Cessation of Skin Picking Symptoms With Methylphenidate Treatment in a Child With Comorbid Skin Picking and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Skin picking disorder includes behaviors such as picking, scratching, and squeezing of the normal skin in an impulsive, repetitive manner despite the fact that no dermatological condition is detected. Skin picking disorder may also be comorbid in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and vice versa. There is a great deal of data regarding the efficacy and safety of methylphenidate (MPH) treatment of ADHD. In this article, we report the cessation of skin picking behaviors in a 10-year-old girl diagnosed as having skin picking disorder and ADHD after modified-release MPH treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first case report that shows the cessation of skin picking behavior after MPH treatment in a child with ADHD.

8-F2-isoprostane, thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase levels in children with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PURPOSE: Accumulating data demonstrate that oxidative stress may play a crucial role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study aimed to investigate the role of 8-F2-isoprostane, thioredoxin (Trx), and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) in children with OCD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-three drug-free children with OCD and 35 healthy controls were included in this study. The severity of OCD symptoms was assessed via the Children's Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. The severity of anxiety levels was determined through the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders. Plasma levels of 8-F2-isoprostane, Trx, and TrxR were measured using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. RESULTS: Plasma 8-F2-isoprostane, Trx, and TrxR levels did not show any significant differences between patient and control groups. There were no significant correlations between plasma levels of these antioxidants and severity of OCD. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this study did not support the involvement of oxidative stress in the etiology of childhood OCD.

Phagophobia Successfully Treated With Low-Dose Aripiprazole in an Adolescent: A Case Report.

Phagophobia is a condition characterized by an avoidance of swallowing foods and an intense fear of choking while eating solid foods in the absence of physiological and anatomical abnormalities. Phagophobia is mentioned in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition and International Classification of Diseases, 11th Edition in the new diagnostic category of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. The literature concerning phagophobia is sparse, and there is no specific treatment modality for this life-threatening condition. We describe a case of phagophobia in a 15-year-old girl who was treated successfully with low-dose aripiprazole as an augmentation therapy after she witnessed her father choking while eating chicken. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that phagophobia was successfully treated with aripiprazole.

Cytokine, chemokine and BDNF levels in medication-free pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the serum levels of IL-12, IL-17, TGFß, TNF-alpha, sTNFR1, sTNFR2, IL-1ß, CCL3, CCL24, CXCL8, and BDNF are associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in medication-free children. A total of 44 (22 boys/22 girls) medication-free children with OCD and 40 (23 boys/17 girls) healthy controls were included in this study. The severity of the OCD symptoms were assessed by the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory. The Children's Depression Inventory and the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders were applied to the children in order to determine depression and anxiety levels. IL-17, IL-12, TGF ß, TNF-alpha, sTNFR1, sTNFR2, IL-1ß, CCL3, CCL24, CXCL8, and BDNF levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) revealed a significant main effect on both groups for the levels of serum cytokine, chemokine, and BDNF, an effect that was independent of severities of depression and anxiety [Pillai's Trace V = 0.371, F (11, 70) = 3.756, p < 0.001, hp2 = 0.187]. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated that serum TNF-alpha levels were significantly higher in the OCD group than in the control group (p < 0.001). In contrast, serum IL-12 levels were significantly lower in the OCD group than in the control group (p = 0.014). These findings suggest that TNF-alpha and IL-12 may play a role in the pathophysiology of OCD in children. The causal relationship between these proinflammatory cytokines and pediatric OCD requires further investigation.

Association of Reactive-Proactive Aggression and Anxiety Sensitivity with Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

This study evaluates the associations among the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and disruptive behavioral disorders (DBD) in the context of their relationships with reactive-proactive aggression and anxiety sensitivity in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The sample consisted of 342 treatment-naive children with ADHD. The severity of ADHD and DBD symptoms were assessed via parent- and teacher-rated inventories. Anxiety sensitivity, reactive-proactive aggression and severity of anxiety and depression symptoms of children were evaluated by self-report inventories. According to structural equation modeling, depression and anxiety scores had a relation with the DBD scores through reactive-proactive aggression. Results also showed a negative relation of the total scores of anxiety sensitivity on DBD scores, while conduct disorder scores had a positive relation with anxiety scores. This study suggests that examining the relations of reactive-proactive aggression and anxiety sensitivity with internalizing and externalizing disorders could be useful for understanding the link among these disorders in ADHD.