Schizophrenia and deficit schizophrenia are accompanied by neurocognitive impairments. The aim of this study was to examine whether a general factor underpins impairments in key Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) probes, verbal fluency test (VFT), world list memory (WLM), True Recall, and mini mental state examination (MMSE).

We recruited 80 patients with schizophrenia and 40 healthy controls. All patients were assessed using CANTAB tests, namely paired-association learning, rapid visual information processing, spatial working memory, one touch stockings of Cambridge, intra/extradimensional set-shifting (IED), and emotional recognition test.

We found that a general factor, which is essentially unidimensional, underlies those CANTAB, VFT, WLM, True Recall, and MMSE scores. This common factor shows excellent psychometric properties and fits a reflective model and, therefore, reflects a general cognitive decline (G-CoDe) comprising deficits in semantic and episodic memory, recall, executive functions, strategy use, rule acquisition, visual sustained attention, attentional set-shifting, and emotional recognition. Partial least squares analysis showed that 40.5% of the variance in G-CoDe is explained by C-C motif ligand 11, IgA to tryptophan catabolites, and increased oxidative toxicity, and that G-CoDe explains 44.8% of the variance in a general factor extracted from psychosis, hostility, excitation, mannerism, negative symptoms, formal thought disorders, and psychomotor retardation, and 40.9% in quality-of-life scores. The G-CoDe is significantly greater in deficit than in nondeficit schizophrenia.

A common core shared by a multitude of neurocognitive impairments (G-CoDe) mediates the effects of neurotoxic pathways on the phenome of (deficit) schizophrenia.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic widespread pain syndrome. Although its mechanism remains relatively unknown, accelerated neurodegeneration in the brain has been reported in patients with FM. Sleep disturbance can increase the risk of neurocognitive disorders, which are associated with tau and beta-amyloid (Aβ) protein accumulation. We hypothesize neurodegeneration in patients with FM may be associated with sleep disturbance.

In this case-control study, we analyzed serum tau and Aβ levels and their association with symptom profiles for patients with FM, by recruiting 22 patients with FM and 22 age-matched healthy participants. The visual analog scale, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, pressure pain threshold test, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and serum tau and beta-amyloid-42 (Aβ-42) levels were recorded. The Mann–Whitney test was conducted to compare questionnaire and protein level results between the groups. Pearson correlation test was conducted to investigate the correlation of questionnaire scores with tau and Aβ-42 levels in patients with FM. The significance level was set at P < .05.

Serum tau and Aβ-42 levels were significantly higher in patients with FM than in controls. A positive correlation between serum tau levels and PSQI scores was observed in patients with FM (r = 0.476, P = .025). We found that only sleep disturbance in patients with FM was significantly associated with higher serum tau levels among all symptom scores.

We suggest sleep disturbance may play a vital role in the pathomechanism of accelerated neurodegeneration in FM.

Many patients suffer from comorbid HIV and Schizophrenia diagnoses. Patients with schizophrenia and other psychosis are at increased risk of contracting HIV due to numerous psychosocial factors including increased frequency of drug use, increased rates of victimization, and increased propensity for high-risk sexual behaviors. In addition to deficits in functioning related to psychiatric illness, patients with HIV also suffer from virus-related neurocognitive insults. It is quite possible that inflammation associated with an untreated HIV infection could compound the pre-existing neurocognitive decline seen in patients with schizophrenia and other psychosis, creating poor outcomes and treatment-resistant pathology. The benefit of clozapine treatment for schizophrenia patients with comorbid HIV extends beyond just symptomatic control. Long-term and consistent treatment of schizophrenia can be a stepping-stone for the improvement of many psychosocial aspects of life. Patients with well-controlled schizophrenia can lead relatively unaffected lives with improved insight and self-care. Improved insight allows patients to better understand their illness, treatment regimen, and follow-up needs. Improved self-care contributes to increased adherence to treatment regimens and overall health. It is likely that patients who are consistently treated for their schizophrenia will have an increased capacity to understand their HIV diagnosis. With gained understanding, these patients may be more likely to adhere to HAART therapy for HIV and to attend follow-up appointments with infectious disease or primary care. Furthermore, with adherence to HAART therapy, patients can enjoy an improved quality and duration of life by raising CD4 counts and preventing progression to AIDS or succumbing to AIDS-related opportunistic infections.

A patient with schizophrenia and HIV diagnosis was monitored and interviewed with repeated MOCA scoring over a lengthy hospitalization period. During this time, he was titrated to an effective dose of clozapine totaling 400 mg at bedtime. His MOCA scores were compared over this period.

In this case, we have observed that starting a patient on clozapine with therapeutic levels for adequate period has improved MOCA scores. Low MOCA scores could be due to untreated HIV, untreated underlying psychosis. Improved MOCA scores have led the patient to gain insight into his HIV diagnosis. For the first time, he felt the need to be on antiretroviral medication and understood the chronic nature of his illness.

In conclusion, this case describes a patient with untreated HIV and comorbid schizophrenia who is started on clozapine to gain insight into his medical conditions and become more adherent with HIV HAART. The patient shows improvement in PANSS and MOCA scores, supporting an increased awareness of his illness and an increased ability to remain on treatment.

No funding

Few studies have analyzed compulsive buying behavior in relation to a specific product. Smartphones are hugely popular products today, especially among young people. These two aspects have motivated this research into the compulsive buying behavior of Smartphones by university students.

To study this behavior, the main features that differentiate compulsive buyers from those that are not are analyzed, and their risk profiles are obtained through a discrete choice model.

Sociodemographic features that define buyers with the greatest propensity to compulsiveness are younger age, longer time spent daily using social networks, higher spending on the acquisition of Smartphones and having owned a greater number of these devices. These buyers also show shopping addiction and greater feelings of guilt after the purchase as well as more positive and negative affective states when purchasing Smartphones.

This analysis not only determines the characteristics that define young individuals with a tendency toward compulsiveness in Smartphone purchases, but also contributes to quantifying the probability of having this tendency.

Treatment with antipsychotics is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), and increased levels of inflammatory biomarkers are present in patients with T2D. We previously demonstrated that the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide significantly reduced glucometabolic disturbances and body weight in prediabetic, overweight/obese schizophrenia-spectrum disorder patients treated with clozapine or olanzapine. This study aims to assess the involvement of cytokines in the therapeutic effects of liraglutide.

Serum concentrations of 10 cytokines (interferon-γ [IFN-γ], tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin 1β [IL-1β], IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, and IL-13) from fasting prediabetic and normal glucose-tolerant (NGT) patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders were measured using multiplexed immunoassays. Prediabetic patients were randomized to 16 weeks of treatment with liraglutide or placebo, and cytokines were measured again at the end of the treatment.

IFN-γ (1.98 vs 1.17 pg/ml, P = .001), IL-4 (0.02 vs 0.01 pg/ml, P < .001), and IL-6 (0.73 vs 0.46 pg/ml, P < .001) were significantly higher in prediabetic (n = 77) vs NGT patients (n = 31). No significant changes in cytokine levels following treatment with liraglutide (n = 37) vs placebo (n = 40) were found.

Prediabetic vs NGT patients with schizophrenia treated with clozapine or olanzapine had increased serum levels of several proinflammatory cytokines, further substantiating the link between inflammation and T2D. Treatment with liraglutide did not affect the investigated cytokines. Further testing of these findings in larger numbers of individuals is needed.

Psychiatric disorders are very common in patients affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, comorbidity with Bipolar Spectrum disorders is understudied. The aim of this study is to explore the clinical correlates of PD associated with Bipolar Spectrum disorders.

One hundred PD patients were screened for psychiatric comorbidities, cognitive profile, motor, and non-motor symptoms. The sample was divided into three groups: PD-patients with Bipolar Spectrum disorders (bipolar disorder type I, type II, and spontaneous or induced hypomania; N = 32), PD-patients with others psychiatric comorbidities (N = 39), PD-patients without psychiatric comorbidities (N = 29). Clinical features were compared among the groups using analysis of variance and chi-square test. A logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between Bipolar Spectrum disorders and early onset of PD (≤50 years) controlling for lifetime antipsychotic use.

In comparison with PD patients with and without other psychiatric comorbidity, subjects affected by Bipolar Spectrum disorders were younger, showed more frequently an early onset PD, reported more involuntary movements and a higher rate of impulse control disorders and compulsive behaviors. No differences were observed in indexes of exposure to dopamine agonist treatments. The early onset of PD was predicted by Bipolar Spectrum comorbidity, independently from lifetime antipsychotic use.

Bipolar Spectrum disorders are common in early onset PD. The presence of bipolar comorbidity could identify a particular subtype of PD, showing higher rates of neurological and psychiatric complications and deserving further investigation.

Elimination of olfactory sensory perception with a reduction in odor-induced migraine has not heretofore been reported.

Case study: A 64-year-old right-handed woman presented with a history of common migraines since childhood. The headaches were bilateral, throbbing, pulsatile, and without aura and were associated with lightheadedness, photophobia, sonophobia, nausea, and vomiting. They would be precipitated by ambient aromas, such as perfumes and bath products, and she became agoraphobic, fearful of going out of her domicile and being exposed to odors. She avoided stores, perfume counters, and public places; scared that it would initiate a disabling headache. Twenty-five years prior to presentation, the patient fell on ice, striking her head and causing a transient loss of consciousness and persistent absence of smell and taste. From that point forwards, while she would have an occasional headache independent of an odor, she no longer experienced odor-induced headaches. Her agoraphobia had resolved. Since the head trauma, her smell remained at 10% to 20%. Her taste remained at 30% of normal.

Abnormalities on neurological examination: Motor examination: Drift testing: Right pronator drift with right abductor digiti minimi sign. Cerebellar examination: Bilateral finger-to-nose dysmetria. Rapid alternating movements: decreased in the left upper extremity. Reflexes: Bilateral upper extremity 3+. Absent bilateral ankle jerks. Bilateral palmomental and Hoffmann reflexes present. Chemosensory testing: Olfaction: Brief Smell Identification Test (B-SIT): 7 (hyposmia), Alcohol Sniff Test: 0 (anosmia). Retronasal Olfaction: Retronasal Smell Index: 4 (hyposmia). Gustation: Propylthiouracil Disc Taste Test: 10 (normogeusia). While performing the B-SIT and sniffing the aroma of rose, the patient noted the sudden onset of a headache, even though she could not detect any odor present.

The temporal relationship between loss of sense of smell and elimination of odor-induced migraines suggests a causal relationship. Conscious recognition of odor may induce a stimulus-response paradigm, whereby migraine occurs. Head trauma-induced anosmia, by elimination of conscious perception of the odor, may thus be the modality whereby her headaches resolved. Alternatively, odors may induce an autonomic response, and conscious recognition of such autonomic response may induce a headache. To tergiversate, that the rose aroma in the B-SIT induced a headache, without any conscious detection of the odor, implies that either unconscious perception is enough to precipitate a headache or that these odors act not as odorants, but rather as an exogenous ambient chemical inducing headaches. Possibly the production of temporary anosmia by use of nose clips may be utilized as a prophylactic device for those with odor-induced migraines. Further investigation into this is warranted.

No funding

Suicidality is one of the most common complications of mental disorders, so that the identification of potential biomarkers may be relevant in clinical practice. To date, the role of serum lipids and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been explored albeit with conflicting results. To the best of our knowledge, no study has explored lipid levels concomitantly with NLR in relation to violent suicide attempts. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether serum lipid levels and NLR might be associated with the violent method of suicide attempts.

The study group consisted of 163 inpatients who attempted suicide. Blood samples were collected at the beginning of hospitalization to measure total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), triglycerides, and NLR. Descriptive analyses of the total sample were performed. The included patients were divided into two groups according to violent/nonviolent method. Groups were compared in terms of lipid (MANCOVAs).

Plasma levels of total cholesterol (F = 5.66; P = .02), LDL (F = 4.94; P = .03), VLDL (F = 5.66; P = .02), and NLR (F = 8.17; P < .01) resulted to be significantly lower in patients that used a violent method compared to patients who attempted suicide with a nonviolent method.

Low cholesterol, LDL, and VLDL levels as well as low NLR value were associated with a violent method of suicide attempt in patients with mental disorders. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.