Narrowband UVB therapy for vitiligo: does the repigmentation last?

BACKGROUND: Since 1997, a number of trials have shown promising results in treating generalized vitiligo with narrowband ultraviolet B (UVB) both in adults and children. However, there is little knowledge concerning the duration and permanency of the treatment-induced repigmentation. OBJECTIVE: Our main objective was to perform a follow-up trial of successfully treated patients receiving narrowband UVB for generalized vitiligo. METHODS: We have investigated to what degree the treatment-induced repigmentation remains stable for up to 2 years post-treatment. We performed an initial open trial including 31 patients with generalized vitiligo. They received narrowband UVB thrice weekly for up to 12 months. Patients experiencing > 75% repigmentation were defined responders and were included in the follow-up trial. Responders were followed every 6 months for up to 2 years after cessation of treatment. We observed the pigmentation status and registered any changes indicating loss of pigmentation and relapse. RESULTS: Eleven of the 31 treated patients were included in the follow-up trial. Six patients had relapse and five patients had stable response 24 months after cessation of treatment. Four out of six relapses were within 6 months post-treatment. CONCLUSION: In our study population of 31 patients with generalized vitiligo, five patients (16%) experienced > 75% stable repigmentation 2 years after cessation of a treatment programme of up to 1 years narrowband UVB therapy.     

Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents: obstacles to early diagnosis and future directions

Aim: This article reviews research centred around juvenile bipolar disorder with particular reference to diagnostic difficulties. Putative deficits are scrutinized with respect to trait likelihood and the roles of neuropsychology and neuroimaging in enhancing our understanding of juvenile bipolar disorder are discussed. Methods: Search terms including childhood, adolescent, youth and juvenile combined with the terms ‘bipolar disorder’, mania, depression and hypomania were used to identify relevant studies in MEDLINE and PsychLit. Results: Over recent years research into this relatively new disorder has increased phenomenally. Key issues within the field include diagnostic specificity, the heritability of the disorder, the impact of comorbidity and the implications of neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings. Conclusion: Despite concerning controversies in literature the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents as compared with adults, promising future research directions include better neurological characterization of the disorder through the application of findings from clinical populations, neuropsychological and neuroimaging research.     

The clinical phenotypes of juvenile bipolar disorder: toward a validation of the episodic-chronic-distinction.

BACKGROUND: Recent research has addressed the issue of subtyping juvenile bipolar disorder (JBD). Accordingly, we set out to find out, in a naturalistic sample of bipolar children and adolescents with mania and mixed mania, whether the most useful subtyping should be based on clinical features (elated vs. irritable) or course (episodic vs. chronic). METHODS: We studied 136 patients, 81 male patients (59.6%) and 55 female patients (40.4%), mean age 13.5 +/- 2.9 years, meeting the DSM-IV diagnosis of bipolar disorder, assessed by a structured clinical interview (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version [K-SADS-PL]). RESULTS: Regarding course, 77 patients (56.6%) had an episodic course and 59 patients (43.4%) had a chronic course. Patients with chronic course were significantly younger, had an earlier onset of JBD, and presented a more frequent comorbidity with disruptive behavior disorders. According to the prevalent mood disturbance, 75 patients (55.1%) showed an elated and 61 patients (44.9%) showed an irritable mood. Elated mood was more frequent in patients with episodic course, whereas irritable mood was more frequent in the patients with chronic course. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that chronic versus episodic course may be a putative differential feature. Further validation of such a distinction would require prospective studies, temperament evaluation, gender and neurobiologic approaches, and differential psychopharmacologic assignment and response.     

Mapping brain size and cortical gray matter changes in elderly depression.

BACKGROUND: In elderly depression, volumetric brain imaging findings suggest abnormalities of the frontal lobe, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, and the hippocampus. No studies to date have mapped cortical abnormalities over the entire brain surface in major depression. Here, we conducted detailed spatial analyses of brain size and gray matter within the cortical mantle in elderly patients with major depression. METHODS: High-resolution, three-dimensional, structural magnetic resonance imaging data and cortical pattern matching methods were used in 24 depressed elderly patients and 19 group-matched controls to measure local brain size and proportions of gray matter at thousands of homologous cortical surface locations. RESULTS: Prominent brain size reductions were observed in the depressed subjects in the orbitofrontal cortex bilaterally. Cortical gray matter measurements revealed significant gray matter increases in the orbitofrontal cortex, adjacent to focal trend level significant decreases of gray matter in the same region. Depressed patients also exhibited significant gray matter increases in parietal cortices, as well as the left temporal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Complex cortical changes may contribute to the brain size reduction of the orbitofrontal cortex and to the gray matter abnormalities detected in orbitofrontal cortex and temporoparietal cortices, thereby providing a potentially new window into the pathophysiology of elderly depression.     

抑郁患者血清皮质醇与血压在应激前后的变化

目的研究抑郁患者血清皮质醇浓度、血压在应激前后的变化以及它们之间的关系。方法分别在安静状态、心理应激状态和心理应激后 (恢复状态 )测量抑郁组和对照组的血清皮质醇浓度、血压 ,比较两组上述指标的差异 ,以及心理应激前后的变化。心理应激以规定时间内的计算试验模拟 ,血清皮质醇以酶联免疫试验检测 ,血压为常规检测。结果 1.皮质醇 :抑郁组在安静状态、应激状态、恢复状态的皮质醇浓度显著高于对照组 (P <0 .0 5 ) ,抑郁组应激前后皮质醇浓度的波动显著小于对照组 (P <0 .0 5 )。2 .收缩压 :安静状态和恢复状态时抑郁组的收缩压显著高于对照组 (P <0 .0 5 ) ,应激状态时两组无统计学差异 ;应激前后收缩压的波动两组无统计学差异。 3 .舒张压 :抑郁组在安静状态时舒张压显著高于对照组(P <0 .0 5 ) ,在应激状态和恢复状态时两组无统计学差异 ;应激前后舒张压的波动两组无统计学差异。结论抑郁患者存在基础血压升高 ,此现象可能与抑郁患者血清皮质醇浓度升高有关。     

质子磁共振波谱对创伤后应激障碍患者海马神经元异常的诊断价值

目的 探讨质子磁共振波谱（1HMRS）在诊断创伤后应激障碍（post traumatic stress disorder，PTSD）患者海马神经元异常中的价值。方法 对19例PTSD患者及19例健康对照组行常规MRI和1HMRS检查。结果 PTSD患者MRI检查未出现信号的异常。19例患者两侧海马均显示NAA／Cr明显减低，与健康对照组相比，差异有统计学意义（P〈0．01）；而患者两侧海马的Cho／Cr与健康对照组相比，差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。结论 1HMRS揭示了PTSD时海马存在着神经元的丢失或功能紊乱，而这些改变是构成PTSD的神经生物学基础之一。     

Smaller hippocampal volume in patients with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND: Previous structural magnetic resonance (MR) research in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has found smaller hippocampal volumes in patients compared with control subjects. These studies have mostly involved subjects who have had PTSD for a number of years, such as war veterans or adult survivors of childhood abuse. Patients with recent-onset PTSD have rarely been investigated. To our knowledge only one other study has investigated such a group. The aim of this study was to compare hippocampal volumes of patients with recent onset PTSD and nontrauma-exposed control subjects. METHODS: Fifteen patients with PTSD, recruited from an accident and emergency department, were compared with 11, non-trauma-exposed, healthy control subjects. Patients underwent a structural MR scan soon after trauma (mean time = 158 +/- 41 days). Entire brain volumes, voxel size 1 x 1 x 1 mm, were acquired for each subject. Point counting and stereology were used to measure the hippocampal and amygdala volume of each subject. RESULTS: Right-sided hippocampal volume was significantly smaller in PTSD patients than control subjects after controlling for effects of whole brain volume and age. Neither left nor total hippocampal volume were significantly smaller in the PTSD group after correction. Whole brain volume was also found to be significantly smaller in patients. There were no differences in amygdala or white matter volumes between patients and control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: This result replicates previous findings of smaller hippocampal volumes in PTSD patients, but in an underinvestigated population, suggesting that either smaller hippocampal volume is a predisposing factor in the development of PTSD or that damage occurs within months of trauma, rather than a number of years. Either of these two hypotheses have significant implications for the treatment of PTSD. For instance, if it could be shown that screening for hippocampal volume may, in some cases, predict those likely to develop clinical PTSD.     

双侧内囊前肢毁损术治疗难治性强迫症疗效及随访研究

目的　对难治性强迫症进行双侧内囊前肢毁损术治疗 ,评定手术疗效并进行 2年随访 ,以进一步探索脑外科手术对难治性强迫症的疗效 ,并探讨手术治疗的良好适应症。方法　对 2 8例难治性强迫症患者进行双侧内囊前肢毁损术治疗 ,并分别在手术前、手术后二周、手术后三月、手术后六月、手术后一年、手术后二年进行Y BOCS、HAMA、HAMD量表评定及术后疗效评定。结果　 (1)强迫症患者手术后各期Y BOCS评分、HAMA评分与手术前比较均下降 ,有极显著差异 (P <0 .0 0 1) ;(2 )手术后各期Y BOCS的强迫思维评分均有明显下降 (P <0 .0 0 1) ,强迫行为在手术后 1年和 2年 ,与手术前比较无明显改变 (P >0 .0 5 ) ;(3)手术后 2年的总有效率为 5 3.5 % ,明显低于手术后 3月的总有效率 (P <0 .0 1)。结论　采用双侧内囊毁损术有相当的治疗效果 ,对于难治性强迫症患者可作为一种补充治疗手段 ;手术治疗对强迫行为的长期疗效较差 ,以严重的强迫思维为主的难治性强迫症患者为手术更好的适应症。     

Functional Symptoms and Somatoform Disorders in Children and Adolescents: The Role of Standardised Measures in Assessment

Functional or unexplained medical symptoms (physical symptoms that are not adequately explained by organic factors and where a major role for psychological factors is assumed) are common amongst children in the general population but can also be an expression of somatisation and somatoform disorders. Co-morbid psychopathology is common. We describe measures mostly used in research into problems related to somatisation in children and adolescents that may be helpful to clinical researchers. Some address the nature and severity of physical symptoms, others document illness attitudes, beliefs and functional impairment, and a third group assesses emotional symptoms. Questionnaires can be helpful for clinicians in quantifying (i) the nature and severity of somatic symptoms and associated functional impairment, (ii) contributory health attitudes and illness beliefs and (iii) co-morbid or primary anxiety and depressive disorders. Together with pain and activity diaries and careful documentation of school attendance, these measures may also be helpful in monitoring treatment response.