Algorithm-Based Modular Psychotherapy Alleviates Brain Inflammation in Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is marked by prolonged and excessive worry, physical signs of anxiety, and associated neuroinflammation. Traditional treatments, like pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), often leave residual symptoms and have high relapse rates. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of algorithm-based modular psychotherapy (MoBa), a combination of CBT and mindfulness meditation as validated by the research domain criteria (RDoC), in reducing anxiety and neuroinflammation in GAD. A longitudinal design was used, with 50 patients with GAD undergoing a 12-week MoBa treatment. The patients were investigated pre- and post-treatment using MRI to measure neuroinflammatory markers (DBSI-RF, diffusion-basis spectral imaging-based restricted fraction) in the hippocampus, amygdala, and neocortex. Clinical symptoms were assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7). Results indicated significant reductions in both anxiety symptoms and MRI RF values in the amygdala, suggesting decreased neuroinflammation. A reduction in anxiety was associated with the amelioration of neuroinflammation in the amygdala. These results suggest that MoBa is effective in alleviating both the psychological and neuroinflammatory aspects of GAD, offering a promising personalized treatment approach. Future research should focus on long-term effects and the mechanisms through which MoBa impacts neuroinflammation and anxiety.

[Psychotropic drugs in pregnancy].

According to the statistics, there is an increased number of pregnant women taking psychotropic medication. For each clinical decision, or change in therapy that affect women of reproductive age, one has to consider the available information on the reproductive safety of psychiatric drugs. Due to ethical considerations, there are no randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, hence no unequivocal evidence addressing this topic. When used during pregnancy, there might be potential adverse effects of psychotropic drugs in regards to the following: teratogenicity, pregnancy outcome, obstetrical complications, neonatal toxicity and withdrawal syndrome, breastfeeding, and the offspring's long-term intellectual, behavioral, emotional development. After studying the specialized literature, this paper aims to help colleagues to make the best clinical recommendations for psychiatric patients who are either pregnant, or planning to become pregnant.

[Treatment of metacognitive impairments in schizophrenia - The Metacognitive Training].

In the recent years plenty of therapeutic treatment methods have been developed, aimed at neurocognitive impairments in schizophrenia. These trainingprograms can hold up promising results in the improvement of neurocognitive functions. Nevertheless the generalisation on the daily life is not perspicuous. A reason for it might be the supposition, that further factors such as metacognition and social cognition may play a mediator role between neurocognition and functional outcomes. As a result, many socialcognitive remediation methods and programs have emerged targeting the impairment of deficits both in the field of neuro- and social cognition and deficits of metacognition. We review the specific impairments in schizophrenia (e.g. deficits of Theory of Mind, disorder of emotional perception, specific cognitive biases or impairment of metamemory), the construction and speciality of the Metacognitive Training, and the findings of studies aimed at the efficacy of the method. In addition to the socialcognitive remediation, the goal of Metacognitive Training is the correction of the cognitive biases playing an important role in the emergence and subsistence of delusions.