DE BERARDIS D.

Background: Alexithymia is a disabling condition frequently linked to major depressive disorder (MDD) and able to enhance symptoms severity and suicide risk. This study aimed to clarify whether patients with and without alexithymia may differ concerning illness presentation and clinical course, which is a major gap in the scientific literature....

Despite a wide range of available antidepressants, the effect of the treatment is often suboptimal and there is a need for more effective and better tolerated drugs. Unlike other antidepressants, agomelatine represents a new approach to depression with an innovative mechanism of action. It is an agonist of melatoninergic receptors MT1 and MT2...

Background: Agomelatine, the first melatonergic antidepressant, has been postulated to enhance the dopaminergic activity at the central nervous system by 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor type 2C (5-HT2C) antagonism, yet the impact of melatonergic agonism on this pathway is unclear. Previous studies employing simplified, yet reliable, proxy...

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Background. This study aimed to evaluate the potential relationships between religious coping, hopelessness, and suicide ideation in adult outpatients with the first episode of major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods. Ninety-four adult outpatients with MDD were assessed through the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), the Beck...

Objective Highlighting the relationship between Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Tic Disorder (TD), two highly disabling, comorbid and difficult-to-treat conditions, DSM-5 acknowledged a new "tic-related" specifier for OCD, i.e., Obsessive-Compulsive Tic-related Disorder (OCTD). As patients with OCTD may frequently show poor treatment...

Objective: This study was performed to elucidate relationships between alexithymia, suicide ideation and homocysteine levels in drug-naïve outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Sixty seven outpatients with MDD with melancholic features were evaluated by the means of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Toronto...

Despite the continuous advancement in neurosciences as well as in the knowledge of human behaviors pathophysiology, currently suicide represents a puzzling challenge. The World Health Organization (WHO) has established that one million people die by suicide every year, with the impressive daily rate of a suicide every 40 s. The weightiest...

Objective: The present exploratory study aimed to investigate relationships between alexithymia, suicide ideation, affective temperaments and homocysteine levels among drug-naïve adult outpatients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in an everyday 'real world' clinical setting. Method: Sixty-four adult outpatients with PTSD were...