Subjective Poor Sleep Quality in Chinese Patients With Parkinson’s Disease Without Dementia.

Subjective poor sleep quality in Chinese patients with Parkinson’s disease without dementia.

J Biomed Res. 2013 Jul; 27(4): 291-5
Zhang L, Dong J, Liu W, Zhang Y

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common progressive neurological disorder and is composed of motor and non-motor symptoms. Sleep disturbances are frequent problems for patients with PD. The relationship between sleep disturbances with Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) staging have been demonstrated. However, the relationship between sleep disorders and H&Y is still unclear in patients with PD without dementia in Chinese PD patients. In this study, we interviewed 487 non-demented PD patients of Chinese Han descents by H&Y classification. We found that night sleep quality was significantly associated with the severity of PD (P = 0.008). Panic disorder severity scale (PDSS) total scores were correlated with PD non-motor symptoms scale (PDNMS) scores (r = -0.528, P < 0.001), the Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) scores (r = -0.545, P < 0.001) and the Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) scores (r = -0.498, P < 0.001). Our results indicated that sleep quality deteriorated with the advancing of PD in Chinese non-demented patients with PD. Depression and anxiety may partly explain sleep disturbances in non-demented patients with PD. HubMed – depression

What is the emotional core of the multidimensional Machiavellian personality trait?

Front Psychol. 2013; 4: 454
Al Aïn S, Carré A, Fantini-Hauwel C, Baudouin JY, Besche-Richard C

Machiavellianism is a personality trait characterized by interpersonal manipulation and associated with specific patterns of emotional and social cognition skills. The aim of this study was to investigate its socio-cognitive characteristics by determining its association and predictors on the basis of a multidimensional approach to Machiavellianism. We used Mach IV scale to assess “Machiavellian Intelligence” skill of participants (Christie and Geis, 1970). It includes three subscales that are (1) the use of deceit in interpersonal relationships, (2) a cynical view of human nature and (3) the lack of morality. Associations were found between Machiavellianism and low levels of empathy and affective ToM, and high levels of alexithymia, anhedonia, depression, and anxiety. These associations were observed in varying proportions depending on the three subscales of Machiavellianism. The addition of anhedonia and trait-anxiety to the concepts of empathy and alexithymia made it possible to gain a better understanding of the emotional core of Machiavellianism. These findings are discussed in the light of developmental and adaptive perspectives. HubMed – depression

Prescribing patterns and safety monitoring of duloxetine using the Danish Register of Medicinal Product Statistics as a source.

Scand J Public Health. 2013 Jul 24;
Johansen AN, Stenzhorn AA, Rosenzweig M, Thirstrup S, Gazerani P

Background: The safety and pattern of use of a medicinal product cannot be fully studied prior to its marketing. In Denmark, the Danish Health and Medicines Authority (DHMA) monitors marketed drugs. An available source is the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics (RMPS), which can possibly be used for these purposes. Objective: To investigate utilisation and potential safety issues of relatively new antidepressants containing the active ingredient duloxetine (Cymbalta(®) and Xeristar(®)) by using dispensing data available in the RMPS. Methods: A retrospective study using dispensing data was designed to estimate the size and composition of the user population and patterns of use of the antidepressants Cymbalta(®) and Xeristar(®) (active ingredient: duloxetine) in the period from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2010. Data were retrieved from Epikur, a register subset of the RMPS. Results: Both women and men in different age groups used duloxetine for depression. Some users switched to another antidepressant. Prescription of the drug for persons below the age of 18 years revealed a potential safety issue. Concomitant treatment with Cymbalta(®) or Xeristar(®) and fluvoxamine, isocarboxazid, Yentreve(®), or ciprofloxacin also revealed potential safety issues. Conclusions: The present study indicated that the RMPS is applicable in monitoring the pattern of use and potential safety issues related to duloxetine when it is prescribed for depression. Switching to other antidepressants could reflect some potential safety issues. Use of duloxetine for persons below the age of 18 years and its concomitant use with contraindicated drugs also indicated potential safety issues. HubMed – depression

Prospective study on long-term dietary patterns and incident depression in middle-aged and older women.

Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jul 24;
Chocano-Bedoya PO, O’Reilly EJ, Lucas M, Mirzaei F, Okereke OI, Fung TT, Hu FB, Ascherio A

Although individual nutrients have been investigated in relation to depression risk, little is known about the overall role of diet in depression.We examined whether long-term dietary patterns derived from a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) predict the development of depression in middle-aged and older women.We conducted a prospective study in 50,605 participants (age range: 50-77 y) without depression in the Nurses’ Health Study at baseline (1996) who were followed until 2008. Long-term diet was assessed by using FFQs every 4 y since 1986. Prudent (high in vegetables) and Western (high in meats) patterns were identified by using a principal component analysis. We used 2 definitions for clinical depression as follows: a strict definition that required both a reported clinical diagnosis and use of antidepressants (3002 incident cases) and a broad definition that further included women who reported either a clinical diagnosis or antidepressant use (7413 incident cases).After adjustment for age, body mass index, and other potential confounders, no significant association was shown between the diet patterns and depression risk under the strict definition. Under the broad definition, women with the highest scores for the Western pattern had 15% higher risk of depression (95% CI: 1.04, 1.27; P-trend = 0.01) than did women with the lowest scores, but after addition adjustment for psychological scores at baseline, results were no longer significant (RR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.21; P-trend = 0.08).Overall, results of this large prospective study do not support a clear association between dietary patterns from factor analysis and depression risk. HubMed – depression