Influence of Sex and Diagnosis on Clinical Variables and Neurocognitive Performance in Severe Mental Illness. Results From the PsyCourse Study.

Introduction: Bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ) are serious mental illnesses (SMI) with overlapping symptoms but distinct differences in onset and course. Sex differences are an area of growing interest in SMI. This study aims to examine potential interactions between sex and diagnosis across a broad range of variables, to compare males and females within SZ and BD, and to investigate sex-specific group differences.

Unravelling the Link Between Body Mass Index and Cognitive Performance in Individuals With Bipolar Disorder and Exploration of PRS Moderation Effect: Findings From the PsyCourse Study.

Introduction: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe mental disorder characterized by extreme mood swings, often accompanied by metabolic comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, which increase mortality and reduce quality of life. Both metabolic dysfunctions and BD are associated with cognitive dysfunction. Body mass index (BMI) is closely linked to metabolic health and cognitive performance.

Pathway-Specific Polygenic Scores for Predicting Clinical Lithium Treatment Response in Patients With Bipolar Disorder.

Background: Polygenic scores (PGSs) hold the potential to identify patients who respond favorably to specific psychiatric treatments. However, their biological interpretation remains unclear. In this study, we developed pathway-specific PGSs (PS) for lithium response and assessed their association with clinical lithium response in patients with bipolar disorder.

Integrating fecal immunochemical testing and methylated SEPT9 for enhanced colorectal cancer Screening: A Multi-Center Case-Control study.

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, with an increasing incidence in individuals younger than 50 years old. Early detection through screening significantly improves outcomes, with non-invasive methods such as the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) providing a viable addition to colonoscopy. However, sensitivity limitations of FIT have prompted the exploration of additional biomarkers, including methylated SEPT9 (mSEPT9), a blood-based assay approved for CRC screening.

Disease severity across psychiatric disorders is linked to pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Importance: Numerous studies indicate that the traditional categorical classification of severe mental disorders (SMD), such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and major depressive disorders, does not align with the underlying biology of those disorders as they frequently overlap in terms of symptoms and risk factors.

Objective: This study aimed to identify transdiagnostic patient clusters based on disease severity and explore the underlying biological mechanisms independently of the traditional categorical classification.

Design: We utilized data from 443 participants diagnosed with SMD of the PsyCourse Study, a longitudinal study with deep phenotyping across up to four visits.