The longitudinal course of bipolar disorder is highly variable, and a subset of patients seems to present a progressive course associated with brain changes and functional impairment. Areas covered: We discuss the theory of neuroprogression in bipolar disorder. This concept considers the systemic stress response that occurs within mood episodes and late-stage deficits in functioning and cognition as well as neuroanatomic changes. We also discuss treatment refractoriness that may take place in some cases of bipolar disorder. We searched PubMed for articles published in any language up to June 4, 2016. We found 315 abstracts and included 87 studies in our review. Expert commentary: We are of the opinion that the use of specific pharmacological strategies and functional remediation may be potentially useful in bipolar patients at late-stages. New analytic approaches using multimodal data hold the potential to help in identifying signatures of subgroups of patients who will develop a neuroprogressive course.
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Down syndrome is the most common genetic disorder, affecting 1/700 live births. Among the clinical findings, one constant concern is the high prevalence of congenital heart disease. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and profile of congenital heart disease among patients attended at a Down syndrome outpatient clinic in southern Brazil between 2005 and 2013. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study conducted in a referral center. METHODS: Data were retrospectively gathered from the medical files of 1,207 patients with Down syndrome, among whom 604 (50.0%) had been diagnosed with congenital heart disease. These data were subjected to descriptive analysis using the Statistica software. RESULTS: Among the 604 patients with congenital heart disease, 338 (55.8%) were male and 269 (44.5%) were female. The most common heart diseases were atrial septal defect in 254 patients (42.1%); total atrioventricular septal defect in 91 (15.1%); atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect in 88 (14.6%); ventricular septal defect in 77 (12.7%); patent ductus arteriosus in 40 (6.6%); patent foramen ovale in 34 (5.6%) patients; tetralogy of Fallot in 12 (2%); and other diseases in 8 (1.3%). Pulmonary hypertension was present in 57 (9.4%). Out of the total, 150 patients (24.8%) underwent cardiac surgery. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of congenital heart disease among the patients at the Down syndrome outpatient clinic (50%) was similar to findings from other studies and justifies investigation during the neonatal period, so as to decrease mortality and morbidity.
RESUMO
Objective: Anxiety and depression are prevalent among medical students. Brazilian medical students have higher levels of depression and lower quality of life than their U.S. counterparts, and no preventive intervention exists for this risk group in Brazil. The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP), a cognitive-behavioral treatment protocol for neuroticism, was recently adapted into a single-session, preventive intervention. This study tested the impact of this protocol on psychiatric symptoms and quality of life in Brazilian medical students. Methods: In this open trial, the intervention protocol was translated and adapted to Brazilian Portuguese. Medical students over 18 years of age without psychotic symptoms, severe depressive episodes, or acute psychiatric risk were included, undergoing a psychiatric clinical interview (Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview [MINI]) and evaluation at baseline and at 7 and 30 days after a single-session UP that included experimental avoidance, quality of life, self-esteem, empathy, and anxiety symptom scales. A new evaluation was performed 90 days after the intervention. Results: Sixty-two students participated. Ninety days after the intervention, there were significant reductions in the number of students who met the criteria for social anxiety disorder (p = 0.013) or panic disorder (p = 0.001). There were also significant improvements in depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory, p o 0.001) and quality of life (Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire, p o 0.001). Conclusion: UP improved anxiety and depressive symptoms in medical students. The single-session group format could reduce costs and facilitate application. Future placebo-controlled studies are necessary to confirm these findings.
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