فهرست مطالب ebrahim abdollahian

Congenital toxoplasmosis is assumed to play a role in developing schizophrenia in human. This study aimed to estimate the relationship between Toxoplasma infection and schizophrenia by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).   In this case-control study, 46 schizophrenic patients forming our case group as well as 40 healthy relatives of schizophrenic patients forming our control group were selected from among 456 inpatients with schizophrenia in Ibn Sina and Hejazi hospitals in Mashhad from June 2016 to February 2017. The blood samples from both groups were collected for serological and molecular tests. Different statistical methods such as Chi-square, independent t test, and logistic regression models were used in the present study.   In the present study, the seroprevalence of T. gondii was 54% in case group and 45% in control (OR=1.44, 95% CI: 062- 3.40, P = 0.38). There was no significant association between the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and age, gender, and season as the risk factors in the case group. Furthermore, a poor agreement was observed between the microscopy and PCR methods. Non-significant differences were found between the mean levels of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), C-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cell (WBC) in two groups.   Contrary to the reports from some studies, no association was found between Toxoplasma infection and the schizophrenia. In order to better understand the effect of Toxoplasma on schizophrenia, it is necessary to develop laboratory methods to differentiate acquired toxoplasmosis from congenital one.

Context: Smoking in adolescence is a worldwide health problem. Understanding the prevalence of smoking and its clinical correlates in adolescent inpatients is useful for mental health staff to plan effective programs to reduce its detrimental consequences. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and correlates of cigarette smoking and its sociodemographic and clinical correlates. We performed a narrative review of cigarette smoking prevalence among adolescents as well as a descriptive study in inpatient adolescents in Iran.  Evidence Acquisition: This was a multicentric, cross-sectional, and hospital-based survey. In total, 82 patients (male/female: 66.9% vs. 33.1%) were consecutively recruited from 5 child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric wards of Iran. The study data were collected from patients, their family members and patients’ medical records. The descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-squared test, and univariate logistic regression analyses were employed to analyze the obtained data. Additionally, we added a narrative review to understand the prevalence rate of smoking and its clinical correlates in adolescent inpatients. The prevalence rate of smoking was 30% in our study sample (24.5% in boys and 39.5 % in girls). There was a significant association between smoking with family size, history of suicide attempt, physical illness, drug misuse in patients, and alcohol or drug misuse in family members. The prevalence of mood disorders in the nonsmokers and smokers were 37.5% and 62.5%, respectively. Overall, 26.6% of the subjects had a history of suicide attempt of whom, 52.9% were smokers. Results of this study about the association between smoking with family size, history of suicide attempt, physical illness, drug misuse, and other related factors, call for both careful screening of smoking and specially designed integrated psychiatric/smoking treatments in these patients.

BackgroundAutistic spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a syndrome associated with persistent impairments in communication skills, social interactions, and so forth. Given the approval of risperidone and naltrexone by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ASD cases and extant controversy concerning their pertained side effects, this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial with 2-treatment, 2-sequence, 2-period design was intended to evaluate the behavioral effectiveness of individual risperidone and its combination with naltrexone in autistic children aged 4-12 years old.
Materials and MethodsA total of30 autistic children were recruited in this study, and then equally assigned into groups A and B. The first group underwent co-treatment with risperidone and naltrexone, while group B was instructed to use placebo and risperidone for 8 weeks. After a washout period of two weeks, treatments were crossed over for another 8 weeks. The behavioral changes were assessed applying the childhood autism rating scale (CARS).
ResultsThere were five out of 30 cases at the risk of drop-out due to side effect in group A, while only three failed to complete the trial in group B. The effect size of the combined treatment was greater than the individual which was manifest in the total score of CARS, improved 4-week listening response, and 8-week general impressions.
ConclusionAccording to the results, naltrexone can be a promising candidate for the management of behavioral symptoms in autism children.

Psychiatric patients have an increased risk of some infections like toxoplasmosis. Investigations on Toxoplasma gondii infection among psychiatric patients have been limited in Mashhad, Northeast of Iran. In this case-control study, prevalence of T. gondii was investigated by serological method.
This case-control study was performed among psychiatric patients admitted to Avicenna Hospital in Mashhad, Northeast of Iran. Three hundred and fifty inpatients and 350 controls were examined in 2012-2013 for detection of IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii in their blood sera by ELISA. Socio-demographic and clinical manifestations of the patients were obtained.
Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies was found in 164 (46.85%) of 350 psychiatric inpatients and 120 (34.28%) of 350 controls. Seventeen (4.85%) of psychiatric individuals and 3 (0.85%) of control group were IgMﲈ indicating acute form of toxoplasmosis. There were no statistically significant differences between the case and control groups. In patient group, schizophrenic patients had the highest positive rate (46.28%) and bipolar mood disorder had the second most prevalent rate (20%). Of 162 schizophrenia patients, 65 (40.1%) had latent infection which was higher than that observed in controls.
The prevalence of T. gondii infection among psychiatric patients suffering from schizophrenia was more in Mashhad, compared with control group.

Addiction is multi-dimensional medical problem and psychologic defects have a major role on its establishment. This study was designed to determine the effect of emotional quotient (EQ) on the rate of addiction relapse after quitting. This was a prospective cross-sectional study on 22 to 51 year old subjects who were being treated at chemical dependency rehabilitation centers in Mashhad, Iran, during December 2012 to May 2013. For assessment of EQ, the Persian version of Bar-On EQ questionnaire was employed at first visit of each patient. During the rehabilitation therapy, the subjects were visited monthly. The data of patients were collected during the first 6 months post-quitting. One-hundred sixty subjects were studied which 87% of them were men. Mean (SD) score of patients'' EQ was 11.9 (2.8). The mean number of addiction relapses was 2.1 (2.8). Data analysis showed that there was a significant inverse correlation between EQ score and the number of relapses (r = -0.82, P = 0.05). In addition, it was found that the EQ score had a direct significant relationship with age (r = 0.33, P = 0.05). No significant correlation between type of abused substance and the number of relapses was found. EQ has a positive impact on preventing addiction relapse. Increasing EQ through educational programs can be used as a preventive measure for treating addict persons.

Antipsychotic drugs are the cornerstone of schizophrenia treatment. Glucoregulatory abnormalities have been associated with the use of antipsychotic medications. There are some reports of weight gain and glucose intolerance in patients with schizophrenia receiving atypical antipsychotic medications. The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of various antipsychotic therapies on glycemic control in patients with schizophrenia.

Eighty-one patients with schizophrenia were enrolled in the study and underwent glucose-tolerance test. Patients were divided in to two groups، with one group (n=43) receiving typical and the other group (n=38) receiving atypical medication. Demographical and historical data were collected with a questionnaire.

There was a marginally significant difference in the first hour glucose level between typical and atypical drugs (mean 132. 12 vs. 151. 76، respectively، p=0. 07). Also، marginal significant difference was present comparing the first hour glucose level between typical antipsychotics and clozapine consumers (mean 132. 12 vs. 153. 67، p=0. 06). This difference was not present when typical antipsychotics were compared with risperidone (mean 132. 12 vs. 149. 41، p=0. 230). Fasting blood sugar and second- hour glucose tolerance results did not show a statistically significant difference. The increased GTT of the first hour blood sugar in patients who received clozapin may indicate the early stages of insulin resistance in this group.

This study suggests that patients under atypical antipsychotic treatment are more vulnerable to diabetes mellitus (DM). Across atypical medications; we observed a greater glycemic effect from clozapin compared to risperidone.

There is evidence showing that increased inflammatory mediators and reduced serum levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids may be present in patients with neurodevelopment and psychiatric disorders, e.g. attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. (ADHD). The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on hyperactivity, attention deficit, and serum inflammatory mediators in children with ADHD This was an 8-week randomized double-blind clinical trial. The participants were 103 6 to12-year old children with ADHD receiving effective maintenance therapy, who were assigned randomly to receive either a daily omega-3 supplement (635 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 195 mg docosahexaenoic acid (intervention group) or a placebo visually similar to the omega-3 capsules (placebo group). The serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined at baseline and at the end of the period. In addition, the abbreviated 10-item Conners parent rating scale (CPRS) was completed for each child before and after the intervention. The intervention brought about statistically significant reductions in the levels of CRP and IL-6 and a significant improvement in the CPRS score in the omega-3 group. The findings indicate that dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation can have desirable effects on hyperactivity, attention deficit and inflammatory mediators in children with ADHD.

Suicide is one of the most important early causes of death in psychotic patients. The main object of this research was to determine the relationship between positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and psychotic major depressive disorder (MDD) with suicidal history and risk. Sixty five patients with schizophrenia compared to 65 patients with psychotic MDD in a cross sectional study. Patients were evaluated using positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) (to measure severity of psychopathology) and the California risk estimator for suicide. Collected information were analyzed using SPSS 11/8 version by t-test, chi-square and ANOVA and Pearson correlation test. There was a significant relation between positive symptoms with suicidal risk and histories of suicidal attempts in patients with schizophrenia (r= 708, p<0.0001 and r= 0.55, p<0.0001 respectively). Negative symptoms also had a significant but reverse relation with suicidal risk and histories of suicidal attempts in this group (r= -0.529, p<0.0001 and r = -0.512, p<0.0001 respectively). There was a significant reverse relation between positive symptoms and suicidal risk in patients with psychotic MDD (r= -0.26, p<0.036). Negative symptoms did not have a significant relation with suicidal risk in this group. Also there was no significant relation between positive or negative symptoms and histories of suicidal attempts in MDD patients. Positive and negative symptoms have different relationships with suicide in patients with schizophrenia and psychotic MDD

This research was carried out with the aim of examining the effects of selegiline, a monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor with dopaminergic features, on the treatment of patients with schizophrenia with prominent negative symptoms. In a clinical trial, 80 inpatients at the Hejazi Hospital in Meshed, who were diagnosed with schizophrenia based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria, and had prominent negative symptoms (a score of over 15 in Positive and Negative Symptom Scale [PANSS]) entered the study. The patients were randomly divided into three groups: Patients receiving 5mg selegiline, patients receiving 10mg selegiline, and those receiving placebo along with an antipsychotic drug. The patients were then followed-up for six weeks using PANSS and Drug Side Effects Test. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and t-test. Eight patients were excluded from the study due to an increase in psychotic symptoms and four were excluded because of drug side effects. Mean age of patients was 47.6 and the mean duration of hospitalization was 8.9 years. Even though there was an improvement in negative symptoms in both groups receiving selegiline, the difference between the groups receiving selegiline and the group receiving placebo was not significant. Selegiline is not superior to placebo in reducing negative symptoms in hospitalized patients.