Studies comparing temperament and character traits between patients with mood disorders and healt... more Studies comparing temperament and character traits between patients with mood disorders and healthy individuals have yielded variable results. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was administered to 101 bipolar I (BP-I), 96 bipolar II (BP-II), 123 major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, and 125 HS. A series of generalized linear models were performed in order to: (a) compare the TCI dimensions across groups; (b) test any effect of the TCI dimensions on clinical features of mood disorders; and (c) detect any association between TCI dimensions and the psychopathological features of a major depressive episode. Demographic and clinical variables were also included in the models as independent variables. Higher Harm Avoidance was found in BP-II and MDD, but not in BP-I. Higher Self-Transcendence was found in BP-I. Our models also showed higher Self-Directedness in HS, either vs MDD or BP-II. No association was found between any TCI dimension and the severity of symptoms. Conv...
To date, a limited number of pharmacological agents exist to treat alcohol use disorders (AUDs), ... more To date, a limited number of pharmacological agents exist to treat alcohol use disorders (AUDs), and there is growing interest in new therapeutic tools. In this framework, topiramate may represent a useful treatment option, although its use is not yet approved for AUDs. The main focus of this review is to discuss all the existing data supporting the use of topiramate in AUDs, with an emphasis on the most recent and relevant clinical implications. In addition, the profile of the alcoholic patient who may benefit more from the use of topiramate is outlined. In this regard, the authors conducted a PubMed search of clinical human studies published in English using the following key words: topiramate alcohol dependence, topiramate alcohol withdrawal and topiramate alcoholism. The evidence suggests that topiramate could be an effective treatment option for the management of AUDs, while there are limited results for its use to treat alcohol withdrawal syndrome. In particular, topiramate sh...
There is a growing interest for the effects of weather changes on both healthy and psychiatric in... more There is a growing interest for the effects of weather changes on both healthy and psychiatric individuals. This study aims to validate a short questionnaire (METEO-Q) for the detection of meteoropathy and meteorosensitivity. The METEO-Q was administered to 1099 (528 men, 571 women) healthy subjects. Factor analyses, internal consistency, and item analysis were undertaken to examine the factorial structure of the questionnaire. The METEO-Q has satisfactory factorial structure and internal reliability. Our results demonstrate that women have higher scores than man and, therefore, women mostly have meteoropathy. Our findings support the use of the METEO-Q for collecting information regarding the effects of weather changes on healthy subjects and potentially on psychiatric patients.
Nowadays, adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) is an established diagnostic category but is l... more Nowadays, adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) is an established diagnostic category but is little investigated in subjects with addictive behaviours. To assess the presence of ASAD among patients with addictive disorders in comparison with anxiety patients and measure the personality correlates in all these groups. 103 outpatients, meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for anxiety disorders (38 patients), alcohol dependence (30 patients), or pathological gambling (35 patients), were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (SCI-SAS) and the Adult Separation Anxiety Checklist (ASA-27) for separation anxiety and by the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R) for personality characteristics. ASAD is detected in 34.2% of anxiety patients, 13.3% of alcoholics, and 11.4% of gamblers. Separation anxiety scores correlate positively with harm avoidance and negatively with self-directedness in all groups; further correlations are seen among addictive...
Gambling disorder (GD) is a psychiatric condition associated with both social and family costs; D... more Gambling disorder (GD) is a psychiatric condition associated with both social and family costs; DSM-5 currently includes GD among addictive disorders. Despite the high burden of this condition, to date there are no treatment guidelines approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Purpose of this paper is to offer a qualitative overview about the different pharmacologic agents used for the treatment of GD. Our analysis, conducted on a final selection of 75 scientific papers, demonstrates that a variety of pharmaceutical classes have been utilised, with different results. Published data, although limited by brief duration of the studies and small number of enrolled subjects, shows mixed evidence for serotonergic antidepressants, opioid antagonists, and mood stabilizers. Other compounds, such as glutamatergic agents and psychostimulants, deserve further studies.
Our study aims to assess the prevalence of behavioural addictions in an adolescent population, ev... more Our study aims to assess the prevalence of behavioural addictions in an adolescent population, evaluating the effects of gender and age, and to assess the correlations among different behavioural addictions. 2853 high school students were assessed in order to evaluate the prevalence of behavioural addictions such as Pathological Gambling (PG), Compulsive Buying (CB), Exercise Addiction (EA), Internet Addiction (IA), and Work Addiction (WA), in a population of Italian adolescents. The South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised Adolescent (SOGS-RA), the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI), the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and the Work Addiction Risk Test (WART), were compiled anonymously by the students. Overall prevalence was 7.0% for PG, 11.3% for CB, 1.2% for IA, 7.6% for WA, 8.5% for EA. PG and EA were more common among boys, while gender had no effect on the other conditions. CB was more common among younger (<18 years old) students. The scores of all of these scales were significantly correlated. The strong correlation among different addictive behaviours is in line with the hypothesis of a common psychopathological dimension underlying these phenomena. Further studies are needed to assess personality traits and other clinical disorders associated with these problems behaviours.
There is a growing interest for the effects of weather changes on both healthy and psychiatric in... more There is a growing interest for the effects of weather changes on both healthy and psychiatric individuals. This study aims to validate a short questionnaire (METEO-Q) for the detection of meteoropathy and meteorosensitivity. The METEO-Q was administered to 1099 (528 men, 571 women) healthy subjects. Factor analyses, internal consistency, and item analysis were undertaken to examine the factorial structure of the questionnaire. The METEO-Q has satisfactory factorial structure and internal reliability. Our results demonstrate that women have higher scores than man and, therefore, women mostly have meteoropathy. Our findings support the use of the METEO-Q for collecting information regarding the effects of weather changes on healthy subjects and potentially on psychiatric patients.
Studies comparing temperament and character traits between patients with mood disorders and healt... more Studies comparing temperament and character traits between patients with mood disorders and healthy individuals have yielded variable results. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was administered to 101 bipolar I (BP-I), 96 bipolar II (BP-II), 123 major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, and 125 HS. A series of generalized linear models were performed in order to: (a) compare the TCI dimensions across groups; (b) test any effect of the TCI dimensions on clinical features of mood disorders; and (c) detect any association between TCI dimensions and the psychopathological features of a major depressive episode. Demographic and clinical variables were also included in the models as independent variables. Higher Harm Avoidance was found in BP-II and MDD, but not in BP-I. Higher Self-Transcendence was found in BP-I. Our models also showed higher Self-Directedness in HS, either vs MDD or BP-II. No association was found between any TCI dimension and the severity of symptoms. Conv...
To date, a limited number of pharmacological agents exist to treat alcohol use disorders (AUDs), ... more To date, a limited number of pharmacological agents exist to treat alcohol use disorders (AUDs), and there is growing interest in new therapeutic tools. In this framework, topiramate may represent a useful treatment option, although its use is not yet approved for AUDs. The main focus of this review is to discuss all the existing data supporting the use of topiramate in AUDs, with an emphasis on the most recent and relevant clinical implications. In addition, the profile of the alcoholic patient who may benefit more from the use of topiramate is outlined. In this regard, the authors conducted a PubMed search of clinical human studies published in English using the following key words: topiramate alcohol dependence, topiramate alcohol withdrawal and topiramate alcoholism. The evidence suggests that topiramate could be an effective treatment option for the management of AUDs, while there are limited results for its use to treat alcohol withdrawal syndrome. In particular, topiramate sh...
There is a growing interest for the effects of weather changes on both healthy and psychiatric in... more There is a growing interest for the effects of weather changes on both healthy and psychiatric individuals. This study aims to validate a short questionnaire (METEO-Q) for the detection of meteoropathy and meteorosensitivity. The METEO-Q was administered to 1099 (528 men, 571 women) healthy subjects. Factor analyses, internal consistency, and item analysis were undertaken to examine the factorial structure of the questionnaire. The METEO-Q has satisfactory factorial structure and internal reliability. Our results demonstrate that women have higher scores than man and, therefore, women mostly have meteoropathy. Our findings support the use of the METEO-Q for collecting information regarding the effects of weather changes on healthy subjects and potentially on psychiatric patients.
Nowadays, adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) is an established diagnostic category but is l... more Nowadays, adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) is an established diagnostic category but is little investigated in subjects with addictive behaviours. To assess the presence of ASAD among patients with addictive disorders in comparison with anxiety patients and measure the personality correlates in all these groups. 103 outpatients, meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for anxiety disorders (38 patients), alcohol dependence (30 patients), or pathological gambling (35 patients), were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (SCI-SAS) and the Adult Separation Anxiety Checklist (ASA-27) for separation anxiety and by the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R) for personality characteristics. ASAD is detected in 34.2% of anxiety patients, 13.3% of alcoholics, and 11.4% of gamblers. Separation anxiety scores correlate positively with harm avoidance and negatively with self-directedness in all groups; further correlations are seen among addictive...
Gambling disorder (GD) is a psychiatric condition associated with both social and family costs; D... more Gambling disorder (GD) is a psychiatric condition associated with both social and family costs; DSM-5 currently includes GD among addictive disorders. Despite the high burden of this condition, to date there are no treatment guidelines approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Purpose of this paper is to offer a qualitative overview about the different pharmacologic agents used for the treatment of GD. Our analysis, conducted on a final selection of 75 scientific papers, demonstrates that a variety of pharmaceutical classes have been utilised, with different results. Published data, although limited by brief duration of the studies and small number of enrolled subjects, shows mixed evidence for serotonergic antidepressants, opioid antagonists, and mood stabilizers. Other compounds, such as glutamatergic agents and psychostimulants, deserve further studies.
Our study aims to assess the prevalence of behavioural addictions in an adolescent population, ev... more Our study aims to assess the prevalence of behavioural addictions in an adolescent population, evaluating the effects of gender and age, and to assess the correlations among different behavioural addictions. 2853 high school students were assessed in order to evaluate the prevalence of behavioural addictions such as Pathological Gambling (PG), Compulsive Buying (CB), Exercise Addiction (EA), Internet Addiction (IA), and Work Addiction (WA), in a population of Italian adolescents. The South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised Adolescent (SOGS-RA), the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI), the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and the Work Addiction Risk Test (WART), were compiled anonymously by the students. Overall prevalence was 7.0% for PG, 11.3% for CB, 1.2% for IA, 7.6% for WA, 8.5% for EA. PG and EA were more common among boys, while gender had no effect on the other conditions. CB was more common among younger (<18 years old) students. The scores of all of these scales were significantly correlated. The strong correlation among different addictive behaviours is in line with the hypothesis of a common psychopathological dimension underlying these phenomena. Further studies are needed to assess personality traits and other clinical disorders associated with these problems behaviours.
There is a growing interest for the effects of weather changes on both healthy and psychiatric in... more There is a growing interest for the effects of weather changes on both healthy and psychiatric individuals. This study aims to validate a short questionnaire (METEO-Q) for the detection of meteoropathy and meteorosensitivity. The METEO-Q was administered to 1099 (528 men, 571 women) healthy subjects. Factor analyses, internal consistency, and item analysis were undertaken to examine the factorial structure of the questionnaire. The METEO-Q has satisfactory factorial structure and internal reliability. Our results demonstrate that women have higher scores than man and, therefore, women mostly have meteoropathy. Our findings support the use of the METEO-Q for collecting information regarding the effects of weather changes on healthy subjects and potentially on psychiatric patients.
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