Introduction/Objective. The aim of this study was the validation of the Montgomery?Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) in patients in Serbia suffering from depression. Methods. Both test and ...retest situations have been conducted on 162 adult patients with major depressive disorder, and on 110 individuals that have not shown any type of mental disorder (control group). The sample included 58.8% male and 41.2% female participants, age between 20 and 79 years (M = 42.26, SD = 11.53) with no differences between groups in terms of participants? sex and age. The following instruments were used: MADRS, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Results. MADRS has shown good psychometric characteristics: internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and its discriminatory validity is adequate. Study also confirmed the onedimensionality of the instrument. Statistically significant differences between the groups, in terms age and education, have been identified, but the effects of the differences were small. Conclusion. The MADRS scale has shown good psychometric characteristics in our study; thus, it may be used for the assessment of depressed states in Serbian patients.
Background/Aim. Various rating scales for depression are avalable, but the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) is one of the most frequently used scales. The aim of this study was to ...analyze the measurement properties of the MADRS Serbian version for quantifying depression severity in the clinical setting. Methods. Two studies have been conducted in order to validate the MADRS. The first study included sixty-four adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), with test-retest situ-ation, and the second one included 19 participants (also with MDD), who had six test-retest situations. Psychomet-ric evaluation included descriptive analysis, internal con-sistency and test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity (correlations with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 17 ? HAMD-17). Results. The internal consistency for test-retest reliability was 0.93 in total for the MADRS, and for six test-retest situations was 0.95. The MADRS had one fac-tor structure, with explained variance of 66.26% for the first testing, and 61.29% for the retest. There were statistical sig-nificant correlations between the MADRS and HAMD-17 (r = 0.96 for test and r = 0.94 for retest). Also, it was shown a great correlation between all items on the MADRS, and for the instrument in total (r = 0.89). Conclusion. The MADRS was shown good statistical results, and it could be used in everyday clinical practice for discriminating MDD.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Private life, family life, home and correspondence represent some of the most intimate and significant aspects of human life. The focus of this paper is an analysis of the right to respect for ...private life, family life, home and correspondence, as the elements of the protection of the Article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The analysis was primarily conducted through research and interpretation of the European Court of Human Rights recent case law, whereby, some of the cases of the highest importance as well as the case of the Republic of Serbia as a respondent state, were specially observed.
Depression represents a mood disorder and is considered to be one of the most common mental disorders in general. World Health Organization estimates that depression will be the leading cause of ...disability-adjusted life years, until 2030. Depression is a complex heterogeneous disorder where immune system and its regulation play an important role. Innate and adaptive immunity mechanisms are included, along with processes of immune activation and suppression. The expression of humoral factors of innate immunity, especially pro-inflammatory cytokines, is increased, whereas the intensity of cellular immune mechanisms, primarily T cells and NK cells, are impaired. The influence of pro- inflammatory cytokines on depression is reflected in their effect on certain enzymes and ensuing reduction of neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. They also affect the neuroendocrine function in central nervous system, resulting in increase of cortisol levels and inactivation of glucocorticoid receptors in the periphery, which leads to neurodegeneration and decrease in neurotransmitter production. Certain cytokines affect neuroplasticity through the decreasing of concentration of neurotrophic brain factor and induction of brain cell apoptosis. The results are often contradictory talking about mechanisms of adaptive immunity. On one hand, an increased activity of Tlymphocytes is observed, while on the other, there are evidence of spontaneous apoptosis and impaired function of these cellsin depression. In addition, neuroprotective role of autoreactive and regulatory T cells in prevention of depression has also been demonstrated. The aim of this paper is to analyze the current knowledge on the role of immune mechanisms in the pathogenesis of depression.
Theory of Mind (ToM) is a social-cognitive ability to understand the mental states of others. ToM functions are compromised in the case of mental disorders characterized by cognitive impairments. The ...Faux Pas Recognition test (FPRT) is considered a good measure of verbal aspects of ToM as it measures social adaptation through the adequate interpretation of potentially sensitive and awkward social situations. However, data on FPRT psychometric properties is somewhat limited. The aim of the present study is the psychometric evaluation of the FPRT in Serbian population. The adapted version in Serbian has been administered to 268 healthy participants, 30 patients with schizophrenia and 31 with bipolar affective disorder. The results show a high internal consistencies of Faux Pas stories (? = .954), Control stories (? = .929) and overall test (? = .936). Both Horn?s parallel analysis and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a single-factor solution is optimal, supporting the premise of a general ToM ability underlying performance across test. The Faux Pas test showed good discriminative power in differentiation between individuals from healthy and clinical populations making it a useful clinical instrument.
Botulinum toxin (BTX) is a neurotoxin derived from the Clostridium botulinum bacterium that inhibits the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction level whose effects has been used for ...many years to treat a variety of muscular/neuromuscular conditions and more recently also for cosmetic use. BTX has experimented in some dermatological conditions, which include Rosacea and facial flushing treatment with good results. The complex mechanism underlying those results is not completely understood but was proposed a release inhibition of acetylcholine from peripheral autonomic nerves of the cutaneous vasodilatory system combined with the blockade substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) thus modulating blood vessel dilatation. We analysed the published data on BTX off label applications rosacea and flushing retrieved from PubMed.
It is determined that 30% of patients with depression are resistant to antidepressant medication. The increased concentration of inflammation factors, such as C-reactive protein, and pro-inflammatory ...cytokines, have been detected in serum in these patients. It is necessary to establish new therapeutic possibilities and protocols that are created to overcome the difficulties caused by increased concentration of inflammatory biomarkers in depressive patients. The Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are considered to be the most powerful antidepressants, increasing the level of serotonin in endogenous depression, as well as in that caused by immunological mechanisms. It is believed that agents that influence cytokines, immunological signal pathways and cytokine syntheses, like the inhibitors of cyclooxygenase enzyme and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are very important in the potential treatment of residual symptoms of depression. Treatment with cytokine antagonists is one of the potential adjuvant therapies, along with antidepressants. Signal pathways blockers, such as the inhibitors of cyclooxygenase and other NSAIDs, are in the phase of research, in terms of their antidepressant effects. Also, it has been shown that the inhibition of indolamin-2,3 deoxygenase (IDO) and kynurenine (KYN) signal pathways in the synthesis of neurotransmitters, by application of IDO antagonists, are leading to suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokine effects. Antidepressants may have anti-inflammatory effects, depending on dose and type, and they achieve this effect through the decrease of pro-inflammatory cytokine production and increase of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Also, antidepressants modulate the humoral and cellular immune system. This work aims to summarise certain neurobiological and neuroimmunological specificities that have been observed in patients with depression, antidepressants and immunomodulation agents. The understanding of complex and heterogenic pathophysiology of depression through the prism of the altered immune system, is of major importance, in terms of better optimisation of pharmacotherapy, and options for a personalised approach in depressive disorder treatment.
Botulin Toxin Use in Scars/Keloids Treatment Scala, Jacopo; Vojvodic, Aleksandra; Vojvodic, Petar ...
Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences,
09/2019, Letnik:
7, Številka:
18
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
Botulinum toxin (BTX) is a neurotoxin protein derived from the Clostridium botulinum bacterium that inhibits the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction level whose effects has been ...used for many years to treat a variety of muscular/neuromuscular conditions and more recently also for cosmetic use. BTX has experimented in some dermatological conditions which include scar prevention and treatment with good results The complex mechanism underlying those results is not completely understood but several mechanisms were proposed release inhibition of different substances like (TGF)-β, substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and glutamate thus modulating cutaneous inflammation and wound healing. We analysed the published data on BTX off label applications on scars and keloids retrieved from PubMed.
Insomnia means difficulty in falling asleep and/or stays asleep. Insomnia commonly leads to daytime sleepiness, lethargy, and a general feeling of being unwell. The most common treatment of insomnia ...includes GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators or Melatonin agonists. Our study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Magnesium- melatonin-vitamin B complex supplement in the treatment of insomnia. The study included 60 patients diagnosed with insomnia. The patients were randomly divided into study group (N = 30), and control group (N = 30), and study group was treated with Magnesium-melatonin-vitamin B complex (one dose contains 175 mg liposomal magnesium oxide, 10 mg Vit B6, 16 μg vit B12, melatonin 1 mg, Extrafolate-S 600 μg) once a day 1 hour before sleep, during the 3 months. The severity of insomnia symptoms was measured by self-reported Athens insomnia scale (AIS), with a cut-off score by Soldatos (AIS score ≥ 6). Mean AIS score at zero points was 14.93 ± 3.778 in the study group and 14.37 ± 4.081 in the control group (p = 0.476), indicating the compatibility of the groups, and both scores correspond to mild to moderate insomnia. Mean AIS score after 3 months of the Magnesium- melatonin- vitamin B complex supplementation was 10.50 ± 4.21 corresponding to mild insomnia, while median AIS score in the control group was 15.13 ± 3.76 which is referred to moderate insomnia, and difference among groups was significant (p = 0.000). Our founding's indicating that 3 months of the Magnesium- melatonin-vitamin B complex supplementation has a beneficial effect in the treatment of insomnia regardless of cause.
From the beginning of publication of the magazine Književna nedelja, Sima Pandurović ordinarily published articles in the field of literary and, to a lesser extent, theater criticism, as well as his ...poetic compositions. Pandurović's presence in the magazine, however, implied three important designations, the first of which, the role of editor, is probably less well known in relation to his poetic and critical work. These fields of action, with their cooperation, actually made his literary activity to be expanded and additionally more complex, which makes it possible to see Pandurović's character in the history of Serbian literature more fully, and the work will try to shed light on it.
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