among women is important, as this is likely to affect social support and social integration of women recovering from alcohol use disorders (AUDs). The present study aimed to examine awareness and beliefs about alcohol use among women in India from women in the community. The sample comprised of 60 women drawn from an urban community of India using snowball sampling technique. All participants were over 18 years of age and were assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test and a semi-structured interview schedule (SIS) developed for the study. The SIS assessed participants’ awareness about alcohol use among women, beliefs about risk and protective factors and the need for treatment among women with alcohol use problems. Findings indicated that women from the community stigmatized and stereotyped women with AUDs, but only to a mild degree. To a large extent, they were aware of alcohol use problems among women and the possible risk and protective factors associated with the same. These findings have significance for strengthening social support for recovery and rehabilitation of women with alcohol use problems in India.

Technology Addiction among Treatment Seekers for Psychological Problems: Implication for Screening in Mental Health Setting

Background: Technology usage has seen an increase among users. The usage varies from social, personal, and psychological reasons. Users are frequently using to overcome mood states as well as to manage the other psychological states. This work is going to explore the information technology use among subjects with a psychiatric disorder. Materials and Methods: A total of 75 subjects were assessed using background data sheet, internet addiction impairment index, video game use pattern, pornography addiction screening tool and screening for mobile phone use, from in-patient and out-patient setting of tertiary mental health setting. Results: It showed the presence of addiction to mobile, internet, video game, and pornography. Age was found to be negatively correlated with this addiction. Average usage time had been associated with management of mood states. The addiction to information technology had been associated with a delay in initiation of sleep. Conclusion: This work has implication for screening technology addiction among subjects seeking treatment for psychological problems and motivate them to develop the healthy use of technology.