Epidemiology and Treatment Guidelines of Negative Symptoms in Schizo-phrenia in Central and Eastern Europe: A Literature Review

AIM: To gather and review data describing the epidemiology of schizophrenia and clinical guidelines for schizophrenia therapy in seven Central and Eastern European countries, with a focus on negative symptoms. Methods : A literature search was conducted which included publications from 1995 to 2012 that were indexed in key databases. Results : Reports of mean annual incidence of schizophrenia varied greatly, from 0.04 to 0.58 per 1,000 population. Lifetime prevalence varied from 0.4% to 1.4%. One study reported that at least one negative symptom was present in 57.6% of patients with schizophrenia and in 50-90% of individuals experiencing their first episode of schizophrenia. Primary negative symptoms were observed in 10-30% of patients. Mortality in patients with schizophrenia was greater than in the general population, with a standardized mortality ratio of 2.58-4.30. Reasons for higher risk of mortality in the schizophrenia population included increased suicide risk, effect of schizophrenia on lifestyle and environment, and presence of comorbidities. Clinical guidelines overall supported the use of second-generation antipsychotics in managing negative symptoms of schizophrenia, although improved therapeutic approaches are needed. Conclusion : Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental illnesses and poses a considerable burden on patients and healthcare resources alike. Negative symptoms are present in many patients and there is an unmet need to improve treatment offerings for negative symptoms beyond the use of second-generation antipsychotics and overall patient outcomes

Long-term results of treatment of advanced dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) with imatinib mesylate - The impact of fibrosarcomatous transformation

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is rare, infiltrating dermal neoplasm, characterized by indolent growth and low probability of metastases. The first effective systemic therapy in DFSP introduced into clinical practice was imatinib, demonstrating high activity in advanced cases. The aim of the study was to perform an analysis of patients with advanced DFSP treated with imatinib, with or without surgery, in routine clinical practice with long-term follow-up.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Long-term results of treatment of advanced dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) with imatinib mesylate – The impact of fibrosarcomatous transformation journaltitle: European Journal of Surgical Oncology (EJSO) articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejso.2017.03.011 content_type: article copyright: © 2017 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Determinants of psychosocial difficulties experienced by persons with brain disorders: towards a 'horizontal epidemiology' approach.

Persons with brain disorders experience significant psychosocial difficulties (PSD) in daily life, e.g. problems with managing daily routine or emotional lability, and the level of the PSD depends on social, physical and political environments, and psychologic-personal determinants. Our objective is to determine a brief set of environmental and psychologic-personal factors that are shared determinants of PSD among persons with different brain disorders.Cross-sectional study, convenience sample of persons with either dementia, stroke, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, migraine, depression, schizophrenia, substance dependence or Parkinson’s disease. Random forest regression and classical linear regression were used in the analyses.722 subjects were interviewed in four European countries. The brief set of determinants encompasses presence of comorbidities, health status appraisal, stressful life events, personality changes, adaptation, self-esteem, self-worth, built environment, weather, and health problems in the family.The identified brief set of common determinants of PSD can be used to support the implementation of cross-cutting interventions, social actions and policy tools to lower PSD experienced by persons with brain disorders. This set complements a recently proposed reliable and valid direct metric of PSD for brain disorders called PARADISE24