Alexithymia and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Dizziness.
Alexithymia and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Dizziness.
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Psychopathology. 2012 Dec 28;
von Rimscha S, Moergeli H, Weidt S, Straumann D, Hegemann S, Rufer M
Background: Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by deficits in regulating, experiencing and verbalizing emotions and has been assumed to be associated with a tendency to express emotional arousal through somatization. Although such a tendency is often observed in patients with dizziness, the exact relationship of alexithymia to dizziness is not yet known. The aim of this study was to examine alexithymic characteristics in patients with dizziness and its relation to health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Sampling and Methods: We assessed 208 patients from an interdisciplinary center for vertigo and balance disorders for characteristics of alexithymia (20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale), HRQoL (Short-Form 12 Health Survey, SF-12), dizziness (Dizziness Handicap Inventory), depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Hierarchical regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between alexithymia, dizziness and HRQoL. Results: We found that difficulties in identifying and describing feelings, two important factors of alexithymia, were significantly related to more severe symptoms of dizziness. More pronounced alexithymic characteristics were associated with lower HRQoL, especially in the mental dimension of the SF-12. The results remained significant after controlling for possibly confounding variables such as socioeconomic status and depression. Conclusions: These findings contribute to a better understanding of affect regulation in patients with dizziness, which is important for the development of psychotherapeutic interventions suitable for alexithymic patients with dizziness.
HubMed – depression
Differences in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Dropout Rates between Bulimia Nervosa Subtypes Based on Drive for Thinness and Depression.
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Psychother Psychosom. 2012 Dec 22; 82(2): 125-126
Peñas-Lledó E, Agüera Z, Sánchez I, Gunnard K, Jiménez-Murcia S, Fernández-Aranda F
Revisiting DARPP-32 in postmortem human brain: changes in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and genetic associations with t-DARPP-32 expression.
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Mol Psychiatry. 2013 Jan 8;
Kunii Y, Hyde TM, Ye T, Li C, Kolachana B, Dickinson D, Weinberger DR, Kleinman JE, Lipska BK
Dopamine- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein of molecular weight 32?kDa (DARPP-32 or PPP1R1B) has been of interest in schizophrenia owing to its critical function in integrating dopaminergic and glutaminergic signaling. In a previous study, we identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a frequent haplotype associated with cognitive and imaging phenotypes that have been linked with schizophrenia, as well as with expression of prefrontal cortical DARPP-32 messenger RNA (mRNA) in a relatively small sample of postmortem brains. In this study, we examined the association of expression of two major DARPP-32 transcripts, full-length (FL-DARPP-32) and truncated (t-DARPP-32), with genetic variants of DARPP-32 in three brain regions receiving dopaminergic input and implicated in schizophrenia (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), hippocampus and caudate) in a much larger set of postmortem samples from patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and normal controls (>700 subjects). We found that the expression of t-DARPP-32 was increased in the DLPFC of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and was strongly associated with genotypes at SNPs (rs879606, rs90974 and rs3764352), as well as the previously identified 7-SNP haplotype related to cognitive functioning. The genetic variants that predicted worse cognitive performance were associated with higher t-DARPP-32 expression. Our results suggest that variation in PPP1R1B affects the abundance of the splice variant t-DARPP-32 mRNA and may reflect potential molecular mechanisms implicated in schizophrenia and affective disorders.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 8 January 2013; doi:10.1038/mp.2012.174.
HubMed – depression
Depression Treatment with Magnesium by George Eby – Depression treatment with magnesium is discussed. Most treatment-resistant depression is believed to be caused by magnesium deficiency and calcium excess in the brain. Many other mental health issues that are related to brain magnesium deficiency are also described. This 40-slide presentation provides documentation for these effects and links to support information including several hundred medical journal article related to magnesium and mental health.
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