Identifying emotional components of event-related potentials in the brain functioning of individuals with contamination obsessions and comparison with healthy control group.

The present study aimed to examine the emotional components of event-related potentials (ERPs) in individuals with contamination OCD and compare them with a healthy control group. A convenience sample of 45 participants was included, consisting of 30 individuals diagnosed with contamination-type OCD and 15 individuals in a healthy control group. Both groups participated in an ERP study where they encountered a computer-based task presenting both contamination and neutral pictures, while their brain activity was recorded. The data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (RANOVA) with SPSS-24 and Matlab software. Findings suggest that in P3 amplitude, only individuals with OCD exhibited a larger positive amplitude (p < 0.05) in response to contaminated pictures compared to neutral pictures and in N2 amplitude, only individuals with OCD exhibited a larger negative amplitude (p < 0.05) in response to contaminated pictures compared to neutral pictures in the central vertex (Fz). These findings hold promising implications for the development of more targeted and effective treatments for contamination OCD, emphasizing the importance of emotion-oriented approaches to address the unique neural patterns observed in the frontal vertex.

Adjunct Triptorelin in the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Clients Receiving Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

Objective: Analog triptorelin is one of the effective agonists for the treatment of reproductive disorders, particularly prostate cancer. Due to results of previous studies, we hypothesized that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD can be effectively treated with the long-term administration of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog, namely triptorelin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of triptorelin injection in clients with OCD. Method : This randomized single-blind clinical trial was performed on 30 clients with OCD who had a Yale-Brown score of > 17 after 8 weeks of treatment. The participants were randomly assigned into two groups of triptorelin and placebo. The clients in the intervention group were treated with Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including fluoxetine, in addition to triptorelin three times a month for at least 8 weeks. Clients in the control group received injection of distilled water as placebo three times in addition to the routine treatment. The outcome was evaluated by Yale-Brown OCD scale (Y-BOCS) at the baseline, as well as 4, 8, and, 20 weeks after the end of the treatment. Results: The mean scores of Y-BOCS in the intervention and control groups was 30.5 ±67.6 and 30.5 ±67.6, respectively, before intervention, indicating no significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.0.8). The comparison of Y-BOCS scores after the intervention showed a significant difference between the two groups in the scores 4 (P = 0.01), 8 (P < 0.005), and 20 (P < 0.005) weeks after the treatment. With regards to the side effects of the medicine, 6.7% (n = 1) of the clients in the control group developed headache and 66.7% (n = 10) had late period in intervention group. The results revealed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of side effects (P < 0.005). Conclusion: The results of this study showed triptorelin decreased the symptoms of OCD. The effectiveness of triptorelin in the treatment of symptoms in clients with OCD was confirmed in our study. However, due to the limited research addressing this domain, future studies are suggested to clarify this conclusion.

Determining Pro-Oxidant Antioxidant Balance (PAB) and Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) in Patients with Schizophrenia.

Objective: Schizophrenia is a disease with unknown etiology. There is evidence suggesting that oxidative damage occurs in schizophrenia. Oxidative damage may arouse from imbalance between oxidant and anti-oxidant factors in cellular and tissue environment. Although it may not be the primary cause, it can worsen the disease and may be a reason of poor response to therapy in these patients. The present study aimed at evaluating the pro-oxidant antioxidant balance (PAB) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in serum of schizophrenia patients. PAB is an assay to determine the pro-oxidant load and antioxidant capacity in a single measurement. Method : In this cross- sectional study, patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia, who referred to a psychiatry university hospital (Ibn-e-Sina Hospital) affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, were enrolled. Patients' demographic characteristics and laboratory data were recorded from patients' files. Serum PAB and TAC were measured using a special PAB assay and commercial kit, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16. Results: A total of 84 individuals (42 schizophrenia cases and 42 healthy controls) participated in this study. Controls were age and sex-matched with the patients' group. The mean TAC in the patient and control groups was 0.49±0.04 and 0.51±0.04 nmol/L, respectively (p = 0.16). PAB was higher in patients' group than in controls (127.36±36.44 vs. 118.93±52.34 HK), however, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.09). The change was correlated with the chronicity of the disease. Conclusion: Pro-oxidant antioxidant balance was elevated in serum of patients with schizophrenia. These data suggested the occurrence of oxidative stress during the progression of the disease. Lower antioxidant capacity might suggest that patients with schizophrenia could be more susceptible to oxidative stress damage.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of saffron stigma (Crocus sativus L.) in mothers suffering from mild-to-moderate postpartum depression.

INTRODUCTION: Numerous adverse effects of antidepressants as well as the attitudes of breastfeeding mothers, who prefer to consume herbal medicine rather than chemical drugs, encouraged us to assess the effects of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) on mothers suffering from mild-to-moderate postpartum depressive disorder. METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled trial was conducted on 60 new mothers who had a maximum score of 29 on the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II). They were randomly assigned to the saffron (15 mg/Bid) or placebo group. The primary outcome was a change in the BDI-II scores 8 weeks after treatment compared to the baseline. The response and remission rates were considered to be secondary outcome measures. RESULTS: Saffron had a more significant impact on the BDI-II scores than the placebo. The mean BDI-II scores decreased from 20.3 ±â€¯5.7 to 8.4 ±â€¯3.7 for the saffron group (p < .0001) and from 19.8 ±â€¯3.2 to 15.1 ±â€¯5.4 for the placebo group (p < .01). In the final assessment, 96% of the saffron group were in remission compared to 43% of the placebo group (p < .01). The complete response rates were 6% for the placebo group and 66% for the saffron group. CONCLUSION: When administered to treat minor PPD in breastfeeding mothers, saffron had a more significant impact on the BDI-II than the placebo.

A randomized effectiveness trial of methadone, TENS and methadone plus TENS in management of opiate withdrawal symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: To compare effectiveness of methadone, TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) and methadone+ TENS in management of opiate withdrawal symptoms. METHODS: The study was conducted in Zahedan Psychiatric center in 2005. Forty five opiate addicted men meeting DSM-IV criteria for substance dependency disorder participated in the study after informed consent. The subjects were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups. Patients of first group were given 20-60 mg methadone daily, tapered over a period of 2 weeks. Patients of second group received daily 10-30 mg methadone, tapered similar to first group in combination with TENS treatment. The other 15 patients (third group) experienced low frequency (2 Hz) TENS for two weeks. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in severity and number of withdrawal symptoms between the 3 groups prior to the start of treatments. But, severity and number of symptoms were significantly higher in TENS group (third group) in third day. In addition, 10 patients of TENS-group left the treatment programme after 5 days. The results showed that methadone only and Methadone plus TENS for the management of opioid detoxification were effective treatments. The comparison of number and severity of withdrawal symptoms in the methadone group and methadone+TENS group by seventh day didn't show significant differences. But, number and severity of withdrawal symptoms in methadone+TENS group were significantly lower than methadone group during tenth and fourteenth days. CONCLUSION: The results provide support for the use of methadone alone and methadone plus TENS for managing opiate withdrawal, but TENS by itself has no significant effect on withdrawal symptoms. However, TENS in combination with a moderate dose of methadone could reduce severity of withdrawal symptoms effectively.