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Objective Inhalant users may develop toluene leukoencephalopathy, a devastating neuropsychiatric disorder. We present a case of toluene-induced damage to the corticospinal and the corticonuclear tracts, which presented with involuntary emotional expression disorder. Methods Case study of a 20-year-old man with a 3-year history of frequent solvent abuse was admitted to the Neuropsychiatry Unit of the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery because “he could not speak or walk” but would keep “laughing and crying without reason”. Results Neuropsychiatric examination revealed pathological laughter and crying, facial and speech apraxia, a bilateral pyramidal syndrome, and lack of control of urinary sphincter. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a highly selective bilateral damage to the pyramidal system and the somatosensory pathway. SPECT imaging showed left fronto-parietal hypoperfusion. Conclusions This document provides support for the understanding of involuntary emotional expression disorders as a differential diagnosis in the clinical practice of psychiatrists, as well as the functional anatomy of these conditions.

Approximately one-third of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The TRAL study will evaluate the prevalence and impact of TRD among patients with MDD in four Latin American countries. In this multicenter, prospective, observational study, patients with MDD were recruited from 33 reference sites in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina. Patients were assessed for TRD, defined as failure to respond to ≥ 2 antidepressant medications of adequate dose and duration. Demographics, previous/current treatments, depressive symptoms, functioning, healthcare resource utilization, and work impairment were also collected and evaluated using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, Fisher exact test, t-test for independent samples, or the Mann–Whitney nonparametric test, as appropriate. 1475 patients with MDD were included in the analysis (mean age, 45.6 years; 78% women); 89% were receiving relevant psychiatric treatment. 429 patients met criteria for TRD, and a numerically higher proportion of patients with TRD was present in public versus private sites of care (31% vs 27%). The mean Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale score was 25.0 among all MDD patients and was significantly higher for patients with TRD versus non-TRD (29.4 vs 23.3; P https://www.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03207282, 07/02/2017.

Major depressive disorder affects about one in every 10 people in Mexico and is one of the first 5 causes of disability worldwide. Current treatment options are limited and only act upon some factors associated in its physiopathology. Moreover, the effects on depression are not immediate, which is a great limitation in obtaining a benefit over disability caused by this disorder and impedes a rapid action in the scenario of suicidality. Recently, ketamine (an anesthetic) has shown to have antidepressant properties by acting in the glutamate neurotransmission system (while no other current treatment acts on this level). It offers benefits in depressive symptoms in a matter of hours and has proven to be useful in patients that do not benefit from current therapeutic options. Recently, it has been approved for the treatment of depression. However, there are still many questions about its antidepressant mechanisms of action, safety, side effects, among others. Key words: Depression; antidepressants; ketamine.

Introduction Obsessive-compulsive disorder is defined by the presence of obsessions and compulsions that cause marked anxiety or distress and has been associated with a disruption in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuitry. After treatment, around 50% of patients continue to experience incapacitating symptoms. Deep-brain stimulation has been shown to be an effective therapeutic alternative to regular treatment. Methods Case report. Case presentation A 54-year-old woman with a diagnosis of treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder was treated with deep-brain stimulation of the anterior limb of the internal capsule. Molecular imaging before and after the procedure was obtained and correlated with clinical features. Conclusions Deep-brain stimulation may be a therapeutic alternative to regular care in treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder and can be correlated to functional changes in suspected anatomical structures.

Objective To study the impact of secondary mental disorders in patients affected with acromegaly and correlate them with quality of life (QoL) and disease status. Design An observational transversal descriptive and comparative study that evaluates QoL's impact due to secondary mental disorders in affected Mexicans with acromegaly using AcroQoL and SF‐36 instruments. Correlation of the results with the disease's biochemical status was performed. According to Beck's scales, anxiety and depression analyses evaluate QoL's impact, and its gender variability is described. Results Eighty‐five patients with diagnoses of acromegaly were included. The mean age was 43.18 years, 47 being women (55.29%). The mean age at diagnosis was 37.95 years, with no difference between men and women. AcroQoL and SF‐36 global and sub‐domain scores differed significantly between men and women, the latter having lower global and individual sub‐domain scores. The mean score of QoL, according to AcroQoL, is 59.40. In women, the mean values are less (55.13) than men (64.68), p = 0.021. The sub‐domain analyses’ scores in physical, appearance and social relationships were less in women (53.21; 47.34; 62.32) than men (62.68; 56.76; 73.87) p = 0.044, 0.069 and 0.013, respectively. Higher Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores correlated with lower QoL as assessed by global and individual sub‐domain scores. Women presented significantly higher BDI and BAI mean scores when compared to men regardless of their biochemical status. Anxiety (p = 0.027) and depression (p, Quality of life is something that no one cares to measure within illnesses. We found a profound affection in patients with acromegaly. We measured these secondary psychiatric disorders with standardized psychiatric scales to evidence them and their correlation with the status of the disease

Neuropsychiatric disorders represent one of the first causes of disability worldwide. Recognizing the main causes for hospitalization may allow the implementation of interventions to prevent hospitalization and promote ambulatory care.To describe the trends of mental disorders requiring hospitalization in a neuropsychiatric referral center of a middle-income country.Observational, cross-sectional, and analytic study. Information was obtained from dismissal letters and from the Department of Epidemiology database in a 16-year period at a neuropsychiatric referral center. Diagnoses and trends through this period were obtained using Spearman's correlation.Schizophrenia represented most of the cases (19%), followed by bipolar disorder (13%). Psychotic disorders (PD) were found to contribute the most to the length of stay (43.76%), followed by mood disorders (MD) (39.07%). Schizophrenia-related dismissals diminished through the years (PD are the first cause of neuropsychiatric hospitalization. MD have an increasing frequency of hospitalization. Longer-stay disorders reflect global and economic burden of disease trends. These results might guide interventions that reduce hospital-based models of care, which represent a great burden in low and middle-income countries. Studies aiming to explain the trends reported are needed.los trastornos neuropsiquiátricos son una de las primeras causas de discapacidad a nivel mundial. Reconocer las principales causas de hospitalización puede permitir implementar intervenciones para evitar la hospitalización y promover un mejor cuidado ambulatorio.describir las tendencias en trastornos mentales que requieren hospitalización en un centro de referencia neuropsiquiátrico en un país de ingresos medios.estudio observacional, transversal y analítico. Se obtuvo información de hojas de egreso y de la base de datos del Departamento de Epidemiología de un centro neuropsiquiátrico en un periodo de 16 años, y las tendencias con el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman.la esquizofrenia (ESQ) representó la mayoría de los casos (19%), seguida del trastorno bipolar (13%). Los tranos psicóticos (TP) (43.76%) y los trastornos afectivos (TA) (39.07%) contribuyeron a la mayoría de los días intrahospitalarios. Las hospitalizaciones por ESQ disminuyeron a lo largo de los años (los TP son la primera causa de hospitalización neuropsiquiátrica. Los TA tienen una frecuencia de hospitalización ascendente. Los trastornos asociados con una estancia mayor reflejan tendencias globales de carga de enfermedad y económica. Estos resultados pueden guiar intervenciones que reduzcan modelos basados en hospitalización, que representan una carga en países de bajo a medio ingreso. Se requieren estudios que expliquen estas tendencias.

ObjectiveMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is common in patients diagnosed with advanced cancer (AC), with a prevalence of 16.5%. It is associated with great disability and worsened quality of life, increased number and intensity of physical symptoms, and lower survival. It is the main factor for the presence of suicidal ideation. Antidepressants show modest efficacy, and response requires several weeks. Ketamine has demonstrated a fast and robust antidepressant effect in subanesthetic doses. This effect may prove useful in patients with AC, MDD, and suicidal risk.MethodWe report a case of a patient with advanced cervical cancer who presented with uncontrollable pain, MDD, and a suicide attempt.ResultA 39-year-old woman diagnosed with cervical cancer stage IVB presented to the Emergency Department after a suicide attempt by hanging. Upon evaluation by the palliative care psychiatrist, she reported intense pain, unresponsive to analgesics, and had a history of persistent suicidal ideation. Antidepressant treatment was started (sertraline 50mg/d) after a single dose of ketamine hydrochloride IV (0.5 mg/kg) was administered. Treatment response was measured using the Brief Edinburgh Depression Scale before and after the intervention. The depressive symptoms decreased by 17% on day 1, 39% on day 3, and 72% on day 17.Significance of resultsThis case report shows ketamine's efficacy as an augmentation agent alongside conventional antidepressant treatment in patients with AC. Moreover, it shows rapid response in suicidal ideation that has not been achieved with treatment as usual. More clinical trials are needed to support the potential benefit and safety of ketamine in patients with AC, MDD, and persisting suicidal ideation.

Background Delirium has important etiological, prognostic, and therapeutic implications. The study of neurochemical markers in this condition is relevant to the understanding of its pathophysiology. The assessment of the dopamine system is particularly relevant, as dopamine antagonists are the most used drugs in delirium. Aim To analyze neurotransmission markers in patients with delirium, focusing in the dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid. Methods A case-control study was performed at the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Mexico, including hospitalized patients in which lumbar puncture was obtained for diagnostic purposes. Cases were selected if they fulfilled DSM-5 criteria for delirium. Age-paired controls were patients in which delirium was ruled out, selected at the same clinical scenario, during the same period. Neurological and systemic diagnoses were registered. Delirium was assessed using the DRS-98-R instrument. The dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid (HVA), was measured by means of high-performance liquid chromatography. Other neurotransmission markers were also measured (5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, glutamate, aspartate, GABA, glycine, arginine, citrulline, nitrites, and nitrates). A logistic regression model was used to determine pathogenic factors associated with the presence of delirium. Results 68 neurological patients with delirium and 68 patients without delirium were included. Higher homovanillic acid levels in cerebrospinal fluid were significantly associated with delirium. This result was significant after a subanalysis in patients without exposure to antipsychotics. Male gender and autoimmune limbic encephalitis were also associated with the presence of delirium. Conclusions In hospitalized neurological patients, dopaminergic hyperactivity and autoimmune limbic encephalitis are pathogenic factors associated with the presence of delirium.

"Neuropsychiatry is a specialized clinical, academic and scientific discipline with its field located in the borderland territory between neurology and psychiatry. In this article, we approach the theoretical definition of neuropsychiatry, and in order to address the practi- cal aspects of the discipline, we describe the profile of a neuropsychiatric liaison service in the setting of a large hospital for neurological diseases in a middle-income country. An audit of consecutive in-patients requiring neuropsychiatric assessment at the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Mexico is reported, comprising a total of 1212 patients. The main neurological diagnoses were brain infections (21%), brain neoplasms (17%), cerebrovascular disease (14%), epilepsy (8%), white matter diseases (5%), peripheral neuropathies (5%), extrapyramidal diseases (4%), ataxia (2%), and traumatic brain injury and related phenomena (1.8%). The most frequent neuropsychiatric diagnoses were delirium (36%), depressive disorders (16.4%), dementia (14%), anxiety disorders (8%), frontal syn- dromes (5%), adjustment disorders (4%), psychosis (3%), somatoform disorders (3%), and catatonia (3%). The borderland between neurology and psychiatry is a large territory that requires the knowledge and clinical skills of both disciplines, but also the unique expertise acquired in a clinical and academic neuropsychiatry program"

Hyperammonemic encephalopathy secondary to the use of valproate is rare without evidence of hepatotoxicity, and it usually presents with confusion, agitation, irritability, cognitive disturbances, lethargy, coma, and death. We present the case of a 21-year-old woman presenting with catatonia as a manifestation of hyperammonemic encephalopathy that resolved with the normalization of ammonia and suspension of valproate.

Resumen Introducción. Existen pacientes que, después de lesiones cerebrales o periféricas, pierden alguna función sensorial, como la vista o el oído. Paradójicamente, después de perder esta función, presentan alucinaciones complejas relacionadas con la función perdida. Se sabe que este fenómeno puede presentarse ante lesiones en cualquier nivel de la vía visual, especialmente en el nivel de la retina. Objetivo. Revisar la bibliografía existente acerca del síndrome de Charles Bonnet para conocer los últimos avances con respecto a este fenómeno. Método. Se revisaron las bases de datos de PubMed y PsychInfo con las siguientes palabras clave: síndrome de Charles Bonnet; alucinaciones visuales; alucinosis peduncular; Charles Bonnet; privación sensorial. Se incluyeron aquellos artículos que efectivamente trataran del tema. Asimismo, se revisaron los textos clásicos referentes a este síndrome y los artículos mencionados en la bibliografía encontrada. Resultados. En el presente artículo se describe la historia del síndrome, el fenómeno clínico, los factores de riesgo, los criterios diagnósticos, los tratamientos empleados, otros fenómenos similares y las teorías propuestas para explicarlo. Discusión y conclusión. A la fecha continúan siendo controvertidos los criterios diagnósticos del síndrome de Charles Bonnet, en especial en lo referente a la preservación absoluta del insight como condición sine qua non. Descrito desde el siglo XVIII, el síndrome de Charles Bonnet corresponde al prototipo de alucinaciones visuales en pacientes con privación visual, si bien, de acuerdo con la presente revisión, la fenomenología de éste es bastante variada, siendo cuestionable si resulta también el prototipo de las alucinaciones con insight preservado.