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Petrescu C, Mihalache OA, Vilciu C, Petrescu DM, Marian G, Ciobanu CA, Ciobanu AM. Clinical and Sociodemographic Correlations with Neurological Soft Signs in Hospitalized Patients with Schizophrenia: A Preliminary Longitudinal Study. Biomedicines 2024; 12:787. [PMID: 38672143 PMCID: PMC11048323 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12040787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by symptoms that profoundly impact behavior, cognition, perception, and emotions, leading to a reduced quality of life and physical impairment. Given the complexity of schizophrenia, there is a pressing need for clinical markers and tools to predict its course, enhance disease staging, facilitate early intervention, improve differential diagnosis, and tailor individualized treatment approaches. Previous studies focused on the relationship between neurological soft signs (NSS) and factors such as age, illness duration, and symptomatology, indicating NSS as state markers improving in parallel with psychotic symptom remission or predicting treatment resistance. However, there is a lack of consensus on NSS assessment tools, hindering routine clinical monitoring despite diagnostic and prognostic potential. The present longitudinal study involved 81 psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Patients were assessed at three time points: baseline, 1 month, and 6 months. The examination included the use of scales to evaluate psychotic and neurological symptoms, as well as the identification of adverse extrapyramidal reactions caused by neuroleptic treatment. The progression of NSS was correlated to both the symptomatology and the sociodemographic data of the patients. The main findings from the present investigation revealed a statistical correlation between NSS and psychopathological symptoms, especially with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. However, it is important to note that neuroleptic side effects only had a limited impact on NSS. Therefore, instead of being linked to extrapyramidal symptoms caused by neuroleptics, NSS appears to be more frequently related with symptoms of schizophrenia. Our findings provide further support for their strong association with the course of schizophrenia, independent of treatment side effects, thus emphasizing their potential as reliable assessment tools in both research and clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian Petrescu
- Neuroscience Department, Discipline of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania;
- Department of Psychiatry, ‘Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia’ Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry, 041914 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Oana A. Mihalache
- Department of Doctoral Studies, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania;
- Department of Neurology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania; (C.V.); (D.M.P.)
| | - Crisanda Vilciu
- Department of Neurology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania; (C.V.); (D.M.P.)
- Neurology Clinic, ‘Fundeni’ Clinical Institute, 022328 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Diana M. Petrescu
- Department of Neurology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania; (C.V.); (D.M.P.)
- Neurology Clinic, ‘Fundeni’ Clinical Institute, 022328 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Gabriela Marian
- Academy of Romanian Scientists, 927180 Bucharest, Romania;
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, ‘Titu Maiorescu’ University of Medicine, 040051 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Constantin A. Ciobanu
- Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020022 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Adela M. Ciobanu
- Neuroscience Department, Discipline of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania;
- Department of Psychiatry, ‘Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia’ Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry, 041914 Bucharest, Romania
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Petrescu C, Petrescu DM, Marian G, Focseneanu BE, Iliuta FP, Ciobanu CA, Papacocea S, Ciobanu AM. Neurological Soft Signs in Schizophrenia, a Picture of the Knowledge in the Last Decade: A Scoping Review. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:healthcare11101471. [PMID: 37239757 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11101471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Neurological Soft Signs (NSS) are subtle neurological abnormalities that are more common in schizophrenia patients than in healthy individuals and have been regularly observed in neuroleptic-naive first-episode patients, supporting the hypothesis that they are an intrinsic component of schizophrenia. (2) Methods: a review of articles published in the last ten years (from January 2013 to January 2023) was carried out on articles published in ScienceDirect and PubMed, by following the PRISMA Statement extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR), which evaluated the impact of NSS in correlation with the symptomatology, neuroleptic treatment, and the cerebral structural changes of patients with schizophrenia. (3) Results: thirty articles were included, among them twelve included MRI structural evaluation and four studies with a longitudinal design. (4) Conclusions: interest in researching NSS has increased in recent years, but questions remain about their origin and relationship to schizophrenia symptoms, thus this study aims to fill in information gaps in the hope that future research will help provide individualized treatment. It is suggested that NSS in schizophrenia might have an inherited genetic relationship pattern, thus being in line with a trait viewpoint. Most of the research revealed that schizophrenia patients had higher NSS scores than healthy controls, however, they were rather similar to their first-degree relatives, thus, also arguing in favor of a trait perspective. The greatest improvement in scores is seen in those with a remitting course, as shown by declining NSS ratings concurrent with symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian Petrescu
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania
- Department of Psychiatry, Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry, 041914 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Diana M Petrescu
- Neurology Clinic Fundeni Clinical Institute, 022328 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Gabriela Marian
- Academy of Romanian Scientists, 050045 Bucharest, Romania
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Titu Maiorescu University of Medicine, 040441 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Brindusa E Focseneanu
- Department of Psychiatry, Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry, 041914 Bucharest, Romania
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Titu Maiorescu University of Medicine, 040441 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Floris Petru Iliuta
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania
| | | | - Serban Papacocea
- Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Adela M Ciobanu
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania
- Department of Psychiatry, Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry, 041914 Bucharest, Romania
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Levi L, Zamora D, Nastas I, Gonen I, Radu P, Matei V, Ciobanu AM, Nacu A, Boronin L, Karakrah L, Davidson M, Davis JM, Weiser M. Add-On Pramipexole for the Treatment of Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Clin Psychiatry 2022; 83. [PMID: 35921506 DOI: 10.4088/jcp.21m14233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Objective: Several small clinical trials have reported that the dopamine agonist pramipexole was beneficial in treating patients with schizophrenia. A confirmatory trial was conducted to test this hypothesis. Methods: This 16-week, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study included 200 subjects meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Patients were randomized to receive either pramipexole (0.75 mg twice daily, n = 100) or placebo (n = 100) as an add-on to their regular antipsychotic treatment. The primary outcome measure was the total score on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS); secondary outcome measures included PANSS subscale and cognitive functioning scores. Recruitment was performed in 30 sites in Romania and 1 site in the Republic of Moldova between January and June 2011. Results: Analysis of covariance models showed no significant difference between pramipexole and placebo for total PANSS (P > .99) and PANSS positive (P > .99), negative (P = .73), and general psychopathology (P = .99) subscale scores. Changes in Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness scale and Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia scores showed no significant difference between pramipexole and placebo. Conclusions: The results of this large randomized controlled trial indicated that pramipexole was not efficacious as an add-on to antipsychotic medications for schizophrenia. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01320982.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Levi
- Department of Psychiatry, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
| | - Daisy Zamora
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Igor Nastas
- Department of Psychiatry, Narcology and Medical Psychology, State University of Medicine and Pharmacy Nicolae Testemitanu, Chișinău, Moldova
| | | | | | - Valentin Matei
- Department of Neuroscience, Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Carol Davila," Bucharest, Romania
| | - Adela M Ciobanu
- Department of Neuroscience, Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Carol Davila," Bucharest, Romania
| | - Anatol Nacu
- Department of Psychiatry, Narcology and Medical Psychology, State University of Medicine and Pharmacy Nicolae Testemitanu, Chișinău, Moldova
| | - Larisa Boronin
- Department of Psychiatry, Narcology and Medical Psychology, State University of Medicine and Pharmacy Nicolae Testemitanu, Chișinău, Moldova
| | - Lusian Karakrah
- Department of Psychiatry, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
| | | | - John M Davis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Mark Weiser
- Department of Psychiatry, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.,Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Corresponding author: Mark Weiser. MD, Department of Psychiatry, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, 52621, Israel
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Błachnio A, Przepiorka A, Benvenuti M, Cannata D, Ciobanu AM, Senol-Durak E, Durak M, Giannakos MN, Mazzoni E, Pappas IO, Popa C, Seidman G, Yu S, Wu AMS, Ben-Ezra M. Cultural and Personality Predictors of Facebook Intrusion: A Cross-Cultural Study. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1895. [PMID: 27994566 PMCID: PMC5134356 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The increase in the number of users of social networking sites (SNS) has inspired intense efforts to determine intercultural differences between them. The main aim of the study was to investigate the cultural and personal predictors of Facebook intrusion. A total of 2628 Facebook users from eight countries took part in the study. The Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire, the Ten-Item Personality Inventory, and the Singelis Scale were used. We found that two variables related to Country were significantly related to Facebook intrusion: uniqueness (negatively) and low context (positively); of the personality variables, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were negatively related to the dependent variable of Facebook intrusion across different countries, which may indicate the universal pattern of Facebook intrusion. The results of the study will contribute to the international debate on the phenomenon of SNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agata Błachnio
- The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin Lublin, Poland
| | | | | | - Davide Cannata
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna Bologna, Italy
| | - Adela M Ciobanu
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience - Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "C. Davila" Bucharest Bucharest, Romania
| | - Emre Senol-Durak
- Department of Psychology, Abant Izzet Baysal University Baysal, Turkey
| | - Mithat Durak
- Department of Psychology, Abant Izzet Baysal University Baysal, Turkey
| | - Michail N Giannakos
- Department of Computer and Information Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim, Norway
| | - Elvis Mazzoni
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna Bologna, Italy
| | - Ilias O Pappas
- Department of Computer and Information Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim, Norway
| | - Camelia Popa
- Romanian AcademyBucharest, Romania; International Center for Research and Education in Innovative and Creative Technologies (CINETic) - National University of Theatre and Film I.L. Caragiale (UNATC)Bucharest, Romania
| | | | - Shu Yu
- Department of Psychology, University of Macau Macau, China
| | - Anise M S Wu
- Department of Psychology, University of Macau Macau, China
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Popescu G, Negrei C, Bălălău D, Ciobanu AM, Baconi D. The relevance of the psychological evaluation in drug dependence. J Med Life 2014; 7 Spec No. 3:120-2. [PMID: 25870708 PMCID: PMC4391414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychological interventions are considered a central part of the individual psychotherapy in the rehabilitation counseling of psychiatrically symptomatic drug-dependent patients during methadone maintenance treatment in community programs. The need for psychological counseling should be evaluated for each individual patient. Medication is an important part of the treatment and individual psychotherapy focuses on the reduction or total cessation of drug use. The Recipient is G.M. 31, sentenced to a seven-year term of imprisonment for trafficking and use of and high-risk drugs, diagnosed on admission with opioid and methadone dependence, withdrawal syndrome. Following the observation and psychological evaluation, psychiatric and clinical examination, initiation of methadone substitution treatment was recommended, according to the following regimen: twelve 2.5 mg tablets for the first 2 days, followed by increase with about 5 mg per week until the complete remission of withdrawal symptoms, stabilization of the dose but not exceeding 200 mg methadone hydrochloride per day. Specialist monitoring, specialized counseling and individual and group psychotherapy were provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Popescu
- Department of Toxicology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
| | - C Negrei
- Department of Toxicology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
| | - D Bălălău
- Department of Toxicology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
| | - AM Ciobanu
- Department of Drug Control, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
| | - D Baconi
- Department of Toxicology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
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Popescu G, Negrei C, Bălălău D, Ciobanu AM, Baconi D, Bălălău C. Use of benzodiazepines and detoxification with methadone. J Med Life 2014; 7 Spec No. 3:133-6. [PMID: 25870711 PMCID: PMC4391402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
RATIONALE Benzodiazepines are used as anti anxiety drugs, as well as in adjunct treatment for a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Abusive patterns of use were increasingly reported and building evidence points to prevalence of benzodiazepines abuse, on one hand as well as to their common abuse in combination with other drugs such as opioids, most frequently. OBJECTIVE The main objective of this research is to conduct a systematic study on the behavior profile of a patient admitted to a prison hospital, who is a benzodiazepines user consecutive to admission into a methadone administration program. METHODS AND RESULTS Statistic values have been taken into account describing the distribution and the distribution form of the various variables studied to find the normality degree of distributions, regarding three measurements at the three moments: before the administration of methadone, immediately after its completion and two months after completion. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSIONS The statistic results obtained speak of a strong positive correlation, allowing the support of the fact that persons diagnosed with prescribed/ unprescribed benzodiazepine, use the display association with the admission into a methadone administration program, based on the assumption which concerns a significant positive association between the use of reported benzodiazepine and the administration of methadone in the questioned patients on admission. As far as the second premise regarding the administration of methadone is concerned it brings about an improvement in the level of benzodiazepines used in research patients, which one may assert that, according to the results obtained, the initiation of methadone therapy in the detoxification program is conducive to the reduction of benzodiazepines use.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Popescu
- Department of Toxicology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest,
| | - C Negrei
- Department of Toxicology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest,
| | - D Bălălău
- Department of Toxicology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest,
| | - AM Ciobanu
- Department of Drug Control, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest,
| | - D Baconi
- Department of Toxicology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest,
| | - C Bălălău
- Department of Toxicology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bucharest, ,“Sf. Pantelimon” Emergency Hospital, Surgical Clinic, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of General Medicine
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Ciobanu AM. P2–404: Resistant depression in Alzheimer's disease(AD). Alzheimers Dement 2006. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2006.05.1245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adela M. Ciobanu
- “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and PharmacyBucharestRomania
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