Antonio E Nardi

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro | UFRJ · Departamento de Psiquiatria e Medicina Legal

Introduction: Longer treatment times, more comorbidity, more severe impairments in social, psychological, and emotional functioning, increased healthcare use, and more hospitalizations are all factors that are related to dysthymia. Given the significant prevalence of dysthymia (including persistent depressive disorder) worldwide, its comorbidity wi...

Objective: To critically analyze the evidence regarding changes in verbal and performance intelligence quotient (IQ) in patients with schizophrenia. Data Sources: An English-language–only search was conducted in the PPubMed, Cochrane Library, and LILACS databases for articles with study objectives that included Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WA...

As we celebrate the centenary of Turan M. Itil, we recognize the importance of his contributions to neurology and psychopharmacology. His pioneering work opened new horizons in understanding the complex interactions between drugs and the human brain, significantly improving approaches to treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders. As we reflect on h...

With deep sorrow, we bid farewell to a true giant in the field of Psychiatry - Professor Ellis Alindo D’Arrigo Busnello, an indomitable and creative spirit who passed away on the 12th of July, 2023. A luminary in the fields of psychiatry and social medicine, Professor Busnello's life's journey was an extraordinary odyssey that has left an indelible...

We are thrilled to announce the outstanding growth and recognition achieved by the Brazilian Journal of Psychia- try, as it achieves a remarkable 2023 JCR Impact Factor of 5.5. This significant milestone follows the all-time record of 2022, when the Impact Factor reached 6.0. It represents a steadfast commitment to excellence in psychiatric resea...

The authors conductedastudyon the concept of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and the relationship of these disorders with criminal behavior. The presence of comorbidity with attention deficit disorder and conduct disorder seems to increase the risk of these behaviors in patients with ASD. Certainly, a better understanding and management of comorbid...

Background Alexithymia has been found to be associated with several somatic illnesses, such as cardiovascular, indicating that it might be a risk factor for early death in the long-term course of post-myocardial infarction. From the cardiology perspective, the aim was to collect current evidence about the relationship between alexithymia and somati...

Matricide is the murder of a mother by her son or daughter, a form of homicide rarely seen in psychiatric practice. A narrative review was conducted on the relationship between matricide and schizophrenia, followed by a case report in Brazil of a schizophrenic patient who murdered his mother and was submitted to forensic psychiatric assessment for...

The article reports the case of a patient with posttraumatic stress disorder who underwent forensic psychiatric examination to assess her work capacity. The examiner concluded that based on the severity of the case, the patient was unfit to work. Forensic psychiatric examination is extremely important to guarantee the individual's rights. A detaile...

The aim of this paper is to verify if people with a positive score on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) without comorbidity of mood disorders showed a worse level of Health-related Quality of life (HRQol) compared to a control-matched sample of MDQ negatives, identifying a specific syndrome. This is a case-control study based on a database of a...

Objective: To perform a meta-analysis and comparison between developed and developing countries postpartum depression symptoms prevalences. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Virtual Health Library, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO and CINAHL databases were searched until October 2022 for studies that collected data during the pandemic. The metaprop command...

This article presents our historical research regarding Charles Brown-Séquard, a famous scientist with important contributions to the medical field, in particular for neurology, and endocrinology, and his relationship with Dom Pedro II, the second and last Brazilian Emperor, and an enlightened ruler. The Emperor contacted several illustrious person...

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a relevant public health issue, therefore accurate screening tools could be useful. The objective of this study is to verify the accuracy of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and genetic risk as screeners, and their comparison in terms of reliability. Older adults (N = 61, >60 years) received a clinical psychiatric eval...

Objective: To determine the heritability and genetic relationships between dimensional and categorical models of bipolar disorder (BD). Methods: The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) assesses lifetime history of cardinal manic symptoms and associated impairment. MDQ were collected from participants in the Amish-Mennonite Bipolar Genetics (AMBiGen)...

In conclusion, the best treatments to prevent relapse in PD are roughly the same ones recommended by the guidelines for acute treatment: SSRI, SNRI, TCA, benzodiazepines, and CBT. Pharmacological treatment should be extended for at least 6–12 months after remission is achieved. Maintenance pharmacological treatment should be considered for selected...

O objetivo do presente artigo é revisitar de forma narrativa os conceitos de crime, culpabilidade, punibilidade e medida de segurança e suas conexões com a doença mental. É realizada crítica à desinstitucionalização sem planejamento e apontada a importância da Psiquiatria Forense como especialidade que lida com a interface entre o direito e a psiqu...

We believe that the NHS has a clinical and moral obligation to help those who have been harmed by taking their medication as prescribed. Panorama has revealed the scale of the problem and the horrendous impact it has had on so many people’s lives. To help mitigate these impacts, we therefore urgently call upon the UK government to fund and implemen...

Objective: Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is associated with psychological, physical, and social problems, including impaired academic performance. The objective of this review was to investigate the relationship between IAD and psychiatric disorders in medical students. Data Sources: A search of PubMed, LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Heal...

This paper tries to summarise the results of studies from different disciplines supporting the idea that temperamental traits, such as "reckless/hyper-exploratory” attitudes, commonly believed to be associated with psychopathology, surprisingly turn out as adaptive under specific stress conditions. In particular, this paper analyses an ethologic li...

Objective The objective is to verify whether a genetic condition associated with bipolar disorder (BD) is frequent in old adults adapted to their environment, without BD, but with aptitudes for hyperactivity and novelty seeking (H/NS). Methods In this cross-sectional study, the study sample included healthy elderly people (40 participants, aged 60...

Although accumulating evidence suggests an interplay between child abuse and inflammatory processes and the pathophysiology of mental disorders, few studies have investigated the cellular mechanisms related to this matter. Furthermore, no studies to date have evaluated cytokine, oxidative stress, and DNA damage levels in drug-naïve panic disorder (...

Schizophrenia may be associated with violent behaviour, especially in the presence of psychotic symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, and this violence is most often directed against family members. We present the case of a schizophrenic patient who murdered his mother. Questions about criminal imputability and the importance of preventio...

Background: The prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) possibly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to numerous direct and indirect stressors associated with the virus as well as modifications to the social, economic, and health landscape. Objective: We aimed to carry out a systematic literature review of cross-sectional studies that asse...

A recent study showed that GDF11 stimulates autophagy via inhibition of mTOR and that this action is necessary for the enhancement of neuronal activity mediated by GDF117. These findings point to a common mechanism that might be shared by food deprivation, rapamycin treatment or physical exercise and suggest the exciting possibility of a new class...

Introduction: Digital Dependence is a person's persistent inability to regulate the use of digital devices, on which he or she has become highly dependent. Internet dependence has been described since the mid-1990s, and studies on this topic have intensified since 2010. This type of individual dependence has been the subject of considerable publish...

Vaginal penetration skills and behavior are considered different aspects of vaginal penetration. Nevertheless, these terms are used interchangeably in most genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder (GPPPD) intervention studies, possibly impacting the assessment and selection of intervention outcomes. This is the first theoretical essay on the relevan...

Schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) exhibited altered activation in several brain areas, including the prefrontal and temporal cortex; however, a less explored topic is how brain connectivity and functional disturbances occur in non-Caucasian samples of SCZ and BD. Individuals with SCZ (n=20), BD (n=21), and healthy controls (HC, n=21) fr...

Objective It is important to differentiate between problem and conflict in clinical practice, because the steps suggested in the problem-solving technique are usually not enough to help patients deal with conflicts. This systematic review aimed to: investigate how cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help in problem solving and conflict mediation...

Background: Cognitive impairment is a frequent consequence of bipolar disorder (BD) that is difficult to prevent and treat. In addition, the quality of the preliminary evidence on the treatment of BD through Cognitive Remediation (CR) with traditional methods is poor. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of a CR intervention with fully imme...

This is a life retelling of the outstanding physiologist, neurologist and endocrinologist, Charles- Édouard Brown-Séquard. He is famous for describing the syndrome of hemisection of the spinal cord that carries his name and his prolific contribution to medicine and pioneering neuroscience.

Although the importance of mirror neurons has been seen to be lesser than initially assumed and despite recent criticism, their activity still plays an important role in many behaviors. It was thanks to their discovery that discussions that affect the day-to-day of many neurological and psychiatric patients have started, such as utilizing virtual r...

It has been suggested in the medical literature that in the last period of his life King David (c. 1040-970 BCE) suffered from dementia, osteoporosis, hyperparathyroidism, Parkinson's disease, autonomic neuropathy, major depression, and malignancy. The goal of this study was to identify, based on the "Succession Narrative (SN)," a historically obje...

Os indivíduos do mundo moderno costumam interagir todos os dias e por muitas horas com diversos dispositivos do mundo digital (computadores, telefones celulares, tablets, entre outros). O planeta caminha a passos largos colhendo os frutos dessa interatividade que, sem dúvida, traz inúmeros benefícios para a humanidade. Contudo, não podemos perder d...

Introduction: Bipolar disorder (BD) in DSM-III and DSM-IV is classified as a mood disorder and requires the presence of a mood change, i.e., euphoria or irritability. Differently, DSM-5 states that there must be some increase in energy or motor activity in addition to the mood change. Objective: Our aim was to identify which types of symptoms (i...

Digital Dependence is a person's persistent inability to regulate the use of digital devices, on which he or she has become highly dependent. Internet dependence has been described since the mid-1990s, and studies on this topic have intensified since 2010. This type of individual dependence has been the subject of considerable published literature,...

Background The era of establishing tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) changed the outcome and the course of this life-threatening malignancy. People suffering from CML have now a better prognosis and a longer life expectancy by the development of TKIs, even if it requires long term—often lifelong— t...

It’s hypothesized that factors associated with bipolar disorder could, under defined conditions, produce adaptive behaviors. The aim is to verify whether a genetic feature associated with bipolar disorder can be found in people without bipolar disorder but with hyperactivity/exploration traits. Healthy old adults (N=40) recruited for a previous stu...

A network approach has been offering an alternative to the conception of psychological disorders as underlying disease. The network assumption views psychological disorders as networks of symptoms of causal interaction. Network analysis offers a unique view of an individual's system, obtained from data rather than categorization. It allows moving t...

In the 19th century, there was an unfolding of research focused on the biological, physiological and chemical foundations of life. In the meantime, the study of "animal electricity" was developing, and Bois-Reymond replaced the idea of attributing the action of nerves and muscles to vital forces with a mechanical vision, demonstrating the electrica...

Background: Dementia is a clinical syndrome which is more common in elderly people. Dementia with Lewy bodies (LBD) is not so rare in elderly people, with cognitive impairment in about 30% over age 65. The clinical picture is characterized by fluctuation in cognitive functions, recurrent, well-formed, detailed visual hallucinations, and Parkinsonis...

Objective: To assess sexual desire in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Methods: Baseline data were analyzed from an ongoing cohort study at an outpatient clinic specializing in TRD treatment in Brazil. The cohort comprised consecutive patients with the diagnosis of TRD who sought treatment at this center between November 2015 an...

Neuropsychiatric disorders associated with coronavirus infections emerged with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We describe the clinical, laboratory and radiological features of a patient who presented, after recent COVID-19, two rare neuropsy-chiatric manifestations: a brief psychotic break followed by severe bilateral peripheral...

This tribute unfolds in the influential legacy of Moreira through several Brazilian personalities, especially in the areas of Psychiatry and Neurology, but also in the architectural remains that can still be recognized today in the space of the Campus of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Praia Vermelha.

Background Social distancing as a preventive measure to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many people working from home, using online digital resources. Staying at home has led to the adaptation of many work activities to allow continuity of people´s jobs. It can also affect home routines and ways of working, thereby leadi...

Background There is an inverse association between cardiorespiratory fitness and general anxiety levels in adolescents. Obesity also is associated with a higher risk of anxiety in this population. However, little is known about the association between other health-related fitness elements with anxiety symptoms in this population. The authors explor...

Introduction: Cognitive deficits are considered a fundamental component of bipolar disorder due to the fact that they negatively impact personal/social functioning. Cognitive remediation interventions are effective in the treatment of various psychosocial disorders, including bipolar disorder. The use of Virtual reality as a rehabilitation tool has...

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a high prevalence clinical condition with great impact on patients' quality of life. Despite the high prevalence, many patients are wrongly diagnosed as resistant. Inadequate treatment, low medication adherence, incorrect depression diagnosis, and presence of comorbidities are some of the factors that contrib...

Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic that has been widely used by emergency physicians After the publication of a small randomized-controlled study describing the positive effects of injectable ketamine in major depression, we have witnessed a growing interest in its potential use in mood disorders. Following this preliminary evidence, several stu...

Background The offspring of parents with Anxiety Disorders (AD) are at high risk for different types of psychopathology, including AD. However, little is known about how parental anxiety during pregnancy and/or the postnatal period might result in alterations in behavior or neurodevelopmental changes in offspring. To examine the effect of parental...

Dream-reality confusion (DRC) is the consequence of hypnagogic content confusion with real events and memories. Narcoleptic subjects eventually have DRC and can be misdiagnosed as schizophrenic or with another disorder with delusional or hallucinatory symptoms. Although dream-related experiences and hallucinatory perception share neurophysiological...

Despite the speedy development of vaccines for COVID-19, their rollout has posed a major public health challenge, as vaccine hesitancy (VH) and refusal is high. Addressing vaccine hesitancy is a multifactorial and context-dependent challenge. This perspective focuses on VH in the world region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and includes pe...

Objective: To evaluate a sample of all women who received a safety measure and were admitted to inpatient forensic psychiatric care (n=28), due to violent behavior. Method: This is a retrospective and cross-sectional study. The case records of all women were retrospectively examined, including technical records and the evaluations by clinical exper...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a global need to explore the potential and challenges of online education. Objective To evaluate the presence of depression and anxiety in university students and their level of satisfaction with online learning during the period of social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Method A cross-sectio...

Aim: This is the third version of the guideline of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Task Force for the Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders (published in 2002, revised in 2008). Method: A consensus panel of 33 international experts representing 22 countrie...

Aim: This is the third version of the guideline of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Task Force for the Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders which was published in 2002 and revised in 2008.Method: A consensus panel of 34 international experts representing 22 c...

There is an urgent need for new drugs in PD treatment. The GABAAR is ubiquitous in the central nervous system, and there is a huge diversity of receptor subtypes in almost all regions of the brain. Some newer GABAAR positive allosteric modulators are selective for receptor subtypes that contain α2/α3 subunits, which makes them more effective as anx...

Growing number of researches has studied driving phobia of in the last decades. Excessive fear of driving can cause impacts on the individual's career, social embarrassment and significant restrictions on their autonomy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether treatment with virtual reality exposure and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) s...

Sexual health is relevant throughout a person’s life; however, studying human sexuality is complex and requires particular care when working with individuals from different cultural and social backgrounds. Much of the research addressing this subject has been conducted in Western countries, and that in non-Western countries is generally based on sm...

Cytokines and nitric oxide have been associated with impulsive and aggressive personality traits. We conducted the first study that investigated the role of SNPs in cytokines and nitric oxide genes and the influence in the progression of aggressive and impulsive behavior in 107 of cocaine and crack users. In this case-control, IL-10 (-819C/T), TNFA...

IntroductionBipolar disorder (BD) has the highest risk of suicide among all mental disorders. Thus, identifying factors related to suicidal ideation is essential for a better assessment of the risk of suicide in BD.Objective To analyze the relationship between suicidal ideation and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics in BD patients.Method...

Aim: The present study investigated the differences between the Panic Disorder (PD) patients groups’ and healthy controls for the EEG alpha dynamics under the frontal cortex and reaction time during the oddball task. Material and Methods: The reaction time during the oddball paradigm concomitant to EEG alpha power was tested in nine PD patients and...

Any group of drugs that has been on the market for more than 60 years and is constantly being prescribed by physicians in their daily practice should have our attention and respect. This is the case with benzodiazepines (BZ) as they have been on the market for a long time and deserve some degree of deference for surviving attacks from the media and...

Tom Ban is gone but will not be forgotten. Not only because he was scientifically and clinically involved in the development of many of the drugs that are now part of the conventional psychiatric armamentarium. Neither because he was such an astute observer and a devoted chronicler of the birth of modern neuropsychopharmacology. But Tom Ban will be...

Objectives The aim of this systematic review is to find evidence to determine which strategies are effective for improving hospitalised patients’ perception of respect and dignity. Methods A systematic review of the literature was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. The ME...

Prolactinomas are the most prevalent functional pituitary adenomas. They are usually treated clinically with dopamine agonists. The most widely used and suitable drug is cabergoline (CAB), a specific D2 dopamine agonists. Patients in prolactinoma treatment with CAB commonly report physical side effects, but aberrant behavioral changes such as incre...

Sexual health is an essential human right, in spite of one’s culture; however, Arab sexuality is not getting the attention it deserves not only because of the cultural sensitivities but also because of the lack of training, research, and tools around the matter. When conducting sexual studies and assessing sexuality in different cultures, the biops...

From a neurobiological perspective, diverse studies have associated emotional regulation with cognitive deficits. Structural and/or metabolic changes in the frontal cortex are often inferred from dysfunction in cognitive-emotional processing. In addition, electroencephalographic findings support the idea that alpha band oscillations are responses t...

The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between impulsivity/aggressivity traits and mental disorders in cocaine/crack users. A non-probabilistic sample of the 106 subjects from an outpatient center for homeless people and three therapeutics communities in Northeast Brazil was investigated. The version of the Mini International Ne...

This study identify mental disorders, the levels of impulsivity and aggressiveness of users of psychoactive substances in the homeless population. This is a descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study. The data were collected in welcoming communities and the Specialized Center for the Homeless Population. 52 subjects were studied, most of...

Among people with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarc-tion (STEMI), high alexithymia was associated with delay to hospital arrival. High alexithymia could be a determinant of early death in the long term after STEMI. People with STEMI who participated in a survey in 2011, was tested about the state of life in 2021. The sample was divided into tw...

Objetivo: Identificar as características socioeconômicas, o padrão de uso das substâncias psicoativas e os transtornos mentais associados ao uso de crack e cocaína. Métodos: Caracteriza-se como descritivo, transversal e de abordagem quantitativa, realizado com 112 participantes que apresentaram um histórico de uso de crack e/ou de cocaína, com a ap...

After a low-calorie diet, only 25% of patients succeed in maintaining the result of weight loss for a long time. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to explore whether patients undergoing intensive intervention during the maintenance phase have a greater preservation of the weight achieved during the previous slimming phase than controls....

Alterations in the immune system have been associated with a variety of mental illnesses. An increase in circulating inflammatory cytokines is observed not only in people with mental disorders but also in their first-degree relatives. A considerable amount of data support the link between immune system activation and panic disorder (PD) pathogenesi...

In this issue Feinsteinet al. (2022) proposed in a large and detailed review of an interesting neurosurgical evidence a model of apnea-induced anxiety (AiA) which could predict the recurring episodes of apnea are being unconsciously elicited by amygdala activation which might result in transient spikes in CO 2 that provoke panic attacks (PAs) and l...