Virtual reality interventions in the assessment and treatment of alcohol use disorder - a systematic scoping review on methodology.

Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology has been increasingly employed to develop innovative treatments for Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and overcome limitations of currents therapies. However, previous research in this field has yielded inconclusive results. To improve the quality and comparability of studies, a critical analysis of the research methodology employed in this field is necessary.

The prevalence of prolonged grief disorder according to the international classification of diseases 11: a scoping review.

Background: The eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) introduces Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) as a new diagnostic category. This paper summarizes methodological approaches and prevalence estimates of studies on PGD in ICD-11.

Methods: This review follows the JBI Manual of Evidence Synthesis and PRISMA-ScR guidelines.

Negative symptomatology and clozapine-induced obsessive-compulsive symptoms: a cross-sectional analysis.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) frequently manifest in individuals with schizophrenia, affecting their prognosis and quality of life. The etiology of OCS in schizophrenia is complex, with theories ranging from subtype-specific manifestations to pharmacological influences. Notably, clozapine has been associated with a higher prevalence of OCS.

Antipsychotic Acute-Phase Treatment in Individuals With and Without Recent Treatment: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis.

Importance: It has been hypothesized that the association between acute-phase treatment with antipsychotic (vs placebo) and outcomes might be larger in individuals who were not recently treated compared to recently treated individuals. However, evidence is still lacking.

Objective: To compare the association between antipsychotic (vs placebo) acute-phase treatment and outcomes in individuals who were not recently treated to recently treated individuals.

Referral of Patients to Psychiatric Emergency Departments by Police: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: A significant number of patients in psychiatric emergency departments (PEDs) are brought in by police. The authors sought to identify the weighted global rate of police referrals to PEDs, to compare the characteristics of police-referred patients with those of patients not referred by police, and to assess possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on referral rates.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted by searching medical databases according to PRISMA guidelines.

[Usage behavior related to the 9-Euro-ticket - impetus for psychiatric outpatients to increase activity and social contacts?].

This study presents first descriptive statistics on the usage behavior relating to discounted tickets for public transportation as part of an initiative of the German Federal Government in 2022. During a three-month period, 103 psychiatric outpatients of the University Clinic - Charité Berlin provided self-reported data by completing a survey. In general results suggested a high usage rate of the so-called "9-Euro-ticket" of 89,3%.

[Challenges in the treatment of opioid dependence].

Background: The number of persons using opioids has increased worldwide in the last decade, particularly the use of opioid analgesics in North America and Africa. In Germany, the prevalence of heroin addiction has remained relatively stable.

Method: Narrative review of the literature.

Police-referred psychiatric emergency presentations during the first and second wave of COVID-19 in Berlin, Germany: a retrospective chart review.

Background: Literature on psychiatric emergency services (PES) presentations during the COVID-19 pandemic showed heterogeneous results regarding patients brought in by police (BIBP). This is the first study primarily focusing on patients BIBP in a PES during the COVID-19-period.

Methods: Case documentation records during the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in a PES in Berlin, Germany were analyzed using descriptive data analysis and binomial logistic regression analysis to detect factors that predict presentations BIBP.

Striatal Functional Hypoconnectivity in Patients With Schizophrenia Suffering From Negative Symptoms, Longitudinal Findings.

Background: Negative symptoms in schizophrenia (SZ), such as apathy and diminished expression, have limited treatments and significantly impact daily life. Our study focuses on the functional division of the striatum: limbic-motivation and reward, associative-cognition, and sensorimotor-sensory and motor processing, aiming to identify potential biomarkers for negative symptoms.

Study Design: This longitudinal, 2-center resting-state-fMRI (rsfMRI) study examines striatal seeds-to-whole-brain functional connectivity.

Relapse in clinically stable adult patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: evidence-based criteria derived by equipercentile linking and diagnostic test accuracy meta-analysis.

Background: There is no consensus on defining relapse in schizophrenia, and scale-derived criteria with unclear clinical relevance are widely used. We aimed to develop an evidence-based scale-derived set of criteria to define relapse in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Methods: We searched the Yale University Open Data Access (YODA) for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in clinically stable adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and obtained individual participant data on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Clinical Global Impression Severity (CGI-S), Personal and Social Performance (PSP), and Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS).

Increase in presentations with new-onset psychiatric disorders in a psychiatric emergency department in Berlin, Germany during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic - a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Introduction: While numerous studies have identified an increase in symptoms of depression as well as anxiety and distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, relatively few studies have investigated the new-onset of psychiatric diseases during the pandemic.

Methods: This study focuses on the number of psychiatric new-onset diagnoses in a psychiatric emergency department (pED) in Berlin, Germany during the second wave of the pandemic (i.e.

Homelessness and associated factors over a 13-year period among psychiatric in-patients in Berlin, Germany: routine data analysis.

Background: Homeless patients in psychiatric hospitals are a scarcely studied and there is lack of knowledge about factors associated with homelessness and in-patient treatment.

Aims: To determine the change over time in the number of homeless psychiatric in-patients and to examine factors associated with homelessness.

Method: Retrospective data analysis of 1205 selected electronic patient files on psychiatric in-patient treatment in a university psychiatric hospital in Berlin, Germany.

Polygenetic risk scores and phenotypic constellations of obsessive-compulsive disorder in clozapine-treated schizophrenia.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) are frequently observed in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ) treated with clozapine (CLZ). This study aimed to analyze prevalence of OCS and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in this subgroup and find possible correlations with different phenotypes. Additionally, this is the first study to examine polygenetic risk scores (PRS) in individuals with SCZ and OCS.

Use of digital technologies by users of psychiatric inpatient services in Berlin, Germany: a cross-sectional patient survey.

Unlabelled: Few studies and almost exclusively from the USA have recently investigated mobile phone and computer use among users of psychiatric services, which is of high relevance regarding the increasing development of digital health applications and services.

Objective, Design And Setting: In a cross-sectional patient survey, we examined (a) rates and purposes of mobile phone, computer, internet and social media use, and (b) the role of social and clinical predictors on rates of utilisation among psychiatric inpatients in Berlin, Germany.

Participants And Results: Descriptive analyses showed that among 496 participants, 84.

Predicting psychotic relapse following randomised discontinuation of paliperidone in individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: an individual participant data analysis.

Background: Predicting relapse for individuals with psychotic disorders is not well established, especially after discontinuation of antipsychotic treatment. We aimed to identify general prognostic factors of relapse for all participants (irrespective of treatment continuation or discontinuation) and specific predictors of relapse for treatment discontinuation, using machine learning.

Methods: For this individual participant data analysis, we searched the Yale University Open Data Access Project's database for placebo-controlled, randomised antipsychotic discontinuation trials with participants with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (aged ≥18 years).

Cannabis use during the early COVID-19 pandemic: Use patterns, predictors, and subjective experiences.

Background: Even in the early stages, global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic lead to serious dislocations of social life, secondary adjustment reactions to external restrictions and individual concerns. Coping mechanisms may also include dysfunctional strategies like an increase of drug use. Considering the wide-spread use of cannabis, the aim of this study was to elucidate the interplay of social restrictions, psychopathology, concerns related to the pandemic in addition to the users' experiences, motivations and consumption quantities during the early COVID-19 pandemic.

Perspectives in poverty and mental health.

In recent years, different forms of poverty and their interaction with mental illness have been in the focus of research, although the implementation of action in mental health care and policy making so far is scarce. This perspective article offers different perspectives of poverty and its reciprocal association with mental illness and outlines possible future research and policy implications. We will approach the topic of poverty from various levels: On a micro-level, focusing on absolute poverty with precarious housing and malnutrition.