Co-morbid psychiatric disorders are common in Down syndrome (DS). Evidence is limited for pharmacotherapy, specifically antipsychotics, for psychiatric co-morbidity in DS.

To describe a case of a patient with DS who developed a first-episode psychosis (FEP) and who responded to lurasidone in monotherapy and to review recent literature on the treatment of psychosis in patients with DS.

(1) Case report: FEP in DS patient treated with lurasidone 37 mg/day. (2) Narrative review on the treatment of psychosis in DS patients through PubMed database (1990-2020). Key terms: “psychosis”, “Down Syndrome”, “pharmacological treatment”, “antipsychotic drugs”.

A 21-year-old woman with DS, without psychiatric history, presenting with behavioural anomalies, aggressiveness, soliloquies, and unmotivated laughs was referred to our outpatient clinic by her general practitioner. Symptoms began one year prior and progressively worsened, impairing her daily functionality. Previous blood workup was normal. She was diagnosed with FEP and began treatment with lurasidone 37 mg. At 4-week follow-up, she showed total remission of the psychotic symptoms, had no tolerability complaints, and returned to baseline functionality levels. Discussion: No reports of lurasidone use in psychosis in DS have been published. To treat psychotic symptoms in DS, most literature reports describe the use of typical antipsychotics, which are usually effective, but often poorly tolerated; atypical antipsychotics such as risperidone and aripiprazole have also been used.

Lurasidone may be a useful option in patients with FEP in DS. Further research is warranted on treatment of psychosis in this population.

No significant relationships.

In the last two years, Prof Vita received, directly or indirectly, support for clinical studies or trials, conferences, consultancies, Congress presentations, advisory boards from: Angelini, Boehringer Ingelheim, Innovapharma, Janssen-Cilag, Lundbeck,

We present the case of a 36-year-old male with chronic alcoholism who suffered Delirium Tremens and other complications during hospital admission and who recovered thanks to treatment with benzodiazepines and antiepileptics using a cross tapering strategy.

Presentation of a case and review of the available literature on the pharmacological treatment of alcohol withdrawal.

A 36-year-old man was hospitalised for extensive dermatological lesions suggestive of Pellagra. He acknowledged a daily consumption of six litres of beer, was homeless and had a poor and unvaried diet. After 48 hours, the patient began to present hyperreflexia, disorientation and delusions of harm and was diagnosed with Delirium Tremens.

The case was managed jointly by Internal Medicine and Psychiatry. High doses of Chlorazepate (up to 400 mg daily), Tiapride (up to 600 mg daily) and Thiamine (300 mg daily) were prescribed. After 5 days of treatment, the patient started to improve but severe pain appeared in the lower limbs suggestive of alcoholic neuropathy. Gradually the treatment was replaced by Pregabalin (up to a dose of 1200 mg daily) which was effective in calming the late withdrawal and partially controlling the lower limb pain.

Benzodiazepines remain the first-line agent for severe withdrawal, while some antiepileptic drugs have proven useful in mild-moderate withdrawal and relapse prevention. Switching to antiepileptic drugs during follow-up should be considered because of the lower risk of dependence and respiratory depression, as well as the positive effects on the “kindling” phenomenon.

No significant relationships.

Patients with bipolar disorder (BPD) are prone to engage in risk-taking behaviours and self-harm, contributing to higher risk of traumatic injuries requiring medical attention at the emergency room (ER).We hypothesize that pharmacological treatment of BPD could reduce the risk of traumatic injuries by alleviating symptoms but evidence remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between pharmacological treatment and the risk of ER admissions due to traumatic injuries.

Individuals with BPD who received mood stabilizers and/or antipsychotics were identified using a population-based electronic healthcare records database in Hong Kong (2001–2019). A self-controlled case series design was applied to control for time-invariant confounders.

A total of 5040 out of 14 021 adults with BPD who received pharmacological treatment and had incident ER admissions due to traumatic injuries from 2001 to 2019 were included. An increased risk of traumatic injuries was found 30 days before treatment [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 4.44 (3.71–5.31), p < 0.0001]. After treatment initiation, the risk remained increased with a smaller magnitude, before returning to baseline [IRR 0.97 (0.88–1.06), p = 0.50] during maintenance treatment. The direct comparison of the risk during treatment to that before and after treatment showed a significant decrease. After treatment cessation, the risk was increased [IRR 1.34 (1.09–1.66), p = 0.006].

This study supports the hypothesis that pharmacological treatment of BPD was associated with a lower risk of ER admissions due to traumatic injuries but an increased risk after treatment cessation. Close monitoring of symptoms relapse is recommended to clinicians and patients if treatment cessation is warranted.

The main factors that are involved in a correct adherence to the therapeutic recommendations in Bipolar Disorder includes aspects related to age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic level and characteristics of the illness associated with the severity, comorbidity and adverse effects related to previous medicine.

To analyse the individual perception that the patient with Bipolar Disorder has regarding the positive and negative aspects of taking the recommended medication.

Descriptive and interpretative observational study under the qualitative paradigm of research, extracting the data through the completion of four focus groups with ten patients everyone. To complete the codification of the content of the participant’s discourses, we rely on the QRS NVivo 10 computer program.

In the participant’s discourse concerning the main barriers to pharmacological treatment, for example “It’s because we live in a society and, because of that, we don’t go without medicine; if we didn’t live in society, we wouldn’t take medicine because we wouldn’t bother anyone”. Some examples of patient’s discourse, about perceived facilitators were: “I have to take medicine for my bipolar disorder, that’s it, I have a treatment, my illness has a name”.

The main facilitators regarding the use of pharmacological treatment in Bipolar Disorder are the perceived need for treatment in the acute phase and the recognition of the illness, the shared clinical decision and the causal biological attribution in the chronic phase. About perceived barriers, social control is identified in both phases, adverse effects in the acute cases and the absence of effective treatment in the chronic state.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic respiratory disease that may have a negative impact on both patients’ quality of life and survival. Patients with COPD frequently suffer from heart failure (HF), likely owing to several shared risk factors.

To evaluate the differences in treatment of COPD with and without HF comorbidity according to COPD severity in the general practitioner setting.

We conducted an observational, retrospective study using data obtained from the Italian Health Search Database, which collects information generated by the routine activity of general practitioners. The study sample included 225 patients with COPD, alone or combined with HF.

It has been found that the prevalence of some comorbidities such as diabetes and HF significantly increases with the severity of COPD. Regarding pharmacological treatment, a reduction in the prescription of individually administered long-acting β 2-agonists (LABAs) and long-acting anticholinergics (LAMAs) has been observed with increasing severity of the disease. Moreover, an increase in the prescription of both the combination of the two bronchodilators (LABA + LAMA) and their association with inhaled corticosteroids has been observed with increasing severity of COPD. The prescription of β-blockers in patients with COPD suffering from HF comorbidity decreases from 100% in stage I to less than 50% in the other stages of COPD. This study shows that general practitioners do not follow the guidelines recommendations for the management of patients with COPD in the different stages of the disease, with and without HF comorbidity, as well as in the management of HF. Further efforts must be made to ensure adequate treatment for these patients.

The aim of this research, which represents an additional and longer follow-up to a previous trial, was to evaluate a 5-year follow-up study of a combined treatment (pharmacological + psychoeducational and cognitive-behavioral therapy) as compared with a standard pharmacological treatment in patients with refractory bipolar disorder.

Forty patients were randomly assigned to either an Experimental group–under combined treatment — or a Control group — under pharmacological treatment. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), with repeated measures at different evaluation time points.

Between-group differences were significant at all evaluation time points after treatment. Experimental group had less hospitalization events than Control group in the 12-month evaluation (P = 0.015). The Experimental group showed lower depression and anxiety in the 6-month (P = 0.006; P = 0.019), 12-month (P = 0.001; P < 0.001) and 5-year (P < 0.001, P < 0.001) evaluation time points. Significant differences emerged in mania and misadjustment already in the post-treatment evaluation (P = 0.009; P < 0.001) and were sustained throughout the study (6-month: P = 0.006, P < 0.001; 12-month: P < 0.001, P < 0.001; 5-year: P = 0.004, P < 0.001). After 5-year follow-up, 88.9% of patients in the Control group and 20% of patients in the Experimental group showed persistent affective symptoms and/or difficulties in social-occupational functioning.

A combined therapy is long-term effective for patients with refractory bipolar disorder. Suggestions for future research are commented.

Pharmacological treatment is the gold standard in delusional disorder (DD), moreover the second generation antipsychotics (SGA) are widely used in the treatment of DD, in spite of this, none SGA is authorized for the treatment of DD.

To evaluate the evidence available for pharmacological treatment in adults with DD. Especially, that concerning SGA.

A systematic review on pharmacological treatment of DD was conducted. We selected the best evidence available. Then, we analysed them critically, assessing its biases and quality, finally performed a narrative and quantitative synthesis.

The quality of the evidence was very low. There were not randomized clinical trials. n = 385, 177 SGA. Antipsychotics achieved a good response in a 33.6% of the patients. First generation antipsychotics (FGA) did show superiority compared to SGA (39% good response vs. 28%, respectively. P ≤ 0.02). We could not find data about superiority of any drug over other. Pimozide, traditionally considered the most effective drug, did not confirm to be a superior treatment compared to others. Reasons for superiority of FGA were analyzed. The role of another treatments were testimonial, but antidepressants can be a promising treatment.

There is no evidence to make strong recommendations, although antipsychotics in general appear to be an effective treatment for DD. Superiority of FGA against SGA was shown. We need to develop clinical trials in DD and SGA, since their better tolerance profile might be the best candidates to do.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Describe and validate the CHROME (CHemical Restraints avOidance MEthodology) criteria.

Observational prospective longitudinal study.

Single nursing home in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.

288 residents; mean age: 81.6 (SD 10.6). 77.4% had dementia.

Multicomponent training and consultancy program to eliminate physical and chemical restraints and promote overall quality care. Clinicians were trained in stringent diagnostic criteria of neuropsychiatric syndromes and adequate psychotropic prescription.

Psychotropic prescription (primary study target), neuropsychiatric syndromes, physical restraints, falls, and emergency room visits were semi-annually collected from December 2015 to December 2017. Results are presented for all residents and for those who had dementia and participated in the five study waves (completer analysis, n=107).

For the study completers, atypical neuroleptic prescription dropped from 42.7% to 18.7%, long half-life benzodiazepines dropped from 25.2% to 6.5%, and hypnotic medications from 47.7% to 12.1% (p<0.0005). Any kind of fall evolved from 67.3 to 32.7 (number of falls by 100 residents per year). Physicians’ diagnostic confidence increased, while the frequency of diagnoses of neuropsychiatric syndromes decreased (p<0.0005).

Implementing the CHROME criteria reduced the prescription of the most dangerous medications in institutionalized people with dementia. Two independent audits found no physical or chemical restraint and confirmed prescription quality of psychotropic drugs. Adequate diagnosis and independent audits appear to be the keys to help and motivate professionals to optimize and reduce the use of psychotropic medication. The CHROME criteria unify, in a single compendium, neuropsychiatric diagnostic criteria, prescription guidelines, independent audit methodology, and minimum legal standards. These criteria can be easily adapted to other countries.

Vortioxetine is an approved antidepressant that has also demonstrated positive effects on anxiety symptoms in subjects with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). This post-hoc analysis evaluates the efficacy of vortioxetine in GAD subjects who are working and/or pursuing an education.

In study NCT00744627, 301 GAD subjects were randomized to vortioxetine 5 mg or placebo for 8 weeks. Efficacy measures included the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM–A) total score, response/remission, global functioning (Sheehan Disability Scale [SDS]), and quality of life (Short Form–36 Health Survey). In study NCT00788034, 687 GAD subjects were treated open-label with vortioxetine 5 or 10 mg for 20 weeks, after which subjects in remission were randomized to fixed-dose of vortioxetine (5 or 10 mg) or placebo for at least 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was time to relapse. Analyses were completed in subjects working and/or pursuing an education at study entry and the full analysis set.

In study NCT00744627, the effect of vortioxetine versus placebo on HAM–A total score was –4.3 (p=0.0005) in working subjects (60% of total), while the effect in the total population was –3.8 (p=0.0001). The effect was greatest in subjects in professional (–4.5, p=0.0130) and associate professional positions (–7.6, p=0.0086). Greater effects in terms of response, remission, and the SDS and SF–36 were also observed. In NCT00788034, working subjects (69% of total) randomized to placebo were significantly more likely to relapse than subjects treated with vortioxetine (hazard ratio=2.9; p<0.001), while the hazard ratio in the total population was 2.7 (p<0.0001).

The beneficial effects of vortioxetine on anxiety symptoms, functioning, and quality of life are greater in adults with GAD who are working and/or pursuing an education versus the full GAD study population.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic, highly disabling condition associated with psychiatric/medical comorbidity and substantive morbidity, mortality, and suicide risks. In prior reports, varying parameters have been associated with suicide risk.

To evaluate sociodemographic and clinical variables characterizing Italian individuals with BD with versus without prior suicide attempt (PSA).

A sample of 362 Italian patients categorized as BD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM IV-TR) was assessed and divided in 2 subgroups: with and without PSA. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were compared between prior attempters and non-attempters using corrected multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).

More than one-fourth of BD patients (26.2%) had a PSA, with approximately one-third (31%) of these having>1 PSA. Depressive polarity at onset, higher number of psychiatric hospitalizations, comorbid alcohol abuse, comorbid eating disorders, and psychiatric poly-comorbidity were significantly more frequent (p<.05) in patients with versus without PSA. Additionally, treatment with lithium, polypharmacotherapy (≥4 current drugs) and previous psychosocial rehabilitation were significantly more often present in patients with versus without PSA.

We found several clinical variables associated with PSA in BD patients. Even though these retrospective findings did not address causality, they could be clinically relevant to better understanding suicidal behavior in BD and adopting proper strategies to prevent suicide in higher risk patients.