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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the leading causes of disease burden worldwide and affected patients frequently report impairments in quality of life (QoL). Therefore, the present research aimed to identify predictors of domain-specific QoL changes in MDD patients following the acute phase of pharmacological treatment (3-month). This study is a prospective, naturalistic, and observational analysis on 150 patients. Depressive symptoms, QoL, overall pain intensity, and functionality were assessed using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, World Health Organization Quality of Life scale—abbreviated version, Visual Analog Scale, and Sheehan Disability Scale, respectively. Reductions in symptom severity and disability were predictors of improvement across all domains of QoL. Pain intensity reduction was a predictor of increases in the physical aspect of QoL. A reduced number of psychiatric hospitalizations and being in a relationship predicted an improvement of QoL in the psychological domain whereas a positive history of suicidal attempts was associated with better social relationships QoL. The predictive models explained 41.2% and 54.7% of the variance in psychological and physical health domains of QoL, respectively. Awareness of sociodemographic and changes in clinical factors that impact the change in domain-specific QoL might help in shaping personalized treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug use represents an increasing health problem worldwide. Cannabis and tobacco use are particularly prevalent and are responsible for many kinds of negative consequences on physical and mental health. Some of these consequences are related to oral health and contribute to the effect produced by socio-economic status and other manifestations associated with drug consumption that led to oral health often being neglected. In this context the present review aims to briefly summarize some of the literature data on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are associated with many co-morbidities, generating increased costs for healthcare systems worldwide. Part of these costs are due to hospital admissions necessary for treatment. Objectives: Our research aimed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of cases with AUDs as a primary or secondary diagnosis over a three-month period in a general psychiatric ward of the Clinical Psychiatric Hospital "Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia". Methods: We conducted an observational, cross-sectional and retrospective study. Only admissions of adult male patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis at discharge of AUDs were included. Data collected from the hospital's database included: age, gender, primary and secondary diagnoses at discharge, length of stay, type admission (voluntary/non voluntary) and character of admissions (emergency or non-emergency), health insurance and employment status. Results: 99 admissions of male patients, with a primary or secondary diagnosis related to alcohol use were identified from a total of 252 admissions. The mean age ± SD of the patients was 48.04 (±11,93). AUDs were present in 8 (8.08%) cases as a primary diagnosis and in 91 (91.92%) as a secondary diagnosis. For the admissions in which AUDs were present as a secondary diagnosis, the most frequent primary diagnosis was represented by different types of 'depressive disorders' 44 (48.35%) and 'personality disorders' 19 (20.88%). Other important findings show a high percent of involuntary admission 45 (45.45%) and a low percent of patients with health insurance 44 (44.44%). Conclusions: Findings in our study show a high number of AUDs as a secondary diagnosis suggesting a need for further, more extensive research to provide a more accurate picture of the real prevalence and consequences of AUDs in Romanian psychiatric hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders and sleep disturbances are often described by patients suffering from depressive disorders. Objective: The aim of our research was to analyses the relationship between depression and sleep quality in a group of inpatients diagnosed with depressive disorder. Materials and methods: We conducted an observational, cross-sectional study on 45 adult inpatients suffering from depressive disorder. Patient Health Questionnaire -9 (PHQ-9) and Sleep Quality Scale (SQS) were used to assess level of depression and quality of sleep, respectively. Bivariate Pearson correlations were used to test the relationship between PHQ total scores and on SQS Factors and total scores. Results: Positive and statistically significant correlations were found between total score of PHQ-9 and total score of SQS (r=0.77, p< .0001), Factor 1 Daytime dysfunction (r= 0.73, p< .0001), Factor 2 Restoration after sleep (r= 0.73, p< .0001), Factor 3 Difficulty in falling asleep (r= 0.48, p< .001). Conclusion: Our findings are in accordance with other reports emphasizing the relationship between sleep and depressive symptoms. Also, our results point out to the importance of a thorough sleep assessment and proper treatment in patients with depressive disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Major depressive disorder is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders and is associated with a severe impact on the personal functioning, thus with incurring significant direct and indirect costs. The presence of depression in patients with medical comorbidities increases the risks of myocardial infarction and decreases diabetes control, and adherence to treatment. The mechanism through which these effects are produced is still uncertain. Objectives of this study were to evaluate the metabolic alterations in female Wistar rats with induced depression, with and without administration of Agomelatine. The methods included two experiments. All data were analyzed by comparison with group I (control), and with each other. In the first experiment we induced depression by: exposure to chronic mild stress-group II; olfactory bulbectomy-group III; and exposure to chronic mild stress and hyperlipidic/ hyper caloric diet-group IV. The second experiment was similar with the first but the rats received Agomelatine (0.16mg/ animal): group V (depression induced through exposure to chronic mild stress), VI (depression induced through olfactory bulbectomy) and VII (depression induced through exposure to chronic mild stressing hyperlipidic/ hypercaloric diet). Weight, cholesterol, triglycerides and glycaemia were measured at day 0 and 28, and leptin value was measured at day 28. The results in the 1st experiment revealed significant differences (p<0.01) for weight and cholesterol in Group IV, for triglycerides in groups III and IV (p<0.001), and for glycaemia in group II. The 2nd experiment revealed significant differences (p<0.001) in group VII for weight and triglycerides, and in groups V and VI for triglycerides (p<0.01). In conclusion, significant correlations were found between high level of triglycerides and depression induced by chronic stress and olfactory bulbectomy. Agomelatine groups had a lower increase of triglycerides levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression and physical pain are considered to be linked together in a partially understood, complex relationship. The pain intensity present in major depressive disorder is a predictor for the remission time, degree of impairment, clinical resolution and health care costs. Among the predisposing factors for pain symptoms in depression are severe comorbid somatic illnesses, low education levels, low quality of life and stigmatization. The simultaneous existence of chronic pain and depression can be explained through the activation of common neurotransmitters, as serotonin, noradrenalin, dopamine, glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric- acid, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and P-substance. Psychosocial stressful events and personality traits can lead to depression and pain. Recent studies affirm that antidepressants have an analgesic effect, but it still remains to see if this effect precedes the antidepressant one. The relationship between pain and depression is influenced by multiple factors, among them reckoning neurobiological, environmental and psychological ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stress ↔ anti-stress system evolves in the binary system: self-stress ↔ di-stress and in the trinary stress ↔ anti-stress system ↔ consequences: adaptation ↔ maladaptation, health ↔ morbidity, longevity ↔ mortality. In antientropic ↔ entropic analysis the system generates: adjustment- therapy, recovery ↔ attrition, pathology, poly-pathology. In the negative direction, the entropic di-stress system causes: • biological: attrition, poly-metabolic disturbance (reduced anabolism, increased catabolism), oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, protein insolubilization, stress, inflammatory, waste accumulation: lipopigments (lipofuscin, ceroid), protein precipitation, pH decrease, Ca accumulation in soft tissues etc. • psychological: stress pathology, burnout, somatization, psychosomatic morbidity, aggravation of somatic pathology, etc. • social: mal- and maladaptation, mal-adaptive pathology, psychosocial, behavioral disorders, etc. In a positive dimension, the anti-entropic, self-stress, anti-stress system produces in the plan: • biological: poly- adjustment, complex adaptation, increasing biological efficiency, etc. • psychological: cognitive stimulation, affective resistance, mental consolidation, behavior optimization, increasing reserves, etc. • social: increasing adaptation-resistance-social performance- competitiveness- creativity, increasing resources, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transdisciplinarity is an advanced system of knowledge (gnoseology, heuristics, anticipation), which dynamically integrates intra-, multi-, inter-discipline and generates information-energy. Stress (distress) is an entropic, progressive process, a cascade of amplification of the disorder, loss of structure-function-adaptation, accumulation of disturbances-intoxications-waste, is structured biopsycho- social (human being), evolves in super acute register, acute, post-acute, chronic, post-chronic and results in attrition, aging, polypathology and finally death. In the bio-medicine of stress, transdisciplinarity creates a scientific progress in improving the knowledge of stress as a process and phenomenon, in the levels of production and action, and generates the discovery of anti-stress therapies (bio-psycho-social level), health and longevity, with anticipatory, preventive, therapeutic (curative) and recovery application [1,2]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]