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Biomedical subjects

Konstantinos N Fountoulakis

Publications and source records attributed to Konstantinos N Fountoulakis.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2025

The time has come for revising the rules of clozapine blood monitoring in Europe. A joint expert statement from the European Clozapine Task Force.

The European Clozapine Task Force is a group of psychiatrists and pharmacologists practicing in 18 countries under European Medicines Agency (EMA) regulation, who are deeply concerned about the underuse of clozapine in European countries. Although clozapine is the most effective antipsychotic for people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, a large proportion of them do not have access to this treatment. Concerns about clozapine-induced agranulocytosis and stringent blood monitoring rules are major barriers to clozapine prescribing and use. There is a growing body of evidence that the incidence of clozapine-induced agranulocytosis is very low after the first year of treatment. Maintaining lifelong monthly blood monitoring after this period contributes to unjustified discontinuation of clozapine. We leverage recent and replicated evidence on the long-term safety of clozapine to call for the revision and updating of the EMA's blood monitoring rules, thus aiming to overcome this major barrier to clozapine prescribing and use. We believe the time has come for relaxing the rules without increasing the risks for people using clozapine in Europe.

Clozapine↗
PubMed2006

Amisulpride-induced tardive dyskinesia.

Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a movement disorder that develops during the course of long-term treatment with neuroleptic agents and is characterized primarily by choreiform and athetotic movements. We report the case of a 34-year-old man suffering from schizophrenia, disorganized type. He received amisulpride (400 mg daily) and the result was much improvement. 20 months later, he was presented with TD, which resolved almost completely after change of treatment to 1200 mg quetiapine without any relapsing. To our knowledge, his is the first case report in the literature of tardive dyskinesia induced by amisulpride.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Comparison of depressive indices: reliability, validity, relationship to anxiety and personality and the role of age and life events.

INTRODUCTION: Although a great number of depressive scales were developed during the last decades, there are only a few studies that compare them in terms of reliability and validity. The current study aimed to compare the properties of some of the most popular of these scales. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study sample included 40 depressed patients 29.65+/-9.38 years old, and 120 normal comparison subjects 27.23+/-10.62 years old. The clinical diagnosis was reached by consensus of two examiners with the use of the SCAN v.2.0. The scales compared were the CES-D, ZDRS, BDI-I, and the KSQ. The STAI, the Life Change Scale (Holms and Rahe), and the EPQ were also administered. The analysis included the comparison of psychometric properties and the use of Pearson correlation coefficient and factor analysis. RESULTS: The results suggested that no scale was clearly superior to the others. All scales correlated to anxiety measurements, sociodemographic variables, personality dimensions and non-specific indices. The results reported here include an appendix with algorithms that help transforming one scale score into other scales scores. These algorithms can be useful for comparison purposes in meta-analytic studies. DISCUSSION: The comparison of several depressive scales provided no impressive results on the superiority or inferiority of a specific scale in comparison to the others.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Life events and clinical subtypes of major depression: a cross-sectional study.

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between stressful life events and depression. Ninety major depressive patients, aged 36.57 +/- 12.02 years, and 121 matched controls, aged 27.11 +/- 10.59 years, took part in the study. The life change units (LCU) according to Rahe et al. were used for the quantification of life events. The results suggested that males reported significantly more life events than females. Atypical males differed from all other gender-by-type groups, while no other differences emerged. LCU correlated with melancholic indices but did not correlate with anxiety or functioning. The results suggest that subgroups of depressive patients are characterized by the presence of stressful life events. Male atypical patients reported the highest load of life events. The question that arises is whether this finding is valid or whether these patients (who have higher personality psychopathology and interpersonal rejection sensitivity) tend to over-report life events.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Acute dystonia with low-dosage aripiprazole in Tourette's disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of an acute dystonic episode in a patient with Tourette's disorder (TD) treated with the partial dopamine agonist aripiprazole. CASE SUMMARY: An 18-year-old male with TD was prescribed aripiprazole 10 mg orally daily, which produced a significant improvement in his symptoms. However, after 3 days of treatment, he experienced an acute episode of dystonia with facial muscle spasm, oculogyric crisis, and torticolis. All symptoms resolved after a single intramuscular injection of biperidine 5 mg. The Naranjo probability scale indicated that the adverse events were probably caused by aripiprazole. DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, as of this writing, this is the first report concerning an aripiprazole-induced dystonic episode in an adult, and it is especially notable because it occurred at low dosage. Aripiprazole is a dopamine partial agonist and a serotonin(2A) antagonist with a favorable adverse effect profile. Short-term clinical trials reported a very low incidence of extrapyramidal symptoms, with akathisia being the most common, although there have been reports of severe extrapyramidal symptoms in a 3-year-old child and in an adolescent with a previous history of such symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Acute dystonic phenomena may be caused by aripiprazole, although the drug's suggested mode of action largely precludes them.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2006

Reliability and psychometric properties of the Greek translation of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y: preliminary data.

BACKGROUND: The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y is a brief self-rating scale for the assessment of state and trait anxiety. The aim of the current preliminary study was to assess the psychometric properties of its Greek translation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 121 healthy volunteers 27.22 +/- 10.61 years old, and 22 depressed patients 29.48 +/- 9.28 years old entered the study. In 20 of them the instrument was re-applied 1-2 days later. Translation and Back Translation was made. The clinical diagnosis was reached with the SCAN v.2.0 and the IPDE. The Symptoms Rating Scale for Depression and Anxiety (SRSDA) and the EPQ were applied for cross-validation purposes. The Statistical Analysis included the Pearson Correlation Coefficient and the calculation of Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The State score for healthy subjects was 34.30 +/- 10.79 and the Trait score was 36.07 +/- 10.47. The respected scores for the depressed patients were 56.22 +/- 8.86 and 53.83 +/- 10.87. Both State and Trait scores followed the normal distribution in control subjects. Cronbach's alpha was 0.93 for the State and 0.92 for the Trait subscale. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient between State and Trait subscales was 0.79. Both subscales correlated fairly with the anxiety subscale of the SRSDA. Test-retest reliability was excellent, with Pearson coefficient being between 0.75 and 0.98 for individual items and equal to 0.96 for State and 0.98 for Trait. CONCLUSION: The current study provided preliminary evidence concerning the reliability and the validity of the Greek translation of the STAI-form Y. Its properties are generally similar to those reported in the international literature, but further research is necessary.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Peripheral thyroid dysfunction in depression.

The involvement of the thyroid gland and thyroid hormones is generally believed to be important in the aetiopathogenesis of major depression. Major support comes from studies in which alterations in components of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis have been documented in patients with primary depression. However, screening thyroid tests are often routine and add little to the diagnostic evaluation. Overt thyroid disease is rare among depressed inpatients. The finding that depression often co-exists with autoimmune subclinical thyroiditis suggests that depression may cause alterations in the immune system, or that in fact it could be an autoimmune disorder itself. The outcome of treatment and the course of depression may be related to thyroid status as well. Augmentation of antidepressant therapy with the co-administration of thyroid hormones (mainly T3) is a well-documented treatment option for refractory depressed patients. Review of the literature suggests that there are no conclusive data on the role of thyroid function in depression. It is clear that depression is not characterised by an overt thyroid dysfunction, but it is also clear that a subgroup of depressed patients may manifest subtle thyroid abnormalities, or an activation of an autoimmune process. There is a strong possibility that the presence of a subtle thyroid dysfunction is a negative prognostic factor for depression and may demand specific therapeutic intervention.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed2006

Personality disorders: new data versus old concepts.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this paper is to review the most recent literature on personality disorders. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent data suggest that individual personality disorder criteria and full diagnosis may remit within 1-2 years. The same line of evidence disputes the separation of axis I and axis II disorders and suggests the presence of a continuum. Neuropsychological, neurobiological and genetic studies favor the presence of cognitive disorders and a non-specific mode of hereditability concerning all externalizing disorders. How to best treat personality disorders remains elusive. The most impressive news in the forensic field concerns the introduction of a new concept, dangerous and severe personality disorder by the UK government, for prevention and treatment purposes. SUMMARY: The most recent data do not adequately support a separate axis II. Future classification may need to move personality disorders to axis I, each under a suitable group of diseases and eliminate the very term 'personality' from the nomenclature, since it constitutes an empirically unsupported theoretical invasion in a system supposed to be 'atheoretical'.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Is there a dysfunction in the visual system of depressed patients?

BACKGROUND: The aim of the current study was to identify a possible locus of dysfunction in the visual system of depressed patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty Major Depressive patients aged 21-60 years and 15 age-matched controls took part in the study The diagnosis was obtained with the SCAN v 2.0. The psychometric assessment included the HDRS, the HAS, the Newcastle Scales, the Diagnostic Melancholia Scale and the GAF scale. Flash Electroretinogram and Electrooculogram were performed in all subjects. The statistical analysis included ANCOVA, Student's t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient were used. RESULTS: The Electro-oculographic findings suggested that all subtypes of depressed patients had lower dark trough and light peak values in comparison to controls (p < 0.001), while Arden ratios were within normal range. Electroretinographic recordings did not reveal any differences between patients and controls or between subtypes of depression. DISCUSSION: The findings of the current study provide empirical data in order to assist in the understanding of the international literature and to explain the mechanism of action of therapies like sleep deprivation and light therapy.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Are dexamethasone suppression test nonsuppression and thyroid dysfunction related to a family history of dementia in patients with major depression? An exploratory study.

OBJECTIVE: Recent data suggest that the low thyroid function syndrome in depression is nonspecific. They also suggest that depression may constitute a risk factor for the development of dementia, especially in atypical patients who have high rates of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis disorders. This study aimed to search for correlations among Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) cortisol levels, thyroid indices, and family history of dementia in patients with depression. METHODS: A sample of 30 patients, aged 21 to 60 years and suffering from major depression according to DSM-IV criteria, took part in the study. Three had a family history of dementia in first-degree relatives. We measured their serum levels of free T3, free T4, thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroid binding inhibitory immunoglobulines, thyroglobulin antibodies, and thyroid microsomal antibodies (TMAs). We applied the 1-mg DST to all patients. The statistical analysis included 1-way multivariate analysis of covariance using t tests as the post hoc tests. RESULTS: Significantly higher levels of TMAs were found in patients with a family history of dementia, compared with those who did not have this family history. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that a more pronounced autoimmune process may characterize depression patients with a family history of dementia.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Report of three cases that received maintenance treatment with risperidone as a mood stabilizer.

INTRODUCTION: The current study is a short report of 3 cases of bipolar patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three bipolar patients were prospectively followed up. All were partial responders to lithium therapy alone, and unresponsive to other therapies (anticonvulsants, antidepressants, typical antipsychotics, various combinations). RESULTS: All manifested complete remission of symptoms after combination therapy with lithium (plasma levels above 0.8 mEq/lt) plus 1-3 mg of risperidone daily. The two of them are still free of symptomatology during the maintenance period for 28 and 38 months respectively. The third patient, after several months during which she was free of symptomatology discontinued lithium against the psychiatrist's advise and received only 3 mg of risperidone daily. For the next 15 months the patient was under risperidone monotherapy and free of symptomatology. She discontinued therapy to become pregnant, the illness recurred several times during pregnancy and after the delivery the patient restarted risperidone therapy. She was free of symptoms for the following 9 months until her last follow-up. DISCUSSION: The current study provides preliminary evidence concerning the long term efficacy of risperidone in the treatment of bipolar patients

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Psychophysiology and psychoacoustics of music: Perception of complex sound in normal subjects and psychiatric patients.

Perception of complex sound is a process carried out in everyday life situations and contributes in the way one perceives reality. Attempting to explain sound perception and how it affects human beings is complicated. Physics of simple sound can be described as a function of frequency, amplitude and phase. Psychology of sound, also termed psychoacoustics, has its own distinct elements of pitch, intensity and tibre. An interconnection exists between physics and psychology of hearing.Music being a complex sound contributes to communication and conveys information with semantic and emotional elements. These elements indicate the involvement of the central nervous system through processes of integration and interpretation together with peripheral auditory processing.Effects of sound and music in human psychology and physiology are complicated. Psychological influences of listening to different types of music are based on the different characteristics of basic musical sounds. Attempting to explain music perception can be simpler if music is broken down to its basic auditory signals. Perception of auditory signals is analyzed by the science of psychoacoustics. Differences in complex sound perception have been found between normal subjects and psychiatric patients and between different types of psychopathologies.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Thyroid function in clinical subtypes of major depression: an exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Unipolar depression might be characterized by a 'low-thyroid function syndrome'. To our knowledge, this is the first study which explores the possible relationship of DSM-IV depressive subtypes and the medium term outcome, with thyroid function. METHODS MATERIAL: Thirty major depressive patients (DSM-IV) aged 21-60 years and 60 control subjects were included. Clinical Diagnosis: The SCAN v 2.0 and the IPDE were used. The psychometric Assessment included HDRS the HAS and the GAF scales. Free-T3, Free-T4, TSH, Thyroid Binding Inhibitory Immunoglobulins (TBII), Thyroglobulin antibodies (TA) and Thyroid Microsomal Antibodies (TMA) were measured in the serum. The Statistical analysis included 1 and 2-way MANCOVA, discriminant function analysis and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. RESULTS: All depressive subtypes had significantly higher TBII levels in comparison to controls. Atypical patients had significantly higher TMA in comparison to controls. No significant correlation was observed between the HDRS, HAS and GAF scales and thyroid indices. Discriminant function analysis produced functions based on thyroid indices, which could moderately discriminate between diagnostic groups, but could predict good response to treatment with 89.47% chance of success. CONCLUSION: Although overt thyroid dysfunction is not common in depression, there is evidence suggesting the presence of an autoimmune process affecting the thyroid gland in depressive patients

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Off-label indications for atypical antipsychotics: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: With the introduction of newer atypical antipsychotic agents, a question emerged, concerning their use as complementary pharmacotherapy or even as monotherapy in mental disorders other than psychosis. MATERIAL AND METHOD: MEDLINE was searched with the combination of each one of the key words: risperidone, olanzapine and quetiapine with key words that refered to every DSM-IV diagnosis other than schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder and dementia and memory disorders. All papers were scored on the basis of the JADAD index. RESULTS: The search returned 483 papers. The selection process restricted the sample to 59 papers concerning Risperidone, 37 concerning Olanzapine and 4 concerning Quetiapine (100 in total). Ten papers (7 concerning Risperidone and 3 concerning Olanzapine) had JADAD index above 2. Data suggest that further research would be of value concerning the use of risperidone in the treatment of refractory OCD, Pervasive Developmental disorder, stuttering and Tourette's syndrome, and the use of olanzapine for the treatment of refractory depression and borderline personality disorder. DISCUSSION: Data on the off-label usefulness of newer atypical antipsychotics are limited, but positive cues suggest that further research may provide with sufficient hard data to warrant the use of these agents in a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders, either as monotherapy, or as an augmentation strategy.

Journal Article↗