Introduction. Typical and atypical antipsychotic agent is currently used for treatment in the majority of patients with psychotic disorders. The aim of this review is to assess antipsychotic induced hyperprolactinaemia and the following menstrual dysfunction that affects fertility, quality of life, and therapeutic compliance of women. Method. For this purpose, Medline, PsychInfo, Cochrane library, and Scopus databases were accessed, with a focus on the publication dates between 1954 and 2012. Research of references was also performed and 78 studies were retrieved and used for the needs of this review. Results. A summary of several antipsychotics as well as frequency rates and data on hyperprolactinaemia and menstrual disorders for different agent is presented. Conclusion. Diverse prevalence rates of hyperprolactinaemia and menstrual abnormalities have been found about each medication among different studies. Menstruation plays an important role for women, thus, understanding, careful assessment, and management of hyperprolactinaemia could enhance their lives, especially when dealing with women that suffer from a psychotic disorder.

This study focused on resilience in patients who recently received a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). Psychopathological symptoms, depressive symptoms, and hopelessness were considered as sources of stress in the context of psychosis. Forty-eight SSD patients (mean period between diagnosis and recruitment, 20.79 months) were enrolled. Psychopathological symptoms were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, depression by the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia, hopelessness by the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and functioning by the Social and Occupational Functioning Scale. Resilience was evaluated by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, which was additionally completed by 81 healthy controls. Patients demonstrated less resilience than did healthy participants. Female patients showed higher resilience levels and functioning than did males. High resilience levels were associated with less severe positive symptoms, general psychopathological symptoms, depression, and hopelessness. Apart from negative symptoms, results indicated that resilience may be a potential moderator of functioning. Thus, resilience-oriented interventions might constitute an additional therapeutic approach for SSD patients.

Objectives: The aim of our study was to examine the association between ABCB1 polymorphisms G2677T/A (rs2032582) and C3435T (rs1045642) and common CYP2D6 variants, with the response to antipsychotic treatment of psychotic patients, in a naturalistic setting, in Greece.Methods: One hundred patients suffering from schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders were included in the study. Dosages were normalized to chlorpromazine equivalents. Response following 1 month of treatment was assessed as either a continuous variable, using the distribution of the corrected Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale percent change, or as a dichotomous variable defined as the number of patients scoring ≥30% from the corrected baseline Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale score. Genotyping was achieved with established polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods.Results: With response treated as a continuous variable, the homozygous recessive rs2032582 genotypes (TT) who were simultaneously carriers of a loss-of-function CYP2D6 allele (*4 or *5) responded significantly worse than the rest of the patients. Comparison of genotype frequencies revealed a statistically significant association of the above combination. No significant association between chlorpromazine equivalents and the tested genotypes was detected. Conclusion:We have detected a possible interaction between ABCB1 and CYP2D6 in affecting response of psychotic patients to drug treatment, in a naturalistic setting.

The current study focused on the association between resilience and social functioning in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Forty clinically stable patients with BD type I and BD type II, as well as 40 healthy controls, matched for age, sex, and educational background were enrolled. Clinical status was assessed by the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the Young Mania Rating Scale. Functioning was evaluated by the Mini International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health rating of activities and participation in mental illnesses, and the Social and Occupational Functioning Scale. Resilience was measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience scale. Patients demonstrated significantly lower resilience levels compared with healthy individuals. A stepwise regression analysis indicated that only resilience contributed significantly to social functioning's outcome. Because resilience may constitute a social functioning moderator in clinically stable patients with BD, a paradigm shift toward protective factors could lead to implementation of resilience-oriented interventions designed specifically for patients with BD.

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