The relationship between schizoaffective, schizophrenic and mood disorders in patients admitted at Mathari Psychiatric Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya

Objective: The prevalence of schizoaffective disorder (SAD) and the relationship between schizophrenia (SCZ), SAD and mood disorders (MD) in non-Western countries is unknown. To determine the prevalence of SAD and the relationship between SCZ, SAD and MD in relation to socio-demographic, clinical and therapeutic variables in 691 patients admitted at Mathari Psychiatric Hospital, Kenya.Method: A cross-sectional comparative study using both clinician and SCID-1 for DSM-IV diagnoses.Results: Approximately twenty three percent (n=160) met DSM-IV criteria for SAD using SCID-1. There were significant differences between SCZ, SAD and MD regarding: affective and core symptoms of schizophrenia (with the exception of core symptoms of schizophrenia between SCZ and SAD); presence of past trauma; a past suicide attempt; and comorbidity with alcohol and drug abuse disorders. SAD and MD patients took significantly more mood stabilizers than SCZ patients. There were no significant differences between the three groups regarding socio-demographic  variables, brief psychiatric rating scale scores, cognitive performance, anxiety and depressive symptoms, presence of obsessions, and usage of both antipsychotics and antidepressants. Conclusion: There is no distinct demarcation between the three disorders. This lends support to recent evidence suggesting that SAD might constitute a heterogeneous group composed of both SCZ and MD patients or a middle point of a continuum between SCZ and MD.Keywords: Schizoaffective Disorder; Schizophrenia; Mood disorders; Epidemiology; Afric

Toxicity and cellular uptake of gold nanoparticles: what we have learned so far?

Gold nanoparticles have attracted enormous scientific and technological interest due to their ease of synthesis, chemical stability, and unique optical properties. Proof-of-concept studies demonstrate their biomedical applications in chemical sensing, biological imaging, drug delivery, and cancer treatment. Knowledge about their potential toxicity and health impact is essential before these nanomaterials can be used in real clinical settings. Furthermore, the underlying interactions of these nanomaterials with physiological fluids is a key feature of understanding their biological impact, and these interactions can perhaps be exploited to mitigate unwanted toxic effects. In this Perspective we discuss recent results that address the toxicity of gold nanoparticles both in vitro and in vivo, and we provide some experimental recommendations for future research at the interface of nanotechnology and biological systems

Eating disorders, body image and media exposure among adolescent girls in rural Burkina Faso

OBJECTIVE: Body dissatisfaction and eating disorders (ED) among young females may increase in limited-resource settings as exposure to media and higher-resource cultures increases. We examined ED prevalence and its predictors among adolescent females in rural north-western Burkina Faso. METHODS: Fieldworkers interviewed 696 female adolescents aged 12-20 in the Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). ED were evaluated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5), self-perceived appearance and body ideal were measured using the Thompson and Gray's Contour Drawing Rating Scale (CDRS) and eating disorder predictors by the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). We assessed media exposure to magazines, radio, television and the internet. RESULTS: 16% of respondents had a BMI below WHO age-standardized 5th percentile while 4% were above the 85th percentile; most respondents wanted to be larger. DSM-5 criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN) were fulfilled by four of 696 respondents (0.6%), those for bulimia nervosa by none, and those for binge eating disorder by two (0.3%). In multivariable regression, more AN symptoms were associated with greater EDE-Q body dissatisfaction, desiring a thinner body and a history of sexual harassment or assault, but not with media exposure. Conversely, a thinner desired body was associated with greater media exposure, higher BMI z-score and greater EDE-Q disordered eating. CONCLUSION: ED was very rare in rural Burkinabé female adolescents, but factors predictive of ED in higher-resource settings were also predictive here. Our findings suggest that increasing media exposure in resource-limited settings may lead to increased body dissatisfaction, and potentially to increased future ED prevalence