Considération critique sur l’extension de la bipolarité, psychopathologie des mouvements d’humeur et de l’euphorie morbide

Objectives

From manic-depressive psychosis to bipolar spectrum, today's psychiatry allows us to observe a widening of bipolar criteria. This article aims at studying this evolution, its consequences with a critical look and the psychopathology of mood changes and morbid euphoria.

Methods

All of our considerations refer to current data on bipolar disorders (review with Medline and Science Direct) compared with studies from classical psychiatrists (Kraepelin, Ey) and various authors inspired by psychoanalysis (Freud, Racamier) and phenomenology (Binswanger, Tellenbach, Tatossian).

Results

Many contemporary authors encourage clinicians to detect bipolar disorders from symptoms, early signs and attenuated or atypical expressions. The concept of a widened spectrum is supposed to be closer to clinical reality and it would be an opportunity to diagnose this disease and its deleterious consequences better and thus to set up an appropriate therapy at an early stage. Other authors, on the other hand, deplore a dilution of bipolar disorders together with harmful diagnostic inflation around a concept that has become too heterogeneous to be effective, that subjugates or interferes with other pathologic entities in an excessive manner and abandoning a psychopathological approach. In this view, we shall analyze the nosographic shifts of bipolar disorders throughout the history of psychiatry, from manic-depressive psychosis to bipolar disorder and spectrum. We shall then scrutinize the autonomy and limitations related to bipolar disorders as opposed to normality, confusing clinical presentations and other major mental diseases: Psychosis, depression, pathological personality, anxiety, impulse-control, attention deficit-hyperactivity, addiction and psycho-organic disorders. This work shall first introduce a discussion on the concept of bipolar disorders for children, and then through the case of some historical figures. Then we will deal with the contemporary social factors that are currently furthering the extension of this diagnosis. Last, this article sheds a light on psychopathological specificities of mania – the cornerstone in bipolar disorders – mood changes and morbid euphoria.

Conclusion

We think that classic psychiatry, phenomenology and psychoanalysis would act as a guiding light through this debate and could help the clinician in this daily practice. Mood variations require a careful clinical observation and a rigorous set of interpretation, before being specified too excessively or hastily as a symptom of a real bipolarity.     

Long-term Outcome after Liver Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Larger than 10 cm

Background

The purpose of the present study was to analyze long-term survival and disease-free survival after liver resection for giant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ≥ 10 cm compared to HCC < 10 cm in diameter. The surgical approach in the treatment of giant HCC may achieve long-term survival and disease-free survival comparable to treatment of smaller lesions.

Methods

This retrospective analysis was a monocentric study conducted in a tertiary university center. It included 101 patients from 114 consecutive liver resections for HCC, separated into two groups: those with tumors less than 10 cm in diameter (small HCC; n = 79) and those with tumors larger than 10 cm (giant HCC; n = 22). The main outcome measures were overall five-year survival, five-year disease-free survival, recurrence rate, perioperative mortality at 30 days, surgical complication rate, and re-intervention rate.

Results

The two groups were homogeneously distributed, apart from cirrhosis, which was found more frequently in the group with small HCC (77 vs. 41 %; p = 0.0013). Both median survival (24 vs. 27 months; p = 0.0085) and overall 5-year survival (21 vs. 45; p = 0.04) were significantly poorer in the small HCC group compared to the giant HCC group. There were no differences en terms of recurrence rate, pattern, and timing.

Conclusions

Liver resection for HCC larger than 10 cm is a valuable option in selected patients, one that provides overall survival and disease-free survival comparable to smaller lesions. Functional reserves of the liver, more than the size of the lesion, may be important in patient selection for surgical resection.     

Mature DC from skin and skin-draining LN retain the ability to acquire and efficiently present targeted antigen

Skin-draining LN contain several phenotypically distinguishable DC populations, which may be immature or mature. Mature DC are generally considered to have lost the capacity to acquire and present newly encountered Ag. Using antibody-opsonized liposomes as Ag carriers, we show that mature DC purified from skin explants are able to efficiently capture liposomes, process Ag encapsulated within them and activate Ag-specific CD4(+) T cells. Explant DC from mice with Langerhans cells (LC) expressing the primate diphtheria toxin receptor that were exposed to diphtheria toxin in vivo presented Ag as well as explant DC from wild-type mice, indicating that LC are not required and dermal DC are probably responsible for this presentation. We further show that all DC subtypes from LN that capture opsonized Ag are capable of cross-presenting it to CD8(+) T cells. Induction of additional maturation in vivo by LPS or treatment with double-stranded RNA did not alter the Ag presentation capacity of the skin or LN DC subtypes. These results suggest that mature DC present in skin-draining LN may play an important role in the induction of primary and/or secondary immune responses against Ag delivered to the LN that they take up by receptor-mediated endocytosis.     

Long-term effectiveness and safety of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (anakinra) in Schnitzler's syndrome: A french multicenter study

The aim of this study is to assess the long-term effectiveness and safety of IL1Ra in Schnitzler syndrome (SchS). Between 2010 and 2012, we performed a nationwide survey among French internal medicine departments to identify SchS patients. We retrospectively analyzed the long-term efficacy and safety of IL1Ra and the outcome of patients that did not receive this treatment. Forty-two patients were included in the study, 29 of whom received IL1Ra. The mean age at disease onset was 59.9 years. Disease manifestations included urticaria (100%), fever (76%), bone/joint pain (86%), bone lesions (76%), anemia (67%), and weight loss (60%). The monoclonal gammopathy was overwhelmingly IgM kappa (83%). The mean follow-up was 9.5 years (range: 1.6-35). Two patients developed Waldenström's macroglobulinemia and one developed AA amyloidosis. All of the 29 patients who received IL1Ra responded dramatically. After a median follow-up of 36 months (range: 2-79), the effectiveness remained unchanged. All patients remained on anti-IL-1 therapy. Twenty-four patients (83%) went into complete remission and five (17%) into partial remission. Three patients experienced grade 3-4 neutropenia. Six patients developed severe infections. No lymphoproliferative diseases occurred while on IL1Ra. When last seen, all patients without anakinra had an active disease with variable impact on their quality of life. Their median corticosteroids dosage was 6 mg/d (range: 5-25). IL1Ra is effective in SchS, with a sharp corticosteroid-sparing effect. Treatment failures should lead to reconsider the diagnosis. Long-term follow-up revealed no loss of effectiveness and a favorable tolerance profile. The long-term effects on the risk of hemopathy remain unknown.     

Combined electromyography-31P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of human muscle fatigue during static contraction

Metabolic changes measured by ³¹P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy and surface electromyograms were simultaneously recorded during isometric contraction of forearm flexor muscles sustained at 60% of maximal force until exhaustion. Throughout the fatigue trial, energy in the low-frequency (L) band continuously increased whereas energy in the high-frequency (H) band first increased and then fell only prior to exhaustion. PCr content decreased linearly. Intracellular pH (pHi) transiently increased during the first 22 s of trial. The triggering of acidosis was associated with critical PCr values (35–70% of initial content) and decreased electromyogram (EMG) energy in the H band. Linear relationships were only found between energy in the L band, pHi, and PCr content. The interindividual variability of metabolic and EMG changes was high despite standardized conditions of contraction. Maximal PCr consumption was correlated with the maximal pHi decrease measured at the end of the trial. Overall, there was no correlation between H/L EMG ratio and changes in muscle metabolism. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.