Negative Emotions in Skin Disorders: A Systematic Review

The main purpose of this study is to describe how negative emotions were investigated in the sphere of dermatological diseases, in order (1) to summarize literature trends about skin disorders and emotions, (2) to highlight any imbalances between the most studied and neglected emotions, (3) and to offer directions for future research. A computerized literature search provided 41 relevant and potentially eligible studies. Results showed that the study of emotions in skin disease is limited to Sadness/depression and Fear/anxiety. The emotions of Anger and Disgust have been poorly explored in empirical studies, despite they could be theoretically considered a vulnerability factor for the development of skin disorders and the dermatological extreme consequences, as negative emotionality toward self and the pathological skin condition. The bibliometric qualitative analysis with VOSViewer software revealed that the majority of the studies have been focused on the relationships between vitiligo and Sadness/depression, dermatitis and Fear/anxiety, psoriasis, and Anger, suggesting the need of future research exploring Disgust and, in general, a wider emotional spectrum

“Comment on: Psychopathology and female detention at the “Pagliarelli” jail of Palermo: preliminary results.”

We read with great interest the article by Ferraro et al. about the presence of current and lifetime psychiatric disorders among a sample of Italian female inmates. However, despite the strengths of the article, we have certain reservations on the methodology followed and conclusions drawn in the study that need to be elaborated for a better understanding of this very important research. Our correspondence thus, emphasizes the need for further explorations on this important area of research on mental health in inmates, in order to identify appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to be applied in this population

Abnormal illness behavior and Internet addiction severity: The role of disease conviction, irritability, and alexithymia

While the association between health anxiety and maladaptive Internet use is a well-established finding, no studies have been performed to examine the possible effect of abnormal illness behavior (AIB). AIB is a maladaptive manner of experiencing, evaluating, or acting in response to health and illness that is disproportionate to evident pathology. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between AIB and Internet addiction (IA) severity in a sample of Italian University students. The possible effect of alexithymia, anxiety, and depression was also taken into account. Methods Participants were 115 men and 163 women (mean age = 23.62 ± 4.38 years); AIB was measured via the Illness Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ), and IA severity by the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Results The most powerful IBQ factor predicting IA severity scores was disease conviction. Irritability was the only emotional IBQ factor associated with IA severity. Nevertheless, disease conviction and alexithymia remained the only significant predictors of IAT scores when hierarchical regression analysis was executed. Discussion and conclusions Our results support previous findings showing that those characterized by health anxiety are more prone to an excessive and maladaptive use of Internet. Moreover, this study showed that irritability was the only emotional aspect of AIB predicting IA severity. This finding is consistent with the cognitive model of hypochondria, which states that cognitive factors (dysfunctional beliefs and assumptions) play a major role in the explanation of this psychopathological condition

Emerging treatments in the management of schizophrenia – focus on sertindole

The antipsychotic treatment of schizophrenia is still marked by poor compliance, and drug discontinuation; the development of more effective and safer drugs still remains a challenge. Sertindole is a second-generation antipsychotic with high affinity for dopamine D2, serotonin 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C, and α1-adrenergic receptors, and low affinity for other receptors. Sertindole undergoes extensive hepatic metabolism by the cytochrome P450 isoenzymes CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 and has an elimination half-life of approximately three days. In controlled clinical trials sertindole was more effective than placebo in reducing positive and negative symptoms, whereas it was as effective as haloperidol and risperidone against the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. The effective dose-range of sertindole is 12–20 mg, administered orally once daily. The most common adverse events are headhache, insomnia, rhinitis/nasal congestion, male sexual dysfunction, and moderate weight gain, with few extrapyramidal symptoms and metabolic changes. Sertindole is associated with corrected QT interval prolongation, with subsequent risk of serious arrythmias. Due to cardiovascular safety concerns, sertindole is available as a second-line choice for patients intolerant to at least one other antipsychotic agent. Further clinical studies, mainly direct “head-to-head” comparisons with other second-generation antipsychotic agents, are needed to define the role of sertindole in the treatment of schizophrenia

A Rorschach investigation of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adulthood:

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by deficits in the areas of communication, socialization and behavior. Current diagnostic criteria have been modified in a restrictive sense, thus the possibility that individuals with milder impairments may not reach the diagnostic threshold is concrete. Furthermore, heterogeneity in phenotypic expression and the high rate of comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders would make even more difficult the diagnostic classification in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study was a Rorschach investigation aimed to identify specific psychopathological elements to properly orient the diagnosis of ASD in adulthood. Results have shown that the examined subjects were characterized by pragmatism, documented by the presence of details and little details, falls in formal thinking, thought inflexibility, lack of answers with human content, and the prevalence of particular phenomena (denial, perseveration). Data obtained in the study showed a specific pattern of psychopathological signs in adults with ASD, thus suggesting the importance of projective methods for a better understanding of the clinical features of avoidance behaviors and relationships

The Role of Basic Symptoms and Aberrant Salience in Borderline Personality Disorder

Background: The prevalence of pre-psychotic symptoms and aberrant salience in BPD has not been systematically studied. The present study aims to investigate the intensity, frequency and correlation between basic symptoms, aberrant salience and borderline personality traits, in subjects that have not yet developed a frank psychotic episode.  Methods: Twenty-eight subjects, 8 males and 20 females, aged between 24 and 55 years (M = 41.36 ± 9.9) has been individually tested throughout the Frankfurt Complaint Questionnaire (FBF), the Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI) and the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5- Adult (PID-5).  Results: Findings showed that 85.7% of the sample (n = 24) reported significant scores of the aberrant salience traits, which in turn were correlated to basic symptoms. Furthermore, emerged several correlations between pre-psychotic symptoms and PID-5 personality dimensions not only with Negative Affectivity and Detachment but also with Psychoticism. Conclusions: This study highlights the phenomenological continuity between the borderline personality traits and the attenuated manifestation of the psychotic disease

Effect of Vitamin D Receptor Activation on the AGE/RAGE System and Myeloperoxidase in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) activation has been reported to increase circulating levels of the advanced glycation end products (AGE) and their decoy receptor (RAGE). However, until now, the effect of VDR activation on AGE and RAGE has not been tested in the setting of a randomized, double-blind clinical trial. We have therefore analyzed the effect of VDR activation by paricalcitol on pentosidine, S100A12/ENRAGE, and RAGE and on established biomarkers of oxidative stress like myeloperoxidase in CKD patients in the PENNY trial. At baseline, human S100A12/ENRAGE, RAGE, and myeloperoxidase, but not pentosidine, were intercorrelated, and the association between S100A12/ENRAGE and myeloperoxidase (r=0.71, P<0.001) was the strongest among these correlations. Paricalcitol failed to modify biomarkers of the AGE/RAGE system and myeloperoxidase in unadjusted and adjusted analyses by the generalized linear model (GLM). No effect modification by other risk factors was registered. Paricalcitol does not modify biomarkers of the AGE/RAGE system and myeloperoxidase in CKD patients. The apparent increase in RAGE levels by VDR activation reported in previous uncontrolled studies is most likely due to confounding factors rather than to VDR activation per se. This trial is registered with NCT01680198

The effect of lamotrigine augmentation of clozapine in a sample of treatment-resistant schizophrenic patients: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study

Based on the evidence that lamotrigine added to clozapine in refractory schizophrenic patients has reported promising results, the present 24-week double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial had the aim to explore the efficacy of lamotrigine add-on pharmacotherapy on clinical symptomatology and cognitive functioning in a sample of treatment-resistant schizophrenic patients receiving clozapine. After clinical and neurocognitive assessments patients were randomly allocated to receive, in a double-blind design, either up to 200 mg/day of lamotrigine or a placebo. A final sample of fifty-one patients completed the study. The results obtained indicate that lamotrigine added to stable clozapine treatment showed a beneficial effect on the negative, positive and general psychopathological symptomatology in a sample of treatment-resistant schizophrenic patients. Regarding cognitive functions, improvement was observed in some explored areas, such as attentional resistance to interference, verbal fluency and executive functioning. The findings provide evidence that lamotrigine augmentation of clozapine treatment is well tolerated and may be proposed as an effective therapeutic strategy to improve outcome in treatment-resistant schizophrenia