Young first-episode psychosis patients exhibit impaired microvascular function in the skin and low systemic nitric oxide availability, independent of classical cardiovascular risk factors.

Impaired endothelial function in patients with psychotic disorders may contribute to increased cardiovascular mortality, but the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Here, we comprehensively analyzed endothelial function in 33 young (median age 18: IQR 17-27) patients diagnosed with first-episode psychosis (FEP), examining large vessels (flow-mediated dilation; FMD) and the microcirculation in peripheral vessels (peripheral arterial tonometry following reactive hyperemia; RH-PAT) and in the skin (flow-mediated skin fluorescence; FMSF). We also measured the plasma concentration of nitric oxide (NO) metabolites (nitrite/nitrate) and 18 biomarkers related to endothelial function, including those representative of glycocalyx damage (SDC-1), endothelial inflammation (sVCAM-1), disrupted endothelial permeability (Angpt-1, Angpt-2), and hemostasis (TAFI, THBS-1).

Ukrainian refugee crisis center at the University Hospital's Psychiatric Clinic for Adults, Children and Adolescents in Krakow.

Purpose: Since 2022, Poland, particularly Krakow, has been at the forefront of providing assistance to Ukrainian refugees, displaced by military operations. The mental health impact of war trauma, notably post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress reaction (ASR), necessitated immediate psychiatric interventions. To provide psychological support for refugees, a team of nine specialists was formed within the Department of Adult, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University Hospital in Krakow.

Framework guidelines for the process of caring for the health of adolescent transgender (T) and non-binary (NB) people experiencing gender dysphoria - the position statement of the expert panel.

This article presents framework guidelines for the care of adolescent transgender (T) and non-binary (NB) individuals experiencing gender dysphoria (GD) and/or gender incongruence (GI). Developed by a multidisciplinary expert panel, these guidelines aim to address the complex medical, psychological, and social needs of this diverse population. The document emphasises the importance of individualised, affirmative care that respects the autonomy, identity, and rights of adolescents.

Assessment of aggressive behaviours on an adolescent inpatient psychiatric ward in Poland using the SOAS-R tool - preliminary report.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyse the incidence of aggressive behaviour in patients of an adolescent psychiatric ward towards medical and nursing personnel and to assess the usefulness of the tools used by the authors to describe the incident itself. Currently, Polish literature and practice lack such scales. The tool used in the study was the Polish version of the Staff Observation Aggression Scale-Revised (SOAS-R).

AN EVALUATION ON ATTITUDES OF POLISH PROFESSIONALS TOWARDS THE RAPID EMERGENCE OF REMOTE PSYCHOTHERAPY ARISING AT THE OUTSET OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, WITHIN A LEGAL CONTEXT.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic impacted on everyday life and made necessary to deploy remote medical services. Delivering psychiatric health care remotely for children and adolescents posed a major challenge to healthcare professionals. The study aimed to describe the status and trends in remote psychotherapy used during the pandemic Covid-19 and lockdown in Poland with focus on factors affecting the decisions made by therapists, particularly those specific to child and adolescent therapy.

The impact of excessive maternal weight on the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders in offspring-a narrative review of clinical studies.

The global prevalence of overweight and obesity is a significant public health concern that also largely affects women of childbearing age. Human epidemiological studies indicate that prenatal exposure to excessive maternal weight or excessive gestational weight gain is linked to various neurodevelopmental disorders in children, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, internalizing and externalizing problems, schizophrenia, and cognitive/intellectual impairment. Considering that inadequate maternal body mass can induce serious disorders in offspring, it is important to increase efforts to prevent such outcomes.

GDNF and miRNA-29a as biomarkers in the first episode of psychosis: uncovering associations with psychosocial factors.

Aim: Schizophrenia involves complex interactions between biological and environmental factors, including childhood trauma, cognitive impairments, and premorbid adjustment. Predicting its severity and progression remains challenging. Biomarkers like glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and miRNA-29a may bridge biological and environmental aspects.

From periphery immunity to central domain through clinical interview as a new insight on schizophrenia.

Identifying disease predictors through advanced statistical models enables the discovery of treatment targets for schizophrenia. In this study, a multifaceted clinical and laboratory analysis was conducted, incorporating magnetic resonance spectroscopy with immunology markers, psychiatric scores, and biochemical data, on a cohort of 45 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 51 healthy controls. The aim was to delineate predictive markers for diagnosing schizophrenia.

Diabetes distress and diabetes burnout explored in various areas of life in patients with type 1 diabetes: effect of short-term psychological intervention.

Introduction: Diabetes distress (DD) and diabetes burnout (DB) are recognized psychological phenomena in patients with T1DM (type 1 diabetes mellitus). Still, there is an urgent need to create professional psychological intervention procedures to provide patients with adequate care.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the level of DD and DB in T1DM patients at baseline and after 5 of sessions psychological intervention in the group of participants who applied for help.

Questionnaire for the Perception of Psychotherapy Process by the Psychotherapist (QPPP) - a preliminary presentation of a research tool.

Objectives: The emotional reactions of therapist in the treatment process constitute the core of therapeutic work, but they are poorly represented in research area. The article presents the results of work on the creation of a new tool the Questionnaire for the Perception of Psychotherapy Process by the Psychotherapist (QPPP).

Methods: The Questionnaire containing 267 statements assessing cognitive, affective and behavioural reactions of psychotherapists in interaction with a specific patient was uploaded on the website.

Benefits and Meaning of Lipids Profile in Relation to Oxidative Balance and Brain Morphology in Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is characterized by complex metabolic dysregulations and their consequences. Until now, numerous theories have explained its pathogenesis, using a spectrum of available technologies. We focused our interest on lipid profile-periphery high-density cholesterol level and lipoproteins in the human brain and compared magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of patients with schizophrenia and the healthy group.

Risk factors for weight gain in patients with first-episode psychosis.

Objectives: Assessment of the association between weight gain in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and biopsychosocial and sociological factors.

Methods: 25 subjects with FEP aged 14-35 examined in week 1 (P1) and after three months of hospitalization (P3) were enrolled in the study. Within 3 months all patients were diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Immunological routine laboratory parameters at admission influence the improvement of positive symptoms in schizophrenia patients after pharmacological treatment.

Introduction: The standard care of schizophrenia patients is based on the assessment of their psychotic behavior, using interview-based, subjective scales that measure symptoms severity. We aimed at defining easily accessible and inexpensive blood-derived clinical diagnostic parameters that might serve as objective markers in the prediction of the effects of pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia patients.

Methods: A total of 40 patients with schizophrenia diagnosis according to ICD 10 during psychotic decompensation were included in the study.

The Association of the Oral Microbiota with the Effects of Acid Stress Induced by an Increase of Brain Lactate in Schizophrenia Patients.

The altered cerebral energy metabolism central to schizophrenia can be linked to lactate accumulation. Lactic acid is produced by gastrointestinal bacteria, among others, and readily crosses the blood-brain barrier, leading to the brain acidity. This study aimed to examine the association of the oral microbiota with the effects of acid stress induced by an increase of brain lactate in schizophrenia patients.

Phytotherapy of mood disorders in the light of microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Background: Clinical research in natural product-based psychopharmacology has revealed a variety of promising herbal medicines that may provide benefit in the treatment of mild mood disorders, however failed to unambiguously indicate pharmacologically active constituents. The emerging role of the microbiota-gut-brain axis opens new possibilities in the search for effective methods of treatment and prevention of mood disorders.

Purpose: Considering the clinically proven effectiveness juxtaposed with inconsistencies regarding the indication of active principles for many medicinal plants applied in the treatment of anxiety and depression, the aim of the review is to look at their therapeutic properties from the perspective of the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Redefining the Cut-Off Ranges for TSH Based on the Clinical Picture, Results of Neuroimaging and Laboratory Tests in Unsupervised Cluster Analysis as Individualized Diagnosis of Early Schizophrenia.

Thyroid abnormalities, including mild forms of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, are reported as risk factors for the development of a number of neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. The diagnostic process still takes into account the extreme ranges of the accepted reference values for serum TSH since the concentration of free thyroxine in the serum does not change by definition. TSH mU/L cut-off values in psychiatric patients are currently clinically considered in the case of extremely high serum TSH levels (>4.

Improvement in clinical symptoms in patients with the first episode of psychosis is associated with a decrease in systemic nitric oxide availability. A pilot study.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between the improvement of the clinical condition of patients with the first episode of psychosis (FEP) and changes in - nitric oxide (NO) plasma concentration based on the level of its metabolites NO2- and NO3, as well as changes in lipid profile and biomarkers of systemic inflammation.

Methods: The study was carried out in agroup of 25 young patients with FEP (aged 14-35). Blood samples were collected in the 1st and 12th week after admission to the hospital to assess NO metabolites, lipid profile and inflammatory biomarkers.

Relationship of metabolic parameters with the course of the first episode of psychosis - preliminary research.

Objectives: Cardiometabolic syndromes are the most common causes of complications shortening life expectancy in patients treated for mental disorders, especially schizophrenia. However, how much cardiometabolic risk is related to lifestyle, side-effects of treatment or psychosis is not clear. The aim of this study was a prospective assessment of metabolic changes in young, initially somatically healthy patients diagnosed with the first acute episode of psychosis with no prior pharmacological treatment.

Association between cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular drug therapy, and in-hospital outcomes in patients with COVID-19: data from a large single-center registry in Poland.

Background: The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) recently became one of the leading causes of death worldwide, similar to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Coexisting CVD may influence the prognosis of patients with COVID-19.

Aims: We analyzed the impact of CVD and the use of cardiovascular drugs on the in-hospital course and mortality of patients with COVID-19.

Determinants of Schizophrenia Endophenotypes Based on Neuroimaging and Biochemical Parameters.

Despite extensive research, there is no convincing evidence of a reliable diagnostic biomarker for schizophrenia beyond clinical observation. Disorders of glutamatergic neurotransmission associated with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor insufficiency, neuroinflammation, and redox dysregulation are the principal common mechanism linking changes in the periphery with the brain, ultimately contributing to the emergence of negative symptoms of schizophrenia that underlie differential diagnosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of these systems via peripheral and cerebral biochemical indices in relation to the patient's clinical condition.

Transformation and operation of a uniform psychiatric ward dedicated to COVID-19 patients during the pandemic.

This article aims to describe the experience of transforming the Clinical Department of Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the University Hospital in Krakow (CDACAP) into award designated by the Malopolska Voivod to provide the treatment for mentally ill adults from Malopolska Voivodship and adolescents from the south of Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss sequent stages of transformation, practical solutions and difficulties encountered in the process. 9 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were hospitalized in the CDACAP between 09.

The Relationship between the Level of Anterior Cingulate Cortex Metabolites, Brain-Periphery Redox Imbalance, and the Clinical State of Patients with Schizophrenia and Personality Disorders.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder whose course varies with periods of deterioration and symptomatic improvement without diagnosis and treatment specific for the disease. So far, it has not been possible to clearly define what kinds of functional and structural changes are responsible for the onset or recurrence of acute psychotic decompensation in the course of schizophrenia, and to what extent personality disorders may precede the appearance of the appropriate symptoms. The work combines magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging with clinical evaluation and laboratory tests to determine the likely pathway of schizophrenia development by identifying peripheral cerebral biomarkers compared to personality disorders.

Overweight and obesity risk factors in children aged 3-7 years: a prospective study in the city of Kraków.

Background: Early identified factors determining overweight and obesity in childhood may be important for preventive purposes.

Aim: To evaluate the influence of the commonly accepted and hypothetical risk factors for overweight/obesity and their mutual relations, using the method of classification trees.

Subjects And Methods: The data were collected during anthropometric surveys carried out in 2010 in Kraków, Poland.

Abdominal obesity screening tools in the aspects of secular trend.

The growing number of children suffering from abdominal obesity has resulted in a search for a cheap and reliable method for their detection. The aim of the study was to identify whether the measurements and indicators used to assess this type of obesity are equally suitable for this purpose for each population, and additionally to investigate intergenerational changes in measurements and indicators used to determine the prevalence of abdominal obesity. Three cross-sectional anthropological studies were made in 1983, 2000 and 2010.