Suicide risk in hepatitis C and during interferon-alpha therapy: a review and clinical update.

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) affects over 170 million individuals worldwide and is a growing public health concern. Despite the availability of CHC treatment, specifically interferon-α and ribavirin, treatment of CHC is limited by concerns about psychiatric side effects including risks of suicide. Although depression has been the focus of neuropsychiatric complications from interferon-alpha (IFNα), emerging evidence has contributed to our understanding of IFNα-induced suicidal ideation and attempts. Using Pubmed, we performed a literature review of all English articles published between 1989 and April 1, 2010 on suicide in untreated and IFNα-treated patients with CHC. References in all identified review articles were scanned and included in our review. A total of 17 articles were identified. Studies have suggested that the first 12 weeks of IFNα therapy are the high-risk period. Moreover, the emergence of suicidal ideation can be linked to neuropsychiatric abnormalities, specifically serotonin depletion. Pretreatment with antidepressant treatment should be reserved for high-risk groups, as this may reduce the risk of depression and thus decrease the suicide risk indirectly. Although there is a paucity of literature on suicide and suicide risk during IFNα therapy for CHC, recent studies on IFNα-induced depression have provided some potential insights into suicide in this patient population. Further research examining the effects of pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions on suicide risk during IFNα treatment is needed.

Psychopharmacology of personality disorders: review and emerging issues.

Progress with the development of models and general principles of psychopharmacologic management of personality disordered patients is reviewed. Recent research using mood stabilizers and novel antipsychotics are discussed. The effects of these medications on impulsive aggressiveness are supported and the effects are evident early and are independent of the effects on mood, including depression. Research is needed with other personality disorders beyond just borderline personality disorder. Future research must develop measurable outcomes and delineate the causal and temporal relationships between the psychopathologic features of personality disorders.

Is couple therapy indicated for borderline personality disorder?

The healing aspects of intimate relationships are being recognized by therapists and supported by empirical findings. Little has been written regarding the indications for couple therapy for individuals with borderline personality disorder. This paper proposes a three-level hierarchy for deciding on the suitability of couple therapy for patients with borderline personality disorder. The hierarchy is based on three separate borderline behavioral clusters--impulsive, identity, and affective--that should be utilized to direct the application of couple therapy to specific patients. The three levels are illustrated by case examples. Delineation of the indications for couple therapy for borderline patients will foster further theoretical and empirical work in the area.

Prospective studies of outcome. Understanding mechanisms of change in patients with borderline personality disorder.

The authors propose a conceptual model of recovery from BPD that takes into account empiric findings regarding the dynamic relationships between severity of BPD symptoms, age, impulsivity, and duration of a healing relationship. The model assumes that each factor related to the course of BPD essentially lies on a continuum and interacts with the remaining important factors. The model also preserves the relative relationships, with age and impulsivity being primarily important and the duration of a healing relationship being independent but overall of less importance in modifying the course of illness. (Having said this, however, modifying the presence of a healing relationship may be more accessible for therapists.) By 7 to 10 years' follow-up, half of patients with BPD will be characterized as remitted. Efforts to keep these patients alive through the early course of the disorder will see many patients through to the resolution of the disorder. Impulsivity is a primary element of the disorder that predicts the course of BPD, with impulsivity becoming less as patients age. Efforts to modify the levels of impulsivity, such as rehabilitation for substance-abuse disorder, pharmacologic interventions, and cognitive-behavioral therapies to reduce impulsivity, may affect the course of the disorder. Exposure to an intimate relationship, such as a successful marriage, also may impact the course by allowing the person to be involved in a healing relationship. Additional studies are needed on the role of couple and marital interventions with BPD patients because the development of successful relationships may modify the course of the disorder. This model of change in BPD is conceptually heuristic and accounts for the complex interplay of factors that modify the course of BPD but accounts for the empiric findings to date. This model is also presented to assist clinicians in understanding and conceptualizing the primary features affecting recovery for these patients. As new findings become available, this model should be modified to reflect the nature of those findings and extend the understanding of the course of BPD and the factors that modify that course of illness.

Modeling the relationship between affective lability, impulsivity, and suicidal behavior in patients with borderline personality disorder.

This article reviews the concept of affective lability and suggests that new models are needed to characterize the relationship between affective states such as affective lability, impulsivity, and suicidal behavior. The association of affective lability, impulsivity, and suicidal behavior is most relevant to understanding the risk of suicide in individuals with borderline personality disorder. The relationship between affective lability and suicide might be explained as 1) a form of bipolarity, 2) a form of impulse dyscontrol, 3) a quantitative disorder of affect, or 4) an environmental reactivity. Our opinion of the relevant literature suggests that a quantitative disorder of affect accompanied by the inability to control these affects are the essential components leading to the risk of suicidal behavior. Characterizing the dyscontrol and high intensity of affect leads to a reconceptualization of depression in patients with borderline personality disorder and to a re-examination of the causal chain of events leading to suicidal behavior. The implications for clinical practice resulting from the proposed model are discussed.

Preventing recurrent suicidal behaviour.

OBJECTIVE: To highlight recent empirical evidence for effective interventions that can guide family physicians in managing patients after suicide attempts. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: Randomized control trials of psychosocial interventions for people after suicide attempts have provided some evidence for effective interventions. MAIN MESSAGE: Suicide attempts are more common than suicides; the number of attempts seen in a family practice is estimated to be 10 to 15 yearly. Up to two thirds of patients who take their lives by suicide have seen a family physician in the month before their death. Principles of care after a suicide attempt include actively engaging the patient, involving the family, restricting access to means of suicide, and developing intervention plans to deal with the psychopathology that has placed the patient at risk. CONCLUSIONS: Family physicians have a crucial role in preventing suicide through aftercare and ongoing monitoring of patients who have attempted suicide.

Impulsivity: core aspect of borderline personality disorder.

This prospective follow-up study addresses whether impulsivity versus other aspects of borderline personality disorder (BPD) are (1) stable over a 7-year follow-up period; (2) able to predict the persistence versus remittance of BPD over 7 years of follow-up, and (3) more predictive of the level of borderline psychopathology on follow-up than other aspects of the disorder. When the cohort was assembled, 88 of 130 subjects scored seven or higher on the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB), indicating a definite diagnosis of BPD. The cohort was reassessed at 2 and 7 years after the index admission. At the 7-year follow up, 81(62.3%) of the original cohort were re-examined, two (1.6%) were deceased, six (4.6%) suicided, 36 (27.7%) refused to participate and five (3.8%) could not be located. The results indicated that the initial impulse action subscale score was highly correlated with the 7-year follow-up score (r = 0.53). Using a stepwise multiple regression technique, the impulse action subscale score from the DIB best predicted borderline psychopathology at the 7-year follow up, with an r2 of 0.24, F = 24.84, p < 0.001. This prospective study of subjects with BPD indicates that impulsivity is stable over time and highly predictive of borderline psychopathology over 7 years follow up. These results suggest the treatment of impulsivity may impact the course of BPD.

Suicide and suicidal behaviours: implications for mental health services.

OBJECTIVE: To examine what is known about engaging and maintaining suicidal individuals in treatment and what can be learned from the randomized, controlled trials of psychosocial interventions concerning the reduction of suicidal behaviours. METHOD: Review of the relevant literature. RESULTS: Treatment follow-through is low among those who attempt suicide. The evidence to date is inconclusive as to whether psychosocial interventions can reduce the repetition of suicidal behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Certain groups may benefit from psychosocial interventions. Future research must overcome several methodological issues. As treatment relies on adequate follow-through, changes in the delivery of care may enhance treatment effectiveness.

Developing effective services for patients with personality disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This review focused on empirical research that addressed the effectiveness of service models for the care of patients with personality disorders. METHOD: Services discussed included those delivering acute care, such as crisis and emergency services and acute psychiatric hospitalization; continuing care, such as outpatient services, day hospital treatment, and assertive community treatment programs; and other community programming, such as integrated treatment for comorbid substance abuse and psychoeducational interventions for families of patients with personality disorders. The review focused on studies that included patients with personality disorders, and it measured outcomes relevant to patients with personality disorders. Evidence from randomized controlled trials was highlighted. RESULTS: Few systematic studies of acute services were available. Community programming can decrease the risk of suicide attempts and reliance on inpatient admissions. Services must develop methods of ensuring compliance with treatment. Assertive community treatment for Axis II patients should be developed, implemented, and tested. Comprehensive programming for patients with personality disorders must include integrated treatment for substance abuse and family psychoeducational programs. CONCLUSION: Promising new models of care for patients with personality disorders are ready for testing and wider application.

Prospective follow-up study of borderline personality disorder: prognosis, prediction of outcome, and Axis II comorbidity.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the rate of persistence of borderline personality disorder (BPD), the existence of concomitant personality disorders on follow-up, and the predictors of outcome in patients who met criteria for BPD compared with patients with borderline features who failed to meet all of the criteria. METHOD: This prospective cohort study reassessed subjects for BPD diagnosis and cooccurring personality pathology at 7 years follow-up. Initial measures of borderline and comorbid personality psychopathology were used to predict levels of borderline or other personality disorder psychopathology at follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 57 subjects who initially met the criteria for BPD, 30 (52.6%) were found to have remitted BPD, and 27 (47.4%) were characterized as having persistent BPD. The remitted group met significantly fewer comorbid personality disorder diagnoses than the persistent group (mean = 0.8, mean = 3.5 respectively; P < 0.05). Results also indicated that the initial level of borderline psychopathology was predictive of borderline psychopathology at follow-up, which explained 17% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective follow-up study found that almost 50% of former inpatients with BPD continue to test positive for BPD at 7 years follow-up, and these persistent BPD patients also had significantly more comorbid personality psychopathology. Borderline psychopathology at follow-up was primarily predicted by the level of borderline psychopathology recorded at the initial assessment.

Psychiatric disorders after traumatic brain injury.

Substantial psychological and neurobehavioural evidence is available to support the hypothesis that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a risk factor for subsequent psychiatric disorders. However, studies utilizing established psychiatric diagnostic schemes to study these outcomes after TBI are scarce, and no studies have included an assessment of personality disorders in addition to the major psychiatric disorders. This study utilizes structured psychiatric interviews to measure the prevalence of DSM-III(R) disorders in a sample of 18 subjects derived from a TBI rehabilitation programme. Results revealed high rates for major depression, bipolar affective disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, borderline and avoidant personality disorders. Co-morbidity was also high. A preliminary study of postulated predictive factors revealed possible roles for sex and for initial severity of injury. The study supports the association between TBI and psychiatric disorder, and suggests the need for monitoring, for prevention, and for treatment of psychiatric disorders after TBI.

Impulsivity, defensive functioning, and borderline personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To replicate previous research suggesting that impulsivity highly predicts current DIB(R) score and social functioning, with the additional inclusion of other measures, including defensive functioning. METHOD: Correlational analyses between impulsivity and other measures, and regression analyses with DIB(R) and SAS-SR as outcome measures, and impulsivity and other measures as predictor variables, were performed on data derived from n = 57 initially borderline personality disorder (BPD) subjects recruited as part of a 7-year follow-up study of BPD. RESULTS: Data showed strong correlations between the elements of impulsivity described previously and defensive functioning. The initial study results were repeated, and only a minor contribution from defensive functioning additionally contributed to the regression models. No other variables entered the model, unless anger was dropped from the variables entered into the analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The results may contribute to a better definition of the term "impulsivity" as related to BPD, and may lead to further, improved research into the cause, treatment, and prognosis of BPD.

Repeat neurobehavioral study of borderline personality disorder.

Previous research has tentatively identified a large subgroup of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) with histories of developmental or acquired brain insults. Similarly, these studies have demonstrated a possible biological correlation between the severity of BPD and the number of previous brain insults. The possibility of frontal system cognitive dysfunction in BPD has been raised. This single-blind, case-control study of BPD showed that 13 of 24 subjects with BPD had suffered a brain insult. Correlations between neurodevelopmental/acquired brain injury score and the diagnostic interview for borderline (DIB) score (r = 0.47), and between frontal system cognitive functioning and DIB score (r = -0.37) were seen. Neurocognitive testing and comparison with a cohort of subjects with traumatic brain injury (TBI) showed a pattern of similar cognitive functioning between the 2 groups, with the only differences on individual tests being in the direction of worse functioning in the group with BPD on 2 tasks. These results support the hypotheses described above. The main limitation reflects the low numbers of subjects.

Borderline psychopathology and recurrences of clinical disorders.

This prospective cohort study of patients with borderline psychopathology reports on the clinical disorders occurring during the course and at 7-year follow-up. Subjects with persistent versus remitted borderline personality disorder (BPD) are compared. The relationship between the initial levels of borderline psychopathology and the occurrence of clinical disorders on follow-up is examined. Consecutive admissions to inpatient units were screened for borderline characteristics. This resulted in a sample of 130 subjects, 88 of whom were positive for BPD based on the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines. At 7-year follow-up, 81 (62.3%) subjects were reinterviewed in person, 6 (4.6%) suicided, 2 (1.6%) were decreased, 36 (27.7%) refused to participate, and 5 (3.8%) could not be located. Twenty-seven of 57 (47.4%) who initially were positive for BPD were rediagnosed at 7-year follow-up (the persistent group) and 30 (52.6%) were no longer diagnosed as BPD (the remitted group). The persistent individuals were significantly more likely to be diagnosed as having major depression, dysthymia, and other psychiatric disorders than the remitted group. The persistent group had significantly more episodes of substance abuse over the follow-up period compared with the remitted group. Individuals with persistent BPD suffered more episodes of clinical disorders over the follow-up period and the initial level of borderline psychopathology predicted the recurrence of major depression.

Borderline personality disorder and substance abuse: consequences of comorbidity.

The objective of this paper was to examine the prognostic significance of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and substance abuse in a cohort of former inpatients screened for BPD and followed up prospectively seven years after the index admission. The impact of comorbidity on borderline psychopathology, impulsivity and psychosocial functioning was examined. The original cohort was assembled between April 1983 and December 1985. Admissions were screened for borderline characteristics which resulted in a sample of 130 subjects, 88 of whom were positive for BPD based on the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines. At seven years follow-up, 81 out of 130 (62.3%) subjects were re-interviewed. Six (4.6%) had committed suicide, two (1.5%) were deceased and 41 (31.6%) were lost to follow-up. The subjects with BPD and substance abuse were significantly differentiated from subjects with BPD only, substance abuse only and neither disorder on the basis of demonstrating more borderline psychopathology and more self-destructive and suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Probands with initial diagnoses of BPD and substance abuse were twice as likely to be diagnosed BPD on follow-up as probands with initial diagnosis of BPD only (relative risk = 2.19, 95% CI, 1.21 to 3.97). These findings and other research suggest that patients with comorbid BPD and substance abuse should be encouraged to focus on their abuse problems as a priority.