Negative symptoms in alcohol use disorder: A pilot study applying the two-factor model of negative symptoms to patients with alcohol use disorder

Background and aimsAlcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is characterized by a reduction in goal-directed behavior, with alcohol use taking precedence over other areas of life. These features in AUD resemble negative symptoms in schizophrenia, especially the reduction in motivation and pleasure (MAP). Given the clinical similarities of negative symptoms across diagnostic categories, it comes as a surprise that there are few investigations on negative symptoms in alcohol and other substance use disorders. To our knowledge, our study is the first to assess negative symptoms in AUD based on a two-factorial approach, and to investigate the interrelation of these dimensions with the severity of AUD, and alcohol craving.Materials and methodsWe examined a sample of 42 patients with AUD at the Psychiatric University Hospital in Zurich. Participants provided self-report and interview-based measures of the severity of AUD, negative symptoms, and alcohol craving. Finally, we used data from the electronic health records of the patients.ResultsPatients with AUD show negative symptoms to a similar extent as patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. We found a positive correlation between the extent of impairment within the MAP factor and overall severity of AUD. Furthermore, MAP negative symptoms were correlated with alcohol craving. In a linear regression, negative symptoms predicted alcohol craving whereas depression did not.SummaryNegative symptoms as conceptualized for schizophrenia are prevalent in patients with AUD and associated with the severity of AUD. More specifically, severity of AUD correlates with diminished motivation and pleasure, highlighting the importance of disturbances in motivational functions in AUD. This is further supported by the correlation between negative symptoms and craving, a hallmark of AUD. Taken together, our findings suggest that negative symptoms might be a highly relevant but hitherto often neglected therapeutic target in AUD

Significant benefits of AIP testing and clinical screening in familial isolated and young-onset pituitary tumors

Context Germline mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) gene are responsible for a subset of familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) cases and sporadic pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs). Objective To compare prospectively diagnosed AIP mutation-positive (AIPmut) PitNET patients with clinically presenting patients and to compare the clinical characteristics of AIPmut and AIPneg PitNET patients. Design 12-year prospective, observational study. Participants & Setting We studied probands and family members of FIPA kindreds and sporadic patients with disease onset ≤18 years or macroadenomas with onset ≤30 years (n = 1477). This was a collaborative study conducted at referral centers for pituitary diseases. Interventions & Outcome AIP testing and clinical screening for pituitary disease. Comparison of characteristics of prospectively diagnosed (n = 22) vs clinically presenting AIPmut PitNET patients (n = 145), and AIPmut (n = 167) vs AIPneg PitNET patients (n = 1310). Results Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut PitNET patients had smaller lesions with less suprasellar extension or cavernous sinus invasion and required fewer treatments with fewer operations and no radiotherapy compared with clinically presenting cases; there were fewer cases with active disease and hypopituitarism at last follow-up. When comparing AIPmut and AIPneg cases, AIPmut patients were more often males, younger, more often had GH excess, pituitary apoplexy, suprasellar extension, and more patients required multimodal therapy, including radiotherapy. AIPmut patients (n = 136) with GH excess were taller than AIPneg counterparts (n = 650). Conclusions Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut patients show better outcomes than clinically presenting cases, demonstrating the benefits of genetic and clinical screening. AIP-related pituitary disease has a wide spectrum ranging from aggressively growing lesions to stable or indolent disease course