One in 4 chronic hepatitis C patients who start interferon and ribavirin treatment will develop an induced major depressive episode. Clinicians should attempt a full evaluation of patients before starting antiviral treatment in order to identify those at risk of developing interferon-induced depression.

The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of transsexuals from Spain. A total of 252 consecutive applicants for sex reassignment were evaluated using a standardized semistructured clinical interview and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (Spanish Version 5.0.0) to record demographic, clinical, and psychiatric data. Transsexualism was diagnosed in 230 patients, with a male to female (MF)/female to male (FM) ratio of 2.2:1. Transsexual patients frequently had low employment status, lived with their parents, and mainly had a sexual orientation toward same-sex partners. The most frequent psychiatric diagnoses were adjustment disorder and social phobia in both groups, and alcohol and substance-related disorders in the MF group. MF transsexuals were older than FM transsexuals when requesting sex reassignment, but did not differ in age when starting hormonal therapy (often on their own); fewer MFs were in employment requiring high educational qualification, more were non-Spanish natives, and more had previous and current histories of alcohol and substance abuse or dependence. The basic characteristics of transsexuals from Spain were similar to those of other European countries, except for the higher proportion of patients living with their parents and the higher proportion of MFs who reported same-sex sexual orientation compared with previous studies.

Objective. Fibromyalgia (FM) has been defined as a systemic disorder that is clinically characterized by pain, cognitive deficit, and the presence of associated psychopathology, all of which are suggestive of a primary brain dysfunction. This study was undertaken to identify the nature of this cerebral dysfunction by assessing the brain metabolite patterns in patients with FM through magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) techniques.Methods. A cohort of 28 female patients with FM and a control group of 24 healthy women of the same age were studied. MRS techniques were used to study brain metabolites in the amygdala, thalami, and prefrontal cortex of these women.Results. In comparison with healthy controls, patients with FM showed higher levels of glutamate/ glutamine (Glx) compounds (mean ؎ SD 11.9 ؎ 1.6 arbitrary units [AU] versus 13.4 ؎ 1.7 AU in controls and patients, respectively; t ‫؍‬ 2.517, 35 df, corrected P ‫؍‬ 0.03) and a higher Glx:creatine ratio (mean ؎ SD 2.1 ؎ 0.4 versus 2.4 ؎ 1.4, respectively; t ‫؍‬ 2.373, 35 df, corrected P ‫؍‬ 0.04) in the right amygdala. In FM patients with increased levels of pain intensity, greater fatigue, and more symptoms of depression, inositol levels in the right amygdala and right thalamus were significantly higher.Conclusion. The distinctive metabolic features found in the right amygdala of patients with FM suggest the possible existence of a neural dysfunction in emotional processing. The results appear to extend previous findings regarding the dysfunction in pain processing observed in patients with FM. Fibromyalgia (FM) is a clinical syndrome definedby the presence of chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain and the presence of at least 11 of 18 body tender points that are representative of a possible enhanced sensitivity to painful stimulation (1), and these features are often accompanied by other symptoms such as fatigue, poor sleep quality, loss of memory, and mood disturbances. The lack of clear evidence of peripheral tissue damage to which such symptoms could be attributed (2) and the findings of peculiar abnormalities in both the neural pain modulation pattern (3,4) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (5) in these patients have contributed to the current understanding of FM as a central sensitization syndrome of unknown origin. In our conceptual framework, FM symptoms are related to neural and psychological abnormalities in sensory and emotional processing that result from biologic (genetic) predispositions, early adverse experiences (emotional neglect, physical or sexual abuse, family dysfunction), psychological vulnerabilities (neuroticism, negative affect, social learning), and biographically related precipitating factors (physical or psychosocial stress) (6,7).In the last decade, the important progress made in neuroimaging techniques has enabled the study of several aspects of cerebral pain processing. Research on Supported by the Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Spain (grant FIS PI 04/1077).

At three-year follow-up, MACE as well as safety and efficacy measures including stent thrombosis were not statistically different between the biodegradable polymer-coated BES and the durable polymer-coated EES. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01233453.

The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) was developed to assess mother-infant bonding disturbances in the postpartum period. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the PBQ in a sample of Spanish postpartum women. Eight hundred forty mothers were recruited in the postpartum visit (4-6 weeks after delivery): 513 from a gynecology unit (forming the general population sample) and 327 mothers from a perinatal psychiatry program (forming the clinical sample). All women were assessed by means of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the PBQ. Neither the original four-factor structure nor alternative structures (Reck et al. 2006; Wittkowski et al. 2010) were replicated by the confirmatory factor analyses. An exploratory factor analysis showed a four-factor solution. The Schmid-Leiman transformation found a general factor that accounted for 61% of the variance of the PBQ. Bonding impairment showed higher associations with depressive symptomatology in both samples. The Spanish version of the PBQ showed adequate psychometric properties for use with clinical and general populations of Spanish postpartum women. The results suggest that the PBQ could be summarized by a general factor and confirm the utility of the use of the total score for detecting bonding impairment.