Focusing on drug versus disease mechanisms and on clinical subgrouping to advance personalised medicine in psychiatry

Research fronts and researchers of World Journal of Psychiatry in 2023: A visualization and analysis of mapping knowledge domains

BACKGROUND

In the rapidly evolving landscape of psychiatric research, 2023 marked another year of significant progress globally, with the World Journal of Psychiatry (WJP) experiencing notable expansion and influence.

AIM

To conduct a comprehensive visualization and analysis of the articles published in the WJP throughout 2023. By delving into these publications, the aim is to determine the valuable insights that can illuminate pathways for future research endeavors in the field of psychiatry.

METHODS

A selection process led to the inclusion of 107 papers from the WJP published in 2023, forming the dataset for the analysis. Employing advanced visualization techniques, this study mapped the knowledge domains represented in these papers.

RESULTS

The findings revealed a prevalent focus on key topics such as depression, mental health, anxiety, schizophrenia, and the impact of coronavirus disease 2019. Additionally, through keyword clustering, it became evident that these papers were predominantly focused on exploring mental health disorders, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and related factors. Noteworthy contributions hailed authors in regions such as China, the United Kingdom, United States, and Turkey. Particularly, the paper garnered the highest number of citations, while the American Psychiatric Association was the most cited reference.

CONCLUSION

It is recommended that the WJP continue in its efforts to enhance the quality of papers published in the field of psychiatry. Additionally, there is a pressing need to delve into the potential applications of digital interventions and artificial intelligence within the discipline.

Developing Serious Video Games to Treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Tutorial Guide

Video game–based therapeutic interventions have demonstrated some effectiveness in decreasing the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Compared with more traditional strategies within the multimodal treatment of ADHD, video games have certain advantages such as being comfortable, flexible, and cost-efficient. However, establishing the most appropriate type(s) of video games that should be used for this treatment remains a matter of debate, including the commercial existing video games or serious video games that are specifically constructed to target specific disorders. This guide represents a starting point for developing serious video games aimed at treating ADHD. We summarize the key points that need to be addressed to generate an effective and motivating game-based treatment. Following recommendations from the literature to create game-based treatments, we describe the development stages of a serious video game for treating ADHD. Game design should consider the interests of future users; game mechanics should be based on cognitive exercises; and therapeutic mechanisms must include the control of difficulty, engagement, motivation, time constraints, and reinforcement. To elaborate upon this guide, we performed a narrative review focused on the use of video games for the treatment of ADHD, and were inspired by our own experience during the development of the game “The Secret Trail of Moon.”

Precision psychiatry: The complexity of personalizing antipsychotic dosing

Recently, Salagre and Vieta commented on the complexity of implementing precision medicine in psychiatry. For 25 years, this author has focused on a circumscribed type of precision medicine: personalized dosing using pharmacokinetic mechanisms to stratified patients. This short communication focuses on personalized dosing of three oral antipsychotics (clozapine, risperidone and paliperidone) and presents their maintenance dosing in a table which provides dose-correction factors generated by pharmacokinetic studies. Inhibitors need dose-correction factors < 1 and inducers need correction factors >1. Clozapine maintenance dosing is based on the dose needed to reach 350 ng/ml (the minimum plasma therapeutic concentration in treatment-resistant schizophrenia). Clozapine maintenance dosing is influenced by 3 levels of complexity: 1) ancestry groups (Asians/Native Americans; Europeans and Blacks), 2) sex-smoking subgroups (lowest dose in female non-smokers and highest in male smokers) and 3) presence/absence of poor metabolizer status (due to genetic and non-genetic causes including co-prescription of inhibitors, obesity or inflammation). Risperidone and paliperidone maintenance dosing are based on the dose needed to reach plasma concentrations of 20-60 ng/ml. Risperidone PMs need approximately half the dose, which can be explained by genetics (CYP2D6 PMs) or co-prescription of CYP2D6 inhibitors. Fluoxetine co-prescription may require one fourth the risperidone maintenance dose. Carbamazepine co-prescription may require twice the risperidone maintenance dose. Although not well studied, two groups may need higher doses of oral paliperidone: Koreans may need 1.5 times higher doses while those taking carbamazepine may need 3 times higher paliperidone maintenance doses. Precision dosing in psychiatry requires using blood levels of individuals.

Pharmacogenomics in Psychiatric Practice

Pharmacogenomic testing in psychiatry is becoming an established clinical procedure. Several vendors provide clinical interpretation of combinatorial pharmacogenomic testing of gene variants that have documented predictive implications regarding either pharmacologic response or adverse effects in depression and other psychiatric conditions. Such gene profiles have demonstrated improvements in outcome in depression, and reduction of cost of care of patients with inadequate clinical response. Additionally, several new gene variants are being studied to predict specific response in individuals. Many of these genes have demonstrated a role in the pathophysiology of depression or specific depressive symptoms. This article reviews the current state-of-the-art application of psychiatric pharmacogenomics.

The Art of Pharmacotherapy: Reflections on Pharmacophobia

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND

This commentary deals with the neglected issue of the art of psychopharmacology by recounting the authors' journeys.

METHODS/PROCEDURES

First, a model of medical science situated within the history of medicine is described including (1) a limitation of the mathematical model of science, (2) the distinction between mechanistic science and mathematical science, (3) how this distinction is applied to medicine, and (4) how this distinction is applied to explain pharmacology to psychiatrists. Second, the neglected art of psychopharmacology is addressed by explaining (1) where the art of psychopharmacotherapy was hiding in the first author's psychopharmacology research, (2) how the Health Belief Model was applied to the art of medicine, (3) how the second author became interested in the Health Belief Model, and (4) his studies introducing the Health Belief Model in psychopharmacology. The authors' collaboration led to: (1) study of the effect of pharmacophobia on poor adherence and (2) reflection on the limits of the art of psychopharmacology.

FINDINGS/RESULTS

Low adherence was found in 45% (116/258) of psychiatric patients with pharmacophobia versus 22% (149/682) in those with no pharmacophobia, providing an odds ratio of 2.9 (95% confidence interval, 2.2-4.0) and an adjusted odds ratio of 2.5 (95% confidence interval, 1.8-3.5) after adjusting for other variables contributing to poor adherence.

IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS

Different cognitive patterns in different patients may contribute to poor adherence. Specific interventions targeting these varying cognitive styles may be needed in different patients to improve drug adherence.

Mental disorders of known aetiology and precision medicine in psychiatry: a promising but neglected alliance

Personalized or precision medicine is predicated on the assumption that the average response to treatment is not necessarily representative of the response of each individual. A commitment to personalized medicine demands an effort to bring evidence-based medicine and personalized medicine closer together. The use of relatively homogeneous groups, defined using a priori criteria, may constitute a promising initial step for developing more accurate risk-prediction models with which to advance the development of personalized evidence-based medicine approaches to heterogeneous syndromes such as schizophrenia. However, this can lead to a paradoxical situation in the field of psychiatry. Since there has been a tendency to loosely define psychiatric disorders as ones without a known aetiology, the discovery of an aetiology for psychiatric syndromes (e.g. 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in some cases of schizophrenia), while offering a path toward more precise treatments, may also lead to their reclassification away from psychiatry. We contend that psychiatric disorders with a known aetiology should not be removed from the field of psychiatry. This knowledge should be used instead to guide treatment, inasmuch as psychotherapies, pharmacotherapies and other treatments can all be valid approaches to mental disorders. The translation of the personalized clinical approach inherent to psychiatry into evidence-based precision medicine can lead to the development of novel treatment options for mental disorders and improve outcomes.