Age at onset, course of illness and response to psychotherapy in bipolar disorder: Results from the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD)

Background. The course of bipolar disorder progressively worsens in some patients. Although responses to pharmacotherapy appear to diminish with greater chronicity, less is known about whether patients' prior courses of illness are related to responses to psychotherapy.

SLC6A4 STin2 VNTR genetic polymorphism is associated with tobacco use disorder, but not with successful smoking cessation or smoking characteristics: a case control study.

The aim of this study was to determine if variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in the second intron (STin2) of the serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) gene was associated with tobacco use disorder, successful smoking cessation, or smoking characteristics. In this case-control study, patients with current tobacco use disorder, diagnosed according to DSM IV criteria (n = 185), and never-smokers, diagnosed according to CDC criteria (n = 175), were recruited and received 52 weeks of combined pharmacotherapy and cognitive therapy. Successful smoking cessation was defined as exhaled carbon monoxide < 6 ppm. SLC6A4 gene STin2 VNTR polymorphism was assessed using a Multiplex-PCR-based method. At baseline, participants were evaluated using the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and the ASSIST scale.

Quality of life in bipolar and schizoaffective disorder - a naturalistic approach

The aim of this study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in bipolar type I (BD I) and schizoaffective (SQA) patients during a 2-year period in a naturalistic study.

Staging systems in bipolar disorder: an International Society for Bipolar Disorders Task Force report

We discuss the rationale behind staging systems described specifically for bipolar disorders. Current applications, future directions and research gaps in clinical staging models for bipolar disorders are outlined.

A comparison of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder: results from the second Australian national psychosis survey

Introduction It remains uncertain whether schizoaffective disorder (SAD) is a discrete diagnostic entity, is a variant of either a psychotic mood disorder such as bipolar disorder (BDP) or schizophrenia (SCZ), or exists on a spectral continuum between these disorders. The present study examined whether SCZ, SAD, and BDP differed qualitatively on demographic and clinical variables based on a large Australian dataset.

Is body dysmorphic disorder associated with abnormal bodily self-awareness? A study using the rubber hand illusion.

Evidence from past research suggests that behaviours and characteristics related to body dissatisfaction may be associated with greater instability of perceptual body image, possibly due to problems in the integration of body-related multisensory information. We investigated whether people with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a condition characterised by body image disturbances, demonstrated enhanced susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion (RHI), which arises as a result of multisensory integration processes when a rubber hand and the participant's hidden real hand are stimulated in synchrony. Overall, differences in RHI experience between the BDD group and healthy and schizophrenia control groups (n = 17 in each) were not significant. RHI strength, however, was positively associated with body dissatisfaction and related tendencies. For the healthy control group, proprioceptive drift towards the rubber hand was observed following synchronous but not asynchronous stimulation, a typical pattern when inducing the RHI. Similar drifts in proprioceptive awareness occurred for the BDD group irrespective of whether stimulation was synchronous or not. These results are discussed in terms of possible abnormalities in visual processing and multisensory integration among people with BDD.

‘Subtypes’ in the presentation of autistic traits in the general adult population

The present study examined the presentation of autistic traits in a large adult population sample (n = 2,343). Cluster analysis indicated two subgroups with clearly distinguishable trait profiles. One group (n = 1,059) reported greater social difficulties and lower detail orientation, while the second group (n = 1,284) reported lesser social difficulties and greater detail orientation. We also report a three-factor solution for the autism-spectrum quotient, with two, related, social-themed factors (Sociability and Mentalising) and a third non-social factor that varied independently (Detail Orientation). These results indicate that different profiles of autistic characteristics tend to occur in the adult nonclinical population. Research into nonclinical variance in autistic features may benefit by considering social- and detail-related trait domains independently.

Are urinary porphyrins a valid diagnostic biomarker of autism spectrum disorder?

A fundamental challenge to the timely diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the reliance on the observation of a set of aberrant behavior. Consequently, the diagnostic process requires that the child reach an age where the behaviors would typically be exhibited. The identification of a reliable biological marker (biomarker) could be of considerable benefit to the diagnostic process. As a diagnostic biomarker, porphyrins present an attractive prospect as previous studies have reported consistent findings of children with ASD showing significant elevations in porphyrin levels in contrast to controls. Furthermore, there is some evidence that ASD severity may be associated with porphyrins, which would be a valuable characteristic of any ASD biomarker. Importantly, for practical use, porphyrins can be tested non-invasively via a sample of urine. The present study sought to investigate whether porphyrin profiles can reliably be used to (a) differentiate ASD cases from healthy controls; and (b) predict ASD severity. The study compared the porphyrin levels of three groups of children aged 2-6 years: Group 1-children diagnosed with ASD (n = 70); Group 2-healthy, normally developing siblings of children diagnosed with ASD (n = 36); and Group 3-healthy, normally developing children with no known blood relative diagnosed with ASD (n = 54). The results of logistic regression analyses failed to find support for the hypotheses that porphyrin levels could be used as a valid tool to detect ASD cases or predict severity. Autism Res 2014, 7: 535-542. © 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Coupling online control and inhibitory systems in children with developmental coordination disorder: goal-directed reaching

For children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), the real-time coupling between frontal executive function and online motor control has not been explored despite reported deficits in each domain. The aim of the present study was to investigate how children with DCD enlist online control under task constraints that compel the need for inhibitory control. A total of 129 school children were sampled from mainstream primary schools. Forty-two children who met research criteria for DCD were compared with 87 typically developing controls on a modified double-jump reaching task. Children within each skill group were divided into three age bands: younger (6-7 years), mid-aged (8-9), and older (10-12). Online control was compared between groups as a function of trial type (non-jump, jump, anti-jump). Overall, results showed that while movement times were similar between skill groups under simple task constraints (non-jump), on perturbation (or jump) trials the DCD group were significantly slower than controls and corrected trajectories later. Critically, the DCD group was further disadvantaged by anti-jump trials where inhibitory control was required; however, this effect reduced with age. While coupling online control and executive systems is not well developed in younger and mid-aged children, there is evidence of age-appropriate coupling in older children. Longitudinal data are needed to clarify this intriguing finding. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed.

Atherogenic index of plasma and atherogenic coefficient are increased in major depression and bipolar disorder, especially when comorbid with tobacco use disorder

There is a robust comorbidity between mood disorders and cardiovascular disorder (CVD). The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and the atherogenic coefficient (AC) are important atherogenic indexes. The aims of this study were to delineate whether AIP and AC are increased in mood disorders especially when comorbid with tobacco use disorder (TUD).