The Effects of \u201cVelaMente?!\u201d Project on Social Functioning of People With Severe Psychosocial Disabilities

Abstract: Introduction: Physical activity helps to improve several clinical outcomes of people with severe psychosocial disabilities. The aims of this study were; 1) to assess the efficacy of a psychosocial rehabilitative intervention focused on sailing in a crew on: a) social functioning; b) severity of the psychosocial disability; c) general functioning; d) dysregulation of biorhythms of people with severe psychosocial disabilities, and 2) to evaluate the attenders\u2019 satisfaction about the project. Methods: A randomized waitlist controlled trial with parallel groups was carried out involving 51 people with severe psychosocial disabilities. The intervention was a 3 months-lasting course to learn sailing in a crew. Just after the randomization, a group began the sailing course and the other group (wait list) attended the sailing course after 3 months of treatments as usual. Before and after the sailing course, as well as the waiting list period, all attenders were assessed by HoNOS, GAF, CGI-S and BRIAN. At the end of the sailing course, they completed also a self-report satisfaction questionnaire. Results: Social functioning significantly improved after the sailing course (HoNOS total score \u201ctime X group\u201d: p=0.011), mainly because of the improvement of psychopathological symptoms (HoNOS symptoms score \u201ctime X group\u201d: p=0.003). Furthermore, participants greatly appreciated the rehabilitative program based on sailing in a crew. Conclusions: When compared to more traditional rehabilitative activities that are usually carried out in mental health services, a psychosocial rehabilitative intervention based on sailing in a crew significantly improve the social functioning of people with severe psychosocial disabilities

Legal highs: safe and legal heavens? : A study on the diffusion, knowledge and risk awareness of novel psychoactive drugs among students in the UK. ["Legal highs": paradisi sicuri e legali? Uno studio sulla diffusione, conoscenza e consapevolezza del rischio delle nuove droghe psicoattive tra gli studenti del Regno Unito].

Background. The recent emergence of new recreational drugs, combined with the ability of the Internet to disseminate information quickly, have raised a number of concerns in the fields of drug policy, substance use research, and public health. Methods. A semistructured questionnaire was advertised on The Study Room’s website from November to December 2010 to explore the awareness, the use and the perception of risks of “legal highs” among student population in the UK. Results. One-third (31.40%) of the 446 participants reported use of these kinds of drugs. Respondents were more likely to have taken were: mephedrone (41.4%), Salvia divinorum (20%), “Spice drugs” (10.7%), methylone (1.4%), naphyrone (NRG) (2.1%) and benzylpiperazine (BZP) (2.1%), while 15.7% did not know what compounds they had ever consumed. The large majority (78.9%) considered these as legal substances, while 74.2% did not consider these safer than illicit drugs. Half (50.8%) of the respondents were aware of the presence of illegal agents in the products they had consumed. Conclusions. The study contributes to an initial assessment of the use and the risks awareness of novel psychoactive compounds among students in the UK. Further research is required, especially in terms of personality and lifestyle attitudes to better profile these new forms of abuse also in non-recreational settingsPeer reviewe

Drug-related deaths in the UK: Annual Report 2011 [January-December 2010] : Drug-related deaths reported by Coroners in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man; Police forces in Scotland; & the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

This twelfth annual report presents information on drug-related deaths that occurred during 2010 and for which Coronial inquests and similar formal investigations have been completed. The main purpose of the Annual Report from the national programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (np-SAD) is to inform the Government‟s monitoring of this important public health issue. The Programme‟s principal function is to provide high-quality and consistent surveillance, and to detect and identify emerging trends and issues in respect of this phenomenon. In this way, it contributes to the reduction and prevention of drug-related deaths in the UK due to the misuse of both licit and illicit drugs. As in previous years, the data and analysis in this report is intended also to inform authorities at the local, regional, and national country levels, as well as health professionals and the general public, about the serious consequences of drug abuse. The report provides also a number of indicators of drug abuse patterns, trends, and early warnings on emerging drug problems so that appropriate and timely action can be taken

Progressive multiple sclerosis and mood disorders

Mood disorders are very common among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but their frequency in patients with progressive course (PMS) has not been adequately researched. Our study aimed to determine the frequency of mood disorders among patients with PMS compared with those with relapsing-remitting MS (RMS) and to explore the associations with disability and disease duration. The study included consecutive outpatients affected by MS according the 2010 revised Mc Donald diagnostic criteria. Psychiatric diagnoses were determined according to DSM-IV by psychiatrists using structured interview tools (ANTAS-SCID). Demographic and clinical data of patients were also collected. Disease courses were defined according to the re-examined phenotype descriptions by the Committee and MS Phenotype Group. Intergroup comparisons were performed by Chi-square test, while logistic regression analysis was performed to assess possible factors associated with mood disorders. In total, 240 MS patients (167 women) were enrolled; of these, 18 % (45/240) had PMS. The lifetime DSM-IV major depression diagnosis (MDD) was established in 40 and 23 % of the PMS and RMS patients, respectively. Using logistic regression analysis, the presence of MDD was independent from disease duration and disability and dependent on PMS course (P = 0.02; OR 2.2). Patients with PMS presented with MDD more frequently than those with RMS, independently from disease duration and physical disability. These findings highlight the importance of considering mood disorders, especially MDD, in the management of PMS patients

The risk of bipolar disorders in multiple sclerosis

Background The aim was to determine the risk of Mood Disorders (MD), particularly Bipolar Disorders (BD), in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) using standardized psychiatric diagnostic tools. Methods Case-control study. Cases: 201 consecutive-patients with MS. Controls: 804 sex- and age-matched subjects without MS, randomly selected from a database concurrently used for an epidemiological study on the MD prevalence in the community. Psychiatric diagnoses according to DSM-IV were determined by physicians using structured interview tools (ANTAS-SCID). Results Compared to controls, MS patients had a higher lifetime prevalence of DSM-IV Major Depressive Disorders (MDD; P<0.0001), BD I (P=0.05), BD II (P<0.0001) and Cyclothymia (P=0.0001). As people with MS had a higher risk of depressive and bipolar spectrum disorders, ratio MDD/bipolar spectrum disorders was lower among cases (P<0.005) indicating a higher association with Bipolar Spectrum Disorders and MS. Limitations MS diagnosis was differently collected in cases and controls. Even if this might have produced false negatives in controls, it would have reinforced the null hypothesis of no increased risk for MD in MS; therefore, it does not invalidate the results of the study. Conclusions This study was the first to show an association between BD and MS using standardized diagnostic tools and a case-control design. The results suggest a risk of under-diagnosis of BD (particularly type II) in MS and caution in prescribing ADs to people with depressive episodes in MS without prior excluding BD. The association between auto-immune degenerative diseases (like MS) and BD may be an interesting field for the study of the pathogenic hypothesis

Oxytocin nasal spray in fibromyalgic patients

Fibromyalgia is a pain disorder associated with frequent comorbid mood, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Despite the frequent use of a complex, poly-drug pharmacotherapy, treatment for fibromyalgia is of limited efficacy. Oxytocin has been reported to reduce the severity of pain, anxiety, and depression, and improve the quality of sleep, suggesting that it may be useful to treat fibromyalgia. To evaluate this hypothesis, 14 women affected by fibromyalgia and comorbid disorders, assuming a complex pharmacotherapy, were enrolled in a double-blind, crossover, randomized trial to receive oxytocin and placebo nasal spray daily for 3 weeks for each treatment. Order of treatment (placebo-oxytocin or oxytocin-placebo) was randomly assigned. Patients were visited once a week. At each visit, the following instruments were administered: an adverse drug reaction record card, Visual Analog Scale of Pain Intensity, Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory, Zung Self-rating Depression Scale, and SF-12. Women self-registered painkiller assumption, pain severity, and quality of sleep in a diary. Unlikely, oxytocin nasal spray (80 IU a day) did not induce positive therapeutic effects but resulted to be safe, devoid of toxicity, and easy to handle

\u201cVelaMente?!\u201d - Sailing in a Crew to Improve Self-Efficacy in People with Severe Psychosocial Disabilities: A Cross-Over Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: It has been proposed that sailing can improve quality of life, personal and social skills of people with severe psychosocial disabilities. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a psychosocial rehabilitative intervention focused on sailing on quality of life, self-efficacy and sense of coherence in people with severe psychosocial disabilities. Methods: The study was a randomized, with parallel groups, waiting-list controlled trial. Participants were 51 people with severe psychosocial disabilities. The intervention was a structured course to learn sailing in a crew lasting three months. A randomized group began the sailing course immediately after a pre-treatment assessment; the waitlist group began the sailing course after a three months period of treatments as usual. Participants were assessed before and after the sailing course, or the waiting list period, on the General Self-Efficacy scale (GSES), Sense Of Coherence scale (SOC) and Health Survey-short form (SF-12). Results: Self-efficacy significantly increased after the sailing course and decreased after treatment as usual (p=0.015). Sense of coherence and the levels of quality of life tended to improve after the sailing course, albeit below levels of statistical significance. Conclusion: When compared to more traditional psychosocial rehabilitative activities, an intervention focused on sailing in a crew positively impacts the sense of coherence and the levels of quality of life and significantly improves self-efficacy of people with severe psychosocial disabilities. Further longitudinal research is required