Childhood trauma, dimensions of psychopathology and the clinical expression of bipolar disorders: A pathway analysis

BACKGROUND

This study aims at testing for paths from childhood abuse to clinical indicators of complexity in bipolar disorder (BD), through dimensions of affective dysregulation, impulsivity and hostility.

METHOD

485 euthymic patients with BD from the FACE-BD cohort were included from 2009 to 2014. We collect clinical indicators of complexity/severity: age and polarity at onset, suicide attempt, rapid cycling and substance misuse. Patients completed questionnaires to assess childhood emotional, sexual and physical abuses, affective lability, affect intensity, impulsivity, motor and attitudinal hostility.

RESULTS

The path-analysis demonstrated significant associations between emotional abuse and all the affective/impulsive dimensions (p < 0.001). Sexual abuse was moderately associated with emotion-related dimensions but not with impulsivity nor motor hostility. In turn, affect intensity and attitudinal hostility were associated with high risk for lifetime presence of suicide attempts (p < 0.001), whereas impulsivity was associated with a higher risk of lifetime presence of substance misuse (p < 0.001). No major additional paths were identified when including Emotional and Physical Neglect in the model.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides refinement of the links between early adversity, dimensions of psychopathology and the complexity/severity of BD. Mainly, dimensions of affective dysregulation, impulsivity/hostility partially mediate the links between childhood emotional to suicide attempts and substance misuse in BD.

Elevated CYP2C19 expression is associated with depressive symptoms and hippocampal homeostasis impairment

The polymorphic CYP2C19 enzyme metabolizes psychoactive compounds and is expressed in the adult liver and fetal brain. Previously, we demonstrated that the absence of CYP2C19 is associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms in 1472 Swedes. Conversely, transgenic mice carrying the human CYP2C19 gene (2C19TG) have shown an anxious phenotype and decrease in hippocampal volume and adult neurogenesis. The aims of this study were to: (1) examine whether the 2C19TG findings could be translated to humans, (2) evaluate the usefulness of the 2C19TG strain as a tool for preclinical screening of new antidepressants and (3) provide an insight into the molecular underpinnings of the 2C19TG phenotype. In humans, we found that the absence of CYP2C19 was associated with a bilateral hippocampal volume increase in two independent healthy cohorts (N=386 and 1032) and a lower prevalence of major depressive disorder and depression severity in African-Americans (N=3848). Moreover, genetically determined high CYP2C19 enzymatic capacity was associated with higher suicidality in depressed suicide attempters (N=209). 2C19TG mice showed high stress sensitivity, impaired hippocampal Bdnf homeostasis in stress, and more despair-like behavior in the forced swim test (FST). After the treatment with citalopram and 5-HT_1A receptor agonist 8OH-DPAT, the reduction in immobility time in the FST was more pronounced in 2C19TG mice compared with WTs. Conversely, in the 2C19TG hippocampus, metabolic turnover of serotonin was reduced, whereas ERK1/2 and GSK3β phosphorylation was increased. Altogether, this study indicates that elevated CYP2C19 expression is associated with depressive symptoms, reduced hippocampal volume and impairment of hippocampal serotonin and BDNF homeostasis.

MACVIA-LR (Fighting Chronic Diseases for Active and Healthy Ageing in Languedoc-Roussillon): A Success Story of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing

The Région Languedoc Roussillon is the umbrella organisation for an interconnected and integrated project on active and healthy ageing (AHA). It covers the 3 pillars of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA): (A) Prevention and health promotion, (B) Care and cure, (C) and (D) Active and independent living of elderly people. All sub-activities (poly-pharmacy, falls prevention initiative, prevention of frailty, chronic respiratory diseases, chronic diseases with multimorbidities, chronic infectious diseases, active and independent living and disability) have been included in MACVIA-LR which has a strong political commitment and involves all stakeholders (public, private, patients, policy makers) including CARSAT-LR and the Eurobiomed cluster. It is a Reference Site of the EIP on AHA. The framework of MACVIA-LR has the vision that the prevention and management of chronic diseases is essential for the promotion of AHA and for the reduction of handicap. The main objectives of MACVIA-LR are: (i) to develop innovative solutions for a network of Living labs in order to reduce avoidable hospitalisations and loss of autonomy while improving quality of life, (ii) to disseminate the innovation. The three years of MACVIA-LR activities are reported in this paper.

Affect lability predicts occurrence of suicidal ideation in bipolar patients: a two-year prospective study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of our study was to investigate, in bipolar patients, whether affect lability was associated with suicidal ideation incidence during 2-year follow-up, and which subtype of affect lability was associated with suicidal ideation.

METHOD

A total of 319 euthymic or mildly depressed bipolar outpatients recruited in the French FondaMental Advanced Centres of Expertise for Bipolar Disorder were divided into two subgroups according to the occurrence of suicidal ideation during a 2-year follow-up. Affect lability was assessed by the French version of the Affect Lability Scale.

RESULTS

Bipolar patients with high affect lability were more likely to report suicidal ideation during follow-up, even after adjustment for age, study level, rapid cycling, current depression level, anxiety disorder, and lifetime history SA (OR = 2.47; 95% CI [1.15-5.30], P = 0.01). The risk of suicidal ideation increased with the level of affect lability. More specifically, the propensity to switch from neutral to elation affect, from anxious to depressive affect (or inversely), and from neutral to anger affect predicted suicidal ideation.

CONCLUSION

Reducing affective lability could become a new therapeutic target of suicidal prevention in bipolar disorder.

Anticonvulsants and suicide attempts in bipolar I disorders

OBJECTIVE

To identify risk factors for suicide attempts (SA) in individuals commencing treatment for a manic or mixed episode.

METHOD

A total of 3390 manic or mixed cases with bipolar disorder (BD) type I recruited from 14 European countries were included in a prospective, 2-year observational study. Poisson regression models were used to identify individual and treatment factors associated with new SA events. Two multivariate models were built, stratified for the presence or absence of prior SA.

RESULTS

A total of 302 SA were recorded prospectively; the peak incidence was 0-12 weeks after commencing treatment. In cases with a prior history of SA, risk of SA repetition was associated with younger age of first manic episode (P = 0.03), rapid cycling (P < 0.001), history of alcohol and/or substance use disorder (P < 0.001), number of psychotropic drugs prescribed (P < 0.001) and initiation of an anticonvulsant at study entry (P < 0.001). In cases with no previous SA, the first SA event was associated with rapid cycling (P = 0.02), lifetime history of alcohol use disorder (P = 0.02) and initiation of an anticonvulsant at study entry (P = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

The introduction of anticonvulsants for a recent-onset manic or mixed episode may be associated with an increased risk of SA. Further BD studies must determine whether this link is causal.

Animal models to improve our understanding and treatment of suicidal behavior

Worldwide, suicide is a leading cause of death. Although a sizable proportion of deaths by suicide may be preventable, it is well documented that despite major governmental and international investments in research, education and clinical practice suicide rates have not diminished and are even increasing among several at-risk populations. Although nonhuman animals do not engage in suicidal behavior amenable to translational studies, we argue that animal model systems are necessary to investigate candidate endophenotypes of suicidal behavior and the neurobiology underlying these endophenotypes. Animal models are similarly a critical resource to help delineate treatment targets and pharmacological means to improve our ability to manage the risk of suicide. In particular, certain pathophysiological pathways to suicidal behavior, including stress and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction, neurotransmitter system abnormalities, endocrine and neuroimmune changes, aggression, impulsivity and decision-making deficits, as well as the role of critical interactions between genetic and epigenetic factors, development and environmental risk factors can be modeled in laboratory animals. We broadly describe human biological findings, as well as protective effects of medications such as lithium, clozapine, and ketamine associated with modifying risk of engaging in suicidal behavior that are readily translatable to animal models. Endophenotypes of suicidal behavior, studied in animal models, are further useful for moving observed associations with harmful environmental factors (for example, childhood adversity, mechanical trauma aeroallergens, pathogens, inflammation triggers) from association to causation, and developing preventative strategies. Further study in animals will contribute to a more informed, comprehensive, accelerated and ultimately impactful suicide research portfolio.

Hippocampal Volume Recovery After Depression: Evidence from an Elderly Sample

Objectives

Structural neuroimaging studies have revealed a consistent pattern of volumetric reductions in both the hippocampus and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of individuals with a major depressive episode (MDE). This study investigated hippocampal and ACC volume differences in the elderly comparing currently depressed individuals and individuals with a past lifetime history of MDE versus healthy controls.

Methods

We studied non-demented individuals from a cohort of community-dwelling people aged 65 and over (ESPRIT study). T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were used to acquire anatomical scans from 150 currently depressed individuals, 79 individuals with at least one past MDE, and 310 healthy controls. We derived quantitative regional estimates of subcortical volume of hippocampus and ACC using FreeSurfer Software (automated method). Concerning hippocampus, we also used a manual method of measurement. General Linear Model was used to study brain volumes in current and past depression adjusting for gender, age, education level, total brain volume, and anxiety disorder comorbidity.

Results

After adjustment, current depression was associated with a lower left posterior hippocampal volume (F = 10.38, P = 0.001) using manual estimation of volume. No other significant differences were observed. A positive correlation was found between time since the last MDE and left posterior hippocampal volume.

Conclusions

The finding of left posterior hippocampal volume reduction in currently depressed individuals but not in those with a past MDE compared to healthy controls could be related to brain neuroplasticity. Additionally, our results suggest manual measures to be more sensitive than automated methods.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Suicide sleep monitoring (SSleeM): A feasibility and acceptability study of a wearable sleep tracking monitoring device in suicide attempters

Introduction

Sleep disturbances are associated with an increased risk of suicidal behavior. The evidence primarily stems from studies based on questionnaires about sleep quality. In recent years, the availability of wearable health technology has increased and offers an inexpensive, appealing, and accessible way to measure sleep.

Our aim is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of wearable sleep tracking monitoring devices in a sample of suicide attempters.

Methods

A prospective, open-label, 12-months study will be conducted in the emergency department (ED) and psychiatric unit (PU) of the university hospital of Brest, France. Inclusion criteria are male or female aged 18 or over, surviving a suicide attempt, discharged from ED or PU, and giving consent. The sleep tracker and a smartphone will be given to the patient after discharge. He or she will receive brief training on how to use the sleep tracker. Patient will be asked to monitor their sleep during the five days following the discharge. The feasibility will be explored by analyzing the data proceeding from the sleep tracker. The acceptability will be assessed during the five-days follow up visit, using a standardized questionnaire.

Results

Preliminary results of this ongoing study show that feasibility and acceptance may be related to technical features of wearable devices.

Discussion

A better understanding of the bidirectional mechanism between sleep disturbances and suicide behavior will allow the design of tailored interventions to prevent suicide attempts.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Place of electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of depression in France: A comparative study between clinical practice and international recommendations

Objectives

To study the place of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the treatment of major depressive disorder in France and compare it with international recommendations and algorithms.

Method

Multicenter, retrospective study in 12 French university hospitals. Diagnosis, delay between the onset of the episode and the first day of ECT, previous treatments have been identified. Only patients treated for major depressive disorder between 1 January 2009 and 1 January 2014 were included.

Results

A total of 754 patients were included (middle age 61.07 years, sex ratio 0.53). The diagnoses listed were: first major depressive episode (14.95%), bipolar depression (38.85%) and unipolar recurrent depression (46.19%). The delay before ECT, was 11.01 months (13,98), and was significantly longer for first episodes (16.45 months, P < 0.001) and shorter in case of psychotic symptoms (8.76 months, P < 0.03) and catatonic symptoms (6.70, P < 0.01).

Conclusions

The delay before ECT appears on average, four times longer than recommended by treatment algorithms for the management of major depressive disorder. This long delay could be explained by a very heterogeneous access to this treatment in French territory.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Management of treatment resistant depression: A comparison between French expert consensus guidelines and international evidence based guidelines

Expert consensus guidelines rely on a relevant methodological procedure complementary to based-evidence recommendations. They aim at offering support strategies derived from expert consensus for clinical situations where the levels of evidence are either absent or insufficient. Recommendations for resistant depressive disorders proposed by french association for biological psychiatry and fondamental foundation, were based on responses from 36 highly specialized experts in this field. They were invited to complete a comprehensive questionnaire with 118 issues. The questions raised covered a wide range of aspects from the evaluation of therapeutic resistance and clinical conditions increasing the risk for treatment failure to the adopted therapeutic strategies organized according the effects of previous treatment lines. Specific populations/situations especially including elderly, comorbidities (anxiety disorders, personality disorders and addictions) were also been studied through specific questions. Such recommendations are intended to substantially help the decision and therapeutic choice of clinician implied in the management of resistant depressive disorders in everyday clinical practice. We propose in this communication to compare the results of these recommendations with the various data from the evidence-based guidelines in order to demonstrate their complementarity for the management of resistant depressive disorders.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Neural Patterns in Ecological Momentary Assessment of Social Stressors

Background

Suicidal behaviors result from a complex interaction between social stressors and individual vulnerability. Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) provides the opportunity to investigate the relationship between social stressors in daily life and the occurrence of negative thoughts leading to suicidal ideation. fMRI showed that a neural network supports the sensitivity to social stressors in suicide attempters.

Objective

A joint fMRI/EMA study investigated whether individual differences in brain reactivity to scanner-based social rejection was related to social rejection during real-world social interactions.

Method

Sixty women were included: euthymic women with a history of depression with or without suicidal behavior and healthy controls. The Cyberball Game was used as a social exclusion paradigm. Following the fMRI, subjects used EMA for seven days, providing data on environmental, contextual and emotional factors.

Results

In the fMRI study, in comparison to patients without any history of suicide attempt and healthy controls, suicide attempters showed decreased activation in the posterior cingulate cortex, insula and superior temporal gyrus during the exclusion vs. inclusion condition. In the EMA study, social stressors were specific predictors of suicidal ideation in suicide attempters. We will examine here if individuals who show greater activity in specific brain regions during scanner-based social rejection reported a greater social distress during their daily social interactions.

Conclusions

this study used a combined technique to assess whether neural reactivity to experimental social rejection in the scanner is related to real-world social experience, and if it may help to understand the sensitivity to social stress in suicidal behavior.

Disclosure of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Association Between Lifetime Headache and History of Suicide Attempts in the Elderly

Background

Pain-related conditions have been reported to play a key role among risk factors for suicide. Headache in particular has been repeatedly associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The aims of this study were: 1) to assess the association between lifetime headache (both non-migrainous headache and migraine) and lifetime suicide attempts (SA); 2) to differentiate, within subjects with lifetime SA, patients with and without lifetime headache in terms of socio-demographic and clinical features.

Methods

We studied 1965 subjects from a cohort of community-dwelling persons aged 65 years and over without dementia (the ESPRIT study), divided in two groups: those with (n = 75), and those without a lifetime SA (n = 1890). Logistic regression analyses were used to compare these groups according to lifetime headache status.

Results

After adjusting for gender, living alone, tobacco and alcohol consumption, and depressive, manic/hypomanic and anxiety disorders, lifetime headache frequency was significantly higher in subjects with a lifetime SA compared with controls (OR = 1.92 [1.17–3.15]). Additionally, different factors were identified as being associated with lifetime SA in participants with lifetime headache (female gender, a lower level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insomnia, lifetime major depression) versus participants without headache (glycemia and lifetime major depression).

Conclusions

Lifetime headache was associated with lifetime SA. Subjects who are women and report the co-occurrence of headache and insomnia as well as lifetime major depression require higher attention and a careful screening for suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Effect of early trauma on the sleep quality of euthymic bipolar patients

OBJECTIVE

Poor quality of sleep is frequent in euthymic bipolar patients and conveys worse clinical outcomes. We investigated the features of euthymic bipolar patients associated with poor sleep quality, with a focus on the effect of childhood trauma.

METHOD

493 euthymic patients with DSM-IV-defined bipolar disorders were recruited in FondaMental Advanced Centers of Expertize for Bipolar Disorders (FACE-BD) between 2009 and 2014. Clinical variables were recorded. Subjective sleep quality and history of childhood trauma were respectively measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ).

RESULTS

Poor sleepers were older, less professionally active, had significantly higher anxiety levels, took more anxiolytic drugs and did endorse more suicide attempts and suicidal ideas than good sleepers after adjusting for anxiety levels and age. Emotional abuse was associated with poor sleep quality after adjustment for BMI, age, professional activity, and bipolar disorders (BD) type (OR=1.83; 95% CI [1.30; 3.10]; p=0.02). However, this association was lost after adjustment for anxiety levels, anxiolytic treatment and suicide ideation/attempts.

LIMITATIONS

The main limitation was the type of sleep assessment, which only measured the subjective part of sleep complaints.

CONCLUSION

A history of emotional abuse might underlie sleep problems in many bipolar patients but anxiety seems to act as a confounding factor in this relationship. New studies are needed to elucidate the role of childhood maltreatment on poor sleep among bipolar patients.

[Insight and psychiatric dangerousness: A review of the literature]

INTRODUCTION

Violence committed by individuals with severe mental illness has become an increasing focus of concern among clinicians, policy makers, and the general public, often as the result of tragic events. Research has shown in the past two decades an increased risk of violence among patients with mental disorder. Nevertheless, of those suffering from mental illness, perpetrators of other directed violence form a minority subgroup. The means by which there is this association between mental illness and violence has remained controversial. Factors such as positive psychotic symptoms, medication non-adherence, alcohol or psychoactive substance abuse and antisocial personality were found to be predictive of violence. Overall, literature provides support to the assertion that violent behavior of mentally ill patients is a heterogeneous phenomenon that is driven by multiple inter-related and independent factors. Furthermore, psychiatrists are often asked to predict an individual's future dangerousness, in a medical or a legal context. In the process of risk assessment of dangerousness, more focus has been placed on dynamic risk factor. In this context, lack of insight has established itself both as a part of violence risk models and as a clinical item in structured approaches to measure dangerousness. However, few studies have tested these associations. The main purpose of this paper is to review the literature concerning the relationship between insight and dangerousness and discuss the contributions of the insight in the assessment of dangerousness in patients with mental illness. We included twenty studies that evaluated the association between insight and variable such as physical or verbal violence, aggressiveness, hostility or sexual aggression.

RESULTS

According to the findings of this review, the strength and specific nature of this relationship remain unclear due to considerable methodological and conceptual shortcomings, including heterogeneity in the definition and assessment of violence, a minority of prospective studies and the lack of systematic consideration of possible confounding variables. However, the ability of the patient to perceive their illness is an important element to be considered in assessing the dangerousness both medically and legally. Higher belief flexibility and lower confidentiality of individual judgment, which reflect greater cognitive insight, may be associated with a lower incidence of violence, in particular in schizophrenia by decreasing the degree of confidence related to psychotic symptoms.

CONCLUSION

In the growing efforts to reduce stigma associated with mental illness, it is important to identify a subgroup of patients at risk of violence and provide them with targeted treatment. In this sense, it seems important in the future to continue in this field of research to determine if the lack of insight is a covariate of a worsened condition or a specific violence risk factor per se.

A neurosciences based – semiology of suicidal behavior

The epidemiology, risk factors and biological basis of suicidal behaviors have been the object of an ever-increasing research in the last three decades. During this period, researchers all over the world have identified potential biomarkers of risk and developed several theories about the mechanisms leading to suicidal behavior. However, the lack of common terminology, instruments and cooperation has been a major deterrent. Today, the community has established the bases for this collaboration and evidence coming from neuroscientific studies can already be applied to the field of suicidology. We present here a potential semiology based on current evidence coming from biological, clinical and neuroimaging studies. Besides suicidal ideation and warning signs, the clinical features related to suicide risk and revealed by neuroscientific studies include notably: impulsive-aggression and hopelessness as well as high web consumption, sedentary behaviors and reduced sleep time, an enhanced sensibility to social exclusion and loneliness, a decreased sensitivity to detect social support, interpersonal problems related to decision-making impairments, difficulties to regulate negative emotional states, a propensity to perceive psychic and also physical pain and to receive opiates treatments. Improving the assessment will also open new targets for suicide prevention. In the short-term, some of these targets await us: standard protocols for evaluation of risk, healthcare continuity, implication of the family/caregivers, mitigation of social or psychological pain.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

Is Serum Serotonin Involved in the Bone Loss of Young Females with Anorexia Nervosa?

Recent experimental data suggest that circulating serotonin interacts with bone metabolism, although this is less clear in humans. This study investigated whether serum serotonin interferes with bone metabolism in young women with anorexia nervosa (AN), a clinical model of energy deprivation. Serum serotonin, markers of bone turnover [osteocalcin (OC), procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP), type I-C telopeptide breakdown products (CTX)], leptin, soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and its binding protein (IGFBP-3) were assessed. Whole body, spine, hip, and radius areal bone mineral density BMD (aBMD) were assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 21 patients with AN and 19 age-matched controls. Serum serotonin, leptin, IGF-1, IGFBP-3, OC, PINP, and aBMD at all sites, radius excepted, were significantly reduced in AN whereas CTX and sOB-R were increased compared with controls. Serum serotonin levels were positively correlated with weight, body mass index, whole body fat mass, leptin, and IGF-1, and negatively with CTX for the entire population. Low serum serotonin levels are observed in patients with AN. Although no direct link between low serum serotonin levels and bone mass was identified in these patients, the negative relationship between serotonin and markers of bone resorption found in all population nevertheless suggests the implication of serotonin in bone metabolism. Impact of low serum serotonin on bone in AN warrants further studies.

Optimizing the assessment of suicide attempters with a decision tree

Background

Optimizing psychiatric assessments could help to standardize the use of structured instruments in clinical practice. In recent years, several research groups have applied Computerized Adaptive Tests (CATs) to simplify assessments in depression, anxiety and also suicidal behaviors. We aimed to construct a shortened test to classify suicide attempters using a decision tree methodology that allows the integration of relevant clinical information, namely the history of past suicide attempts, in the construction of the test.

Methods

The sample was composed of 902 adult participants in three subsamples: first-time suicide attempters, psychiatric inpatients that never attempted suicide and healthy controls. The performance of a decision tree built using the items of a previously developed scale for suicidal risk was examined. The history of past suicide attempts was used to separate patients in the decision tree. The data was randomly divided in a training set and a test set. The test set, that contained 25% of the data, was used to determine the accuracy of the decision tree. Twenty-five cross-validations of this set up were conducted.

Results

The first four items of the decision tree classified correctly 81.4% of the patients.

Conclusion

As a result of a methodology based on decision trees that, contrary to CATs, can incorporate relevant information in building the test we were able to create a shortened test capable of separating suicidal and non-suicidal patients. Using all the information that is available improves the precision and utility of instruments adapted for psychiatric assessments.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Evidence of a link between resting energy expenditure and bone remodelling, glucose homeostasis and adipokine variations in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa

Low bone mass is a consequence of anorexia nervosa (AN). This study assessed the effects of energy deficiency on various bone and hormonal parameters. The interrelationships between energy deficiency and bone remodelling, glucose homeostasis and adipokines underscore the importance of preventing energy deficiency to limit demineralisation and hormonal alterations in AN patients.

INTRODUCTION

Low areal bone mineral density (aBMD) is a well-known consequence of AN. However, the impact of reduced energy expenditure on bone metabolism is unknown. This study assessed the effects of energy deficiency on bone remodelling and its potential interactions with glucose homeostasis and adipose tissue-derived hormones in AN, a clinical model for reduced energy expenditure.

METHODS

Fifty women with AN and 50 age-matched controls (mean age 18.1 ± 2.7 and 18.0 ± 2.1 years, respectively) were enrolled. aBMD was determined with DXA. Resting energy expenditure (REEm), a marker of energy status, was indirectly assessed by calorimetry. Bone turnover markers, undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC), parameters of glucose homeostasis, adipokines and growth factors were concomitantly evaluated.

RESULTS

AN patients presented low aBMD at all bone sites. REEm, bone formation markers, ucOC, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, leptin and IGF-1 were significantly reduced, whereas the bone resorption marker, leptin receptor (sOB-R) and adiponectin were elevated in AN compared with CON. In AN patients, REEm was positively correlated with weight, BMI, whole body (WB) fat mass, WB fat-free soft tissue, markers of bone formation, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, leptin and IGF-1 and negatively correlated with the bone resorption marker and sOB-R. Biological parameters, aBMD excepted, appeared more affected by the weight variation in the last 6 months than by the disease duration.

CONCLUSIONS

The strong interrelationships between REEm and bone remodelling, glucose homeostasis and adipokines underscore the importance of preventing energy deficiency to limit short- and long-term bone demineralisation and hormonal alterations in AN patients.

Impaired decision-making in symptomatic anorexia and bulimia nervosa patients: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Impaired decision-making is a potential neurocognitive phenotype of eating disorders. It is therefore important to disentangle the decision-making deficits associated with the eating disorder subtypes and determine whether this putative impairment is a state or trait marker of the disease or more related to starvation. We systematically reviewed the literature on decision-making in eating disorders and conducted a meta-analysis to explore its role in anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge-eating disorder (BED).

METHOD

A search of the Medline and EMBASE databases and article references was performed. A total of 23 studies (2044 participants) met the selection criteria. When the Iowa gambling task (IGT) was used in at least three of the studies, a meta-analysis was run.

RESULTS

IGT performance was significantly worse in patients with an eating disorder diagnosis (AN, BN or BED) compared with healthy controls, indicating that eating disorders have a negative effect on decision-making. Hedges' g effect sizes were moderate to large (-0.72 in AN, -0.62 in BN, and -1.26 in BED). Recovered AN patients had IGT scores similar to those of healthy controls. Restrictive AN patients had significantly lower IGT net scores than purging AN patients, and both AN subtypes had worse performances than healthy controls. Age and body mass index did not explain results.

CONCLUSIONS

Decision-making was significantly altered in patients with eating disorders. Poor decision-making was more pronounced during the acute phase than in the recovered state of AN. Nutritional status during the acute phase of the disease did not seem to influence decision-making skills.

Développement d’un dispositif de veille par short message service (SMS) pour la prévention de la récidive suicidaire. Protocole d’étude Suicide Intervention Assisted by Messages (SIAM)

Introduction

Le suicide et les conduites auto-agressives sont fréquents dans la population adulte. De précédentes études ont prouvé que le fait de maintenir le lien avec le sujet suicidant, par lettres ou cartes postales, après la prise en charge en aigu, réduit le risque de récidive. De plus, les études de faisabilité ont montré que l’intervention par SMS est acceptable pour les patients. L‘objectif principal de cette étude est de démontrer l’efficacité du dispositif de veille par SMS sur la réduction de la récidive suicidaire à 6 mois. Nous présenterons dans un premier temps l’étude de faisabilité puis l’étude multicentrique démarrée dans 8 CHU.

Matériel et méthode

Il s’agira d’un essai de supériorité, contrôlé, randomisé, multicentrique, d’une durée de 2 ans, et piloté par le CHRU de Brest. Les sujets seront des adultes ayant survécu à un passage à l’acte suicidaire, inclus après une prise en charge aux urgences ou une courte hospitalisation. Le recrutement s’étalera sur une période de 9 mois. Les SMS seront envoyés à j2, j7, j15, puis mensuellement. Ces messages se soucieront du bien-être du patient, et lui rappelleront les coordonnées d’urgence dont il dispose en cas de besoin. Les patients seront évalués à j0, puis à 6 et 13 mois. Le critère de jugement principal sera le nombre de patients récidivant à 6 mois, dans le groupe recevant les SMS et dans le groupe témoin (qui bénéficie de la prise en charge de référence). Les critères de jugement secondaires seront le nombre de patients récidivant à 13 mois, le nombre de tentatives de suicide à 6 et 13 mois, le nombre de décès par suicide à 6 et 13 mois, dans les deux groupes. Les idées suicidaires seront évaluées dans chaque groupe, à j0, à 6 mois, et à 13 mois. Enfin, les coûts médicaux et la satisfaction seront évalués à 13 mois.

Résultats attendus

La fréquence de récidive attendue à 6 mois dans le groupe témoin est de l’ordre de 18 %. Nous espérons la réduire à 9 % grâce au contact par SMS. Afin d’y parvenir, le nombre de sujets nécessaires a été évalué à 530, soit 265 dans chaque bras.

Discussion

Ce dispositif de veille par SMS s’appuie sur de précédentes interventions, aux résultats significatifs dans le domaine, et est facilement reproductible. Nous proposons d’évaluer son efficacité dans la réduction du risque de récidive suicidaire au sein d’une population d’adultes ayant fait un passage à l’acte.

Les antidépresseurs sont-ils vraiment bénéfiques ?

La dépression représente un facteur majeur de risque suicidaire. Il est légitime de proposer que traiter la dépression conduira à une réduction de l’incidence des conduites suicidaires (CS). En effet, des données quasi-expérimentales et épidémiologiques soutiennent cette hypothèse. Toutefois, les autorités de régulation nous alertent sur l’aggravation possible du risque suicidaire lors de l’utilisation des antidépresseurs, particulièrement chez les jeunes. Remarquons en outre que ces recommandations ont conduit à un rebond des conduites suicidaires non seulement chez les jeunes mais aussi chez les adultes. Il est donc indispensable d’étudier spécifiquement les mécanismes qui pourraient expliquer que chez certains sujets déprimés, la prescription d’antidépresseurs puissent aggraver le risque suicidaire. Nous présenterons les données de plusieurs grandes études de cohorte. D’une part, les facteurs prédictifs de l’aggravation du risque suicidaire dans les premières semaines de traitement sont la non-réponse au traitement et les antécédents de CS. En outre, des facteurs génétiques ont également été associés à l’émergence d’idées de suicide sous antidépresseurs. Réciproquement, nous avons observé que les patients déprimés les plus à risque de suicide, parce qu’ils présentent des idées de suicide ou des antécédents de CS, répondent moins bien aux antidépresseurs. Ceci indique la nécessité de traitements plus efficaces pour les patients qui en nécessitent le plus ! Des pistes intéressantes voient le jour pour offrir des traitements réduisant les idées de suicide chez des sujets en crise suicidaire. Il s’agit de la thérapie d’acceptation et d’engagement et de la kétamine.

La thérapie d’acceptation et d’engagement dans la prise en charge des conduites suicidaires

Contexte

Les conduites suicidaires (CS) constituent un problème de santé publique majeur à travers le monde. Elles présentent une vulnérabilité propre, et sont maintenant considérées comme une entité diagnostique indépendante dans le DSM5. La thérapie d’acceptation et d’engagement (ACT) est une thérapie intégrative ayant démontré son utilité dans une grande variété de troubles psychiatriques, à travers une diminution de l’évitement expérientiel et une amélioration de la flexibilité psychologique (socles communs à l’ensemble des troubles psychiatriques) .

Innovation

Nous avons conduit une étude pilote suggérant la faisabilité de la thérapie ACT, sous forme de groupes, chez les patients suicidants (CHRU de Montpellier, Pr Courtet) . À travers la présentation des processus thérapeutiques utilisés dans la thérapie ACT, nous aborderons les hypothèses d’action de la thérapie ACT dans les conduites suicidaires. Puis nous présenterons l’étude IMPACT, en cours de réalisation dans le service urgences et post-urgences psychiatriques (CHRU de Montpellier, Pr Courtet). Il s’agit de la première étude contrôlée randomisée recherchant des biomarqueurs neuroanatomiques et fonctionnels de réponse à la thérapie ACT chez des patients ayant un trouble des conduites suicidaires. Nous aborderons enfin, de façon pratique, comment présenter la thérapie ACT à un patient, à travers une matrice . Il s’agit d’une analyse fonctionnelle permettant de faire percevoir au patient le fonctionnement actuel dans lequel il se sent enlisé, de mettre en lumière ce qui est important dans sa vie, et donc d’avoir un outil motivationnel simple et efficace pour l’accompagner vers le changement.

Perspectives

La thérapie ACT semble être une thérapie prometteuse dans la prise en charge des conduites suicidaires. L’étude IMPACT servira à accroître les connaissances sur les conduites suicidaires par l’identification de biomarqueurs de réponse thérapeutique et la mise en évidence des régions cérébrales associées aux processus thérapeutiques.