Reproducibility and within-day variability of body fat masurements using segmental bipolar bioelectrical impedance in women

Objective: to assess the between and within-device reproducibility, as well as within-day variability of body fat measurements. Methods: body fat percentage (%BF) was measured twice on seventeen female students aged between 18 and 20 with a body mass index of 21.9 22.6 kg/m2 (mean SD) using seven bipolar bioelectrical impedance devices (BF-306) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Each student was also measured each hour between 7:00 and 22:00. Statistical analysis was conducted using a general linear model for repeated measurements. Results: the correlation between first and second measurements was very high (Pearson r between 0.985 and 1.000, p<0.001), as well as the correlation between devices (Pearson r between 0.986 and 0.999, all p<0.001). Repeated measurements analysis showed no differences were between devices (F test=0.83, p=0.59) or readings (first vs. second: F test=0.12, p=0.74). Conversely, significant differences were found between assessment periods throughout the day, measurements made in the morning being lower than those made in the afternoon. Assuming an overall daily average of 100 (based on all measurements), the values were 95.8 3.2 (mean SD) at 8:00 versus 101.3 3.0 at 20:00, corresponding to a mean change of 2.2 1.1 in %BF (F test for repeated values=6.58, p<0.001). Conclusions: the between and within-device reproducibility for measuring body fat is high, enabling the use of multiple devices in a single study. Conversely, small but significant changes in body fat measurements occur during the day, urging body fat measurements to be performed at fixed times.

Factors associated with chronic pain in patients with bipolar depression: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND While pain is frequently associated with unipolar depression, few studies have investigated the link between pain and bipolar depression. In the present study we estimated the prevalence and characteristics of pain among patients with bipolar depression treated by psychiatrists in their regular clinical practice. The study was designed to identify factors associated with the manifestation of pain in these patients. METHODS Patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (n=121) were selected to participate in a cross-sectional study in which DSM-IV-TR criteria were employed to identify depressive episodes. The patients were asked to describe any pain experienced during the study, and in the 6 weeks beforehand, by means of a Visual Analogical Scale (VAS). RESULTS Over half of the bipolar depressed patients (51.2%, 95% CI: 41.9%-60.6%), and 2/3 of the female experienced concomitant pain. The pain was of moderate to severe intensity and prolonged duration, and it occurred at multiple sites, significantly limiting the patient's everyday activities. The most important factors associated with the presence of pain were older age, sleep disorders and delayed diagnosis of bipolar disorder. CONCLUSIONS Chronic pain is common in bipolar depressed patients, and it is related to sleep disorders and delayed diagnosis of their disorder. More attention should be paid to study the presence of pain in bipolar depressed patients, in order to achieve more accurate diagnoses and to provide better treatment options.

Advance directives based cognitive therapy in bipolar disorder

Background and Aims: Mental Health Advance Directives (ADs) are potentially useful for bipolar patients due to the episodic characteristic of their disease. An advanced directives based cognitive therapy (ADCBT) involving the self-determination model for adherence, the cognitive representation of illness model, and the concordance model is studied on this article. The aim of the study is to evaluate ADBCT's impact on the number and duration of hospitalization as well as commitment and seclusion procedures. Methods: Charts of all patients who have written their ADs following an ADBCT intervention since at least 24 months were included in the study. Number and duration of psychiatric hospitalization for a mood or a psychotic episode as well as commitment and seclusion procedures were recorded for each patient two years before ADBCT and during a follow up of at least 24 months. Results: Number of hospitalizations, number of commitment procedures and number of days spent in psychiatric hospital reduced significantly after ADCBT in comparison of the two years who preceded the intervention. Conclusions: ADBCT seems to be effective in patients with compliance and coercion problems in this retrospective study. Its effect remains however to be confirmed in large prospective studies.

Premier épisode thymique: cas particulier de l'intervention dans la phase précoce des troubles bipolaires [First episode of mood disorders: an opportunity for early intervention in bipolar disorders].

While early intervention strategies have been developed for psychotic disorders, affective psychoses and bipolar disorders have been neglected by this movement. However, when considering that outcome of bipolar disorders is often not as favorable as previously thought and that delay between illness onset and introduction of an adequate treatment is often very long, such developments seem clearly justified. In this paper we briefly review arguments supporting early intervention in bipolar disorders, the practical and theoretical obstacles that still need to be overcome, the strategies that may already now contribute to decrease treatment delay, and we describe current state of research regarding identification of the prodromal phase of bipolar disorders.

Assitência de enfermagem a pacientes com desordem bipolar e sentimentos da estudante de enfermagem: estudo de caso

Este trabalho é relato de uma experiência, enquanto aluna de graduação, durante a Disciplina de Enfermagem Psiquiátrica, onde acompanhei uma paciente portadora de Psicose Maníaco Depressiva (PMD) de ciclagem rápida. A interação enfermeira-paciente é muito importante pois é através de um bom relacionamento que firmamos um vínculo de confiança, capaz de ajudar o paciente nas duas fases distintas, com planos de cuidados individualizados. Comento os comportamentos depressivos e maníacos da paciente e as técnicas terapêuticas utilizadas em cada fase. Meus sentimentos durante a interação foram analisados frente aos comportamentos apresentados pela paciente.

Investigating the genetic variation underlying episodicity in major depressive disorder: Suggestive evidence for a bipolar contribution.

BACKGROUND: Highly recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) has reportedly increased risk of shifting to bipolar disorder; high recurrence frequency has, therefore, featured as evidence of 'soft bipolarity'. We aimed to investigate the genetic underpinnings of total depressive episode count in recurrent MDD. METHODS: Our primary sample included 1966 MDD cases with negative family history of bipolar disorder from the RADIANT studies. Total episode count was adjusted for gender, age, MDD duration, study and center before being tested for association with genotype in two separate genome-wide analyses (GWAS), in the full set and in a subset of 1364 cases with positive family history of MDD (FH+). We also calculated polygenic scores from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium MDD and bipolar disorder studies. RESULTS: Episodicity (especially intermediate episode counts) was an independent index of MDD familial aggregation, replicating previous reports. The GWAS produced no genome-wide significant findings. The strongest signals were detected in the full set at MAGI1 (p=5.1×10(-7)), previously associated with bipolar disorder, and in the FH+ subset at STIM1 (p=3.9×10(-6) after imputation), a calcium channel signaling gene. However, these findings failed to replicate in an independent Munich cohort. In the full set polygenic profile analyses, MDD polygenes predicted episodicity better than bipolar polygenes; however, in the FH+ subset, both polygenic scores performed similarly. LIMITATIONS: Episode count was self-reported and, therefore, subject to recall bias. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings lend preliminary support to the hypothesis that highly recurrent MDD with FH+ is part of a 'soft bipolar spectrum' but await replication in larger cohorts.

Cognitive features in euthymic bipolar patients in old age.

OBJECTIVES: Studies of cognition in bipolar disorder (BD) have reported impairments in processing speed, working memory, episodic memory, and executive function, but they have primarily focused on young and middle-aged adults. In such studies, the severity of cognitive deficits increases with the duration of illness. Therefore, one would expect more pronounced deficits in patients with longstanding BD. The first aim of the present study was to determine the pattern and the magnitude of cognitive impairment in older euthymic BD patients. The second aim was to explore the interrelationship between these cognitive deficits and determine whether they reflect a single core impairment or the co-occurrence of independent cognitive deficits. METHODS: Twenty-two euthymic elderly BD patients and 22 controls, matched for gender, age, and education, underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. RESULTS: Compared to controls, BD patients had significantly reduced performance in processing speed, working memory, verbal fluency, and episodic memory, but not in executive function. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that verbal fluency and working memory impairments were fully mediated by changes in processing speed. This was not the case for the episodic memory dysfunction. CONCLUSION: The cognitive profile in older euthymic BD cases is similar to the one described in younger BD cohorts. Our results further suggest that impaired processing speed plays a major role in the cognitive changes observed in BD patients except for deficits in episodic memory, thus providing strong evidence that processing speed and episodic memory are two core deficits in elderly BD patients.

Redox dysregulation in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: insights from animal models.

Abstract Significance: Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) are classified as two distinct diseases. However, accumulating evidence shows that both disorders share genetic, pathological, and epidemiological characteristics. Based on genetic and functional findings, redox dysregulation due to an imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidant defense mechanisms has been proposed as a risk factor contributing to their pathophysiology. Recent Advances: Altered antioxidant systems and signs of increased oxidative stress are observed in peripheral tissues and brains of SZ and BD patients, including abnormal prefrontal levels of glutathione (GSH), the major cellular redox regulator and antioxidant. Here we review experimental data from rodent models demonstrating that permanent as well as transient GSH deficit results in behavioral, morphological, electrophysiological, and neurochemical alterations analogous to pathologies observed in patients. Mice with GSH deficit display increased stress reactivity, altered social behavior, impaired prepulse inhibition, and exaggerated locomotor responses to psychostimulant injection. These behavioral changes are accompanied by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor hypofunction, elevated glutamate levels, impairment of parvalbumin GABA interneurons, abnormal neuronal synchronization, altered dopamine neurotransmission, and deficient myelination. Critical Issues: Treatment with the GSH precursor and antioxidant N-acetylcysteine normalizes some of those deficits in mice, but also improves SZ and BD symptoms when given as adjunct to antipsychotic medication. Future Directions: These data demonstrate the usefulness of GSH-deficient rodent models to identify the mechanisms by which a redox imbalance could contribute to the development of SZ and BD pathophysiologies, and to develop novel therapeutic approaches based on antioxidant and redox regulator compounds. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 18, 1428-1443.

Transtorno afetivo bipolar e a ambivalência em relação à terapia medicamentosa: analisando as condições causais

Este estudo buscou compreender as condições causais da ambivalência da pessoa com transtorno afetivo bipolar (TAB) em relação ao seguimento da terapêutica medicamentosa. Foi utilizada a abordagem qualitativa, tendo como referencial metodológico a Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados, à luz do Interacionismo Simbólico. Participaram do estudo 14 pessoas com TAB que estavam em acompanhamento em um Ambulatório de Transtornos do Humor de um hospital universitário e 14 familiares indicados pelas mesmas. A entrevista e observação foram as principais formas de obtenção de dados. Os resultados revelaram três categorias que descrevem as referidas condições causais: vivendo as crises do transtorno; tendo necessidade do medicamento e convivendo com os efeitos colaterais dos medicamentos. Este estudo aponta para necessidade de mudança de atitude dos profissionais de saúde de culpabilizar o paciente pela interrupção do tratamento para aquela de escuta, de valorização do seu universo simbólico e afetivo bem como de parceria no tratamento.

Grupo de psicoeducação no transtorno afetivo bipolar: reflexão sobre o modo asilar e o modo psicossocial

O Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar (TAB), conhecido por sua cronicidade, complexidade e altos índices de morbidade e mortalidade, é uma das principais causas de incapacitação no mundo. Há evidências crescentes de que seu curso pode ser modificado por abordagens psicoterápicas como a psicoeducação, que promove o aumento do funcionamento social e ocupacional, bem como da capacidade de manejarem situações estressantes. Trata-se de um relato de experiência sobre um grupo de psicoeducação para familiares e portadores de TAB, sendo esse pautado pela reflexão dos componentes do paradigma das práticas em saúde mental. A reflexão sobre os modos asilar e psicossocial quanto às concepções de objeto e modo de trabalho, possibilitou situar o grupo no modo psicossocial, pois o conhecimento e a vivência experimentados favorecem a autonomia dos sujeitos, que têm maiores chances de se posicionarem frente às dificuldades que lhes sobrevêm na sua existência-sofrimento.

Implicações de um grupo de Psicoeducação no cotidiano de portadores de Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar

Há evidências crescentes de que o curso Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar (TAB) pode ser modificado por abordagens psicoterápicas, tais como a Psicoeducação. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar as implicações do grupo de Psicoeducação no cotidiano dos portadores. Para tanto, optou-se pelo estudo qualitativo, do tipo Estudo de Caso. Foram incluídos doze portadores de TAB que tiveram pelo menos seis participações no Grupo de Psicoeducação desenvolvido na Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP). Foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas, gravadas, transcritas e trabalhadas por meio da Análise Temática. Este estudo demonstrou que tal experiência grupal favoreceu a aquisição de conhecimento; a conscientização da doença e adesão ao tratamento; a realização de mudanças positivas na vida; a possibilidade de ajudar outros portadores a se beneficiarem do aprendizado construído no grupo; a descoberta de outras realidades e estratégias de enfrentamento, obtidas por meio da troca de experiências entre os participantes.

Transtorno afetivo bipolar: perfil farmacoterapêutico e adesão ao medicamento

Este estudo teve como objetivos verificar a adesão de portadores de transtorno afetivo bipolar (TAB) à terapêutica medicamentosa e identificar possíveis causas de adesão e não adesão ao medicamento de acordo com o perfil farmacoterapêutico. Trata-se de estudo transversal, descritivo, realizado em Núcleo de Saúde Mental de um município do interior paulista. Participaram do estudo 101 pacientes com TAB. Para coleta dos dados, utilizou-se a entrevista estruturada e o teste de Morisky-Green e, para a análise dos mesmos, o programa Statistical Package for the Social Science. Os resultados mostraram que a maioria (63%) dos sujeitos investigados não adere ao medicamento. Apesar de não ter ocorrido diferenças significativas entre o grupo de aderentes e não aderentes, para as variáveis investigadas, foi possível verificar a utilização de polifarmacoterapia e regimes terapêuticos complexos no tratamento do TAB. Permanece como desafio a implementação de estratégias que possam melhorar, na prática, a adesão de pacientes ao tratamento medicamentoso.

Model endophenotype for bipolar disorder: Qualitative Analysis, etiological factors, and research areas

The aim of this study is to present an updated view of the writings on the endophenotype model for bipolar disorder using analytical methodologies. A review and analysis of networks was performed through descriptors and keywords that characterize the composition of the endophenotype model as a model of health. Information was collected from between 1992 and 2014, and the main thematic areas covered in the articles were identified. We discuss the results and question their cohesion, emphasizing the need to strengthen and identify the points of connection between etiological factors and characteristics that make up the model of endophenotypes for bipolar disorder.