Effect of single infusion of ketamine on depressive symptoms in elderly patients undergoing ophthalmological surgery: a randomized controlled trial / Efecto de una sola infusión de ketamina sobre síntomas depresivos en pacientes geriátricos sometidos a cirugía oftalmológica: ensayo controlado aleatorizado

Abstract: Introduction: Depressive symptoms are common in elderly surgical patients and are associated with negative outcomes. Although medication can relieve symptoms, only 50% of patients achieve remission using conventional treatments. Recently, ketamine has been shown to improve depression rapidly. However, its use and tolerability in elderly patients has not been widely studied. Material and methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, comparative study in patients aged 60 and over who required ophthalmological surgery. Experimental group received 0.5 mg/kg ketamine, whereas the control group received NaCl solution at 0.9%. Both groups received a standardized regimen of conscious sedation. Depressive symptom severity was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF) before and after exposure to ketamine infusion; tolerability was also evaluated. A repeated univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) model examined the direction of changes in depressive symptom severity among groups. Results: 90 patients were randomized. A significant reduction in symptom severity was observed after ketamine infusion (mean change from baseline: -1.6 vs -0.3 in the control group; p = 0.003). No differences emerged between groups in the presence of adverse effects with ketamine infusion. Conclusions: A single infusion of ketamine in elderly patients undergoing ophthalmological surgery is associated with improved depressive symptoms in the first 24 hours of exposure to the drug with a good tolerability profile.

Resumen: Introducción: Los síntomas depresivos son comunes en pacientes quirúrgicos de edad avanzada y se asocian con resultados negativos. Aunque la medicación pueda aliviar los síntomas, sólo el 50% de los pacientes que están envejeciendo alcanzan la remisión usando tratamientos convencionales. Se ha demostrado que la ketamina mejora rápidamente la depresión, sin embargo, su uso y tolerabilidad en pacientes mayores no ha sido estudiada ampliamente. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio aleatorizado, doble ciego, comparativo en pacientes de 60 años o más que requirieron cirugía oftalmológica. Un grupo experimental recibió 0.5 mg/kg de ketamina, mientras que el grupo control recibió solución de NaCl al 0.9%. Ambos grupos recibieron un régimen estandarizado de sedación consciente. La severidad de los síntomas depresivos fue evaluada usando la versión acortada de la escala de depresión geriátrica (GDS-SF) antes y después de la exposición a la infusión de la ketamina, la tolerabilidad también fue evaluada. Un modelo de análisis de varianza univariada de medidas repetidas (ANOVA) examinó la dirección de los cambios en la gravedad de los síntomas depresivos entre los grupos. Resultados: 90 pacientes fueron aleatorizados. Se observó, una reducción significativa en la severidad de los síntomas después de la infusión de la ketamina (cambio de la media desde el valor basal: -1.6 versus -0.3 en el grupo de control; p = 0.003). No surgieron diferencias entre los grupos en la presencia de efectos adversos con la infusión de ketamina. Conclusiones: Una sola infusión de ketamina en pacientes geriátricos sometidos a cirugía oftalmológica se asocia con la mejoría de síntomas depresivos en las primeras 24 horas de exposición al fármaco con un buen perfil de tolerabilidad.

Machine learning detects predictors of symptom severity and impulsivity after dialectical behavior therapy skills training group in borderline personality disorder.

Only 50% of the patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) respond to psychotherapies, such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), this might be increased by identifying baseline predictors of clinical change. We use machine learning to detect clinical features that could predict improvement/worsening for severity and impulsivity of BPD after DBT skills training group. To predict illness severity, we analyzed data from 125 patients with BPD divided into 17 DBT psychotherapy groups, and for impulsiveness we analyzed 89 patients distributed into 12 DBT groups. All patients were evaluated at baseline using widely self-report tests; ∼70% of the sample were randomly selected and two machine learning models (lasso and Random forest [Rf]) were trained using 10-fold cross-validation and compared to predict the post-treatment response. Models' generalization was assessed in ∼30% of the remaining sample. Relevant variables for DBT (i.e. the mindfulness ability "non-judging", or "non-planning" impulsiveness) measured at baseline, were robust predictors of clinical change after six months of weekly DBT sessions. Using 10-fold cross-validation, the Rf model had significantly lower prediction error than lasso for the BPD severity variable, Mean Absolute Error (MAE) lasso - Rf = 1.55 (95% CI, 0.63-2.48) as well as for impulsivity, MAE lasso - Rf = 1.97 (95% CI, 0.57-3.35). According to Rf and the permutations method, 34/613 significant predictors for severity and 17/613 for impulsivity were identified. Using machine learning to identify the most important variables before starting DBT could be fundamental for personalized treatment and disease prognosis.

Validation of the Comic Strip Test to evaluate empathy in a Mexican population sample.

INTRODUCTION: Empathy is the ability of an individual to understand it from another cognitive and emotional point of view. Empathy is a complex that represents a retouch in its evaluation, so, it is necessary to have instruments validated in the Mexican population. OBJECTIVE: Validation of the Comic Strip Test to evaluate empathy. METHOD: Sampling for convenience, based on internal consistency, convergent validity with the Empathy coefficient, construct validity in the factorial analysis, and the ability to discriminate between subjects with lack of empathy (psychopathology) and the control subjects through a curve ROC. RESULTS: The comic strips test was evaluated in 86 controls, 19 patients with schizophrenia (Cronbach's alpha = 0.894). The correlation with the empathy coefficient was 0.88, with sensitivity of 81.3% and specificity of 38%. CONCLUSIONS: The Comic Strip Test was validated with parametric psychometric parameters.

Comorbid personality disorders and their impact on severe dissociative experiences in Mexican patients with borderline personality disorder.

Objective: To identify personality disorders comorbid with borderline personality disorder (BPD) that may confer greater risk for the presence of severe dissociative experiences. Method: Three hundred and one outpatients with a primary diagnosis of BPD were evaluated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II personality disorders, the Borderline Evaluation of Severity Over Time (BEST) and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). Results: The most frequent personality disorders comorbid to BPD were paranoid (83.2%, n = 263) and depressive (81.3%, n = 257). The mean BEST and DES total score were 43.3 (SD = 11.4, range 15-69) and 28.6 (SD = 19.8, range 0-98), respectively. We categorized the sample into patients with and without severe dissociative experiences (41% were positive). A logistic regression model revealed that Schizotypal, Obsessive-compulsive and Antisocial personality disorders conferred greater risk for the presence of severe dissociative experiences. Discussion: Our results suggest that a large proportion of patients with BPD present a high rate of severe dissociative experiences and that some clinical factors such as personality comorbidity confer greater risk for severe dissociation, which is related to greater dysfunction and suffering, as well as a worse progression of the BPD.

[Validación de la prueba de Tiras cómicas para evaluar la empatía en una muestra de población mexicana].

INTRODUCTION: Empathy is the ability of an individual to understand it from another cognitive and emotional point of view. Empathy is a complex that represents a retouch in its evaluation, so, it is necessary to have instruments validated in the Mexican population. OBJECTIVE: Validation of the Comic Strip Test to evaluate empathy. METHOD: Sampling for convenience, based on internal consistency, convergent validity with the Empathy coefficient, construct validity in the factorial analysis, and the ability to discriminate between subjects with lack of empathy (psychopathology) and the control subjects through a curve ROC. RESULTS: The comic strips test was evaluated in 86 controls, 19 patients with schizophrenia (Cronbach's alpha = 0.894). The correlation with the empathy coefficient was 0.88, with sensitivity of 81.3% and specificity of 38%. CONCLUSIONS: The Comic Strip Test was validated with parametric psychometric parameters.

ANTECEDENTES: La empatía es la capacidad de un individuo para entender al otro desde el punto de vista cognitivo y emocional. La empatía es un constructo complejo que representa un reto en su evaluación, por lo cual es necesario contar con instrumentos validados en población mexicana. OBJETIVO: Validación de la prueba de Tiras cómicas para evaluar empatía. MÉTODO: Muestreo por conveniencia, se midió la consistencia interna, la validez convergente con el coeficiente de empatía, la validez de constructo con análisis factorial y la capacidad de discriminar entre sujetos con déficit de empatía por psicopatología con controles por medio de una curva Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) por sus siglas en inglés. RESULTADOS: La escala de Tiras cómicas se evaluó en 86 controles, 19 pacientes con esquizofrenia, a de Cronbach = 0.894. La correlación con el coeficiente de empatía fue de 0.88, con una sensibilidad del 81.3% y la especificidad del 38%. CONCLUSIONES: Se validó la prueba de Tiras cómicas con adecuados parámetros psicométricos.

Effects of Childhood Maltreatment on Social Cognition and Brain Functional Connectivity in Borderline Personality Disorder Patients.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a chronic condition characterized by high levels of impulsivity, affective instability, and difficulty to establish and manage interpersonal relationships. However, little is known about its etiology and neurobiological substrates. In our study, we wanted to investigate the influence of child abuse in the psychopathology of BPD by means of social cognitive paradigms [the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) and the reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET)], and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). For this, we recruited 33 participants, 18 BPD patients, and 15 controls. High levels of self-reported childhood maltreatment were reported by BPD patients. For the sexual abuse subdimension, there were no differences between the BPD and the control groups, but there was a negative correlation between MASC scores and total childhood maltreatment levels, as well as between physical abuse, physical negligence, and MASC. Both groups showed that the higher the level of childhood maltreatment, the lower the performance on the MASC social cognitive test. Further, in the BPD group, there was hypoconnectivity between the structures responsible for emotion regulation and social cognitive responses that have been described as part of the frontolimbic circuitry (i.e., amygdala). Differential levels of connectivity, associated with different types and levels of abuse were also observed.

Validación de la prueba de Tiras cómicas para evaluar la empatía en una muestra de población mexicana / Validation of the Comic strip test to assess empathy in a Mexican population sample

Resumen Antecedentes: La empatía es la capacidad de un individuo para entender al otro desde el punto de vista cognitivo y emocional. La empatía es un constructo complejo que representa un reto en su evaluación, por lo cual es necesario contar con instrumentos validados en población mexicana. Objetivo: Validación de la prueba de Tiras cómicas para evaluar empatía. Método: Muestreo por conveniencia, se midió la consistencia interna, la validez convergente con el coeficiente de empatía, la validez de constructo con análisis factorial y la capacidad de discriminar entre sujetos con déficit de empatía por psicopatología con controles por medio de una curva Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) por sus siglas en inglés. Resultados: La escala de Tiras cómicas se evaluó en 86 controles, 19 pacientes con esquizofrenia, a de Cronbach = 0.894. La correlación con el coeficiente de empatía fue de 0.88, con una sensibilidad del 81.3% y la especificidad del 38%. Conclusiones: Se validó la prueba de Tiras cómicas con adecuados parámetros psicométricos.

Abstract Introduction: Empathy is the ability of an individual to understand it from another cognitive and emotional point of view. Empathy is a complex that represents a retouch in its evaluation, so, it is necessary to have instruments validated in the Mexican population. Objective: Validation of the Comic Strip Test to evaluate empathy. Method: Sampling for convenience, based on internal consistency, convergent validity with the Empathy coefficient, construct validity in the factorial analysis, and the ability to discriminate between subjects with lack of empathy (psychopathology) and the control subjects through a curve ROC. Results: The comic strips test was evaluated in 86 controls, 19 patients with schizophrenia (Cronbach's alpha = 0.894). The correlation with the empathy coefficient was 0.88, with sensitivity of 81.3% and specificity of 38%. Conclusions: The Comic Strip Test was validated with parametric psychometric parameters.