LAUSR

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the second issue of 2017. Our first article features the short version of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for biological treatment of schizophrenia in primary care. The guidelines offer evidence-based recommendation for the treatment of schizophrenia developed by the authors and consented by a task force of international experts. This summary has the potential to support clinical decisions and can improve the treatment of schizophrenia in primary care settings. Chiarello et al. review the highlights and controversies of the PANDAS/PANS literature. They discuss the efficacy of antibiotics, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and SSRIs with CBT and SSRIs being the first line of choice for acute onset of OCD spectrum. While PANDAS is not considered a distinct syndrome nor is it presented in DSM-5, patients with acute OCD spectrum should be evaluated for inflammatory, infective, immunological and metabolic abnormalities with a comprehensive diagnostic algorithm. Rybakowski and colleagues investigated the clinical effect of a single ketamine infusion in bipolar depressive patients. Of the 53 patients that received the infusion, 27 met the criteria for response. Responders were more frequently male and did not differ from non-responders as to age, illness onset, duration of depression, bipolar type, family history of psychiatric illness, history of alcoholism or lithium use, quetiapine or other mood stabilisers. Their results suggest a rapid antidepressant effect of ketamine infusion. Cristiano et al. examined the relationship between posture and inflammatory response markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) during different stages in schizophrenia patients. Postural changes in different stages were detected. Furthermore, CRP levels were higher in cases with greater disease severity, while vWF was associated with forward head posture, hyperlordosis and scoliosis suggesting a relationship between vascular inflammation and pain. Su silov a and associates assessed the differences in body mass index (BMI) changes between men and women of schizophrenic patients during hospitalisation. They found a higher increase of BMI in men as well as men gained significantly more weight than women on polytherapy and during subsequent hospitalisations. In addition, men had higher BMI during combination treatment of multireceptor AP and metabolically neutral aripiprazole than women. Kattimani and colleagues aimed to identify the prevalence and correlates of bipolar I patients with a lifetime history of suicide attempt. Of 150 patients, 23% had a lifetime history of suicide attempt. The majority were females with a first episode of depression and spent more time being ill. Comorbid substance abuse was mostly seen in males. They conclude that a history of suicide attempt was associated with a worse course of bipolar I disorder. Aguglia et al. investigated whether anxiety disorders in adolescence could be considered as a predictor of bipolar disorder (BD). The patients were assessed during adolescent with a follow-up on average of 10 years later. At the follow-up, 22.4% of the patients fulfilled the criteria of BD; of those patients, 90.9% had a family history of BD and 36.4% had comorbid substance use disorder. In conclusion, a family history of BD and substance use disorder may serve as predictors of BD onset. Dell’Osso and colleagues explored the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with increased severity of illness of a sample of OCD patients. What they discovered is that earlier age, age at onset and age at first pharmacological treatment, longer duration of illness, shorter untreated illness and higher rate of psychiatric comorbidities were associated with increased severity of OCD. Psarros et al. assessed the relationship of insomnia with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a month after wild fires and with the experience of imminent death. The presence of insomnia was detected in 63% of the subjects and 46.7% were diagnosed with PTSD, while 51.1% experienced fear of imminent death. They conclude that the diagnosis of insomnia was more frequent in females who experienced fear of imminent death and had developed PTSD. Ceri and co-workers investigated mental health problems of second-generation immigrant (SGI) children and adolescents. It emerged that SGI children had higher rates of psychiatric disorders such as depression, PTSD, anxiety disorders, more comorbidities and lower functional scores. Their results suggest that these higher rates may possible stem from migration-induced burdens. Those treating the SGI children should approach them in a cultureand language-sensitive way. In a brief report, Steel and colleagues assessed the utility of the posttraumatic checklist (PCL) in identifying PTSD in individuals diagnosed with a psychotic disorder. Of the total sample, 18.2% exhibited diagnostic level of PTSD symptoms, while only 29.7% of those were diagnostic of PTSD. The authors can therefore not recommend the PCL as a screening measure. In a commentary, Dell’Osso et al. sought to identify and discuss the main epidemiologic, socio-demographic and clinical features characterising obsessive-compulsive tic disorder (OCTD) patients. The available literature suggest that early onset, male gender, sensory phenomena and obsessions of symmetry, aggressiveness, hoarding, exactness and comorbidity with ADHD to be the most frequent observation in OCTD patients.