32 research outputs found
Affective psychosis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and brain perfusion abnormalities: case report
BACKGROUND:
It has recently become evident that circulating thyroid antibodies are found in excess among patients suffering from mood disorders. Moreover, a manic episode associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis has recently been reported as the first case of bipolar disorder due to Hashimoto's encephalopathy. We report a case in which Hashimoto's thyroiditis was suspected to be involved in the deteriorating course of mood disorder and discuss potential pathogenic mechanisms linking thyroid autoimmunity with psychopathology.
CASE PRESENTATION:
A 43-year-old woman, with a history of recurrent depression since the age of 31, developed manic, psychotic, and soft neurological symptoms across the last three years in concomitance with her first diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The patient underwent a thorough medical and neurological workup. Circulating thyroperoxidase antibodies were highly elevated but thyroid function was adequately maintained with L-thyroxine substitution. EEG was normal and no other signs of current CNS inflammation were evidenced. However, brain magnetic resonance imaging evidenced several non-active lesions in the white matter from both hemispheres, suggestive of a non-specific past vasculitis. Brain single-photon emission computed tomography showed cortical perfusion asymmetry particularly between frontal lobes.
CONCLUSION:
We hypothesize that abnormalities in cortical perfusion might represent a pathogenic link between thyroid autoimmunity and mood disorders, and that the rare cases of severe Hashimoto's encephalopathy presenting with mood disorder might be only the tip of an iceberg.
Cytogenetic manifestations associated with the reversion, by gene amplification, at the HGPRT locus in V79 Chinese hamster cells.
SummarySome HGPRT spontaneous revertants were isolated from a mutant line (E2) of V79 Chinese hamster cells and phenotypically characterized. Dot–Blot hybridization with a32P-Iabelled HGPRT probe revealed an increase in the number of HGPRT sequences in some of these revertants, suggesting the occurrence of gene amplification. Cytogenetic analysis performed in three of these revertants showed a characteristic abnormally banding region (ABR) on the elongated p arm of theXchromosome.In Situhybridization in one revertant (RHE2) showed that the amplified sequences reside on the p+arm of theXchromsome in two different localizations. Because of the very probable clonal origin of the revertant, these features indicate that the amplified sequences might rearrange after their integration into the chromosome
Factor structure and cultural aspects of disruptive behaviour disorders symptoms in Italian children.
Background: The efficacy of atomoxetine in maintaining symptom response following 1 year of treatment was assessed in children and
adolescents (n. 163) with DSM-IV defined attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Methods: Subjects had previously responded to atomoxetine acutely and had completed 1 year of double-blind atomoxetine treatment.
They were then randomly assigned in double-blind fashion to continued atomoxetine or placebo substitution for 6 months.
Results: Atomoxetine was superior to placebo in preventing relapse (Wilcoxon test, p .008) and in maintaining symptom response
(ADHD Rating Scale IV score, p.001). Among subjects assigned to discontinuation, the magnitude of symptom return was generally to a
level of severity less than that observed at study entry.
Conclusions: Following 1 year of treatment with atomoxetine, continued treatment over the ensuing 6 months was associated with
superior outcomes compared with placebo substitution. However, there was considerable variability between individuals in the magnitude
of symptom return after drug discontinuation, suggesting that some subjects treated with atomoxetine for a year with good results may
consolidate gainsmadeduring drug treatment and could benefit from a medication-free trial to assess the need for ongoing drug treatment
The italian preadolescent mental health projetc (prisma): rationale and methods
The Italian preadolescent mental health project (PrISMA--Progetto Italiano Salute
Mentale Adolescenti) is the first Italian study designed to estimate the
prevalence of mental disorders in preadolescents (10-14 years old) living in
urban areas, and to analyse the demographic and biological correlates of
emotional and behavioural problems. This paper describes the rationale, methods
and the analysis plan of the project. The design of the study used a two-stage
sampling procedure, one screening stage of emotional and behavioural problems in
a large sample of subjects attending public and private schools and a second
stage of diagnostic assessment in a sample including all high scorers and a
proportion of low scorers. In the screening stage, parents of preadolescents were
asked to fill in the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), whereas in the second stage
preadolescents and their parents were administered the Development and Well Being
Assessment for the assessment of mental disorders together with the Strengths and
Difficulties Questionnaire and two scales (C-GAS and HoNOSCA) designed to
evaluate the functioning of the preadolescent in different areas. Genetic samples
were collected during the screening stage, after parents gave their informed
written consent. The findings of this study are expected to allow an adequate
planning of interventions for the prevention and the treatment of mental
disorders in preadolescence as well as efficient health services